Hang on to your hats.

With regret, the STC-Montreal administrative council will present a resolution to dissolve the chapter at a general meeting. We will ask the attending membership to vote on the resolution.

The meeting will be held at Au Bistro Gourmet on January 31, 2012 for discussion and voting.

Though I’ve discussed it with many of you at meetings, those of you not attending our regular events are doubtless gobsmacked by this announcement. Sorry. I’ve resisted putting this in writing until the bitter end. Denial, I guess, and desperation that some other option would present itself.

We recommend that the chapter be closed because there are simply no STC members available to take leadership roles. Basically, we’re a web site. A good-looking web site, mind.

Therefore, at a pre-Christmas meeting of former chapter presidents, we decided to begin shuttering the chapter rather than have it drift into legal limbo when the mandates of the current elected administrative council run out in February. So please come on the final Tuesday in January to have your say in the matter. Flaming torches and pitchforks are optional.

When and Where

Date: Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Time: 6:30 pm
Location: Au Bistro Gourmet, 2100 St-Mathieu (corner Maisonneuve)
Google Maps

http://www.aubistrogourmet.com/

Please RSVP with us (rsvp [at] stc-montreal [dot] org) as the restaurant will need to know how many are attending.

Both STC members and non-members are welcome to this dinner meeting. There is no charge other than what you order for your own food and beverages.

A Structural Problem

Our core activity is accelerating technical writing careers. We have to boost peoples’ careers, particularly freshly-minted undergraduates and writers making mid-career changes.

STC is no longer the single point of access to information for technical author training and has not been since Google opened its doors. We’re middlemen competing against free. If the internet is anything, it’s a pesticide for middlemen.

I guess it’s just taken this long.

Finally, the outrageous membership fees levied by STC HQ — that your chapter never sees a penny of, by the way — didn’t help us grow the membership pool from which we groomed our volunteers.

The Future

It’s a shame to lose the valuable job bank, the mailing list and the roster of speakers but the issues are structural. STC HQ has not been able to figure out a business model, and neither have we.

Every technology, with the exception of fire and the wheel, has had a lifespan. The same goes with professional societies and guilds like the Association of Horse and Buggy Whip Manufacturers.

If there is a need, a new group will form or existing organizations will evolve to answer those needs. When you pour water into a glass, it takes the tumbler’s shape. The same H₂0 in a teapot takes the teapot’s shape.

That’s what you and I will do as we jump into an exciting future.

Let’s go exploring!

See you all on January 31, 2012. Don’t forget to RSVP.

— Andy Gural, STC-Montreal President

Join STC-Montreal and the American Medical Writers Association for a dinner event at the Star of India on November 29, 2011, and get your fill of fiscal advice.

• Are you a freelancer?
• Do you want to become a freelancer?
• Does your spouse freelance?

If you answered Yes to any of these questions, you’ll benefit from this talk.

Moneyman Robert MacIsaac will answer your financial questions. Rob has been providing financial advice for twelve years to individuals who want to provide for their futures and minimize their tax burdens.

(And, believe it or not, he was once a technical writer but was sidelined with a gerundial injury. This forced him to eke out living in finance.)

What will I learn?

“People will be at different stages of career, and their plans may be evolving, particularly in light of the recession. I’d imagine the evening will be pretty unstructured as I’ll be answering questions from people with different needs,” Rob said.

“That being said, there are three things I really want to look at for households with one freelancer as an income earner.”

1. Whether to incorporate
2. What expenses to deduct, and how
3. How to deal with earnings from local and international clients

This second point will be key to managing a transition from a full-time employee to a freelancer. There is always something to learn about what to deduct and how.

When and Where

Date: Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Time: 6:30 PM

Location: Star of India Restaurant, 1806 Sainte-Catherine Street West, Montreal (Google Maps)

Doors open at 6:30. Please RSVP with us (rsvp [at] stc-montreal [dot] org) as the restaurant will need to know how many are attending. Maximum 25 attendees.

Both STC members and non-members are welcome to this dinner meeting. There is no charge other than what you order for your own food and beverages.

Is it a chart on steroids? If so, how do you inject that juice into your technical or scientific writing?

Join us on October 25, 2011 as Andy Gural walks you through basic rules for recognizing where and how infographics can be used, even if you’re not an artist.

Download the podcast and presentation slides.

There’s a principle of visual communication: if you say the word “bunny,” then you need to show a bunny. The combination of visual and textual information can aid learning and retention.

