A Few Essentials for the Freelancer

A lot of cliches apply to freelancers — wearing many hats, fingers in many pies, juggling multiple tasks. In order to do everything that you need to do, you need the right tools. Aside from the usual suspects — productivity and publishing software, Web sites, and blogs — there are a number of essential tools that all freelancers should have at their disposal.

Scott Nesbitt. ScottNesbitt.net (2009). Careers>Freelance>Software>Writing

Breaking into Freelance Writing

This article offers tips on breaking into the field of freelance writing—some from Alice Osborn herself, some from two of the books she recommends: "Secrets of a Freelance Writer" by Robert W. Bly; and "The Renegade Writer" by Linda Formichelli and Diana Burrell.

Wenger, Andrea. Carolina Communique (2009). Careers>Freelance>Writing>Technical Writing

Fifty Inspirational Website Introductions

In portfolio web pages, especially in the field of design, one of the first things that you will notice is an introductory text consisting of a few words about the company or the designer behind the site. This can be extremely useful for readers, as it provides quick and direct information about the designer, or the company behind the site. These introductions are generally highlighted by the use of large text, positioned at the top of the site, and always catch the visitor’s eye. They give a more personal feeling to the site and tend to replace the traditional taglines under a logo for example. In this article, we list 50 examples of excellent web page introductions used in portfolio websites that you can use as inspiration for your own designs.

Webdesigner Depot (2009). Careers>Portfolios>Web Design>Writing

Should I Hire a Good American Writer Or an Excellent Writer From Another Country?

When seeking freelance copywriters, many buyers specify that their only interest is in writers who speak English as a native language. Frequently buyers will request writers from a particular country such as the USA, the UK, Canada or Australia. This overlooks the fact that English is spoken as a first or second language in many countries. In fact, except for Mandarin Chinese, English is the most spoken language in the world.

Rashid, Saman. Technical Communication Center (2009). Careers>Management>Writing>Offshoring

Resume Power Tip: Think Technical Writing

The most effective and powerful resumes provide analytical, precise detail about your background and achievements. In fact, resume writing has a strong correlation to technical writing in that both styles demand extreme precision. In fact, most readers of your resume will assume that what you show on paper correlates strongly to what you can do for your next employer.

Akinci, Ugur. Technical Communication Center (2009). Careers>Resumes>Writing>Technical Writing

The Top Five Technical Writing Skills That Pay Big

A technical writer is a professional writer who designs, writes, creates, maintains and updates technical documentation including online help, user guidance, white papers, design specifications, system manuals and other documents. A technical writer should possess good research techniques, good sound of language and excellent writing skills. Apart from this one needs to have the following five skills.

Delaborde, Mathieu. Technical Communication Center (2009). Careers>TC>Writing>Technical Writing

How to Become a Technical Writer

Technical writing is sort of a jack-of-all-trades profession. It requires diverse skills, so a lot of people stumble into technical writing by chance. I've personally met technical writers who used to be lawyers, educators, and published fiction writers, and I've heard stories of many other professionals drifting into the field. Their past careers required writing, teaching, or technical abilities, and these skills helped them segue into a technical writing job.

HelpScribe (2009). Careers>Writing>Technical Writing

Lessons for Technical Communicators from the Telecommunications Sector

It’s often useful to look at the economic and technological pressures in other industries, to see if the trends emerging there are relevant to the technical communications/publications sector. In recent Blogs, we’ve covered the issues emerging in education, but the telecommunications industry might also provide some useful insights.

Pratt, Ellis. Cherryleaf (2009). Careers>TC>Technical Writing

What Kind of Writing Appeals to You?

Have you figured out where you want your writing income to come from? Fiction or non fiction? Long or short pieces? What is your area of expertise or are you a generalist? There are two schools of thought when it comes to specializing or generalizing. Proponents have strong opinions on both sides.

Hess, Robbi. Examiner.com (2009). Careers>Writing

How to Estimate a Copy Writing Job

It’s not easy to estimate how long a copy writing job will take due to the many factors involved in the estimation.

Technical Communication Center (2009). Careers>Writing>Freelance>Estimating

Essentials for the Mobile Writer

For the freelance writer on the go, there are some items that are essential for what they're doing. This post looks at the gear that one writer uses when working away from the home office.

Nesbitt, Scott. ScottNesbitt.net (2009). Careers>Freelance>Telecommuting>Writing

How to Get a Job in Technical Writing: A 7-Step Guide for Students

If you’re a college student looking to become a technical writer after you graduate, you face a formidable challenge: you can’t get a job without experience, and you can’t get experience without a job. Especially in a competitive job market, getting a job as a technical writer directly after you graduate — without a foundation of previous jobs, experience with a handful of tools, and an impressive portfolio — can be especially difficult. However, if you follow these seven steps, which are not easy, not something you can do overnight, you will find a job.

