News

2013

March 2013: Rhonda attended the ConveyUX and WritersUA annual conferences (Seattle, Washington)
February 2013: Rhonda presented a webinar on the benefits and downsides of telecommuting to attendees from TCANZ.

2012

November 2012: Rhonda presented two sessions at the ASTC (NSW) annual conference, one on remote working, the other on editing.
March 2012: Rhonda presented two sessions ('Editing' and 'User Interface Text') in the 'User Assistance 101' half day stream at the WritersUA Conference in Memphis, Tennessee
January 2012: Rhonda ranked #54 in the top 400 influencers in the technical communication/content strategy fields by MindTouch: http://www.mindtouch.com/blog/2012/01/06/techcomm-contentstrategy-400-knowledgebase/

2011

October 2011: Document Layout Tips published in the October 2011 issue of Southern Communicator, the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Technical Communication. (PDF copy of this article)
April 2011: Rhonda edited Char James-Tanny's new book Learning Author-it, and wrote the Foreword. The book is available from XMLPress and major online bookstores.
March 2011: Rhonda hosted the Microsoft Word 2010 'hands on' lab at the the annual WritersUA Conference in Long Beach, California.
February 2011: CyberText blog listed in Top 50 Blogs and Feeds for Technical Communicators for 2011: http://www.indoition.com/blogs-feeds-news-technical-communication.htm.
February 2011: Questions about Graphics from Word to Web published in the February 2011 issue of Southern Communicator, the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Technical Communication. (PDF copy of this article)

2010

July 2010: Rhonda ranked 9th most influential technical communicator blogging in the world: http://www.mindtouch.com/blog/2010/07/29/the-most-influential-technical-communicator-bloggers/
March 2010: Rhonda chaired the 'Predictions' panel, the closing session of the annual WritersUA Conference, Seattle, March 2010.
February 2010: We've moved! New postal address and phone/fax numbers on the Contact Us page.

2009

November 2009: Rhonda has been invited to chair the 'Predictions' panel, the closing session of the annual WritersUA Conference, to be held in Seattle, March 2010.
July/August 2009: Words ... Fabric ... It's All About Patterns article published in the STC journal, Intercom, July/August 2009 issue (PDF copy of this article)
July 2009: CyberText Consulting Pty Ltd celebrated 10 years in business!
July 2009: Revamped and launched the Bridgetown-Greenbushes Chamber of Commerce and Industry website.
April 2009: Added JavaScript snippets from Testimonials page to left navigation area. Many thanks to Dave Gash at HyperTrain.com for writing the code! Dave is available for hire if you need any JavaScript, DITA, XML, XSLT, etc. work done: dgash@hypertrain.com. He's good and he's quick.
April 2009: CyberText Consulting joined Twitter. Twitter ID: cybertext.
March 2009: Rhonda repeated her "Techniques for Reviewing a User Interface" session at the annual WritersUA Conference in Seattle, Washington (March/April 2009), and participated in a panel discussion on embedded user assistance and text in user interfaces.
February 2009: Rhonda's article on "Reviewing User Interfaces" was published 23 February 2009 by UX Matters (http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2009/02/reviewing-user-interfaces.php; PDF copy of this article)

2008

November 2008: Rhonda has been invited to reprise her "Techniques for Reviewing a User Interface" session at the annual WritersUA Conference in Seattle, Washington (March/April 2009), as well as participate in a panel discussion on embedded user assistance and text in user interfaces.
November 2008: CyberText Consulting became an affiliate of DocDownload, offering a 10% discount on all purchases including memberships. Contact us for your discount code.
November 2008: Rhonda presented a session on "Techniques for Reviewing a User Interface" at the annual ASTC (NSW) Conference in Sydney, New South Wales. Handouts and evaluations available.
October 2008: The slides for "Techniques for Reviewing a User Interface" made #2 on the 'Featured' list at Slideshare.net.
August 2008: Rhonda became a volunteer Moderator on the HATT discussion list. HATT (Help Authoring Tools and Techniques) is a global list of some 7000 online Help authors and technical communicators.
June 2008: Rhonda accepted an invitation to be on STC's inaugural Intercom Editorial Advisory Panel.
June 2008: Another good friend—Whitney Potsus—has taken over management of the Lone Writer SIG of STC. Congratulations Whitney! And many thanks to Shari Gray who managed this SIG so superbly for many years.
June 2008: All conference presentations now available on Slideshare; these slides can also be viewed 'live' on this website on the relevant conference presentation pages.
June 2008: Rhonda has been invited to speak at the annual ASTC (NSW) Conference in Sydney, late October 2008.
May 2008: Rhonda presented a session on "Techniques for Reviewing a User Interface" at the annual AODC Conference in Surfers Paradise, Queensland. Handouts and evaluations available.
April 2008: My good friend, colleague, and fellow Author-it Certified Consultant—Char James-Tanny—was elected Secretary of the STC for the next two years. Congratulations Char!
March 2008: Rhonda presented a session on "Techniques for Reviewing a User Interface" at the annual WritersUA Conference in Portland, Oregon. Handouts and evaluations available.