If you write technical content, and have been wondering whether a picture is worth 1,000 words, then this evening is the night for you.

“Most writers don’t have artistic training, or have much exposure to drawing tools,” Andy explains. “The object of the talk is to give you a basic vocabulary so you can articulate why and when you can use an info graphic. “If you don’t know what to ask for, you can’t ask for it,” he concludes. Andy Gural is the current president of STC-Montreal.

When and Where

Date: Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Time: 6:30 PM
Location: Star of India Restaurant, 1806 Sainte-Catherine Street West, Montreal (Google Maps)

Doors open at 6:30. Please RSVP with us (rsvp [at] stc-montreal [dot] org) as the restaurant will need to know how many are attending. Maximum 25 attendees.

Both STC members and non-members are welcome to this dinner meeting. There is no charge other than what you order for your own food and beverages.

Do you want to meet technical writers? Do you want to be a technical writer? Do you want to listen to great music? Do you want to socialize with hepcats?

Then come to the Annual STC Montreal Wine and Cheese at Hotel de la Montagne on Tuesday, September 27th. You don’t have to be a member of STC to join in the fun — all are welcome.

“We’re going to have a great season of educational events, and the wine and cheese is how we’ll kick it off,” says chapter president Andy Gural. “There’s no need to RSVP – just show up and have a great time!”

When and Where

When: Tuesday, September 27th, 2011 / 6:30 pm – 11 pm

Where: Hotel de la Montagne, 1430 rue de la Montagne, Montréal (Google Maps)

Cost: No cover: only what you order.

Come and enjoy a brunch with other people who write for a living, and solve the problems of the world over coffee and breakfast.

Why? Why not? It’ll be January in six months so let’s enjoy the weather.

No RSVP required.

When and Where

Where: Burgers and Benedicts, Atwater and St-Catherine Street
Atwater Metro, street parking
When: July 30, 2011 / 11:00 am

Both STC members and non-members are welcome. There is no charge other than what you order for your own food and beverages.

Why spend an evening with us? Because tech writers are cool people, and being seen with them gives an automatic boost to your own coolness factor.

So join us at Restaurant Peroni on Tuesday, June 28 and have a blast.

“If you want to be a technical writer, meet technical writers, editors, business writers and other wordsmiths, network, chat, or just sit back and solve the world’s problems, come by,” says the chapter’s newly-elected president, Andy Gural. “There’s no fee so just show up and buy yourself a drink!”

When and Where

Date: Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Time: Any time after 6 pm
Location: Restaurant Peroni — 1155 Metcalf, Montreal
(The Sun Life Building — Google Maps)

Metro/Parking: Peel Metro. Free parking via Mansfield, validated by the restaurant

http://www.restaurantperoni.com/

Please RSVP with us (rsvp [at] stc-montreal [dot] org) as the restaurant will need to know how many are attending. Maximum 30 attendees.

Both STC members and non-members are welcome. There is no charge other than what you order for your own food and beverages.

In fact, a lot of painstakingly written web copy never gets read.

Kirsten Weisenburger is going to share techniques for capturing the fickle attention of a multi-tasking web user: How to get your visitors to read your words and buy your product.

Download the slide presentation and podcast of the event.

What You’ll Learn

Learn how to:

• Understand your customers (and your product) before you write
• Edit copy so it speaks to a web audience
• Tell stories that build word of mouth
• Sculpt copy and navigation to drive conversions

Kirsten Weisenburger: Copywriter and Content Strategist

Trained as a journalist, Kirsten has been writing for technology and the web since 2000.

A versatile writer, she regularly creates a range of different content, but her specialty (and her true love) is the web. Recently, Kirsten spent two years writing copy and managing search campaigns at Twist Image. She is currently the content strategist at Stresslimit, a boutique agency whose clients include Julien Smith and Chris Brogan.

When and Where

Note: For this event, we are trying out a new, larger location.

Date: Tuesday, May 31 2011
Time: 6:30 PM
Location: Restaurant Alpenhaus, 1279 Saint-Marc, Montréal

http://www.restaurantalpenhaus.com/

Doors open at 18:30. Ask for the private room. Please RSVP with us (rsvp [at] stc-montreal [dot] org) as the restaurant will need to know how many are attending. Maximum 30 attendees.

Both STC members and non-members are welcome to this dinner meeting. There is no charge other than what you order for your own food and beverages.

