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In this Issue: |
Welcome: In This Issue... News and STC Events: February Wine & Cheese!, March Meeting, Let's Go to Baltimore!, Ann Rockley Lecture & Workshop Special Feature: Contractor vs. Employee: To be or not to be? Meeting Report: January 2004: Patrick Hofmann on Visual Instruction The Wandering Eye: A Guide to Typography Career Corner: Interviewing Questions - Part II |
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STC Events: |
February General Meeting: Annual Wine & Cheese at the King Eddie! March General Meeting: Writing to Sell BizWrite's Kara Kuryllowicz shares what she's learned from assorted clients and editors over more than two decades as a corporate and magazine writer. She has tackled such wildly disparate topics as scuba diving with sharks, ice machines, beer and industrial coatings, both online and in print. Kara takes you through a process that produces marketing copy that will help sell your firm's products and services. Good writing starts before the writer gets anywhere near a keyboard. It all begins with the right attitude. Then you do the appropriate research and ask the right questions. She'll give you tips on writing the first few lines – the hardest part for many of us. She'll also share:
Tuesday March 9, 2004 at 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. Let's Go to Baltimore in 2004 By Robert Milkovich At STC Toronto, we believe that the STC Annual Conference is one of the best ways to learn new skills, discover emerging trends, and meet other professionals in our field. This year, the Conference will be in Baltimore, Maryland from May 9 to 12, 2004. And we want to help as many of you take advantage of this opportunity as possible. We have organized a package trip to Baltimore that includes return transportation by luxury coach and five night's accommodation at the Day's Inn Inner Harbor beside the Conference site at discount prices. The cost will be C$1050 for those who want a single room, and C$650 for those who want to share a room. Compared to the cost of travelling by air and staying in the cheapest Conference hotel, a single traveller will save $461, and those who share will save $861. Plus travelling as a group with your STC colleagues will be a lot of fun! The bus will leave Toronto in the morning on Saturday, May 8. The trip will take about ten hours. The bus will leave Baltimore in the morning on Thursday, May 13. This enables participants to take full advantage of the entire Conference program. For full details, and to download the registration form, please visit our web site at: http://www.stctoronto.org/baltimore. We look forward to seeing on our trip to Baltimore in May! Information Architecture Lecture with Ann Rockley Toronto STC Single-Sourcing SIG: February 19, 2004 7-9 PM Join the Toronto Single-Sourcing SIG on February 19 as Ann Rockley presents "Information Architecture: The basis for effective single-sourcing and content management". This free evening lecture will be well suited for those that are already familiar with Ann's work or for those that are considering attending her two-day workshop in March (see below). The exact location is still pending. Please watch the STC Toronto website for details. Seating is limited so please send in your RSVPs early to Rob Hanna at rob.hanna@ascan.ca or call (416) 221-4113. Two-Day Information Modeling and Structured Writing Workshop Downtown Toronto March 15-16, 2004 The Toronto STC Chapter is proud to sponsor our own Ann Rockley for a two-day in-depth workshop that will teach you what you need to know to begin developing structured content supported by information models. Information models formalize the structure of your content, providing the framework upon which the unified content strategy is based. Structured writing provides standards for creating reusable content. You cannot successfully reuse content unless it is consistently structured. Workshop attendees will learn how to create XML-ready content models that support content reuse in a structured authoring environment. In addition, this workshop will provide you with an understanding of the technological options available, and guide you toward best practices designed to help you avoid the pitfalls experienced by others before you. Numerous real-life examples will be used throughout the seminar. You will learn:
Objectives:At the end of this workshop you will be able to
Who should attend?
