1. Or one might argue that the meaning within the book exists separate from the author or reader. While I do not dismiss this positivist perspective, my primary interest here is on the rhetorical interaction between author and reader via a text. Such interaction is arguably quite different from the interaction that could occur if the author and reader were to meet in person, and this is my point. The rhetoric of interpersonal communication is much better understood than the rhetoric of indirect communication via the printed word, at least in how-to texts.

2. According to BP Report, a book publishing industry newsletter, the total revenue of U.S. computer book publishers in 1994 was $648 million. IDG Books, publisher of Word for Dummies, ranked fifth among all U.S. computer book publishers with annual sales of $36 million. (Staff, 1994)

3. In fact the user interface of Mail Merge has remained essentially unchanged in recent updates of Word.

4. By index entries I am referring to the discrete terms indexed, not the number of pages referenced in the index. Many terms include multiple page references in the indices of both texts, but I count only the discreet terms.

5. It is common in commercial software applications for the software authors to reveal their identities in a so-called "Easter egg." This is a hidden dialog box that can only be accessed by executing a seemingly random sequence of steps. This sequence is never listed in the application or its documentation, but people learn of it through word of mouth or in computer trade journals. The Word software application contains such an Easter egg. The authors of Word User's Guide, however, are not listed specifically among the several dozen product contributors.