#19570
The Juggling Act: A Manager's Artform
Handling multiple priorities, coordinating the efforts of various teams, and ensuring that different projects remain under control are essential to survival in a climate of resource limitation and fast-paced change. I could talk about tips on staying organized, how to deal with uncooperative or under-producing staff, fixing problem situations, handling irate clients, re-working schedules while maintaining key deliverables in the middle of a project, ensuring a team functions as it should—but these are really textbook concepts. There are a hundred courses that teach the latest techniques for handling these situations. Anyone can learn to be a good manager to some degree; the key is wanting to be one and putting yourself in the right frame of mind.
Holland, Anton. Writer's Block (1996). Careers>Management>Writing
#31728
'Lone writers' — those people who work as their employer’s only staff writers — are a different breed, with their own unique set of professional and personal challenges. At the same time a blessing and a curse, the lone writer life offers flexibility, variety, and autonomy, along with feelings of stress, isolation, and burnout.
Potsus, Whitney Beth. Writing Assistance (2006). Careers>TC>Technical Writing
#22608
When you are a speaker, you communicate. When you are the audience, you communicate. As a member of the development team, the technical writer has to deal with hundreds of intelligent egos. There are the programmers who think only about solutions and technology (not about people and their emotions). A technical writer would definitely feel hurt, when developers talk down to him. Managers on the other hand are likely to have oodles of people skills and may not have technical skills. Therefore, they may talk nicely to you. Nevertheless, a technical writer may feel that managers do not appreciate his technical skills.
Kamath, Gurudutt R. IT People (2002). Careers>Writing>Technical Writing>Workplace
#30306
Make Yourself More Than Just an "Entry-Level" Tech Writer
To make the most of limited opportunities, you have to distinguish yourself from the crowd of other technical writers who'll be vying for the same positions you're after. In other words, you have to go into that job market armed with more than just a bachelor's degree and some classroom writing samples. Following are some suggestions that can help you acquire some professional technical writing experience, broaden your skills and knowledge of the technical writing field, and get you over the entry-level hump.
Monahan, Jim. Boston Broadside (1991). Careers>Writing>Technical Writing
#30076
Making a Big Business out of Technical Writing 
Leveraging on the success of my business, DocuStar, this paper describes some of the strategies I have used to grow my one-person freelance gig into a business employing over 65 employees on our own premises and servicing over 200 hi-tech companies per year. While the profit margin may not match that of the up-and-coming dotcoms, the needs of the market foretell a solid and ever-growing future within the technical documentation niche. With a strong commitment to hard work, an adventurous excitement for conquest and a paramount and obsessive commitment to quality and integrity, technical writing can certainly be grown into a big business venture.
Sher, Barbara J. STC Proceedings (2001). Careers>Management>Writing>Technical Writing
#19896
Making a Big Business Out of Technical Writing
Leveraging on the success of my business, DocuStar, this paper describes some of the strategies I have used to grow my one-person freelance gig into a business employing over 65 employees on our own premises and servicing over 200 hi-tech companies per year. While the profit margin may not match that of the up-and-coming dotcoms, the needs of the market foretell a solid and ever-growing future within the technical documentation niche. With a strong commitment to hard work, an adventurous excitement for conquest and a paramount and obsessive commitment to quality and integrity, technical writing can certainly be grown into a big business venture.
Sher, Barbara J. STC Proceedings (2001). Careers>Management>Writing>Technical Writing
#19559
Making the Grade: Managers' Tips for Performing Staff Evaluations
Evaluations should be used to take a look at the overall picture, to review where an employee has been in terms of professional development, and to get an idea of where he or she is headed. By doing that, you can provide your staff with valuable advice and guidance. They will be able to grow, both professionally and personally, and you will have a much more effective member of your team. Carrying out an evaluation properly is not easy. Here are a few tips on how to get the most out of the experience.
Holland, Anton. Writer's Block (1995). Careers>Management>Writing
#31716
Making the Transition From Techcom to Marcom
At first glance, technical communication (techcom) and technical marketing communication (marcom) appear to be very different genres. Where traditional techcom strives to help people use products, marcom seeks to make people realize they need products.
Simard, Christy. Writing Assistance (2007). Careers>TC>Technical Writing>Marketing
#31717
Making the Transition from Technical Writer to Manager
This article is a collage of ideas and experiences from some people who've made the leap from writer to manager. Although it's not a step-by-step guideline, it provides some compelling insight as to what individuals might expect as they transition into the management ranks. Even if you are an experienced manager, you might find these ideas helpful.
Capri, Steve. Writing Assistance (2007). Careers>Management>TC>Technical Writing
#20094
Managing Career Enrichment for Technical Writers
This paper explores how technical publications managers can create a department that provides career enriching opportunities and direction for technical communicators. The paper describes in detail four major ways: by providing training opportunities, by providing diverse assignments, by allowing participation in management issues, and by providing customer contact. The paper describes the benefits of each enriching opportunity to the technical communicator and to the manager.
Krasner, Arlene J. STC Proceedings (1997). Careers>Management>Writing>Technical Writing
#28371
Managing Conflicts within a Team of Writers
As much as you may try to avoid it, conflict among your employees is bound to rear its ugly head from time to time. While you may not be able to resolve all conflicts, with the right approach, you can manage many of them.
Prabhakar, Rahul. Intercom (2006). Careers>Management>Writing>Technical Writing
#27977
Managing Conflicts within a Team of Writers
It is quite challenging for a manager to integrate a diverse group of intelligent and creative professionals into a single, cohesive unit. As much as you may try to avoid it, conflict among your employees is bound to rear its ugly head from time to time.