The world just changed again.

Once upon a time, tech writers produced printed books; then it was online help; then it was PDF, and then web help. And each time, we learned and adapted.

Last year, Amazon sold 8 million Kindles, and Apple sold 15 million iPads. Your customers are reading your docs on these devices today in HTML or PDF. But to take proper advantage of ebook readers, you need to deliver in ePub format.

See the presentation slides and listen to the podcast here.

Join us on April 26, 2011 as Jim Royal gives you a jump-start on learning all about ePub:

What You’ll Learn

This talk is for anyone who needs to get content onto mobile devices. If you’re writing about software, business plans or pharma detailing, you’ll learn:

• What is ePub?
• Evaluating methods for creating ePub files
• Best practices for formatting documents
• Distributing ePub to your customers

When and Where

Date: Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Time: 6:30 PM
Location: Au Bistro Gourmet, 2100 St-Mathieu (corner Maisonneuve)

http://www.aubistrogourmet.com/

Doors open at 18:30. Ask for the private room. Please RSVP with us (rsvp [at] stc-montreal [dot] org) as the restaurant will need to know how many are attending. Maximum 25 attendees.

Both STC members and non-members are welcome to this dinner meeting. There is no charge other than what you order for your own food and beverages.

All of these complicated things (and many more) need supporting documentation — not just to explain how they work, but also how to inspect, disassemble, repair, clean, reassemble, troubleshoot, transport and store them. This documentation must be written, updated regularly, copy edited for basic grammar and style, as well as edited for accuracy, consistency throughout, and completeness. This is the specialty of the technical editor.

Join Poppy Quintal for a fascinating dinner talk on Tuesday, March 29 about technical editing. Get a glimpse into some of the editing challenges inherent in making complex technical documentation as error-free as possible.

When and Where

Date: Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Time: 6:30 PM
Location: Au Bistro Gourmet, 2100 St-Mathieu (corner Maisonneuve) (Google Maps)

http://www.aubistrogourmet.com/

Both STC members and non-members are welcome to this dinner meeting. There is no charge other than what you order for your own food and beverages.

Doors open at 18:30. Ask for the private room. Please RSVP with us (rsvp [at] stc-montreal [dot] org) as the restaurant will need to know how many are attending.

Update: Read our full report on the event, along with pictures and presentation slides.

Both STC members and non-members are welcome to this dinner meeting. There is no charge other than what you order for your own food and beverages.

Doors open at 18:30. Ask for the private room. Please RSVP with us (rsvp [at] stc-montreal [dot] org) as the restaurant will need to know how many are attending..

When and Where

Date: Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Time: 6:30 PM
Location: Au Bistro Gourmet, 2100 St-Mathieu (corner Maisonneuve), Montréal, Québec, H3H 2J4 (Google Maps)

http://www.aubistrogourmet.com/

Note: The registration link has been updated since it was first posted.

SmartDocs is a Microsoft Word plug-in that seamlessly provides features such as reusable snippets, reusable variables, conditional text, and document assembly.

Bryan Lynn, founder of ThirtySix Software, will deliver a live webinar where he will demonstrate how to use SmartDocs to:

• Create documents more quickly
• Improve the quality of the documents you create
• Keep your documents consistent and up-to-date

During the demo, Bryan will respond to participants’ questions, tailor some examples to participant needs, and provide SmartDocs pricing.

(This webinar is a followup to the the wildly successful Content Reuse workshop on November 4th 2010. Bryan Lynn’s SmartDocs demo that day was cut short due to time constraints.)

Register today and join Bryan on December 7th 2010 at 2pm for this free webinar and see SmartDocs in action.

This year’s STC Christmas Banquet will be held at Restaurant Rasputin near the Du College Metro station, serving traditional Russian food. Enjoy a friendly, fun-filled evening with colleagues – and maybe win a door prize to boot!

Choose from the many fine offerings of traditional Russian cuisine:

http://www.restaurant-rasputin.com/menu/menu.html

Please RSVP (rsvp [at] stc-montreal [dot] org) to us by Monday, December 13, 2010.

When and Where

Date: Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Time: 6:30 PM
Location: Restaurant Rasputin. 617 Boulevard Décarie, Saint-Laurent (Google Maps)

Directions: Just a block and a half up Décarie from the Du College subway station.

Phone: (514) 748-4921

Web Site: restaurant-rasputin.com‎