Cost:Registration for this intense two-day one-day workshop is $1070.00 Cdn per student. Register two or more students from the same organization and get a $130.00 Cdn discount per student. Learning materials, lunch, snacks, and a copy of our new book on content management, Managing Enterprise Content: A Unified Content Strategy, are included in the registration fee. To register visit: http://www.rockley.com/WorkshopRegister.htm. Check the STC Toronto website for further details. This seminar has sold out in other cities in the U.S. Space is limited so please register early. |
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Welcome: |
In This Issue - February 2004 By Editor Philip Kahn - newsletter@stctoronto.org There's something particularly dispiriting about winters in Toronto. I grew up in Ottawa; even though it is colder and gets more snow, people enjoy winter there. They skate on the canal and enjoy hot chocolate and 'Beavertails'. In my mind, Montreal is a city that is in season in the winter... the restaurants, 'Old Montreal', the many public spaces, even the nightclubs and shops all save their best for the cold weather. But here in Toronto, everybody just seems to get the blahs... myself included. No one can accuse this STC chapter of not trying to chase away those blahs this year. The January speaker (see Susan's report) was preceded by what I believe is a first for us: a stand up comedy routine about the perils of marriage to a technical writer. In this month's newsletter, STC Toronto President Robert Milkovich has provided ten motivational tips for getting through this difficult season. And of course, this Tuesday we are launching a full out assault on the blahs with our Annual Wine and Cheese, held at no less a venue than the King Eddie. Don't miss it... and do come by and say hello to myself and the other members of the STC executive! We have some great content this month. I am please to introduce Isaac Wanzamaa, who has written an article on contracting vs being an employee. Isaac has given the article a local angle by interviewing several members of our chapter. As previously mentioned, Susan has a full report of January's excellent presentation, while Keith Soltys looks this month at typography. Finally you know those tough interview questions that always seems to come up? Andrew Brooke's Career Corner shows you how to deal with them; you definitely want to keep a copy of this article on file. Thank you to all of our contributors this month and if you have an article idea percolating, don't be shy! As always you can send your comments to newsletter@stctoronto.org. Our privacy policy and subscription information are at the bottom of the page. Philip Kahn works for Rogers Media and also is the sole proprietor of Digital Jive, a company which provides web design and technical writing services, as well as Macintosh support. He lives off the Danforth with his wife, daughter, dog and a Power Mac G5... not always in that order. |
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Special Report: |
Contractor vs. Employee: To be or not to be? Isaac Wanzamaa - geekspeak@rogers.com That is indeed the question. Do I join the team or become a hired 'shooter' brought in to make the big contribution before moving onto the next challenge. I can't help but visualize a lone cowboy or cowgirl, in a dusty overcoat complete with a broad rimmed hat and only a trusted steed for company. The decision to work as a fulltime employee or exclusively as an independent is one many of us have faced at one time or another. Each inevitably has its pros and cons and you will no doubt find technical writers who will swear by their decision; dusty overcoat or not. So let's weigh in with both sides and hopefully make it a bit easier for you to decide whether to stay put or hit the road. What is the number one benefit of being a contractor? Flexibility. It seems the ability to set your own pace of work is more than ample draw for some technical writers. Pamela Paterson is a partner in Mississauga based Writer Types, a firm that offers technical writing services to an impressive roster of clients. Paterson says ”being able to determine, who to work with, where I work and how much I work is great”. Pamela has been working successfully as contractor for five years after leaving a full time writing job with the government. “I felt like I plateaued after six months, I needed more variety” she adds. Working on for clients in different sectors has certainly brought her this variety. There is a saying that “every technical writer has the secret ambition to write the great Canadian (or American) novel”. Being a contractor would certainly give you the flexibility to do that. As a contractor most projects will last an average of 3-6 months, with downtime of anywhere from 2-8 weeks. It is this downtime that is the major disadvantage of working on contract. The uncertainty of not really knowing when the next assignment will come can be unnerving for some, but for those that can handle it the pay off can be great. While a fulltime employee generally has the benefit of a regular pay cheque, contractors come out on top when you add up the overtime pay, tax deductions and so forth. So why aren't we all contractors? I posed the question to Kim Van Rooy, a senior tech writer with Nestle Canada. “There has to be a personality fit, you have to be able to market yourself” she comments. To become an independent contractor means managing every aspect of your craft as a business from the bookkeeping to the sales and marketing. This means being out there and “knocking” on doors. Yes, just like a sales person, this is easier said than done. Identifying and defining a market niche for your services is an important first step. Then understanding their business model, legislative environment, challenges comes next. Let's call this prospecting 101. After 11 years as a fulltime employee at Nestle, Kim likes the connections and relationships that she has made with fellow employees. This sense of belonging is a noted benefit of being a fulltime employee. The downside of course is the internal company politics that can come with it. Well would she consider crossing over to the freelance arena? “Sure, I would be more open to the idea now than I was when I started out”. For all that contracting has to offer, it seems most technical writers opt to work as full time employees. According to the STC, in 1999, only 25 percent of its U.S. members said they were