Writing and Editing
I have more than 20 years of experience in writing and editing technical documentation, business documents, book reviews, and journal articles. I have written web content since the mid nineties. My audiences have ranged from customer service representatives and support analysts to programmers and scientists.
Services
I have worked with various writing teams as an advisor and mentor. I am an advanced user of many off-the-shelf publishing tools and am an experienced user of blogs and wikis. I also have extensive training in XML and DITA publishing.
Technical Writing
Effective technical writing requires a thorough understanding of audience and purpose. I have developed and maintained a variety of information products for a variety of audiences, including
- User’s guides
- Quick reference guides and other job aids (aka “cheat sheets”)
- System administrator’s guides
- Programming references (APIs, SDKs, code samples)
- Installation guides
- Configuration guides
- Workflow management guides
- Use cases
- Test cases
- Release notes
- Standard operating procedures (SOPs)
- Policy handbooks
- Marketing collateral such as brochures and data sheets
- Proposals (mainly as a contributor)
- Software life cycle documents such as requirements and design specs
Technical Editing
Business documents are rife with jargon and fluff. I frequently work with subject matter experts to help them streamline and improve content. I have edited documents written by attorneys, policy analysts, educators, scientists, and software developers.
I perform various levels of edit, depending on the request. My editing experience ranges from light (grammar, punctuation, and spelling) to heavy (organizational). I also frequently perform fact-checking research for technical content.
No matter how technical the subject matter, I believe that writing should be as simplified and to the point as possible. I am a follower of the plain language movement.
Style Guide Development
Organizations need style guides for consistent written communication. As an experienced editor, I have developed style guides for writing teams and volunteer organizations. Rather then reinventing the wheel, I help organizations preserve established style conventions while adopting best practices from time-proven resources, including:
- The Chicago Manual of Style
- Words Into Type
- AP Stylebook
- The Yahoo! Style Guide
- Read Me First! A Style Guide for the Computer Industry from Sun Microsystems
- The Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications
Template Development
Publications teams need standardized workflow tools and processes. I have extensive experience in developing templates, styles, and scripts for Microsoft Word®, Adobe FrameMaker®, and MadCap Flare™. I also frequently develop HTML topic templates and cascading style sheets (CSS).
Solutions
Here is a partial list of organizations for which I have provided expert technical writing and editing services:
- The National Cancer Institute Center for Biomedical Informatics
and Information Technology:
Planned, developed, and edited technical information supporting the NCI software infrastructure used in cancer research; developed support information for the OWL-based Protégé ontology editor, the NCI BioPortal, and BiomedGT, an open, collaboratively developed terminology for translational research; created user’s guides, administrator guides, API guides, online help, wiki-based help, and training materials; developed and maintained FrameMaker templates for the writing team; developed and maintained MadCap Flare templates. - The National Science Foundation:
Developed user’s guides, administrator’s guides, API guides, and process documentation; served as technical editor for a group of international software developers. - QuadraMed Corporation:
Maintained a single-sourced documentation library for the company’s flagship product; produced user and administrator guides, server installation guides, release notes, and online help; worked closely with UI designers to refine the product. - The United States Mint:
Created user’s guides, modular how-to topics, standard operating procedures, and process documentation. - The World Bank:
Developed user’s guides and job aids for a variety of user groups; developed and delivered workshops on effective writing of procedures and FAQs; served as a consulting editor and writing coach for various business units. - Society for Technical Communication, Washington, DC chapter:
Managed Capital Letter, the chapter newsletter: developed a style guide; collected and edited content; designed the layout using Adobe InDesign®.
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