How can I prepare for a career in instruction writing and editing?

Question

To technical background authors (e.g. Isaac Rabinovitch) who would possibly work in teams with non-technically trained writers:How can I prepare myself to be able to do what you do? How can I figure out my niche in the market? What publishers or technical writing groups or software companies have as their Target Audience the non-technical reader (e.g., over age 50, who is seeking information on personal economics, or leisure, or health, or government regulations)? or perhaps as with the personal advocate to people who need to access government agencies through forms (writing training manuals for non-lawyers who will assist citizens with completion of government forms).What qualifications are sought in such writers? Where are those qualifications developed (e.g. through online schools, volunteer work as preparation)?

Answer 1

Hi,

Most technical writers are writers that started out in a specific industry, then decided to become a writer. For example, a science or medical writer may have started out as a scientist or a doctor. A writer who specializes in writing technical manuals for The Red Cross, may have started out as a volunteer. What industry or industries do you have extensive knowledge in? Start there. Then use your current writing knowledge and take a course in technical writing. These can be found in person and online. Some companies offer a technical degree or certificate that offers specific techniques for technical writing. Search specific universities or community colleges. These schools/organizations will teach you to take technical documents and transform them into something that can be understood by a non-technical audience. Note that technical writing doesn't always mean IT manuals, it can mean writing instructions for how to build an Ikea bookcase. Although you can learn to write in a technical way. there's no replacing in-depth knowledge on a subject that can be be gained by working for a company as a technical writer. Sometimes you have to throw yourself into a job and learn as you go. I wrote for a technical support site for PBS with no experience in technical writing or on the subjects I was writing about, but I interviewed subject matter experts (SMEs) and wrote knowedgeable articles.