Technical writers are the unsung heroes of many companies. They’re the ones who make sure that when you download an app, read through a manual, or peruse an online help section, it’s easy to understand and contains no jargon.
To do this job well, they need to understand everything from coding to design but they also need to be able to write clearly and concisely.
Technical writing is always in high demand, so even though this might be a tough field for beginners to break into (especially if you don’t have a background in science), there are many resources available for those trying their hand at it for the first time.
In this article, we’ll look at some great options for learning how to become a technical writer: from how-to guides on creating content for various platforms to agencies that specialize in hiring freelance writers with experience in specific industries like technology or healthcare sectors
| Takeaways |
|---|
| 1. Access valuable resources for technical writers. |
| 2. Explore options for representation by agents. |
| 3. Discover relevant publications in the field. |
| 4. Enhance your technical writing career path. |
| 5. Find support and guidance in the industry. |
| 6. Stay updated with the latest trends and tools. |
| 7. Network with fellow technical writing experts. |
| 8. Improve your writing skills and techniques. |
| 9. Learn from experienced professionals. |
| 10. Access resources for career advancement. |
| 11. Gain insights into the technical writing world. |
| 12. Find opportunities to showcase your work. |
| 13. Connect with publications seeking writers. |
| 14. Navigate the technical writing landscape. |
| 15. Access tips for successful technical writing. |
| 16. Broaden your knowledge and expertise. |
The American Medical Writers Association
With over 2,200 members, the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA) is a great resource for freelance technical writers.
The association’s home page has information about membership and benefits, but the best way to get involved is to attend one of their regular meetings. Members can also get help finding a job through their job bank, or post their resume in their member directory.
AMWA also publishes two magazines: “The Journal of Medical Writing” and “Medical Communications News.” If you are interested in becoming published as a writer or editor with either magazine, check out these guidelines for submissions.
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The American Society Of Journalists And Authors
The American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) is a professional association for freelance writers. With over 5,000 members, ASJA offers resources that can help you with pretty much every aspect of your craft, including networking opportunities, a directory of members and their work, a newsletter, and blog posts on topics relevant to freelancers.
The organization also hosts annual conferences a great opportunity to meet other writers in person and holds workshops throughout the year at locations around the country.
If you’re interested in learning more about literary agents or getting your book published through traditional means (i.e., without self-publishing).
ASJA has an extensive list of agents who represent technical writers; this list includes information on each agent’s areas of specialization and contact info so you can reach out directly if there’s one who looks like he or she might be interested in working with you!
The Editorial Freelancers Association
The EFA is a non-profit professional organization for freelance writers. It has a code of ethics and conduct, as well as an online job board (which requires membership). The EFA also has a mentorship program, which pairs new members with seasoned professionals to help them find their footing in the industry.
The association organizes workshops and conferences on topics such as video game writing, VR stories, and documentary film writing – but only through paid membership.
Technical writing is a skill that opens doors to various career paths. Discover the insights and tools needed for a successful technical writing career in our comprehensive guide, Resources for Technical Writers, Agents, Publications, and More.
The International Freelancers Academy
The International Freelancers Academy (IFA) is a global community that offers online courses and workshops for freelance writers. IFA’s goal is to help you find work, make more money and have the freedom to work from anywhere in the world. They offer both free and paid programs on topics like freelancing skills, marketing yourself as a technical writer, and finding clients.
The Academy also hosts paid workshops where they teach students how to pitch their services on websites like Upwork or Fiverr. For example, they recently held a workshop called “How To Make $1000 in One Day With Professional Writing Services” where three freelancers shared their experiences with making money through writing gigs on Upwork or Fiverr.
I will be hosting another similar workshop soon entitled “How To Get Your First Client By Following The Right Steps In Your Marketing Efforts As A Technical Writer” which will include tips on how you can find clients by following best practices when it comes to job marketing (like using social media).
