Re: Entry Level Tech Writers

[Tom Schaefer <unixtom -at- yahoo -dot- com>]

See, Stephen King wrote his way out of a trailer park, and was drunk most of
the time at that, so writing is one of the most accessible professions on the
planet. 

Soon I  hope to join the ranks of successful writers because of my experience
writing in the computer business.

I started out as a Sysadmin ... clients always want good documentation on how
things are configured. Sysadmin's genetically refuse to document anything, and
I am one of a rare breed who likes to write.

I was always getting compliments on my docs, and people constantly encouraged
me to write professionally. Funny thing, I had this impression that a Sysadmin
made more money than a tech writer - but boy was I wrong.

I've done docs for IBM that were posted globally. I recently finished working
a 6 month contract for a very large office supply company here in the US that
paid me way more than I was getting as a Sysadmin. I will tell you offline if
you must know the $$, and can even show you the actual docs from my own secret
little web server.

One of the other posters mentioned a "lesser class" stigma associated with
tech writing, but it is not as prevalent as it was.

A couple of years ago, I approached a large publishing company about doing a
book on Linux and they made me a deal. I got a real Author's kit in the mail
and a real writing contract - I had no agent, no real experience, but they
liked my samples and so I had a deal. 

I have no literary degrees, I can barely tell you anything about Shakespeare
or any of the classics. Ask me about Homer and I think of 'The Simpsons'. Yet
I am a goddam tech writer and Stephen King wanna-be. 

So Nike is right ... "just do it" ... you can succeed in spite of your degrees
or the lack thereof. 

One thing that has helped me too is having my little web server with all my
docs on it - potential clients can see my work for real. If you can't run a
web server, burn your stuff on to a CD and send it to a potential client if
they are starting to ask what you can do.

Another thing that helps your writing skill is newsgroups and lists like this
one. Find a topic you know really well and subscribe to a list where you can
post often. It will help you hone your writing skill. For example, you may
have a hobby  - subscribe to that hobby's lists or newsgroups. Look for posts
like this one where someone needs help and help them out. 

It unclogs the writer's block, gives you a real writing assignment and you are
immediately critiqued by real readers, globally.

-t-


--- Steve Shepard <STEVES -at- YARDI -dot- com> wrote:
> More than once on this list I have heard people ask about how to in the door
> as a tech writer. It usually sounds like they have had a tough time. I was
>
[snip'd for brevity]

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Auctions - buy the things you want at great prices
http://auctions.yahoo.com/

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

*** Deva(tm) Tools for Dreamweaver and Deva(tm) Search ***
Build Contents, Indexes, and Search for Web Sites and Help Systems 
Available 4/30/01 at http://www.devahelp.com or info -at- devahelp -dot- com

Sponsored by DigiPub Solutions Corp, producers of PDF 2001 Conference East, 
June 4-6, Baltimore, MD. Now covering Acrobat 5. Early registration deadline 
April 27. http://www.pdfconference.com. 

---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot-  Visit 
http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.