Written technical communication is forever
Writing is communication that lasts.
If you don’t believe me, Google for the phrase “antiquarian books” or “rare manuscripts.” You’ll see books, codices, manuscripts, scrolls, and tablets going back millennia.
Technical documents hang around forever
In the modern technical workplace, white papers are stored for future reference. Progress reports are passed up the chain and stored as a permanent record of accomplishment. Journal articles are entered into vast bibliographical databases to support other research. And e-mails are stored indefinitely on hard drives all over the world.
No matter what you are writing, write well the first time, every time.
Keep a tight reign on your drafts
Obviously you’ll have drafts of work in progress that won’t be your best work, and you may even share this work in draft form with co-authors for early input. These interim versions won’t be written as well as something you’d share with your boss, and that’s OK. In fact, I know many people who sit down and, once the ideas start coming, let them flow unedited, uncensored, and uncorrected when they are creating a first draft of something.
This is a great approach to getting started. But keep a handle on these interim drafts. Don’t leave them laying around in common areas, and keep email distribution as small as possible while they are in progress with your co-authors.
First opinions are hard to overcome
People form opinions quickly and first opinions are hard to overcome. You want to give your writing the best chance possible of being well-received the first time its read.
Once something is on paper, or in email, it has a way of growing legs and getting places you never intended. And, since written documents are essentially permanent, these wandering drafts have a way of lying in wait and springing up at the most inopportune times in your career.
Make sure your review drafts are tight
Once you are finished with your roughest draft, you are probably going to send it out for a content review or feedback of some kind.
The first time something leaves the hands of the authors (whether it’s just you or a group of co-authors) spend the effort to make it as clean, tight, and clear as possible.
If you are looking for input you should be asking for input on the content, not the form. If you think you don’t have time to correct your own spelling, imagine how your coworkers feel! Make sure that your grammar, structure, spelling, and format are all correct when you ask for input on a draft.
2.5 reasons to clean up review drafts
A clean draft accomplishes three things. First it sends a message to your reviewers, each of whom is at least as educated and busy as you, that you respected their time enough to make sure they don’t have to deal with the drudgery of correcting your spelling and grammar.
Second, it lets readers focus where you want them to focus—on the content.
Lastly, people do form opinions of your technical ability based on the total package. At least somewhere in the back of their minds they are subtracting gold stars from your reputation for every spelling and grammar error even as they are adding gold stars for the brilliance of your technical wizardry. A clean draft helps to make sure that if your readers think you are a dolt it will be because of your ideas and not your spelling.
Do whatever you have to do to get a first draft. Then edit, edit, edit.
