![[Rant] Writers: 'Know Your Stuff' or Stop Pretending To Be Professionals | The Content Wrangler](http://wpsandbox.com/contentwrangler/wp-content/themes/ThemeMatcher_free/images/ldsTechLogo2.png)
![[Rant] Writers: 'Know Your Stuff' or Stop Pretending To Be Professionals | The Content Wrangler banner](http://wpsandbox.com/contentwrangler/wp-content/themes/ThemeMatcher_free/images/ldstech_banner-img4_4.jpg)
Rahel Bailie, Content Strategist, Intentional Design
Either I’ve had the privilege of a very good education (though my degree is in Creative Writing and Women’s Studies and the term XML wasn’t even coined back then), or my ongoing, self-directed professional development has left me perpetually holding up a bar over which very few can jump. But please, people, if you’re going to present yourselves as senior writers or information designers or content developers and content strategists and content managers – in fact, any work that involves professional writing and/or editing and/or manipulating content – can you at least figure out how to do what the title says?
Anyone who has heard me speak knows my position about content strategy: the “under the hood” aspects of content are just as important as the shiny parts that people see. When I talk about “structured content”, I’m not talking outlines, I’m talking structured content – elements and attributes and all that related stuff. If content is the “stuff between the tags”, then the tags “containers” are the controllers of the content. Use them! Know them! If you don’t haven’t figured out how to use stylesheets in a word processor, how on earth are you going to figure out how to manipulate content through its structure? I mean, really, people, it’s 2011!
But even more basic than that is getting that content between the tags in good shape. Quality content with content quality. What do I mean by that? Everybody seems to know, no matter with how little depth, how to write for SEO (search engine optimization). Mostly, I hear about how to pad content for more hits. Yeah, good, fill your boots. But what about the basics of writing? Chances are, a portion of your audience doesn’t have English as a first language or has low literacy skills, and they need extremely clear and straightforward communication to help with comprehension. As a writer, do you even know about the Plain Language Movement? It’s been around since the early 1990s, so it’s not like we’ve just discovered it. In fact, the UK, Australia, Canada, and now the US have legislation around it. When I ask you about plain language, I want feedback that indicates you know about this stuff! There are associations and conferences. Go! Learn! Practice!
Oh, and about Plain Language – don’t confuse it with Simplified English, which isn’t just for maintenance manuals any more. It’s not hard to learn the principles, but does take some discipline to implement. One of the benefits, though, is that if you’re writing for translation, you get double benefits: better comprehension for English (or source language) users PLUS reduced translation costs. If you can’t articulate the benefits of always writing for translation – even when you don’t translate, then I can only assume you’ve led a very sheltered life, and had a very sheltered career. Either way, I don’t need you contributing to inter-cultural misunderstandings on any of my projects. Get thee to a classroom somewhere. Preferably in a foreign country!
And what about writing for accessibility? If I see one more “Click Here” or “Read More” links that a writer thinks is acceptable, I swear I’ll do something involving sharp sticks. It’s not enough to have Web accessibility standards; accessible content is important, too. (Yeah, back to that “under the hood” stuff.) It’s not like there is a dearth of support out there. The Society for Technical Communication has an Accessibility Special Interest Group, and I’m sure there are other groups out there. (See how they walk the talk? See the choices they offer? Look! Learn! Walk the talk with them!)
Last, but definitely, definitely not least, if you’re just going to correct some grammar and add some editing marks, you’re a proofreader. Don’t call yourself something you’re not. Maybe poets and novelists can get away with a red pen and a dictionary, but if you’re going to work in the corporate world, you need to know your stuff. You need to be able to talk intelligently about the profession, using profession-appropriate vocabulary. Yes, I want you to practice the basic of the 4Cs (clear, correct, complete, concise), but I also want you to be able to pull apart mish-mashed pages found all over the place, and turn it into a cohesive, coherent, structured content. Is that so much to ask?
OK, end of rant. Back to regularly-scheduled programming.
