Happy Trails

by Judith Ellison Shenouda

A common characteristic of technical writers is a tendency to analyze. We mull over ideas, look for relationships, categorize, and organize. We pay attention to how the parts shape the whole. This ability has its pluses. It enables us to identify the chunks – those manageable, concrete plans – that move us toward achieving our goals. I’m sure you get the picture! With a new year beginning, I took advantage of this analytical characteristic to assess my technical and business communications business. If you have not already put your plans for the year in some sort of logical order, here are some tips from the process I followed.

Tip 1: Create some kind of a mind map.  Since I like tables, I opened a new Word document and created a multi-column table. In my home office, surrounded with works in progress, folders filled with ideas collected over time, and the past year’s spreadsheets of activities, I started reviewing this material and capturing what was significant in the table. Columns had these headings: Define offerings, Use resources to define offerings, Develop promotional material, Contact clients and prospects, Choose delivery media, Work with enablers, Document processes, and Document lessons learned.

Tip 2: Move all extraneous notes into your map. As I looked at each folder, file, and note, my goal was to get everything into this one mapping table. The Define offerings column became populated with items, such as “seminars; products, collections, columns; templates, resumes, cover letters; staffing, consulting, coaching; small business development.” The Document lessons learned column began to include lessons that came to mind from the past year’s efforts, such as “Emailing strangers for a response doesn’t work unless something useful is offered in return.” Each column in my mapping table started to include information that was important and meaningful to me.

Tip 3: Expand your map, as needed. If an idea didn’t fit into an existing column, I added a column. When the table became too constraining, I added section headings before or after the table. As my map took shape, I had a section for Goals, with items such as “Become known as an expert by offering seminars in best practices and standards that apply industry-wide.” The Actions section helped me to think beyond the planning phase so that I had concrete steps to take. In the Offerings section, I identified works in progress – workbooks and seminars – that I would move from draft form to finished products in the new year.

Tip 4: Limit the amount of time you invest in mapping. For analytical folks, it’s easy to make the map and never take the journey. To avoid getting mired in analyzing, mapping, and thinking, limit this activity. I did this in two ways. First, I gave myself a time limit. Next, I determined the folders, files, notes, and so forth that I would use for the mapping activity. Further digging into resources would occur as part of actualizing a plan.  

Tip 5: Start your journey. As my map took shape, I identified a number of trails to pursue. I reviewed the business goals noted on the mapping document, did some prioritizing, and started the journey! I’m happy to report that I’ve made progress in two areas. First, for moving working drafts of workbooks closer to finished, published products, I identified potential publishers, sent out several queries, and have received a nibble on one publisher who is interested in receiving my working draft. Second, in the area of delivering seminars, I’ve developed a list of potential sponsors whom I intend to contact with seminar topics.

Whatever your plans for the new year, there’s no time like the present to map out and embark on your journey. If you have tips you’d like to share, please send them this way. I’ll be glad to share in a future column. Happy trails.

Editor of Technical Communications

Judith Ellison Shenouda is principal of Shenouda Associates Inc. She earned a Master of Arts degree in Literacy Journalism from S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York, USA. She completed additional courses in curriculum design and development, group dynamics, information studies, publication management, and project management; and has New York State Certification to teach Secondary English. Prior to starting Shenouda Associates Inc. in 1986, she taught English and Language Arts courses, provided academic support and career services, and worked as a freelance writer. She is a senior member of the Society for Technical Communication, a member of the Project Management Institute, a member of Toastmasters International, and a frequent presenter at local, national, and international conferences. She would be pleased to speak to your organization on topics related to starting a business and keeping it going; creating effective technical, business, and marketing communications; and managing the projects in your professional and personal life.