Writing a Professional Life: Stories of Technical Communicators On and Off the Job (Part of the Allyn & Bacon Series in Technical Communication) [Paperback]

Gerald J. Savage (Author), Dale L. Sullivan (Author), Sam Dragga (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 19, 2000 | ISBN-10: 0205321062 | ISBN-13: 978-0205321063 | Edition: 1

This is the first collection of narratives by practicing technical communicators telling their own personal stories about the workplace and their lives on the job. The authors portray a wide range of jobs: writers, editors, interface designers, marketing writers, and trainers working in 9 different technical fields, including software, R&D, engineering , medicine, transportation, and telecommunications. The stories vividly demonstrate the unique power of narrative as a teaching and learning tool. Unlike fabricated cases, these real-life narratives show new and veteran technical writers at work on the job, dealing with tasks, clients, and co-workers, and revealing their insights, values, and attitudes about their work. The stories also show the skills required in the profession and the ethical and other issues raised in the course of the workday. For anyone interested in technical communication and professional writing.

Product Details

• Paperback: 292 pages
• Publisher: Longman; 1 edition (November 19, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0205321062
• ISBN-13: 978-0205321063
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #326,045 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Review, October 22, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Writing a Professional Life: Stories of Technical Communicators On and Off the Job (Part of the Allyn & Bacon Series in Technical Communication) (Paperback)

This is a collection of 23 essays divided into three sections: "Initiation Stories," "The Process," and "Life On and Off the Job." Each section contains six to nine essays written by technical communicators at various stages in their careers. These vignettes touch on ethics, organizational dynamics, content, tools, business communications, and communication issues among others. This text will prove most useful to the prospective technical communicator who may not have any previous experience or concept of what the job entails. This text might also prove useful to novice technical communicators as the stories offer advice through humor, moralistic tales, `horror' stories with happy endings, and explicit and implicit advice. Each selection is preceded by a brief biography to give a more human focus to the stories. While the text might prove useful and comforting for new or prospective technical communicators, readers who have more experience with technical communication might not find the text as useful. This text is part of the Allyn & Bacon Series in Technical Communication, and as such is probably most appealing to students and educators involved in academic programs focused on technical writing rather than the practicing technical writers in industry.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everything you've ever wanted to know about the TC Field, October 22, 2001

By 

Daphne (Lubbock, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Writing a Professional Life: Stories of Technical Communicators On and Off the Job (Part of the Allyn & Bacon Series in Technical Communication) (Paperback)

This book defines what technical communicators do on the job.
This book will appeal to teachers, possible future technical writers, and generally anyone interested in technical communication. The realistic narratives offer valuable insight into defining technical communication employment from a technical communicator's point-of-view. As beginners in the field of TC, the text offers various definitions of TC and provides examples of common problems encountered in the field. The three sections of the book are divided into portions depending on work experience. This is helpful because comparisons are available regarding TC beginners and seasoned veterans along with those in between. Problems covered in the text include: Power struggles between co-workers, technology inadequacies, struggles for TC job definitions and authority within the organization, adapting to the organizational culture, coping with the perils of consulting vs. salaried positions, positive and negative collaboration, finding a voice and respectability within a corporation, and gaining recognition in said corporation.
Overall an excellent read answering many questions posed by beginning technical communicators.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What does a "Technical Writer" do?, December 29, 2001

By 

M.H.Bloom (Southern California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Writing a Professional Life: Stories of Technical Communicators On and Off the Job (Part of the Allyn & Bacon Series in Technical Communication) (Paperback)

As the author of one of the twenty-three narratives that appear in this book, I would like to explain what I think its purpose, its role, might be. Not many people outside the industry know what a technical writer is or what he or she does for a living. This book explains that and more. It illustrates, using cleverly disguised real-world examples, what work -- and life -- is like for a technical writer. The stories are excellent depictions of life in the field, and I can honestly recommend this book to anyone who might want to know about or might want to become a technical writer. This text is an excellent source for students.