2007

December 2007: Rhonda will present a session on "Techniques for Reviewing a User Interface" at the annual AODC Conference on the Gold Coast, Queensland (May 2008).
November 2007: From January 2008, all newsletter articles will be posted on the CyberText Newsletter website.
November 2007: We start using Author-it's latest v5 software to produce this website.
October 2007: Rhonda will present a session on "Techniques for Reviewing a User Interface" at the annual WritersUA Conference in Portland, Oregon (March 2008).
June 2007: We can now offer substantial quantity discounts on StyleWriter software licenses (10+, 100+, 1000+). Contact us for details.
June 2007: We added an Amazon bookstore to the CyberText website, listing books about technical writing and related subjects that we own, use, and recommend.
February 20, 2007: CyberText Consulting moves house, life, and office to Bridgetown in Western Australia's southwest. Google map of location.

2006

November 1, 2006: Char James-Tanny launched HAT-Matrix.com, THE website for comparing Help Authoring Tools. HAT-Matrix.com replaces her enormously successful HAT matrix document, and allows for dynamic searching and reporting. A must for any technical author looking at a possible Help authoring tool replacement.
October 28, 2006: Rhonda presented a session on "Reviewing Screen-based Content" at the ASTC (NSW) annual conference in Sydney. Thank you letter and evaluations.
September 2006: Rhonda spoke to an undergraduate class at Curtin University's Business School on business entrepreneurship.
May 2006: Rhonda has been invited to speak at the ASTC (NSW) Conference in Sydney (late October 2006).
May 2006: Rhonda presented a session at the AODC (Australasian Online Documentation and Content Conference) in Cairns, Queensland on "Reviewing screen-based content". Handouts and evaluations now available...
April 2006: Rhonda presented a session on "Customizing HTML outputs from Author-it" at the annual WritersUA conference in Palm Springs. Handouts and evaluations now available...
April 2006: My good friend, colleague, and fellow Author-it Certified Consultant—Char James-Tanny—was elected Secretary of the STC for the next two years. Congratulations Char!
January 2006: Rhonda will present a session on "Reviewing screen-based content" at the annual AODC (Australasian Online Documentation and Content) Conference in Cairns, Queensland (May 2006).

2005

December 2005: Rhonda achieved an Excellence award and a Merit award for her entries in the 2005-2006 STC Australia Chapter competition. The entries were software demonstration 'movies' for BMS Solutions and Fractal Technologies. All entries were created with Macromedia's Captivate; examples of the Fractal entries can be found under Support on their website. This is the third year Rhonda has entered and won an Excellence award.
December 2005: Rhonda has been accepted to present a session on "Customizing HTML outputs using Author-it" at the annual WritersUA Conference in Palm Springs (April 2006).
September 2005: Rhonda presented a session to the Society of Editors (WA), Inc. titled "From paper to pixels: Dealing with digital content". Handouts; here's what others had to say about this presentation.
March 2005: Rhonda presented a session on Author-it at the annual WritersUA conference in Las Vegas. The presentation and handouts are available from the Author-it conference handouts page.
Jan 2005: Rhonda Bracey achieved an Excellence award for her online Help entry in the 2004-2005 STC Australia Chapter competition. The client was Ramesys Global. This is the second year Rhonda has entered and won an Excellence award—both entries were created with Author-it.

2004

Dec 2004: A tip about Word 2003 that was originally published in a CyberText newsletter was republished in the Dec 2004 issue of Southern Communicator, the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Technical Communication.
October 2004: Rhonda will be presenting a session on Author-it at the annual WritersUA conference in Las Vegas, March 2005. (WritersUA was previously WinWriters)
Sept 2004: Rhonda Bracey was made a Senior Member of the Society for Technical Communication.
Sept 2004: An article written by Rhonda Bracey was published in the STC journal, Intercom. Titled "Training Away From Your Comfort Zone", it is based on sessions Rhonda presented at the STC Annual Conferences in 2002 and 2003.
August 13, 2004: Rhonda delivered a full-day PowerPoint training course at the Pilbara Training Centre in Karratha.
July 31, 2004: Rhonda travelled to Sydney to attend the Executive Committee meeting of the Australia Chapter of STC.
July 9, 2004: Rhonda delivered a short course on PaintShop Pro to staff at the Western Australian Institute of Sport.
May 11, 2004: Rhonda Bracey and Char James-Tanny co-presented a demonstration titled "Author-it Tips and Tricks" at the STC 51st Annual Conference in Baltimore, USA. See Author-it: Conference Handouts for the handouts from this presentation.
May 2004: Rhonda worked with Char James-Tanny at her home near Boston for a few days before attending the STC 51st Annual Conference in Baltimore, USA.
April 2004: Rhonda attended the AODC Conference in Sydney.
February 2004: Char James-Tanny of Boston and Rhonda Bracey have collaborated on an introductory Author-it training guide that we can use with our clients. We pass information back and forth by e-mail and always use the latest copy.