independent contractors. So how do tech writers find work? And is it easier for either one of these groups to get the gig? Well, in either case you have to be “out there” to find work. Translation? Network, network, network and then network some more. The simple idea is that the more people you make aware of your skills; the more likely you to someone who needs them. Both contractors and full time writers use recruiting agencies from time to time to supplement their own efforts. To find opportunities for her firm Pamela Patterson looks through business news stories, makes cold calls and asks for referrals from current clients. How about hiring managers? What are their preferences? Rob McDougall is the President of Woodbridge based Upstream Works Software, a company that specializes in developing call center applications. Founded in 1994, the company's clients include Bell Canada and Hydro One. On hiring preferences Rob comments” I try to avoid hiring contractors as much possible; in our firm long-term commitment is key, it is difficult to achieve this with a contractor”. While Rob would hire a contractor for short term engagements, building a team that has a vested interest in the future growth of the company is his preference. “It is important that the person be able to adopt the company culture and represent the company in all aspects” he adds. And how does he find the right person to fill roles with his company? “Internet job boards are the primary means, they tend to be the most cost effective” he says. So, once an opportunity comes along, who works harder? At a minimum most technical writers have a “busy” schedule, and more than likely “hectic” to “hell” will best describe a typical day. For the contractors, especially those running a consulting firm, it is easier to scale back on how much work you take on. Although fulltime employees have more "regular hours", it is not always so easy to control amount number of projects one has to take on. So how to decide? While fulltime employment offers a predictable payday, health benefits, etc, it is sometimes accompanied by internal dynamics and repetitious work. Contracting on the other hand has its own considerations. The thought of having the independence to work when you want and how you want, is a draw in any occupation; who hasn't thought of being the boss and calling the shots. However the peaks and valleys in assignments can be too much to bear. The decision, ultimately, is a personal one that should consider personal obligations, your personality, experience and career goals. Do you want the relative “certainty” of fulltime employment or can you trade it in for the life of an independent contractor, dusty overcoat and all. Isaac Wanzama is a Technical Writer based in Toronto. He can be reached at geekspeak@rogers.com or at 416.875.1781 |
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Meeting Report: |
Psst - want to save money on translation, printing, shipping, and other documentation costs? Welcome to the Play, Script and Draw world of Patrick Hofmann, a visual information designer from Quarry Integrated Communications in Waterloo, who presented "Out of the Picture: New opportunities and challenges facing visual instruction" at the January meeting. To introduce his idea of how users around the world react differently when they read visual language, Patrick cheekily showed us how the design of an innocent stoop and scoop sign can vary widely from country to country. He then related Quarry's experience with a client who had been shouldering massive costs for multiple releases of a network computer assembly manual for 16 different language groups. In order to reduce - and in some cases, eliminate - costs for tasks like inventory maintenance, distribution and delivery, Patrick and his team produced a single, visual manual that would reach all language groups. These were the steps in their manual production:
How did Patrick and the writers visualize this manual? They eliminated "visual traffic", by illustrating objects to convey instructions, instead of denoting them explicitly. Gone were conventional worded elements like titles and introductions, which they replaced with consistent visual symbols. The TOC consisted of a thumbnail of each section (later used as its header or footer) with prominent numbers. Instead of notes and explanations, the team inserted callouts or magnifiers to clarify complicated steps. Navigational notes became a series of simple downward arrow icons. Cross-references showed products or procedures with visual references for locating relevant instructions. However, legal requirements necessitated the inclusion of some text, like ISO standard symbols and worded legal declarations. The resulting manual was well received by its users (especially pictographically-inclined Asians), who enjoyed easier manual interpretation and product assembly. However, the ambiguity of certain symbols and icons led to further challenges. Whoever the user, there were no differences in interpretation, and certain symbols and icons were always misunderstood. Patrick then demonstrated how a range of different symbols could be used to illustrate the same concept, but for the purpose of the manual, which one was the most universal? For example, their ideal icon for showing "click" or "snap" was a series of four "sound waves" with the points facing outwards, to show how sound is loudest initially and then dissipates. To achieve meaningful icons and instructions, Patrick recommended avoiding potentially offensive icons, and conducting repeated usability tests on visual instructions. He also pointed out that the icons and visuals of many current products neglect their users, especially young users. When we think of a telephone, what comes to mind - an old rotary-dial set, a receiver, or a cell phone? What might young children, who have never actually dialled a number, be seeing? Are we addressing this shift in how users are really visualizing everyday objects and products? Therefore, we must also consider age as a significant factor in user culture. In order to keep up with the changes in visual conventions as users age, we need to look at more than the usual lingual or geographical culture aspects. Patrick also believes that the types of users are expanding as the information age progresses, so that successful, user-friendly documentation now embraces more than just technology, knowledge or experience. Other items of interest:
