Article: “Ware” are you?

Content Management Strategies

The Content Wrangler has just published my latest article, “Ware” are you? Web Content Delivery Strategies. The article proposes a categorization for the various ways content gets delivered on the web. My objective is to stimulate discussion about the ways we deliver content and to get feedback on the specific set of categories proposed.

This article is a distillation of a larger discussion in the book about using the Internet to deliver content effectively.

The Title

I have just updated the blog to reflect the new, and nearly but not quite set in stone, title of the book, Managing Writers: A Real World Guide to Managing Technical Documentation People, Projects, and Technology. I’m still not 100% sure whether I want to use the word Documentation or Communication; your thoughts are welcome.

The other news is that the end is in sight; there are still a few sections left to go, plus some serious editing, but the basics are in place, and I’m pleased with the result (if not the speed with which I’ve gotten there:).

XML Press to Publish Managing Writers

A new imprint, XML Press, will be publishing Managing Writers. XML Press is devoted to publishing content that helps people use XML technology for technical communication. In addition to Managing Writers, XML Press is currently in the process of acquiring several other books, which will be announced soon.

Over the last few years, the big technical book publishers have pared back their offerings to books they believe will have a large audience. That has left a niche for a publisher that can produce books and electronic content with a smaller, but still vital, audience. XML Press is pursuing that audience with a streamlined, low-overhead approach to publishing.

While I’d be glad to sit down with Oprah or Stephen Colbert to discuss Managing Writers, I am realistic about the size of its audience, and am glad that it will be published by this imprint.

I’m still targeting the end of the year for publication, with a tentative date of November 15th. That’s ambitious, but just barely possible. I’ll post updates here as I get closer.