# Technical Writing?



## maddy (Oct 30, 2010)

Does anyone here do technical writing? I'm constantly being told that I should take up writing as a business, but I've never felt that I had much of a creative knack. However, I can't count the number of occasions on which I've been tempted to rewrite an owner's manual or create a "Dummies" version of a set of building plans. I enjoy the craft of putting ideas to words, and I'm pretty good at conveying complex ideas in a precise, organized way. It doesn't really matter to me that I'm describing something as banal as how to use a vacuum cleaner. 

How would I go about getting a start in technical writing? I should clarify that I have absolutely no background or interest in computer technology, which seems to occupy much of the field. Any experiences that you could share in the non-IT realm would be much appreciated!


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## John_Canada (Aug 17, 2013)

I wrote I think 5 published technical books but its been awhile. You need to visit each publisher's site to see their query submission procedure. Some require the intro, TOC, and sample chapter then they give you advance on the royalties to begin writing it. Usually from $5000 to $10,000 depending on subject. You can even ask the editor what subjects they are most in need of which gives more of a chance of getting a deal.

Look at TAB, Sams, McGraw-Hill (the three I wrote for and McGraw-Hill being the 800 lbs gorilla).

Any questions, just email me at mediamartcanada at gmail dot com.


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## joebill (Mar 2, 2013)

On a shallower note (that would be me) I am a fiend for building machinery out of junk, and wrote a book about building bandsaws and bandsaw mills that has been selling fairly well for about a decade. Obviously, it's target is a much less technical readership, and it is mostly well recieved by those folks.

I have another one ready for final edit about building an updated version of the tote gote that was the first of the many trail scooters and still draws a lot of interest. In this project, the scooter was actually built to use for the book subject. A great way to justify something one has wanted to build for years but has no client for.

I believe that books about small technology like this are easier, more dependable money but not as big or quick money as working for a publisher. i have proven myself as being tempermentally unfit to deal with publishers, anyway, so everything i write is through my own "publishing company" 

By the way, you can own your very own publishing company for the price of putting the name on your cards and checks............Joe


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## deaconjim (Oct 31, 2005)

At one time I wrote what amounted to repair manuals for nuclear power plants, but that was for the military. I have considered that as a possibility, but so far I haven't figured out how to go about it. I'll keep an eye on this thread to see the responses and to see how you fare.


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## DEKE01 (Jul 17, 2013)

I did tech writing as a part of my job for about 12 years. I also hired independent tech writers. In the DC area, they are in high demand. Small companies use them because the companies can not afford to keep full time writing staff to work on gov't proposals. Prices run from $25 - $200 / hour depending on experience with the topic and agency, and the length of the assignment. The $200 is generally for very short assignments and would also need specific experience with the agency that has let the Request For Proposal (RFP). 

As a beginner, a tech writer for RFPs would be doing things like building and formatting tables, indexes, proof reading, etc. Or taking a bunch of paragraphs from a bunch of engineers who may not have even talked to one another and assembling it into one story. They often know the subject matter inside out but are terrible at making telling a story. 

I was always an independent contractor in finance / accounting, but did the tech writer/editor because when working for lots of small companies, you do what ever is needed to make them a success. I was really good at asking really smart people "why". Once the engineer could make me understand a topic I had no background in, and why his solution was good, the topic had been sufficiently dumb downed enough that it could be favorably evaluated by a gov't bureaucrat. After the engineers had written all the pieces, then I had rewritten everything into a human language, I would pass the proposal to tech writers for formatting and proofreading. 

If you live near a major gov't area, DC, a military base, TVA facilities, you have to find small gov't contractors of 1 - 50 employees and tell them you are a beginner in RFPs but a skilled tech writer. Some of the work you can do remotely, but a lot must be at the company's office. The hours are AWFUL. In the final phases, subcontractors will submit writing late, and the whole doc will get reassembled and reformatted. On a major proposal with lot of subcontractors and worth millions or billions to the winner, the last week will be 12 - 15 hour days and the last couple of days will be 20 hours. On many jobs, I worked more than 24 hours straight and did not go home until the proposal had been packed up and shipped to the gov't. Nowadays proposals are often delivered electronically so it is slightly better than it used to be.


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