Tribute to the Technical Writer

One weekend, I was trying out a feature I didn’t quite understand in my computer, and so I clicked the ‘Help’ link. A popup help window opened, and as I was reading through it, I found myself constantly thinking about the technical writer who must have published it. The faceless, nameless author of the Help content would have put in several hours of research, relentlessly pursued the developers and SMEs (subject-matter experts) for information, made over a hundred calls, and sent an equally overwhelming number of mails to clarify details. At the same time, this technical writer would have also had to deal with a pushy project manager from the developing team who believes that technical writing is the simplest job in the world, pressing deadlines to the writer’s face without giving a second’s thought to the fact that he himself couldn’t, if he tried, write to save his life!

While the usual claim is that the Help document looks simple and understandable, and so must be easy to write, the truth is quite the contrary. The technical writer puts thought into every word, phrase and sentence before it is typed; paying careful attention to every detail – technical and grammatical, keeping in mind the million do’s and don’ts of the MSTP (Manual of Style for Technical Publications). Then the content goes in for different rounds of review and edits. After that, there is the formatting. Finally, there is the integration of the content into the appropriate technical writing tool depending on the required output, and the obvious number of bugs to work around.

On an average day, the technical writer puts in about 12 hours of work, depending on chocolates and multiple cups of coffee to fight off fatigue. Yet, most of the time, the technical writer is considered the least important person in the project, and given the least amount of time to work on the project deliverables. In short, the technical writer in a corporate company is like a juggler in a circus, delicately balancing on a tightrope! I have “been there, done that”, and I know how frustrating it can be sometimes not getting even a little smidge of empathy from a boss, a kind appreciation from a client, or a good appraisal at the end of the year from a supervisor.

Often, the technical writer’s worth is unseen, unrecognised. But here’s the truth; when it comes down to it, even a genius has to hit ‘F1’, and the hours of toil put in by the technical writer is what saves the day! So the next time you read a help document or pick up a user guide, give a thought to that enigma of a person who put in all the effort to deliver it to you. On that note, hats off to the technical writer!

PS:

To the technical writer, fellow writers are more than just colleagues. They are the friends who help you with the right words whenever you seem stuck, or go out of their way to ‘peer review’ your work. They are the ones who are constantly connected to you through the Communicator, and are virtually there for you every working minute. I know, because I had a bunch of these wonderful people with me during my stint as a technical writer.

This piece is dedicated to the fraternity of technical writers around the world, especially to all my wonderful teammates.