Prabhakar, Rahul. Blogspot (2006). Careers>Management>Writing>Technical Writing
#30520
Managing Technical Writers by Wandering Around
Technology has reduced the need for managers to act as communication conduits. Instead they must add more quality to the work of their employees by wandering among them. Effective wandering means forgetting the telephone, using bull sessions, becoming a fifteen-minute manager, giving employees a vision, and looking at their work.
Dicks, R. Stanley. STC Proceedings (1993). Careers>Management>Writing>Technical Writing
#24760
Current trends in Corporate America are changing the traditional role of technical communicators and creating new challenges and opportunities. Re-engineering the corporation, Total Quality Management, ISO 9000 compliance, and the continuing onslaught of the Information Age are all bringing formally 'invisible' technical communications functions into the limelight. It's not just writing and editing any more! As communication professionals and managers we need to upgrade skills and re-focus our efforts to become 'information managers.'
Anton, Kathy and Teresa J. Tarwater. STC Proceedings (1994). Careers>Management>Documentation>Technical Writing
#23069
The Marketing of Technical Authors
In May 2004, I did a presentation to the London group of the Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators on the future for technical authors. This article expands one of the topics discussed - how to promote and market technical authors.
Pratt, Ellis. Cherryleaf (2004). Careers>Writing>Marketing>Technical Writing
#26027
Marketing the Wily Technical Writer
If the world really is run by C students, then you have to ask yourself a question: How do I market myself in an ocean of average? Today's competitive job market can be a hard nut to crack. How do you stand out in that crowd?
Knowles, Michael. Writing World (2001). Careers>Writing>Technical Writing
#28189
Medical Writers Give Career Changers Plans of Action
Those who are interested in breaking into medical writing received the inside scoop from L. Megan Day and Dr. Susan Dakin, the panelists at the chapter meeting on January 9 at Dreyfus Auditorium at Research Triangle Institute. Day has a bachelor's degree in chemistry, a master's degree in anatomy and has written for pharmaceutical companies for 10 years. Dakin has a bachelor's degree in biology and psychology and a Ph.D. in zoology. Self-employed since 1984, her specialties are scientific writing and proposal writing.
Harvey, Rachel A. Carolina Communique (2003). Careers>Writing>Scientific Communication>Biomedical
#30593
The Mentoring Concept is a plan for training new writers quickly in a complex environment. A mentoring team uses checklists to plan for the training of new writers. The role of each member of the mentoring team is clearly defined. The key to the success of the mentoring relationship is the effective communication of responsibilities, requirements, and progress.
Lindsey, Jean. STC Proceedings (1993). Careers>Mentoring>Writing
#23040
Mission Statements: Why You Might Want One
I recently started a new job. The group I manage is new and all the people on my team have recently been transferred into this group. Additionally, each person has spent a lot of time in the recent past working on individual, solitary projects, and has not regularly been part of a collaborative team.
Malone, Erin. Boxes and Arrows (2004). Careers>Project Management>Writing
#19649
A Mixed Bag of Job Prospects for Tech Writers
One of the areas the 2001 ITAA survey looks at is supply and demand. Of the estimated 258,332 jobs that IT hiring managers predict they will add this year, only 1,799, or less than 1%, are for tech writers. This is down a whopping 91% from the year 2000 where the 20,773 available tech writer jobs accounted for almost 5% of the total. The news may not be as bad as it sounds. On the supply side, there is an expected shortfall of 1,008 qualified candidates in filling the open tech writer jobs.
Welinske, Joe. WritersUA (2001). Careers>Writing>Technical Writing
#30004
Momma, Don't Let Your Babies be Tech Writers
If you have the stomach for it, technical writing can be the path to a full-time writing career. I did it for three years before switching to general business writing, which offers more variety. If you decide to go technical, be sure to keep reading the work of authors you admire so your day job doesn't make you forget everything you ever knew about 'real' writing.
Wormald, Karen. Absolute Write (2001). Careers>TC>Writing>Technical Writing
#22151
The transition to technical publications management can be difficult.
Williamson, Marty. ComTech Services (2002). Careers>Management>Writing>Technical Writing
#24691
New Roles for Technical Writers: Web Masters "Oh My Gosh, Now I Own the Web Page!"
In my presentation, I share my experience as a new web master, focusing on how technical communicators are well-suited 10 becoming web masters. I discuss what to prepare for and how things change when you become the webmaster.
Gillihan, Dana L. STC Proceedings (1996). Careers>Web Design>Writing>Technical Writing
#23592
A Non-Management Career Path for Technical Writers
Writing groups are challenged to find ways to attract and retain quality writers. After several years writing for a particular company, the job can become boring and stale. If writers are not interested in management, they may feel like they are trapped in dead-end jobs. To further their careers and keep the job interesting, they might move into development, usability, or QA. Or they might move on to another company. Either way, the result is the same—the writing group loses a talented writer. This paper discusses a solution—a technical career path. Our paper outlines the benefits of a technical career path and provides suggestions for proposing the idea to management and implementing this program.
Silvi, Deborah H., Susan Stotzer and Jamie West. STC Proceedings (2003). Careers>Writing>Technical Writing
#24877
Note to Contractors: Expose Your Writing Tasks
Some contractors short-change themselves by failing to reveal in cost proposals all of the tasks they perform. Argues that full disclosure can improve a contractor's bottom line.
Hall, Mark D. Intercom (2004). Careers>Freelance>Proposals>Writing