About Rahel Bailie
Rahel Anne Bailie is a content strategist with a skill set encompassing content management, business analysis, information architecture, and communications. She operates Intentional Design, helping clients analyze their business requirements and spectrum of content to get the right fit for their content development and management needs, and facilitates transitions to new business processes, content models, and technology implementations. Her experience gives her an intimate understanding of end-to-end processes, from requirements-gathering to implementation. She is an STC Fellow, and holds memberships in various associations to stay current in pertinent practice areas. She presents on the topic of content strategy at conferences across North America and Europe, and was recently cited as one of the top ten most influential content strategists.
Rahel will be presenting at several upcoming conferences. Catch her at Intelligent Content 2012 in Palm Springs, February 22-24, 2012 and again in London at Content Strategy Applied, March 1-2, 2012.
Follow Rahel on Twitter. Email Rahel.
Is this “inspired” by people you’ve worked with? There’s no context.
Rahel,
You cover a lot of ground in this post and make some good points. I’m still having to edit out “click here”‘ and “read more” on a regular basis –from client’s old copy or a freelancer’s rewrite, which just should not be.
On the one hand, it’s fairly safe to say that most of us always have something new to learn–I’m only now after six years in CS having to buckle down with accessibility guidelines, for example.
I suspect it may often come down to fear and instead of admitting to what we don’t know, we claim expertise we don’t have. Consultants are not paid to say “i don’t know.”
On the other hand, CS definitions are all over the place and I see jobs for content strategists that are almost all writing, while others are almost no writing. It’s hard to set expectations when we don’t know what we are–half the battle right there. Solution:determine what your best skills are, define them, and set expectations accordingly.
I think there’s an article in your thoughts somewhere as well. Wanna contribute something to The Content Wrangler? I sure hope so!
Hi Rahel,
You have very bravely stated some things here that many people have been thinking. I too have come across self-styled experts in our profession who simply can’t communicate.
This is a shame, because as you say there are so many opportunities to learn in our profession, and so much support is available through discussion lists and professional organisations, as well as seminars and conferences of course. We need to encourage people to take pride in what they do and to do the best possible job.
Our business is helping users – we can’t do that if we don’t write well and make an effort to continually improve our own professional practice. (If you think our business is helping our employers or clients be profitable by keeping customers happy, the same applies.)
David
David: I’d love to have you write some articles for The Wranglers this coming year. If you are interested, let me know. It’s a place you can say what you think and not fear the need to edit yourself, not that I imagine you do that much.
See you at Content Strategy Applied 2012 in London?
Thanks, Rahel, for saying what a lot of people are thinking, but not articulating.
Technology is changing even more quickly than it used to. Years ago, we had basic tools to get our jobs done. And the focus was truly on the writing itself. We weren’t repurposing content. We weren’t worrying about structure outside of the book outline or maybe documentation suite. We didn’t have tools for semantic search. And, as new tools rolled out, we seemed to have plenty of time to learn them.
We’re not in Kansas anymore. Today, we have new technologies, new tools, and new ways of doing things all the time. Think of what’s trending today versus what was trending even a year ago. Think of all the new things that we are required to do with our content.
Today, learning and keeping up with tools and technology is a daily event. To stay on top of your game, you must read, learn, and communicate every single day. Yes, every day. I often have writers complain to me that they don’t have the time to read/study/learn because they are so busy writing. I often have people ask me where I find the time to stay current. The answer is you have to make the time. Period. No belly-aching about being too busy. If you want to continue to be relevant and successful, you have no choice. Continuous learning is not a perogative, it is a mandate. Resources abound now and most of them are free. There are no excuses. Put learning into your life every day.
Okay, my rant off, too!
Amen, sister.
Practitioners, please heed this! Many of you have heard me say “Learn your tools” over and over. Learn the concepts behind them so you can learn other tools. Learn the technology you’re documenting. Learn the domain of use the product lives in. Learn your users. You want respect? The technology field (regardless of flavor: software, biotech, hardware, etc) is one of the last mostly functioning meritocracies we have left. Out-nerd your SMEs in your own field. This is a good article and so, so true. As a hiring manager, these are the things I look for.
