ITauthor

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       Ellis Pratt is Sales and Marketing Director for UK documentation specialists, Cherryleaf. He joined me via Skype to talk about Cherryleaf and to discuss questions such as:

• What kind of skills do you need to be a technical writer?
• What's the difference between an information designer, a technical communicator and a technical writer?
• Which is the worst of the "six biggest mistakes project managers make with documentation"?
• Is there still a demand for printed manuals, and if so, why?
• What does Cherryleaf offer as a recruitment company that other, bigger recruitment companies can't?
• What does the future hold for technical writers?

I encourage you to have a look at the Cherryleaf website. The monthly newsletter is well worth signing up for. There are a number of interesting articles and there's also a blog (for example, you might want to check out the post Ellis referred to on the secrets of effective technical authors). By the way, I claimed during the conversation that there's no degree course in technical writing. What I think I meant was that in all the many, many CVs I've read while trying to recruit a technical author, I've never come across a candidate who has been formally trained in technical writing. However, as Ellis mentions, Coventry University run several courses in Media and Communication. Also, Sheffield Hallam University offers a postgraduate distance learning course for a diploma in Technical Communication.

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The music I play at the beginning and end of the show is by Amplifico. You can hear more of their music by going to the Podsafe Music Network.

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