Convince your manager to send you to Write the Docs¶

Remember to change the things in [brackets]!

FROM: [your name]

TO: [your employer or manager’s name]

SUBJECT: Professional Development: Documentation Community Conference

I’d like to attend Write the Docs Berlin. This three-day event explores the art and science of documentation, and covers a diverse range of topics related to documentation in the software industry.

Write the Docs conferences bring together everyone who writes the docs – Tech Writers, Developers, Developer Relations, Customer Support – making the events an ideal networking opportunity. Each conference successfully combines a number of different event formats to deliver engaging, practical, and timely content.

There is a single track of talks, a parallel unconference event, and a community writing day. The sessions from last year will give you a good idea of the kinds of topics covered, many of which are relevant to my work.

Costs:

• Conference ticket - $650

Benefits:

• Discovering solutions to problems I’m facing at work

• Exposure to the latest ideas, techniques, and tools for software docs

• Opportunity to learn from the best doc teams in the industry

• Building professional connections with other documentarians

Thanks in advance, [your name]

Corporate Resources¶

When discussing how to pitch the conference, a few generally helpful tips emerged:

• Highlight specific talks that relate to ongoing projects at work (after talk line up has been announced).

• If your company is looking to hire another documentarian, the networking is an excellent resource.

• Attending raises the visibility of your company in the community.

• Establishes your team’s reputation for caring about their docs.

• Share info about previous conferences. View the main page overview explaining Write the Docs, history, and schedule overview.