Technical writing

Books for Technical Writers Recently I saw a very informative and interesting discussion “Appropriate Books for Technical Writer” on one of the Technical Writer Forum started by Quan li ,a student from China.  This is one of the frequently asked questions on the different forum in different way, so thought to compile comments for myself and visitors of my blog for future references. I have posted the comments as it is because i fear by simply listing the books name i may lose the essence which is created by complete discussion.  —————————————————————————————————————————– Hello, everyone. I am a technical writer and trying to know more about the career. I’ve collected some books for technical writers, but I don’t know which one is better, could you give me some suggestions?  The books are as follows:1.BBC – New Writing Style Guide 2.English for Writing Research Papers 3.Grammatically Correct The writer’s essential guide to punctuation spelling style usage and grammar 1997 1 4.Microsoft Press – Microsoft Manual Of Style For Technical Publications 3Rd Edition Microsoft 5.Technical Writing – Manual Of Style6.The Chicago Manual of Style. The Essential Guide for Writers Editors and Publishers 15th ed 2006 7.The Online English Grammar 8.The Web Content Style Guide. An Essential Reference for Online Writers Editors and Managers 9.Writing In English A Practical Handbook for Scientific and Technical Writers10 “How to Write a Computer Manual: A Handbook of Software Documentation” by Jonathan ———————————————————————————————————————– John Sarra •Qian, I would suggest you do a search on Amazon.com for “Technical Writing”. The books you list are mostly references. There are a number of books, such as “Technical Writing 101” that will also give you “how to” information. Read the reviews and see what others say. That will point you to books that may interest you.  ——————————————————————————————————————— Elizabeth Emerson •Definitely, if you have to select one, choose this one: *Microsoft Press – Microsoft Manual Of Style For Technical Publications 3Rd Edition Microsoft This is a standard style manual and a reference book that should be available in every technical writing department.Now 4th edition is also available.  ——————————————————————————————————– Adria Quinones •I also like Sun’s “Read Me First,” as a contrast to Microsoft’s Manual of Style. Note that Microsoft published their 4th ed. earlier this year. http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/book.aspx?id=150532 ———————————————————————————————————————– Robert Lauriston •Clear, concise, correct, and comprehensive. Is there a book that will teach a new writer why you need a style manual? I use Chicago, which is excellent, comprehensive, and available online. Since I’m in the software industry, I use the Microsoft Manual of Style, 4th ed., which you can get in a PDF, it’s not in the same league as Chicago but it’s the best and most comprehensive and up to date for software documentation (though useless for anything else). Neither will teach you anything about tech writing as a career. Don’t use a UK style manual (such as BBC) if you’re writing American English and don’t use a US style manual (such as Chicago) if you’re writing British / International English. ——————————————————————————————————————– Craig Cardimon •”The Insider’s Guide to Technical Writing,” by Krista Van Laan (XML Press, 2012), discusses tech writing as a career. I highly recommend it for describing the ups and downs of tech writing. ————————————————————————————————————————- Zvi Eynan •I would recommend “Handbook of Technical Writing” by Alred/Brusaw/OlioI little bit old fashioned but mostly usefulGo to amazon for more tittles ————————————————————————————————————————- Delio Destro •As a general guideline I like “Developing Quality Technical Information” ISBN 0131477498and of course, the bases of the basics: “The Elements of Technical Writing” ISBN 0020130856 ————————————————————————————————————————- Ed Mikula •Once you are comfortable stringing words together, you might read “Dynamics in Document Design” and The Elements of Typographic Style. ————————————————————————————————————————- James Barakaat •As a former Professor at Kaplan University, I recommend: Kaplan Technical Writing: A Resource for Technical Writers at All Levels [Paperback] Carrie Hannigan (Author), Carrie Wells (Author), Carolyn Stevenson (Author), Tanya Peterson (Author), Diane Martinez (Author). Also, Technical Writing 101: A Real-World Guide to Planning and Writing Technical Documentation, Second Edition [Paperback] Alan S. Pringle I studied Technical Writing and Technical Editing at Miami University with Paul V Anderson who wrote: Technical Communication by Paul V. Anderson, 7th Edition. You can get them at