Illuminations
In this issue:
- Technical Writing 101: the latest and greatest
- The state of structured authoring
- The XML strategist: Web 2.0 and the tipping point for XML
- DocTrain DITA in Indiana
Technical Writing 101: the latest and greatest
Scriptorium just released its third edition of Technical Writing 101: A Real-World Guide to Planning and Writing Technical Content. The latest edition of this popular title has been updated to stay current with the changing roles of technical writers and includes coverage of Web 2.0, DITA, and multimedia content.
The book is available from Scriptorium for $20 as a PDF file and in print for $35.95 from Lulu.com. You can also acquire a site license for $250, which allows you to distribute the PDF file to up to 20 users.
To celebrate the release of the third edition, Scriptorium is giving away three PDF downloads. Sign up before May 7 to enter the drawing.
If you're going to the 56th Annual Society for Technical Communication Summit in Atlanta, Georgia, you can stop by our booth to flip through a printed copy of the book, get printed versions of our white papers, and pick up some free chocolate.
The state of structured authoring
More than 600 respondents participated in our survey on structured authoring earlier this year. We just released the report on the results.
The survey respondents included past, present, and future structure implementers, as well as those who do not plan to transition to structure. All of these groups will find useful information in the report. For example, if you are planning an implementation, you should know that most past implementers cited poor project management as their biggest mistake.
Participants who completed the survey and filled out the contact information at the end should have already received a free copy of the report. You can also purchase the 56-page analysis as an immediate download for $200.
Sarah O'Keefe will share highlights from the survey in her presentation, "The State of Structure," from 1:30–2:30 pm on May 4 at the STC Summit.
During the summit, Matthew Arnold will be in the exhibit hall at Scriptorium's booth. Be sure to stop by and visit to discuss the state of structured authoring. We also have a limited amount of time for outside meetings in Atlanta, so if you'd like to meet with us, please call or send us an email.
The XML Strategist: Web 2.0 and the tipping point for XML
As if there weren't enough reasons to upgrade to an XML based workflow, the XML Strategist has come up with another: user-generated content.
As the many-to-many communication among blogs, forums, and other Web 2.0 technologies increases in volume, your official product documentation becomes just one source instead of the source available to readers. If you isolate your documentation from the conversation, it will be buried beneath a mountain of user-generated content.
XML authoring can help close the documentation gap between official and user-generated content, ensuring your official content stays in the mix.
Download the PDF 
(125 KB)
DocTrain DITA in Indiana
Sarah and Simon Bate will be in Indianapolis, Indiana, from June 2–5 for DocTrain DITA 2009. Between workshops and sessions, you can find them at Scriptorium's booth in the exhibit hall. Stop by for a chat about technical communication and DITA solutions, and pick up some free chocolate. Be sure to ask Simon about his experiences hacking and cooking with DITA.
Sarah will offer her presentation, Demystifying DITA to PDF Publishing, on June 3 from 2:45–3:30 pm. The session will address the challenges involved in getting your DITA content to a PDF/print publishing workflow.
Simon will be giving an all-day workshop based on his technical reference, Hacking the DITA Open Toolkit, on June 5 from 8:30 am–5 pm. The first part of the session will focus on producing customized HTML output, and the latter part will focus on PDF.
If you have questions about DITA or are thinking about making changes to your publishing workflow, stop by and visit us. You can also send us an email to arrange a meeting.
Comments? Questions?
We welcome your suggestions for newsletter topics. Drop us a line at comments@scriptorium.com.
If you know colleagues who could benefit from our services, please let them know about us. They can also contact info@scriptorium.com.