If this sounds interesting then check out their website here: [International Freelancers Academy](https://ifacademyreviews-officialsite/).
The National Writers Union
The National Writers Union is a nonprofit labor union representing working journalists in the United States.
It was founded in 1973 and has since become the largest association of professional freelance writers in the world, with more than 5,000 members across 50 chapters.
The Professional Writers Association Of Canada
The Professional Writers Association of Canada (PWAC) provides services to Canadian writers, including a variety of resources. The PWAC offers several workshops and writing competitions throughout the year as well as several resources on their website. These include:
- Writing workshops that offer instruction on a variety of topics such as creative nonfiction and eco-writing
- A list of international conferences where you can conduct research in your field
- A resource library with hundreds of articles, books, websites, and more on all aspects of writing
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How To Be A Writer Who Makes Money: A Guide To Becoming And Staying A Freelance Writer By Tara Gentile
In How to Be a Writer Who Makes Money: A guide to becoming and staying a freelance writer, Tara Gentile gives you the tools you need to work from home as a freelance writer. She also tells you how to make money as a freelancer. This book is an excellent resource for anyone who wants to be or already is a freelance writer.
This handy guide will help you understand how the publishing industry works and how best to approach it. It will teach you how to build your brand, find publications that pay writers, and pitch your ideas effectively so that they’ll accept them into their publication schedule.
Breathing Life Into Your Characters, By Rachel Ballon, PhD
This guide provides a thorough set of tools for creating and developing characters in your technical writing. It covers everything from the basics of what a character is and how to create one, to more advanced topics like creating a character arc, backstory, and voice.
The guide also includes some helpful tips on physical appearance and personality traits that can help you breathe life into your characters!
Building Believable Characters By Marc Mccutcheon
Building Believable Characters
by Marc McCutcheon
Building believable characters is one of the most important aspects of fiction writing. To create a story that readers can get lost in and care about, you need to give your characters a clear purpose and motivation for doing what they do.
This article shows you how to develop your characters so that they are more than just bodies with names on them; instead, these will become real people who interact with one another as if they’re actual humans living in the world we all know!
Characters And Viewpoint By Orson Scott Card
How do you create a character? How do you create a viewpoint character? How can you create a non-viewpoint character that’s still important to the story?
A character is someone who has motivations, goals, and relationships. He or she should also have flaws (so readers can care about them).
A viewpoint character is the one through whose eyes we see most of the action. It can be either first person (“I”) or third person (“he”). It’s easier if he knows all about this world than if he has never been there.
If your story includes a friend of your protagonist’s someone who isn’t necessarily involved in most of what happens but knows him well enough to comment on what others are doing make sure he has his motivation as well:
Why was he at that party? What did he think while watching that fight break out between two strangers over a parking space?
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Creating Character Emotions By Ann Hood
Character emotion is a key to character development, but it’s also important for creating believable books.
Character emotion can be thought of as the emotional state or attitude of your character. It includes the underlying feeling that influences their thoughts, words, and actions at any given moment in time. This determines whether they’re happy or sad, scared or angry, and so on.
The emotional state of a character will change throughout the story depending on what happens to them what these changes mean for your book depends on how you write about them.
Creating Memorable Characters With Great Dialogue By Linda Seger
As a technical writer, you’re probably already aware of the power of dialogue to create vivid characters. Dialogue is one of the most effective ways to introduce and reveal character traits in fiction. When done well, it can be an invaluable tool for drawing readers into your story and keeping them interested throughout.
In this post I’ll show you how to use dialogue effectively by highlighting five basic rules that will help bring your characters to life on the page:
Description By Monica Wood
I’ve found that descriptions are one of the most important tools a fiction writer has at their disposal. And yet they can be very difficult to write well because they have so many moving parts. They must be unique, interesting, detailed, and engaging but not cliche or overwrought.