Amazon.com ————————————————————————————————————————– Naci Simsek •If you have an apple device, you can also check for technical writing courses from ITunes U or either you can check wikiversity for the same topic. ————————————————————————————————————————– Dick Miller •For a focus on usability and the user experience (not often taught in tech writing classes), see STC Usability and User Experience Community’s Usability Bookshelf at http://www.stcsig.org/usability/resources/bookshelf/index.html. —————————————————————————————————————————— Mark Baker •All the best books for technical communicators to read are not about technical communications. I recommend: * Politics and the English Language, George Orwell* Everything is Miscellaneous, David Weinberger* Too Big to Know, David Weinberger* Made to Stick, Chip and Dan Heath* The Social Life of Information, Duguid and Brown ————————————————————————————————————————— Saul Carliner •If you are looking for books to strengthen your skills, you’ll need different books for different purposes. (1) Start with a general book that provides an overview of the process. Paul Anderson’s, Mary Lay’s, or William S. Pfeiffer’s books provide excellent introductions to the general field of technical writing, whether writing as a full-time professional writer or a technical professional like an an engineer or scientist who writes as part of his job. (2) Expand into books that provide an overview of technical communication from a communicator’s point of view. Although older, Barnum & Carliner’s Techniques for Technical Communicators still has some value. (3) Go deeper into writing, with books like Strunk & White’s Elements of Style and Williams’ and Columb’s lesser-known, but equally useful, Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grade, the IBM book mentioned earlier, as well as books that focus on specific writing in specific genres (such as the book mentioned earlier on how to write a user manual or Horton’s or Carliner’s books on designing e-learning programs) and media (such as the second edition of Janice, Redish’s book on writing online content) (4) Develop skills

10 Interview tips for Technical writers and Content writers This is post is about dos and don’ts for the technical writers and content writer during the interview. Some talented individuals lose great opportunities just because of minor behavioral issues. May these 10 tips may help you to nail your next interview. I hate to take interviews but due to call of duty occasionally I have to do it. Why I hate traditional interview- I firmly believe our current interview process is not suitable to screen candidate and need complete 360-degree change. Interviewees can give rehearsed answers and interviewers are unconsciously biased to pick candidates whom they like rather than those with the most potential. Referer program is adding more complexity to the process. So far I have interviewed technical writing and agile coaches from different cities of India like Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, and Delhi, from different colleges, companies and experience level, sometimes even more experienced than me. In fact most of them were better than me it was only matter of time, luck or chance, but on the other hand, I also bumped with very weird or odd kind of candidates who was excellent as a resource but complete bizarre in their behavior.   Disclaimer: My only intention to write this blog is please avoid this kind of behavior to grab your dream job if you agreed with my opinion.   “YOU KNOW” Syndrome: One of the candidates scored very high in a writing test, but when I get a chance to meet, you know he expected me to know his father name to a permanent address. His every sentence was starting with YOU KNOW. Finally, I have to say I don’t know. Rotating chair: It was her final round, in the interviewing panel my HR Manager and Director of R&D was with me. An interview was going well, but her chair was rotating at 180 degrees. Believe me, it irritated all of us. Negative attitude toward the previous employer: Yes, we all look for good opportunity and we have our share of problems in the organization that sometimes force us to quit. But the attitude and the word chosen for the previous employer made us negative on her. Diplomacy is key. It’s OK to say that you’ve had disagreements with your boss and/or coworkers. Look cool attitude is not always cool: It’s good to be original, and truthful, but sometimes silence is wisdom. One guy arrived without a resume, reason? He does not have a printer, Cyber cafes were not open so early, Friday he returned late from office, Saturday went to resort with a girlfriend he was tired so he slept whole day and night on Sunday. So he was not able to take a print of his resume. I