Getting
Started in Technical Writing:
Advice For Beginners and Wannabes
by Rhonda
Bracey, Australia Chapter
Reprinted by permission
Rhonda Bracey was a high school teacher-librarian and vice principal for 18 years. She then spent six years working for software companies.
As a result of downsizing, Rhonda wasforced to reevaluate her career directions, so nearly three years ago she set up her own independent contracting company, focusing on technical writing, training, editing, and Website development.
Rhonda is Managing Director of CyberText Consulting Pty Ltd, www.cybertext.com.au
In the past
few months, I've been asked my advice by a number of people interested
in pursuing technical writing as a career. This article is a summary of
my replies.
What do
I need on my résumé?
There are several skills that I tell people are essential. First, you
must be able to write concisely and clearly. Second, you must be pedantic
about spelling, grammar, punctuation, and formatting. Third, you need
solid editing skill. Fourth, a love of reading is essential; reading a
wide range of materials makes for better writing.
Advertised
positions for tech writers too often emphasize the software tools you'd
be expected to use — an emphasis that's usually at the expense of
writing skills. It is far more important to be a good writer and negotiator;
if you have one or two software packages under your belt, then learning
the others is not a difficult or insurmountable task. Convincing employers
of this should be part of your arsenal of negotiation skills.
This isn't
to discount the value of computer skills, though. Technical writers need
to have excellent computer skills in general when they're entering the
field. It's a reasonable expectation. If you're struggling with the concept
of using a mouse, are you really the ideal person to be writing documentation
for network servers?
To find out
what software packages potential employers will be looking for, read job
postings for technical writer positions. Most employers look for excellent
(even expert-level) skills with desktop publishing programs (e.g., Quark
Xpress, PageMaker, and FrameMaker), word processing programs(e.g., Word
and WordPerfect), help authoring programs (e.g., RoboHelp, ForeHelp, and
HDK), graphics programs (e.g., Paint Shop Pro, PhotoShop, and Visio),
Web authoring with HTML or some Web design package (e.g., DreamWeaver
and FrontPage), and others (e.g., CSS, JavaScript, and XML). This is not
to say that you need to develop proficiencies in all of these at once,
but it won't hurt to start building some expertise in one package/skill
in each category.
What type
of background should a tech writer have?
Journalism is a solid background for tech writing. Typically, tech writers
seem to fall into this game from some other job (e.g., teaching, quality
assurance, or help desk), often because they're the only person in the
organization who enjoys writing procedures, policies, and so on. Bottom
line: your background is nowhere near as important as your skills.
Beyond the so-called hard skills I talked about above, there are a number of other skills that employers look for, including the ability to:
- learn quickly and continue learning
- negotiate to get reviews done and done on time
- organize projects, time, and information
- define the audience for which you are writing
- interpret technical information and translate it into plain, simple, jargon-free language
- interview
subject-matter experts to find out what you and your audience need to
know in order to use your company's product(s)
What industries
could I work in?
Any industry with a set of procedures, instructions, and so forth can
use a tech writer. The problem is, most of them don't know it and work
on the premise that "The receptionist took some composition classes
and she's not busy at the moment, so she can do it."
Convincing
businesses that it may be cheaper to get a tech writer to do the job properly
is still hard. While a lot of work is available in software documentation
and many Web sites feature online documentation, don't forget that the
tractor manual has to be written, as do the instructions for operating
the CD/radio/cassette players in cars or the instructions for the treatment
of snake bite.
Talk to people who work in different industries, starting with friends and family, then their colleagues. You will be surprised how your network of contacts will grow and how much you will learn. You also can look through the article archives of different organizations on the Internet to get a sense of the writing needs in different industries.
For example,
software writing tends to be fast and loose because of rapid development
cycles, whereas defense contract writing tends to be slow and meticulous
with rigid adherence to specific standards.
How do
I get work?
In a word: networking! You need to learn who knows someone who
may be looking for someone like you. Word of mouth is the best advertisement.
But it also can work against you if you burn bridges or bad mouth anybody.
Don't.
When you're
first starting out, you may need to use recruitment agencies in order
to get those first assignments that will help establish your reputation.
Poll more experienced technical writers, and you'll get a mixed bag of
opinions about this. Some people have told me that, if they relied on
recruiters to find them work and hadn't networked, they wouldn't have
worked at all for the past few years. Others have had extraordinarily
good luck with recruiters and use them consistently to find new permanent
or contract positions.
It can't
hurt to have your résumé posted with some recruiters; sometimes
they're the way to find work with the primo employers in your area. But
you should do so as a complement to, rather than instead of, your own
networking efforts.
Everybody has a network they can use when they're looking for work. For example, you can network with:
- family (who probably know people who know people)
- friends
- former coworkers
- former bosses
- professionals you meet in any field, from your dentist to your hair stylist, who may know someone
- church contacts
- former teachers, professors, and school advisors
- sport and hobby contacts
How can
I promote myself to my network?
Self-promotion can be uncomfortable for a lot of people at first. It requires
that you talk frequently and confidently about what you can and want to
do.
There are other things you can also do to get your name out and widen your circle of possibilities.
- Bulletproof
your résumé so it's free of misspellings, typos, punctuation
errors, formatting faux pas, and grammar gaffes.
- Create
a Web site with your résumé and work samples, particularly
if you're promoting HTML skills on your résumé and don't
have other examples of Web work.
- Print
business cards with a few bullet points on the back that list your skills
or areas of expertise. If you have one, include your Web site address.
Then be sure to always have some with you to hand out when opportunities
arise.
- Create
a portfolio of the best work that you've done.
- Keep a
good, up-to-date contact list, and email your contacts that you are
looking for work. Give them permission to forward your name to others
when they hear of an opportunity, and let them know the URL for your
online résumé.
- Use employment ads to build your contact list even if the ads you find are not for tech writers. Sometimes a big push to hire engineers or software developers now can mean a need for technical writers later.
Memo to all
aspiring tech writers: if you write or email someone to ask them for their
advice, thank them (promptly) for the time and effort they put into answering
your request.
How can
I get experience?
Sure, you can wait for your first job, but it's a vicious circle. How
do you get a job without experience, and how do you get experience without
a job?
Try volunteer
work. It looks good on your résumé. If you can help in your
areas of expertise (or where you want to get expertise) then all the better.
Does SD STC need help with their Web site? Could you work on the newsletter?
Manage the membership database?
Many small
community organizations are nonprofit or at least strapped with tight
budgets, and they can't hire someone with the skills they need for certain
projects. Because their existing staff is already overloaded, no one may
have the time (or interest) to develop the required skills. So they hope
that a volunteer will turn up.
What can
I expect to earn?
Tech writers usually earn more than journalists, novelists, poets, and
other creative writers. In fact, it is rumored that we are the highest
paid writers of all. For an idea of salary rates in the U.S. and Canada,
check:
- Monster (http://www.monster.com)
- WinWriters
annual salary survey (http://www.winwriters.com/salaryresults01.htm)
- Society
for Technical Communication (http://www.stc.org/salary.html)
How do
I learn more?
The Internet is full of articles, links, and sites dedicated to tech writing,
but you need to wade through a lot to get the essentials. Start with:
- "Getting
Started" on the Techwr-l site (http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/newbiegettingstarted.html)
- Suite101 (http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/technical_writing/)
These should
give you enough to get going. For an official description of the technical
writing job, see http://www.fullfont.com/techwriter_desc.htm.
Don't forget the online discussion lists, such as Techwr-l (http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/subscribercentral.html) and HATT (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HATT) and specific lists for the software tools you use.
