About the blog

About the Blog

This blog is the home of Managing Writers: A Real World Guide to Managing Technical Documentation, written by Richard L. Hamilton and published by XML Press.

There are only a few books available that address this topic, most of which approach the topic by applying software development methodology to documentation projects. Although the book discusses development methodologies, its main focus is on the human element, focusing on the places where documentation development ends up being different in the real world. I.e., how writers are really treated; how to be effective with insane deadlines, etc.

The blog was originally set up to share draft sections of the book as they were posted for review. The draft sections have been archived (look under the “outline” dropdown at the top of this page), but the blog will now move on to discussion of documentation topics of all kinds, though primarily focusing on management.

About the Author

Richard L. Hamilton is the founder of XML Press, a publishing imprint dedicated to anyone who uses XML, especially those who use it for technical communication. Before founding XML Press, he managed technical documentation teams for over ten years. His teams developed technical documentation for Unix and Linux systems, web-based applications, and many other software and hardware projects. He has also led development teams, including a team at Hewlett-Packard that developed a DocBook XML-based environment that delivers print, web, and online help content.

He has been a member of the DocBook Technical Committee since December, 2001, and is editor of the latest edition of DocBook 5: The Definitive Guide, which was published by O’Reilly in collaboration with XML Press.