denied interviewing him, not because doesn’t have a resume, because…hope you can find an answer. I was looking for the serious candidates who are really in need of a job, not someone for whom this is just one more interview. I mean to say be serious with your approach. I’m not a fish trader: One gentleman was already working in one of the reputed organization and had two other good offers with decent increment want to check if I can pay more. Sorry, I do not promote this attitude. In the final round, he opens this truth that he got an offer letter from XYZ company can I prove to him that we are better paymaster. I send him to HR. Salary negotiation is not my job. Yo-Yo Honey Singh: The T-shirt you are wearing might be the best in your wardrobe, but I expect not to see you out-of-bed look or Yo-Yo look during the interview. No need to wear costly stuff be simple, clean, comfortable, and organized. Avoid fancy or party wear. Semi-casual is also fine. Fancy caller tune: Kindly take out your precious half hour out for me during the interview. Your fancy caller and going out to answer the call even to tell your friend that you are busy disturbs me. Mute options are available in cell phones. It is advisable to switch off or mute your phone. You and your resume are different: I really find very disturbing when people do not remember what they have written on a resume. Hard to believe when you are saying your experience is more than five years and your resume is screaming something different. Either you faked in Resume or your updated resume is not updated in both the cases I’m sorry dear. Learn to write a great resume. Be comfortable: I want you to be comfortable in the boardroom, but I also want to be comfortable. I really become uncomfortable when you start calling me Rah, Rak or something that you like rather than my original name “Rahul”. I too use slang’s with my friends in cricket ground but not in a boardroom. I do not like somebody invading my personal space. Be polite, soft, humble and formal with your language. Gum-Gum One candidate told me he has a habit of chewing gum during exam or interview, do I mind if he continues chewing it? He was honest, but what you would have done, mind it or ignore it? Avoid chewing gum, tobacco or anything during the interview. It is ok to take a cup of chai or coffee.  A Lesson to me: I was interviewing a beautiful lady with good skills and experience before wrapping up the interview I asked her when you are planning to marry? Will you change the city after marriage? She paused and replied Sir; do you ask this question to male candidate also? I told her this may be an unparliamentary question but….I explained why I asked this to her? It was a good take home for me. One more tip is to go through the website of the employer and try to learn there domain, expertise, and achievements. Read how to write a great resume. Need your view. Feel free to post your comment

Sasmita Panda wrote this guest post.She is a seasoned Information Developer, Content writer, and blogger. I invited her to share her experience on the primary skills required by information developers and she come up with a well knit blog for you. Read more blogs of Sasmita on TWIN  What are the qualities of a good technical writer? Mastering over the language or strong technical skills? The debate is constantly on. As per my experience, language is important, but it’s your acumen in technical skills which will take you higher in the long run. Strong writing skills along with deeper technical knowledge are always considered as added advantage. Understanding a product/application and documenting about it is what every technical writer does, but knowing about how to structure and present the information to various types of end-users is definitely a valuable skill. There are technical writers who are good in writing skills but poor in technical skills and vice verse. You can always work on the skills you lack, but I believe that honing technical skills takes longer time as compared to the writing skills. You don’t have to stupendous in your writing skills to be a good technical writer, but expertise in technical skills is a must especially if you want to grow in your career as a technical writer. Proficiency in technical skills has a growing demand in many industries these days. Knowledge of DITA, API Documentation or software programming can fetch you a better package than many of your experienced peers. So if you want to grow and make money as a technical writer, the choice is obvious- sharpen your technical skills. Related PostTwitter Vs FacebookBefore you foray into technical writingAfter you foray into technical writingJobsWhy Should you love book Please take out few minutes to write your view on Language Vs Technical Skills.