2003

December 2003: Rhonda Bracey has earned an Excellence Award in the Online Communications section of the STC Competition (Australia Chapter). The entry was for Survey Author online Help, written for Dolphin Software in Darwin using Author-it.
November 2003: Rhonda Bracey and Char James-Tanny will be doing a 90 minute joint presentation/demonstration titled "Author-it Tips and Tricks" at the 51st Annual STC Conference in Baltimore, USA May 2004.
June 1, 2003: Author-it Announces Inaugural Certified Consultants: CyberText Consulting is pleased to announce that Rhonda Bracey is one of the first inaugural Author-it Certified Consultants, along with Char James-Tanny of JTF Associates. Read the full press release....

Our clients say:

Rhonda is a powerhouse on many levels; technically she is exceptional. The job we asked her to do was not for the faint hearted. ... She has a veteran tech editor’s eye for detail with a talent for spotting trouble (and working out a solution) well before it hits...

You have been an invaluable asset to our team and will be sorely missed. Your instant responses to my endless, and sometimes very random, requests have been priceless to me. You are a walking, talking encyclopedia of technical [writing] information...

You made my dry and boring manuscript sing! I just love it every time you do this and I never get tired of seeing your magic... I can just dump my thoughts and get it polished up by a real professional... It amazes me how you do this in such short time.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH for your enormous contribution to the production of the [Environmental Management Plans], etc. Your commitment, flexibility, excellent technical skills and cool head are very much appreciated.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to work with such a true professional. Your attention to detail, ability to jump in and solve numerous challenges and your provision of support at really tough times is exceptional.

A superwoman in the world of communication. Your knowledge and experience extended beyond that of just a technical writer which meant we were able call on your expertise in many areas of our business.

A big thanks for your work - you're a great team member, despite us not being able to see you each day.

Rhonda Bracey was perfect for the last session - her clearly vast experience in reviewing user interfaces combined with her humour and desire for us to know had us ending on a high note. Truck loads of information energetically delivered.

My colleague and I talk about you and Char so much as the gods of Author-it; we refer to your amazing wisdom on the user group every day.

You are indeed a very dynamic speaker, easy to listen to as well as delivering an enjoyable talk.

Wow, I can see why you're the writer and I'm not. I can't believe how fast you were able to turn my words around, how well you edited it to get to the essence of the message, and how you made my clumsy and bloated document into a slick Quick Reference Card.

Your materials on Training 101: Learn how to train are some of the most comprehensive and well organised that I've seen in the past twenty years of my training and education management career.

Rhonda, this is indeed excellent work. Yet another example of the incredibly high standard of work you produce. Well done and thanks.

I'm following your excellent instructions for customising HTML output for Author-it. Thanks to your instructions, I now have a fully operational HTML site, and my boss is very impressed!

I was very pleased with the thoroughness and quality of your editorial feedback. You've really helped to smooth out the multiple origins of the text and tame some of those sentences I just couldn't face again.

The format in which you have set out the pattern is much more readable and easy to follow than the way I have been setting out my instructions. You have done me a HUGE favour... I really appreciate all the work, time and effort you put into reformatting my pattern!

I can thoroughly recommend Rhonda's technical writing skills and services to any future client.

You have an ordered and logical approach to a task, and your feedback is well-researched, relevant, and valuable. Most valuable, I think, is your attention to usability issues. Your working style is friendly, efficient, and thorough, thorough, thorough!

I think you're one of the best in your field. It's been really great working with you.

I've worked with Rhonda for some 5 and a half years, and have always been impressed with her professionalism, work ethic, attention to detail, and her ability to 'get things done' on time and on budget.

I just wanted to let you know that I have been going through the (user) manuals for the latest version and have found them extremely helpful. So manuals do get used! It has really saved me asking 101 questions as I have been able to find the answers through them.

Thanks for a great session on customizing Author-it's HTML output — it was one of the most useful conference sessions I've ever attended.

...it has to be one of the best help files I have worked with. It is clear and concise, the prolific links mean I never have to search. The layout is neat and uncluttered—I am very impressed.

I absolutely love your work! You've done such a sensational job. To be honest, it [the user guide] nearly brought me to tears—that's how happy I was.

I adored your [Training] presentation. It was absolutely fantastic. You provided specific, practical tools and strategies that you've developed, used, and perfected from real life experiences; and the presentation and materials were extremely clear, easy to understand, and organized.

Thank you for your quick turnaround on the Manual and the quick start guide... Your work looks excellent and I am very happy with the outcome.

You certainly have the [editing] job with us for all of our major publications. I didn't know that anyone was as pedantic as me!

Best presentation of the conference. I looked forward to this and I wasn't disappointed — a tsunami of valuable information. Incredibly useful.

Your impact on our professionalism was unmistakable—you helped us move from an idea to a professional outfit. I really appreciate your efforts and the quality of your work. Your talent and discipline assures your success.

Your speed and excellent work standard was greatly appreciated.

Rhonda solved a tricky Word problem for us. She worked quickly, thoroughly investigated and explained all the options and kept us updated throughout the whole process. She's an absolute professional and a delight to work with.

Read all testimonials...