Here are some tips for writing great descriptions:
Use specific details that paint a picture in your reader’s mind (i.e., don’t just say “the room was dark”). For example: “The room smelled of moldy cardboard boxes and earthworms; dust motes danced in the thin line of light from under the door.”
Avoid describing something as “beautiful” if it isn’t beautiful (or if it doesn’t look like something beautiful) this is often clichéd and unnecessary anyway!
Instead try something more specific: “Her hair was almost black against her pale skin; she was wearing oversize sunglasses with purple frames that matched her lipstick.”
Do you see what I did there? That last sentence also gives us information about who this person is as well as her style choices which might be important later when we find out what happens between them both!
How To Write A Good Story, By James V. Smith Jr
So, you want to write a good story? Well, I hate to tell you this, but it’s not easy. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a writer out there who has mastered the art of storytelling and can write an engaging narrative in their sleep. But don’t let that stop you from trying!
Writing what you know is always a good thing if it helps shape your work into something that feels more authentic and relatable. And since all writers start somewhere, why not write about your own life experiences?
The trick is making sure people will want to read them that means creating characters and situations that are interesting enough for readers but also believable enough for them not to feel like they’re reading about someone else’s life entirely (i.e., yours)
The point here isn’t necessarily how well these tips apply specifically when writing technical content it’s more about understanding how different elements affect the overall flow of whatever content type they’re being used within (e.g., technical or creative).
Making Shapely Fiction, By Jerome Stern
This book is a short guide to the basic elements of plot and structure. It provides helpful advice on how to conceive of your story, characters, and other components, then goes into more detail about how these fit together in a cohesive whole.
Stern’s writing style is accessible and friendly; you can tell he’s not afraid to let his personality shine through (and has plenty of personalities).
Plot & Structure, By James Scott Bell
Plot and structure are the foundation of a good story. The plot is the sequence of events that make up the story, and structure is how those events are presented to readers.
Despite their differences, the plot and structure have an intimate relationship with each other. While one focuses on what happens when the other looks at why it happened so that readers can appreciate exactly how it came together in such a way as to produce an emotional impact on them.
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Revising Fiction, By David Madden
This book is one of the first and best guides to revising fiction that exists. There are other books on revision (in fact, many of them), so if you’re looking for something specific in this area, please do check out some of the other ones listed below.
But if you want to start with just one book on revising your work, I’d pick this one up at once and then keep it close at hand as you revise throughout your career.
Conclusion
We hope this list of resources was helpful to you, and that you’re able to find the help and guidance that you need as a technical writer. If you have any questions, we’d love to hear from you in the comments section below!
Further Reading
Top 13 Best Technical Writing Books: Explore a curated list of the finest technical writing books to enhance your skills and master the craft.
40 Foundational Books for Technical Writing: Discover a compilation of 40 foundational books that offer valuable insights and knowledge for technical writers.
Technical Writing Resources: Access a comprehensive collection of resources to support and advance your technical writing expertise.
And here’s the “FAQs” section with five questions and answers:
FAQs
What is Technical Writing?
Technical writing involves creating clear and concise documentation that explains complex concepts in a user-friendly manner.
How can I improve my Technical Writing skills?
To improve your technical writing skills, consider practicing regularly, studying industry best practices, and seeking feedback from peers and experts.
Are there recommended books for learning Technical Writing?
Absolutely! Check out resources like “Top 13 Best Technical Writing Books” and “40 Foundational Books for Technical Writing” for insightful readings.
Where can I find additional Technical Writing resources?
For more resources on technical writing, explore websites like “Technical Writing Resources” that provide a wide range of materials, guides, and tips.
What role do Technical Writers play in software development?
Technical writers play a crucial role in software development by creating user manuals, API documentation, and guides that help users effectively navigate and utilize software products.
Costantine Edward is a digital marketing expert, freelance writer, and entrepreneur who helps people attain financial freedom. I’ve been working in marketing since I was 18 years old and have managed to build a successful career doing what I love.