Val, I appreciate your feedback because I know you have interviewed, hired, and mentored hundreds (if not thousands) of writers. I’m fortunate enough to work a team of exceptionally good people. But too often I (and I suspect you) get approached by those who want to do geek-end work “on the side” until their “real” careers take off. Even explaining to them why this isn’t plausible becomes a mini-seminar to educate them on all the things they don’t know that would make it completely impossible to throw them into the deep end of a contract and expect them to swim.
Rahel, you have made my day! Your rant expresses very well the frustration I feel when a new client shows me what his last “expert” did for them.
Unfortunately, like SEOs, the ranks of copywriters and content strategists are overflowing with novices, proclaiming themselves to be experts, ninjas, gurus and masters. I suppose we’ll soon see “deities” and “demigods” added to the mix.
I wish there was a way to mandate that one would not be allowed to touch pen to virtual paper without a solid understanding of the principles of SEO. Even an accomplished writer is little more than a hack, without adding those skills to his repertoire.
I’ll be sharing this post with others, with emphasis on “Continuous learning is not a prerogative, it is a mandate.”
Doc: Good thing the novices are not yet setting the “standards” for what is to be expected. We still have time to declare, define, and set expectations. If we all refuse to let the mediocrity creep in any further, we may be able to prevent some big mishaps.
Great discussion. I can tell from the various comments that this post has struck a chord. And, I agree. I am, quite frankly, tired of attending “professional” events where many in attendance believe that the work they did at university is what qualifies them for their job. It’s about the content, certainly, but as such, it’s about much more than the content. It’s about strategy, technology, standards, approaches, methods, productivity, and as one commenter posts out, context.
The irony is that the post from “OhDear@gmail.com” about context is exactly what Rahel is talking about. Notice that the commenter hides behind an anonymous email account set up to avoid actually providing the “context” they say is needed. When a writer takes this tact I have to wonder, “Are you worried she’s talking about you?” and, if not, why hide?
One only need a dictionary, and I’m certain “OhDear@gmail.com” has one at his/her dear fingertips. For giggles, I Googled “define context”. Here’s what I found:
con·text [kon-tekst] noun
1. the parts of a written or spoken statement that precede or follow a specific word or passage, usually influencing its meaning or effect: You have misinterpreted my remark because you took it out of context.
2. the set of circumstances or facts that surround a particular event, situation, etc.
I’m not sure why it matters *who* Rahel is talking about (what do you think?) or if she had worked with the people who frustrated her enough that she took time to write a “rant”. I guess if you were a person had worked with Rahel in the past and thought (using the psychic power standard) that she was talking about you, then context would help answer the question on your mind…”Is she talking about me?”.
But, anyone who knows Rahel would know better. Rahel is constantly observing the world around her: the products she buys, the experiences she encounters in public, the services provided to her by government, the private and public sector, utilities providers, etc. The Earth is so full of content problems created, for the most part, by people paid to create content, that there’s no lack of fodder for someone looking to express their dissatisfaction.
As usual, despite the concerns of “OhDear@gmail.com”, Rahel hits the nail on the head. Is this rant about everybody? Nope. Is it about some people in particular? I doubt it. Is it something triggered by a bad content experience that “broke the camel’s back” so-to-speak, I’d wager so.
Thanks Rahel, for pointing out what most of us know to be some real problems with our industry and those tangentially related to ours. Communication is always in flux. It is often riddle with errors. I contribute to the content mess as do many of you. It is critical as Rahel points out that we all do our best to be informed and to be the best, most knowledgable professionals in our field. That said, there are those who excel and those who do not in every field. To me, this is not surprising. It’s to be expected. And, as a consultant, it’s why folks like Rahel (and many of you) have work.
Be frustrated by the ignorance and unwillingness of some to learn things outside their comfort zone. Then, rejoice that these folks exist and believe they do not need to know what we do. This is exactly why we have work — and will continue to have it for many, many years.
Thanks Rahel for stepping up to the plate. As usual, you are on target.
One more note, this post has attracted the most clicks of anything I have posted to social networks lately. It should be noted that hundreds of people have read this article here on my site, and an unknown number have accessed it through the social networks it has been reposted to, and through the RSS feeds and automated email newsletter alert service I provide. What I find most interesting is that only a few people actually leave comments. This may be because of the way the site is set up (which I am going to try and address in my redesign this January) but it may also be for other reasons.