Qualities of good technical information A good document is a piece of information which help the reader to accomplish goal easily. Rahul Karn How to measure the quality of the document? How will I understand if my technical document is of top quality? These are a few questions which every technical writer ask to themselves or come across. One simple method, some tools give scorecard, readability score etc. So, to score well you must give a look at what parameters they consider giving you the score and start working to mastering those skills. In this post, we have touched the subject very briefly to give you a few pointers. It is recommended to develop a checklist and detail guideline as per your documentation requirements. To qualify as good technical documents which can help the user to accomplish goal easily documents must have the following qualities: Easy to use Easy to understand Easy to FInd What should be the qualities of good technical writing? We can measure the following parameters to establish it Grammer, style, and language (Easy to understand) Complete, clear, and correct Content (Easy to use) Topic/chapter organization (Easy to find) Correct use of visuals and media (Easy to understand and find) Retrievability (Easy to find) Cost effective (For stakeholders 🙂 To qualify for being a good technical document the minimum qualities required are given below. Many writers have penned their view on a good technical document, here are my two cent.: These are very high-level points which need to be breakdown further. If any document meet these parameters it is assumed micro parts are taken care of qualities of good technical writing Accurate Accuracy is the most important of the lot when it comes to qualities of good technical writing. Correct information.Many contracts have been lost just because of too many factual mistakes in the documentation. Get your drafts reviewed by people whose review is meaningful. Technical writing doesn’t allow to write your opinion, it is about facts. The facts should be clear irrespective of the kind of report: favourable or unfavourable. There should not be any false stories because it will question your credibility. Complete Don’t give an overview of procedures, if users need minute detail. Editing. Proofreading. Click to read the difference between Editing and Proofreading. Consistent Anytime you use a different word or term to refer to something you’ve already called by another name, you risk confusing the readers. There should not be any ambiguity and every sentence should have a single meaning. Clear Write clearly Use simple words and short sentences (KISS-Keep it simple) Clarity in the writing Useful Is it easy to learn? Is it efficient to use? Can a user recover quickly from errors? Is it easy to remember what to do? Is it fun to use? Does my document make it easy to find the information the user needs? (index, TOC) If the software has less-than-optimal usability, the documentation must try to make up for it. Documentation must also be tested. Attractive The document should be attractive to the eye. Effective use of visuals, gifs and media can do wonder. Readers resist reading what they don’t like to look at. Correct fonts, paragraph length, and styling can increase readability.  Navigation & Search The topics should be easily searchable. Readers must have the comfort to navigate easily in a document. If you are writing for search engines you must follow the google parameters for ranking.   Recommended read- Developing Quality Technical Information: A Handbook for Writers and Editors (3rd Edition) (IBM Press) Related Links: 5 best ways to provide writing samples NASA’s list of “Weak Phrases” for the technical documents Screen Capturing Tools

Major traits technical writers must have Two main traits that are must for you to be a successful technical writer (professional) is the ability to learn and the confidence- Rahul Karn   In this world, you will always have to challenge your ability, ability to write, ability to gather knowledge, ability to understand the application, ability to learn tools and many more abilities and above all self-belief and confidence that you have these abilities. Confidence that you have the ability to accomplish anything. Command on the language and tools are important but I feel correct attitude matters a lot, other skill can be learned on the job also- Rahul Karn   Many times a new project will be thrown on you without prior notice, proper knowledge transfer, training, manuals or study materials and process that too with a tight deadline and you have to do it because you have to deliver and you are paid for that. If you get bogged down by these kinds of challenges (opportunity) no matter how good a writer you are, you may have to taste the dust, but you take this as opportunity sky will not be the only limit.   In today’s environment where every day new technology becoming old, you will have to be on the toe to change with industry and stay ahead of the time. At least in the world of web, the successful technical writers (person) are those who can change with need and who thrive on the challenge of the new and untried.   How to cope with this? Keep updating yourself via a different social network, forums, friends, blogs and also try to attend and volunteer Information Developers Foundation conferences in your country and city. If you get a chance to take classes, go ahead and grab it this will give you immense confidence. Work in that area which keeps you haunted while performing your jobs may be some tool or even any soft skill.   Above all, I firmly believe in taking the bull from the horn. More you will challenge the technology more you will learn. Dip your toe in the water of technology you will learn it.   So, have the knowledge, be informed and wear confidence.   End of the day these are the unhidden source of your income. Related Links How to manage time between work and studies When determination meets fate Image Courtesy: Adobe video

