Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash My work as a technical writer sometimes means that I have to coach solutions architects and other technical people in the fine arts of writing. It’s a part of my work that I’ve come to find a new appreciation for over the past few years. Here are some lessons I’ve… Continue reading 5 lessons I’ve learned from coaching writing
Category: Uncategorized
5 types of people you interview as a technical writer
Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash Long ago I came to see people as the greater challenge to my work as a technical writer more so than the technology I was writing about. It’s not that I don’t like people. I just came to see people in technology organizations Here are the five types of people you… Continue reading 5 types of people you interview as a technical writer
The recruiter backlash against technical writers with public sector experience
Photo by Casey Horner on Unsplash Over the years, I’ve come across technical recruiters who have a bias against technical writers with public sector project experience. Here’s one such reference I came across a few years ago: By contrast, a background in government or national intelligence will likely count against you; this client’s experience is that… Continue reading The recruiter backlash against technical writers with public sector experience
The curse some non-technical people place on themselves unnecessarily
Photo by Natalie Jeffcott on Unsplash As a technical writer, I straddle two worlds. In one world, I have to collaborate with brilliant solution architects, programmers, and engineers. In the other world, I have to work with marketing, designers, and trainers. Straddling that line so much I’ve heard “Well they’re not technical” whispered more than once… Continue reading The curse some non-technical people place on themselves unnecessarily
My tips for hiring technical writers
Photo by Charles Deluvio 🇵🇭🇨🇦 on Unsplash I’ve written about hiring technical writers two or three times in the past with some impressive results. In fact, my initial article garnered me some not very nice emails from technical writers. It’s a timeless topic, so I wanted to go back and see if any of my initial… Continue reading My tips for hiring technical writers
Conducting a tech documentation audit: The first 30 days onsite as a technical writer
Photo by Mimi Thian on Unsplash A typical interview question I’ve gotten in the past is what do I do when I come in as a new technical writer that is the first one inside of an organization. Some of my technical writer roles in the past have been working directly on technical teams (and have… Continue reading Conducting a tech documentation audit: The first 30 days onsite as a technical writer
My thoughts about documenting SaaS versus traditional software
Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash My experience writing documentation for cloud and software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions has evolved over time. I spent a good bit of my career documenting large-scale systems and data center operations so I guess you can say that I appreciate playing at scale. The timelines for documentation were generous, review cycles came… Continue reading My thoughts about documenting SaaS versus traditional software