Okay, back to regular programming.
For rants like this I suggest the audience is wrong. My customers have no clue about these issues – or worse, some some engineer know-it-all tells me what he expects, and won’t approve the document otherwise – contrary to your wisdom. Stop preaching to the choir!
Where is the passion for helping experienced technical writers find work and combat wage deflation? Not in your scope, so it seems.
Edgar: I don’t think the choir is reading this rant exclusively. The audience for this post is not just the choir (although, some of them are certainly here) it’s also the over 500 people behind the clicks this wrong, who hopefully read the post and got the message. But, I’d love to invite you to write something for The Content Wrangler as well. I have an inkling you might have something interesting (and thought-provoking) to say. Let me know if that is of interest. I’ve got room on the roster in 2012.
I couldn’t agree with Rahel more!
And @Edgar, when you have moment, read the article I wrote for STC’s Intercom magazine on how to recession proof your career: http://www.prospringstaffing.com/Resource/MolisaniRecessionProofCareer.pdf
I used to just think a person chooses the career path they walk. Not anymore. You don’t just choose the path you walk, you CREATE the path as well.
Want to combat wage deflation? Expand your sphere of influence, help decrease costs and generate revenue for your company. Do those and you can COMMAND higher wages.
How successful do you want to be?
Great, make it happen!
Jack Molisani
President, ProSpring Technical Staffing
Executive Director, The LavaCon Conference on Digital Media and Content Strategies
http://prospringstaffing.com/category/blog/
Thanks for sharing that valuable information, Jack. I couldn’t agree with you more. I might add, that in some situations, a job change is the best way to move a career forward. But, that takes a certain mentality, some risk, and fearlessness. Change will, no matter how you slice it, bring about change. Whether it’s positive or negative, well, that’s the unknown.
Rahel, this is the post I wish I’d written. THANK YOU! I’m glad you were willing to air the “dirty laundry”; hopefully, it will get people thinking more deeply about their skills and their careers. We need more frank discussions like these.
Here’s my take on our profession (which we used as part of the vision statement when I was STC Global Strategies Committee manager):
“Our profession touches every industry, every product, every process, every aspect of life on this planet–a heady responsibility, which requires that we hold ourselves to high standards of excellence and continuous learning, and that we lead the way toward building rapport and communication channels with our colleagues wherever they may live and work. ”
I have this tacked to my wall and try to live this in my professional life. I hope that others will take it to heart as well.
Well said Rahel!
This makes me think of something I encountered a few years ago. I have a friend in the Czech Republic who’s a film director. He wrote a script (in Czech) that he wanted to shoot in English. So he had it translated by “a native English speaker” and then he asked me to read through it to make sure it sounded natural. He was very disappointed when I told him that the translator must have been a native speaker of British English!
This exercise also taught me how difficult it can be to translate jokes. The director and another Czech friend would send me lengthy explanations of the intention of a joke that just didn’t make any sense in English, so that I could try to reverse engineer an alternative.
My point is, it’s easy for any “native speaker” to take a half-hearted approach to content. We need to strive to be better than that!
It also baffles me when I’m interviewing someone for a content-related position and they have a poorly written resume or can’t articulate what they’ve contributed to their projects. How can I trust someone to solve our clients’ content problems when they can’t even solve their own?
Scott, the reason I don’t usually comment is that I read it in my email client and don’t come to the site.
Rahel – great work. For all the nay-sayers, you can’t make omlettes without breaking eggs. Don’t worry about it. You wrote something that deserved to be written.
—
Noz – http://lessworkmoreflow.blogspot.com // @nozurbina
Hear, hear!! As a long-time editor, I could rant on myself. I’m tired of dealing with “senior” writers who can’t even stop using passive voice. And they all think they don’t need an editor, so they’re not willing to listen.
For some reason, the web is treated as this magic wonderland where we somehow abdicate all that we know and have learned. Content isn’t magic — the principles are the same as they’ve always been. Content strategy, as it applies to the web, is really a meta-discipline — it’s a layering of new-ish principles, specific to the medium, on top of the core fundamentals that we’ve always known.
