About me – Marc Achtelig, technical writer

As a technical writer I create user manuals, online help systems, and user interface texts for my clients, and I advise my clients on all aspects of user assistance and technical communication.

I also frequently share my expertise with colleagues via my books, articles and conference presentations (see Publications and Presentations).

I am based in Germany and write in both English and German (German native speaker).

Some people talk a lot but say little. I strive to be different.

What does “indoition” mean?

The name “indoition” of my consultancy reflects my ambition to make the use of my clients’ products as simple and intuitive as possible: “to do” + “intuition” = “indoition.”

I endeavor to keep the user manuals, help pages, and other materials that I create as concise as possible. But what’s even better than good documentation is a product that doesn’t need much documentation at all. When working with my clients’ products, I temporarily take the role of the user. This often helps me to come up with new ideas on how to improve usability.

Too small?

Do you doubt that a single person can handle your project? When working on extensive projects or on projects that require some very special expertise, I can team up with external partners. If your project doesn’t match my qualifications, I won’t hesitate in telling you so. I’ve been in the technical communication and documentation business for many years and will be happy to recommend competent specialists when necessary.

By the way: Even when you work with one of the “big” documentation service providers or temporary employment agencies, you’ll usually have only one or two specialists actually working on your project.

Principles

• I endeavor to find the solutions that are the best solutions for my clients, not the solutions that maximize my own profit.
• I don’t make unrealistic promises to be more attractive than my competitors. I won’t confuse “advice” with “sales.”

Why charge exactly me with your project?

Why should you charge me with your documentation project and no other technical documentation service provider?

Well, this sort of self-praise is somewhat embarrassing. So let’s keep it short:

• I have lots of experience in both small and in large documentation projects (+30 years).
• I don’t claim to be an expert in all fields but from the beginning have specialized in software documentation and software user assistance (+30 years).
• I don’t like making any false promises and thus will tell you frankly if I am not fully qualified for the job or if I don’t have enough time.
• I work on each of my projects with full commitment.
• The results of my work don’t tend to be unsatisfactory. (Note: Well, this was a double negation, which is something that you should avoid in clear texts. But it seems easier to me than some even more arrogant form of self-praise. What I mean is that you will like the results – and the users of your products will like the results, too.) See also Clients and references – indoition information development.