I found Hamilton’s advice on managing projects invaluable this should be required reading regardless of whether you are a lone writer or part of a large team. If you have experience in managing documentation projects, you are already aware of the difficulty in tracking, collecting, and sharing quantifiable data to project managers. Hamilton also provides excellent information on managing projects. We can all identify what makes a good employee Hamilton identifies what makes a good technical writer. Although personnel management strategies are often universally applicable across industries, he spends little time focusing on the generic and almost all the time focusing on the specific. In his section on managing people, Hamilton captured the idiosyncrasies of managing a typically unique group of individuals (liberal arts backgrounds) working in a fairly rigid environment (engineering). Hamilton organized his book into three major categories: managing people, managing projects, and managing technology. Reading Managing Writers is like having a conversation with a trusted manager, peer, or mentor. Hamilton has condensed his extensive experience as a documentation manager into a very accessible book. Whether or not you have access to a good mentor, there is much you can learn from reading Managing Writers by Richard L. If your organization is fortunate to have one, use that opportunity to learn as much as you can from that individual. Many technical writers do not have access to a strong documentation manager, and even fewer managers have access to a mentor with documentation management experience. Many variables ultimately contribute to the effectiveness of a manager I believe one of the most important is the availability of a strong mentor. Given what I know about books written for technical writers, I was excited to read a book written for documentation managers. Books about technical writing run the gamut from welcoming and accessible to dry and intimidating. I have read my fair share of books about technical writing, and used numerous books in my technical communication courses.
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