At Gilbane last year, I asked a panel on content strategy what their reaction was to the rise of content strategy. The collective response was, “what took everyone so long?”
Somewhere along the way, we got the medium confused with the message, and we wandered off from the core principles of content that still hold true, and really always have.
I reserve the term rant for those who complain without ever making an impact. Exhortation might be a more accurate term for comments from someone who has both defined best practices and shared them liberally. Thank you, Rahel, for this call to be the best we all can be
Nice rant and lively thread…I agree that a back to the basics focus on high quality user-centered content should be at the center of what Technical Communicators do and this is not always the case. I enjoy a good rant and this one covers a lot of ground with call to arms to stop navel gazing and get back in the trenches. I think some clarifications and further points are also in order…
There are certainly some folks that are caught up with new shinny toys to the neglect of well-formed content that conforms to well-established best practices. I think this is why we are all still in business and why to this day the general population has a great disdain for Help, technical docs, and manuals. They expect low quality, clutter, inconsistency, low usability, and to toil to find answers to the most basic questions. Great content is often the exception as far as most of the audience is concerned. This may not always be the case as there are numerous examples of excellent content out there and many content developers are raising the bar continuously. Still, most folks don’t list “RTFM” in their list of hobbies. It is a necessary evil and there is much frustration out there.
With all this in mind, a discussion on the causes for the phenomenon of the perpetually “lazy sounding docs” are in order. There is more than one side to this story. In fact, there are numerous.
With R&D budgets so tight, technical communicators face larger workloads, less sympathy for the basic estimating principles that may drive a quality learning solution plan that is focused not “peanut buttered,” out of control ratios of SMEs to content developers, reviewers that gloss over copy without useful quality checks, and a general malaise of organizational neglect and treatment of learning solutions as an afterthought. This does not help.
Content developers need to take responsibility and be accountable for the end product of the copy they produce – YES. They also need managers to act as strong champions that know how to support their position to provide some balance and time to focus on these basics and can help prioritize and say no when needed. Too often, the folks in the trenches are rapidly turning over 1st draft copy as fast as possible to just “get it done” with personal frustration of not finding the time to layer in the quality they know their work deserves.
To truly address the issues outlined on the rant, in addition to the personal accountability factor of the folks creating the content, who in my personal opinion generally want to do the right thing, we also need a call to action to Tech Comm managers to properly and consistenly support content developers in estimating workload, setting proper organizational expectations and plans, creating integrated R&D plans that account for learning experience deliverables, help avoid scope creep (defer!), create sound road maps for quality improvements, and provide a safe environment to address less content with more quality and best practices.
In many years of experience managing Tech Comm groups, training, and curriculum developers, it is evident to me that it is a veritable Ground Hog’s day every cycle of late reviews, SMEs with little time on their hands, engineering schedules that don’t holistically account for the time to support writers, and a Murphy’s Law of changing plans.
The rant is all true and the state of affairs is something we must address. We must be held accountable and we must also hold the rest of the organization accountable for some sanity on the workloads and schedules. Focus and strategy lead to better quality. To expect results, we must first empower. This is a team sport.
As someone who regularly gripes about the state of affairs in the content industry — and as someone who makes his fair share of content errors, omissions, and downright sloppy mistakes — I realize that technical content creators (as well as writers and communicators of other types) are not the real obstacles to improved content. As Victor Solano points out, consumers expect mediocre content. They’ve even grown to accept it. They don’t like it. But, that’s just the way things are.
As a profession, we can do as David Farbey suggests and take advantage of the resources at our disposal to learn more and do better. And, as Rahel reminds us, we can and should grow our awareness of other practices, methods and approaches, if only to increase our understanding of how things work outside of our own little corner of the content world.
If I were to take a good look back over the past decade or more, I’d say we’re improving…some organizations by leaps and bounds, and others, as best they can. But, things are getting better. Good news, no matter how you slice it.
Anyone else fancy a rant? I know of a blog that is looking for such content.
