Business Web Sites for the Self-Employed  

Drawing on information provided by several self-employed technical communicators, Frick offers advice on how to design and develop a business Web site.

Frick, Elizabeth A. 'Betsy'. Intercom (2002). Design>Web Design

Contracts 101  

Frick responds to several common questions of novice independent contractors.

Frick, Elizabeth A. 'Betsy'. Intercom (2001). Careers>Freelance

Is the Independent Life for You?  

Frick lists thirteen questions for people who want to know if they have the personality to succeed at self-employment.

Frick, Elizabeth A. 'Betsy'. Intercom (2001). Careers>Freelance

LOA 101: Intro to Letters of Agreement  

Answers some common questions about Letters of Agreement, documents used by independent contractors to define the specifics of particular projects.

Frick, Elizabeth A. 'Betsy'. Intercom (2002). Careers>Freelance>Contracts

Managing Your Customers' Expectations  

How many customers do you know who deliberately set out to make your life difficult? Not many, I’m sure. They probably don’t anticipate that adding three new chapters to a manual means that the project deadline needs to change or another writer needs to be hired. They may not realize that another round of reviews requires more (billable) hours of work. In most cases, good two-way communication prevents problems in the first place and provides solutions for the unforeseen issues that arise.

Frick, Elizabeth A. 'Betsy'. Intercom (2003). Careers>Business Communication>Project Management

Managing Your Productivity  

Offers tips for independent contractors on staying efficient and productive.

Frick, Elizabeth A. 'Betsy'. Intercom (2000). Careers>Freelance>Consulting

That's a Good Question!  

All of us have suffered the consequences of expensive, unasked questions both in our professional lives and our personal lives. As technical communicators, we need to ask good questions to elicit information, but many of us lack adequate training in this skill. Add to that the natural reticence of some technical communicators, and it's no wonder that we walk away from SME interviews or department meetings wishing we'd remembered to ask X, Y, or Z. This paper offers information as to why questions are so important, who needs to improve discovery skills, what process you should use to develop your questions, what types of questions are useful, how to strategize your questions, how to ask good questions, how to handle people answering the questions you ask them, and how to answer questions that are asked of you.

Frick, Elizabeth A. 'Betsy'. STC Proceedings (2004). Articles>Interviewing>Knowledge Management>SMEs

That's a Good Question!

As technical communicators, we need to ask good questions to elicit information, but many of us lack adequate training in this skill.

Frick, Elizabeth A. 'Betsy'. Usability Interface (2005). Articles>Usability>Interviewing

Trends in Technical Communication: An Independent's View  

Responding to articles from a previous issue of Intercom, Frick reacts to professional trends that affect her independent consulting business.

Frick, Elizabeth A. 'Betsy'. Intercom (2000). Careers>Freelance>Consulting

Style Manuals: The Politics of Selection    

Bette Frick and Betsy Frick discuss how a style manual can save time and money, how to select the proper style manual and get buy-in, and how to create a style guide to use in conjunction with a style manual.

Frick, Elizabeth G.'Bette' and Elizabeth A. 'Betsy' Frick. Intercom (2009). Articles>Writing>Style Guides>Standards