Johnson, Tom H. I'd Rather Be Writing (2009). Careers>TC>Writing>Technical Writing

My Journey from Technical Writing to Pharma Quality Management

Like most people who entered the technical communication profession in India in the mid to late 1990s, I too became a technical writer more by accident than by design. I enjoyed my technical writing career thoroughly, but slowly moved away, and a decade later, I now find myself heading the Quality Management function at a multi-national clinical research and technology company in India. The career paths of no two individuals are similar. And yet, there are always some common themes in successful transitions from one career path to another.

Narasimha, Kumar. Indus (2009). Careers>Scientific Communication>Technical Writing>Biomedical

Are Daily Rates for Technical Writers Collapsing?

My concern for US writers is that they fail to grasp the momentum that counties like India have established and the high quality of university graduates they are now producing. In the next 10-15 years, IT jobs which can be replicated offshore/offsite to lower costs will be embraced more aggressively. US companies have little choice but to do this.

Walsh, Ivan. I Heart Tech Docs (2009). Careers>Writing>Technical Writing>Offshoring

Best Jobs in America 2009: Technical Writer

Technical writers write technical materials, such as equipment manuals, online help documentation, operating directions and maintenance instructions. Rank: 28th best job in America.

Money Magazine (2009). Careers>TC>Writing>Technical Writing

Podcast on Getting a Job in Technical Writing, 7 Steps

Although getting a job is the focus of the podcast, I also talk about what technical writers do, how they approach a project, how they decide what to create, and how they generate ideas for tasks. Specifically, I talk about about a project people can work on at tech.lds.org. People can start writing help for the project here.

Johnson, Tom H. Tech Writer Voices (2009). Careers>Writing>Technical Writing>Podcasts

Dear Viv: Switching Careers

I worked as a technical writer many years ago and then quit to take care of my kids. Now I'd like to get back into the field. How do I get my foot in the door when all employers require experience?

Carolina Communique (2009). Careers>Writing>Advice>Technical Writing

Occupational Employment and Wages: Technical Writers

Write technical materials, such as equipment manuals, appendices, or operating and maintenance instructions. May assist in layout work. Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2008). Careers>Salaries>Writing>Technical Writing

Freelance Technical Writing in Israel

Observations about freelance technical writing in Israel.

Hurwitz, Charles. Freelance Technical Writing in Israel. Careers>Freelance>Technical Writing>Israel

Do We Need to Hire a Salaried Technical Writer or Should We Go With a Freelancer?

You are a high-tech/Bio-tech company and your first product is nearing release. The product requires documentation and you ask your self what are our options? Before deciding you should consider these factors.

Hurwitz, Charles. Freelance Technical Writing in Israel (2009). Careers>Management>Freelance>Technical Writing

Where To Go To Become a Tech Writer or To Find One To Hire?

There are no rules or absolutes in finding a tech writer. For example, I look for the following when hiring a candidate.

Guarnera, Tom. Your Writing Dept (2009). Careers>Writing>Technical Writing

How Do I Become a Technical Writer?

Nobody graduates from high school and says, I want to grow up and become a tech writer.

Guarnera, Tom. Your Writing Dept (2009). Careers>Writing>Technical Writing

How to Interview Tech Writers

Jane R. in Texas asks for some tips on interviewing tech writers, especially when using assessment tests. Her company is about to hire their first full-time writer and they have not done this before. I’ve worked on both sides on the fence in the past, (i.e. interviewed and been interviewed) and picked up a few tings in the process. Hopefully, these will be of some help.

Walsh, Ivan. I Heart Tech Docs (2007). Careers>Management>Interviewing>Technical Writing

How Outsourcing Can Boost Your Tech Writing Career

Most technical writers see outsourcing as a real threat. But, if you look at it from another angle, it’s one huge business opportunity.

Walsh, Ivan. I Heart Tech Docs (2009). Careers>Writing>Technical Writing>Outsourcing

Technical Writing: It Might Just Be the Foot in the Door You Need 

Technical writing is a position that requires a lot more than just writing. The ability to collaborate and coordinate is key and in actuality, only about 30 percent of your time is spent writing. The responsibilities of a technical writer includes constant contact with others. Job duties range from writing internal technical documents, writing and editing manuals, producing online tutorials, and in some cases, even web-based training programs.

Exforsys (2007). Careers>Writing>Technical Writing