[...] The Content Wrangler published a “state of the profession” rant about writers who have jumped on the bandwagon of content strategy without going the work the understand the nuances of content production on large projects. Read Know Your Stuff’ or Stop Pretending To Be Professionals. [...]
I’m coming to this discussion very late. Thank you, Rahel and Scott.
Rahel, I have always admired your patient wisdom and thoughtful mentoring, and I really enjoyed this edgy rant. I couldn’t agree more.
I have to say that part of the problem here is that too many people approach content strategy from a technical rather than writing standpoint. A lot of tech writers have suddenly added ‘content strategy’ to their list of skills, and I’m sure they have experience of managing lots of content, working with spreadsheets and code, organizing content, and turning technical topics into readable material.
But have they experience with the more creative – and “writerly” – aspects of content strategy – the content ideas, the engaging copy, the ability to stay on brand and communicate key messages without doing a hard sell? Can they instantly come up with examples of great creative copywriting? Have they worked with creative teams, not just web developers? Can they take direction from a creative director as part of a large content team?
Have they worked as a journalist, copy editor or copywriter? Have they commissioned and briefed writers? Have they managed the editorial process of a print publication as an editor or managing editor? Do they understand the psychology of good copy when required, rather than just being able to spot a typo?
Tech writers in my opinion have somewhat latched onto content strategy – but when I look at their linked in profiles I don’t see evidence of them being very experienced when it comes to editorial work – i.e. being able to write, edit and generally quality control written material.
It’s this in my opinion that means the quality of the content often comes second to the management of the content for a lot of newly named content strategists.
Ok, so… rather than lambasting newbies, why not offer them a useful starting place, given that there’s no ‘real’ certification for this work. How did you, yourself, develop your skill set? Pointing the finger is fine, lets just point young people in the right direction.
I know the answer to this! I’m speaking for myself, by I’ll use the word “we” as I am certain that many of our readers will agree with me. Here goes… We learn everything we can, every day, all the time. We read, we attend webinars, we attend meetings, we attend conferences, even if we need to pay for it ourselves. We discuss topics with others, seek knowledge from those who know more than we do. We step outside our comfort zone and learn from related and obscure disciplines alike. We make an effort. We get off our asses. We don’t whine. We don’t complain (okay, sometime we do – they are called rants). We stay up late. We get up early. We create jobs for ourselves and learn the ropes, often by testing the waters and forging ahead when there is no clear path to follow.
The old model of “here’s everything you need to learn, let us teach you” doesn’t exist any more. Universities don’t exist to teach you what you need to know, unfortunately. They just act as starting place. They teach you how to learn, how to find answers, how to pass tests. Training courses are useful, they can get you started in the right direction. But, that’s all. Certifications, even if they did exist, are worthless. You see, no real companies put out actual job requirements seeking “certified” writers.
So, while lambasting is fun (I admit it), a useful starting place is often elusive. It can be, wherever you find it. But, you have to look. You have to have initiative. And, you have to want to change.
Rahel was, I’m willing to wager, not talking about “newbies”. I think she’s talking about all the many people who believe is writing is their special skill in a world where old school ideas are clashing with new school technologies and realities.
In fact, I think young people are seldom the problem. Oh, I feel another rant coming on….
Join us in an online program on plain language as it intersects other fields:
http://iplday.wordpress.com/2012-online-program/online-program/
Call for Proposals
October 13, 2012 will be the second annual International Plain Language Day. In 2011, events were organized in cities all over the world. This will be repeated and expanded in 2012.
This year local event organizers will have another resource: pre-recorded, online presentations of interest to the public, clients, other plain language writers and editors or consultants. After IPLDay, the presentations will be available to the public on YouTube or Slideshare.
From the perspective of a young technical editor making his first steps, I want to add one thing:
When you start in a well established team in a major organization, you’re often forced to become an innovator or content strategist, because the understanding, the workflows and the tools are simply not available.
So while promoting all this fancy ideas of Single Sourcing, Content Strategies, Intelligent Content and so on, I’m afraid the oportunity to learn the basics, can often be very short.
Of course, this is a very subjective thing