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Entries Tagged as 'technical writer'

Kate Winslet’s 7 Secret Ways to Revise Technical Documents

June 15th, 2010 · View Comments · user guides

What can Kate Winslet teach you about proof-reading technical documents? Watch the movie The Reader and it will make sense. If she was writing this blog, she’d probably say: “Don’t do it all at once! One of the biggest mistakes you can make when revising any technical document, is to do it all in one [...]

How to Get A Technical Writing Degree Online

June 6th, 2010 · Comments Off · Career

Earlier this year we asked if Online Degrees in Technical Writing as Good as Real World Universities? The response was mostly positive. The University of Limerick, Ireland offers an excellent online course for those who want to study technical writing at home. This university has a fantastic campus, specializes in the Arts and provides a conveyor belt of freshly-

20 Tips For Home-based Technical Writers Who Want to Stay Sane

June 1st, 2010 · View Comments · Productivity

Most of my tech writing work is done from home. I’ve worked from my home office for almost eight years. Some tech writing contracts are on-site, but mostly, I work in my home office. Actually, for the past 19 months, this means working in my ‘bedroom’. More on this later. I’m married, with a little nipper, and friends are always popping over for a chat. Did I mention that I’m also working from China?

How to Get Out of Technical Writing and into Higher Paid Jobs

May 18th, 2010 · View Comments · Jobs

How do I start a career in technical writing? How do I get out of technical writing? I get asked these two questions most every week. If your career in technical writing is stalling – or you just want a fresh start – then here’s some alternative career paths. Many Technical Writers have had their [...]

11 Amazing Adobe Distiller Tips For Technical Writers

May 16th, 2010 · View Comments · Technical Writing

Most Technical Writers use Adobe PDFs to create technical guides, reports and other business documents. And while there are many free PDF converters out there, Adobe Distiller has some great features that give you greater control of your documents, such as making the PDFs download faster, password protection, embedding thumbnails and font control.

How Stephen King Can Make You A Better Technical Writer

March 11th, 2010 · View Comments · Technical Writing

Scott says, “If you want to improve as a writer, you not only need to write. You need to read. Writing and reading are two sides of the same coin. You need to do both to achieve your potential.” I head downtown most weekends and buy 2 or 3 books, mostly business, history and some fiction. Every so often I run out of options (we’re in Beijing) and get something I usually wouldn’t buy, for example, Iain M Banks. Reading outside my comfort zone stretches me. I encounter writing styles, opinions, and information that I usually side-step.

Do you Earn As Much As These Technical Writers? 2009 Salary Survey Results

February 12th, 2010 · View Comments · Career

The WritersUA User Assistance has published details of its 2009 Salary Survey results, which includes a breakdown of salaries for technical writers and others in the tech comms field.

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Tags: Career·contract·Salary·technical writer

Who Makes The Most Money – Technical Writers with Strong Language or Deep Technical Skills?

February 7th, 2010 · View Comments · Career

Kai raised an interesting point about which skill (writing/technical) takes longer to master. Knowing how to structure and present information to users? Or knowing how to use a product or application? That got me thinking. If you want to make money as a technical writer, which area should you focus on? Sharpen your writing skills or deepen your technical knowledge, for example, learning how to document an API?

What Macaulay Culkin Can Teach You About Tech Authoring & Jumping Sharks

January 24th, 2010 · Comments Off · Adobe FrameMaker, Dita

Larry says that last week another technical writer asserted that DITA has “jumped the shark.” “It’s not a new idea. I’ve heard other people say that DITA has already seen its best days, that it’s struggling to remain relevant in a world that’s passed it by. I was amused, I admit, because it was the first time I’d seen DITA compared to a TV show.”

How To Differentiate Yourself As A Technical Writer

January 18th, 2010 · View Comments · Books I Like, Career, How To, Productivity, Snagit, Social Media

Tom Peters says, “the value of services will continue to fall” and that the only way to survive is to differentiate yourself from the competition. Is this true? How do you as a technical writer make yourself stand out from the crowd? If you don’t, what impact could this have on your career?

How Technical Writers Can Move Further Up The Food Chain

January 15th, 2010 · Comments Off · Career, Content Management, How To, Linkedin

Do you feel loved? Many technical writers feel unloved. They feel they don’t get the respect they deserve. I hear this on LinkedIn and Facebook: “people don’t respect the work I do.” Well, if that’s the case, here are a few ways to get more respect and move into a more rewarding career.

Technical Writing News – Crystal Balls, Salaries, Metrics & Twitter

January 15th, 2010 · Comments Off · Career, Linkedin, News, Technical Writing, Twitter

The first Technical Writing Newsletter of the year includes some interesting predictions on the future of technical communications, how to justify your role as a technical writer (i.e. metrics), news of Camtasia Relay’s UK Bootcamp and the results of the salary survey for technical writers in Israel.

Which makes a Better Technical Writer – Writers with Language or Technical Skills?

January 14th, 2010 · View Comments · Career, How To, Jobs, Linkedin

Which of these would you hire to join your Technical Writing Dept? Someone with great writing skills but little technical knowledge or, for example, a Computer Science graduate with deep technical knowledge but average writing skills? We’ve been talking about this on LinkedIn and here are some thoughts.

5 UK Technical Writers You Should Follow on Twitter

January 12th, 2010 · View Comments · Career, People, Technical Writers, Twitter

From Shakespeare, Graham Greene, JK Rowling to Colum McAndrew, Ellis Pratt, David Farbey. All have all one thing in common – great writing! As my career started in the Baker Street, London in the 90s, I’ve always carried fond memories of my time in England. Here are some UK based technical writers you might want to add to your Twitter list. By the way, do you notice any difference between UK and US tech writer blogs?

How to Interview Technical Writers Even If You’re Not a Technical Writer

January 8th, 2010 · View Comments · Career, How To, Jobs

Yes, I’m that terrible person who interviews technical writers and asks those awkward questions. Here are some of the things I’m looking for when I interview people. First, companies expect that graduates will have the same (more or less) writing skills – that’s a given. So, what they’re looking for are other qualities.