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I love the smell of ink in the morning. After graduating from SUNY Brockport with a B.S. in Computer Science, I took a job with Burroughs as a Systems Analyst. When I discovered that my favorite task was writing the specs and the user manual, the parts of the job that other engineers hated, I began to suspect I was in the wrong end of the business. I took a job with The Idea Factory (a now defunct advertising agency) as a technical writer and I gleefully wrote computer software manuals and sales support literature. Now I knew how the princess felt when the pea was removed from under the many mattresses. Writing factual materials was a perfect fit for me. I loved the whole process: the research, the organizing of information, the writing itself, determining when and where to use illustrations, even the proofreading is fun. I started The Write Angle in 1987. I have delighted in creating a wide variety of publications for a divergent group of clients. When I'm not writing for The Write Angle, I'm writing for myself. I have been a columnist twice and am currently searching for a new place to write a column. Meanwhile, I'm at work on a collection of personal essays and the occasional really bad poem.
Never do business with family -- These practical words of advice have been passed down through generations of my family. Norma, thankfully, has never fully subscribed to the theory. "I would have given up this business after the first year," I tell her, "if she hadn't stepped in to help me with the books." She scoffs at this but it's true and I think she knows it's true. She sometimes wonders how she possibly could have had a daughter who is so bookkeeping-impaired but I just figure that all of those genes went to my sister Stefani (who, we hope, will take over Mom's role when she is too feeble although that state is something that is hard for us to imagine). Without Norma, there is no Write Angle. I don't know how she does it but she keeps track of billings and POs and timesheets and payroll and does it with such style that you'd think this is her full-time job. But it's not. Norma works for Pittsford Parks and Recreation by day and sews costumes for Pittsford Musicals by night. She is a busy woman and she likes it like that. After 15 years of working together like this, I'm glad that Mom didn't heed the familial advice. For that matter, I'm glad I didn't either. |
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