North London based technical writer David Farbey has joined this exciting venture. "Im really pleased to be listed in the Independent Quality Authors directory" said David, who has over 10 years experience in this field. "Its a great privilege to be part of this national project, which is sure to raise the profile of technical documentation in the UK."

"Its the customer whos driving the marketplace now" claims Tony Kershaw, one of the groups authors. "Companies are waking up to the extent to which poor documentation can lead to an unhappy user who doesnt understand the product and cannot get the best out of it. The same applies to service literature and manuals for help-desk staff – whether in hard copy or digital form. The cost of first class professional documentation is still a fraction of the cost of most other branding exercises, and it can also reduce the risk of litigation in extreme cases. The best literature usually comes from an outsider who can see the product or service from the customers point of view. Until now the problem has been finding professional writing skills as and when needed - this site provides an answer."

As members of the ISTC, every author in the Quality Independent Authors directory is an experienced professional in the technical communications field. The skills and experience covered include user or maintenance manuals, online help, web design, training and more. The sites comprehensive search engine allows the visitor to use either a simple keyword search, or to specify the required industry area, academic discipline, software skills , regional location and knowledge of foreign languages.

The web site also provides free advice for those looking for an author or planning a writing project – together with articles about such documentation issues as the use of graphics, single sourcing, online documentation and even book reviews.