For the last couple of years, we have been doing something that is rare among publishers. We have been developing books using both a wiki and XML-based structured writing. On the surface, these two technologies represent opposite ends of the Read more
The great thing about style guides is that you have so many to choose from. —Andrew Tanenbaum (paraphrased from his comments on standards). Until I became a publisher, I was skeptical about style guides. When I managed writers, my view Read more
Over the last year, my company has had the good fortune to publish books on two popular trends: DITA and content strategy. I originally thought that developing publications related to new, interesting concepts would be easier than developing publications in Read more
Last week I completed the initial edit of a book we’ll be publishing later this year. It took me longer than I expected, not because the writing was poor—on the contrary it was quite good—but because I spent a great Read more
I just came back from a short vacation that included a road trip with my son, Charlie. We drove from Washington, DC, to Boston for a graduation, then back a few days later. We split our listening between podcasts (Fresh Read more
Over 70 years ago, my grandfather wrote a book about the U.S. constitution. Not being a professional historian, he couldn’t find a publisher for his book, so he self-published. He had no real trouble formatting the book or getting a Read more
As recently as 10 years ago, a few large companies ruled the publishing business. Today, publishing has become democratized. Nearly anyone can publish and distribute a book worldwide without spending a fortune. The major publishers still hold considerable sway over Read more
We’re pleased to introduce another guest blogger today, Richard Hamilton. Richard will be blogging regular on “the intersection of publishing and technical communication” under the main title of Publishing Perspectives. Welcome to the inaugural post of Publishing Perspectives, a series Read more