Susan Webb joined the STC in September, 2003. A recent honours graduate of the Technical Communications program at Seneca College, she is interested in online learning and editing opportunities in the field. Susan also teaches Adult ESL with the Toronto District School Board. |
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The Wandering Eye: |
A Guide to Typography Keith Soltys - keith@soltys.ca For more than 40 years, my father worked in the composing room at the Sault Daily Star. When I was a kid, I would visit him and watch him lay out the newspaper with lead Linotype slugs. By the time he retired, he was typesetting on a high-end computerized typesetting system. I don't think his career influenced my choice of careers, but it has given me an interest in typography. Many technical writers never get beyond using Arial for headings and Times New Roman for body text, but even a little typographic knowledge can keep you from making some basic mistakes. The following resources may help you to improve the look of your documents. The Microsoft Typography site is a good introduction to the True Type fonts used by all Windows-based and Macintosh computers. If you need to know about the nitty-gritty details of character sets, code pages, or embedding fonts in documents, you'll find that information here, as well as more general information about fonts and font design. TrueType Typography is another site devoted to TrueType, with more third-party utilities and general information. Most technical writers use one or more Adobe products and the Adobe Typography site has information on their type technologies (OpenType, ATM, Type 1, multiple masters). The Encyclopedia of Typography is just that. It's not a great site for browsing, but if you need to look up a typographical term, you'll probably find its definition here. It's also very comprehensive, well hyperlinked, and searchable. Planet Typography is an extensive meta-site with links to dozens of other typographic-related sites, all neatly organized. Along with the typographic links, there's also links to related topics like the history of printing and calligraphy. Typographica is an independent weblog devoted to typography. Aaron Shepard's Publishing Page site has excerpts from a self-published book on how to get professional-looking typography with Microsoft Word. There's also a series of PDF files that show you output from various desktop publishing programs, although FrameMaker isn't one of them. Of course, if you are interested in typography, you'll want fonts. Most of the sites mentioned earlier include links to commercial font vendors. There are many sites where you can download free fonts. Some are PC Fonts.com, Font Face, and The Dingbat Pages. Public Lettering is a site that takes you on a walk through central London and explores the lettering and the architecture of the city through the lettering on buildings and signs. The Erotics of Type* explores the erotic potential of typography. You probably won't want to use some of the fonts shown here in your manuals, but it definitely explores the more creative side of typography. And if it was a movie, it would be rated X; you have been warned. (*Editor's Note: As its title suggests and Keith warns, this page has text and images that WILL offend some people. For that reason there is not a clickable link; you will need to copy and paste the URL into your browser: <http://www.xs4all.nl/%7Emaxb/erotype.html>) As always, if you want to find more information the Yahoo and Google directories offer extensive lists of related links. Keith Soltys has been working as a technical writer for 16 years, and is currently at the Toronto Stock Exchange. He maintains the Internet Resources for Technical Communicators web site and has recently started a weblog. He lives in Pickering with his wife, two children, a cat, and an ever growing collection of Grateful Dead CDs. |
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Career Corner: |
This month, we continue our series on interview questions and strategies for dealing with them. And the first question is: "List three of your greatest strengths."
"What is your greatest weakness?"
"How would your boss (or co-workers) describe you?"
"Tell me about a time you failed."
"What do you like about your job? What don't you like?"
Andrew Brooke is the STC Toronto Job Bank Manager and Membership Manager, and is a full-time technical writer at InSystems in Markham. |
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From the President's Desk: |
February is considered by some to be a no-fun month. The weather is cold, the snow is deep, and the days are short. Summer seems so, so far away. We even call our mid-winter depression 'The February Blahs' to reinforce this sense of bleakness. If you find yourself unemployed (and not liking it) at this time of year, the sense of hopelessness can seem magnified by having The February Blahs. Motivating yourself can seem very difficult indeed. But take heart - here are ten things you can do to get off the couch and get your life happening again.
And remember, brighter times are just around the corner. Good luck! |
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About the STC: |
The Society for Technical Communication is an individual membership organization dedicated to advancing the arts and sciences of technical communication. It is the largest organization of its type in the world. Its 25,000 members include technical writers and editors, content developers, documentation specialists, technical illustrators, instructional designers, academics, information architects, usability and human factors professionals, visual designers, Web designers and developers, and translators - anyone whose work makes technical information available to those who need it. The STC Toronto Chapter was founded in 1959 (then the Society of Technical Writers) and is the largest chapter in Canada. |
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About this Newsletter: |
This newsletter is produced monthly by the STC Toronto Chapter and is sent to all registered members just before the General Meeting. We will not share nor sell our address list and will only send e-mails with information we believe to be useful and relevant to our members. Our mailing list comes directly from the STC, so if you want to receive the newsletter at another address you will need to login to their members profile section and update your information. |
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