Getting started into Technical writing   Now I am assuming you are a graduate and have the basic idea of what is technical writing and how it is different from other genres of writing. Maybe gone through formal training of Information Developers Foundation. I have noticed this type of queries from a newbie’s on any form of technical writing. So sharing some tips, old wisdom but a new chapter :-). I will also recommend you to read this technical writer guide before going ahead. Now it is time to “MARKET” your skills, for that you will need many tools like a resume, sample of your work, cover letter, feature article (if any), blog, letter of recommendation etc. Good Resume As a technical writer, it is expected for you to submit an error-free professional resume. Make sure your resume is free of grammatical errors, spelling mistakes or typo errors. If you cannot write a good resume how can you write a good technical document? I normally ask the technical writer during the interview “Can I assume your CV as your work sample” and then give it back to edit it. In hardly ten minutes I can judge many different qualities of aspirants. Prepare an error-free CV. Online CV should be the incorrect format. Do not name as resume.doc. The standard convention is to use your first initial, last name and the file extension. Do not assume the employer will have your resume; carry print copies with you.   Portfolio (Sample of Work) Many employers ask to submit your portfolio. Never include any work in your folio which is copyright protected or property of any organization, even if it is created by you. Try to showcase all your skills in a very concise but very smart way in your portfolio. Make an online as well as print copy. Get your folio edited by expert even if you are expert itself. Learn 5 best ways to provide writing samples Make a LinkedIn profile  A Linkedin profile adds credibility to your profile. Update it regularly to make yourself visible. It is also one of the best ways to connect with your peers and grow your network. You can also use it for job search and it also helps you to stand in the eyes of employers. As Linkedin profile has your detailed credentials it is more likely to get you relevant opportunities. It also helps you to interact with a large pool of people from the same domain. Premium subscription of job portals Don’t be the part of a huge recruitment funnel. Be filtered to increase your chance to get an interview call. A premium subscription of any job portal will help you to do that. You will get more relevant calls for a job. They provide you with resume templates, keep your profile on top to be more visualized and send you regular alerts so that you never miss any opportunity. Do not forget to visit our job board regularly. Network like a CEO Have you ever wondered how a CEO handle their business? A big empire is handled by a single person, it is only because of the huge network and connections they have. A bigger network gives you virtual hands to complete your task with more ease. A number of references come your way through networks, so work towards networking. Attend the seminars organized by different forums, webinars, local meetups, events like Information Developers conclave, be a part of it. Be vocal to show your presence. Show your skills where needed. Do not stop to network with your tribes even you get a job. Networking is a long-term effort. Consider helping people before asking for help. Contribute in the open source document To start as a fresher it becomes tough to show a sample of your work as the proof of your dexterity as a technical writer. Contributing in an open source document helps you compile a good number of sample to showcase it to your employer. A good example of the open source document is Git and Github. To know more see the video of the content charcha webinar by Amruta Ranade. Learn About Industry trends You should be aware of new trends in the industries. There are many ways to that, google search is good but apart from that join groups on many social networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn etc, read blogs and comment, join technical writing forums. You can find many resources on this blog. Bookmark this blog and reading a post daily should be your habit. Learning is a continuous process. This is a very old wisdom and relevant for tech writing also. Yes, if you are not a dynamic learner you will not enjoy the journey of information development. It is expected from technical writer to understand the application quickly and develop information on it. If you work with contractors many days you may have to work on multiple projects. Enhance your communication, interpersonal and interviewing skills it will help you to gather information about the project. Consider relocation For your first job, be ready to relocate. A city with more opportunity will help you. If you are staying at a remote location, try to move for better opportunities. We all are connected to our hometown but for growth, if needed do not hesitate to do that. Opportunity in technical writing in Bangalore is more than Lucknow. Consider relocating to Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad or Delhi NCR for the better job opportunity as a technical writer. There are many things that can be covered, but currently, I am able to gather this much only I will keep on updating this. Do not forget to master Microsoft Manual of style. Conclusion We all know to get the first job is always challenging but smart work always win. Hopefully, the above pointers will help you to get into your dream job. If you want feedback on your resume or just want to say hi. Call me Now! Best of Luck! Rahul

  Screen Capture Tools: Yes, you can print screen manually on a window by using [ PrintScreen] key, but as an Information developer, you will need much more feature. There are a plethora of tools I am trying to compile few. SnagIt It is probably most widely used screen capture tools by writers. It has easy UI almost all the feature you need that too with a very competitive price. Madcap Capture Suits Madcap Flare user, well-priced, you may take a little extra time to get used to it. SnapDraw Freeware,  worth a try. FullShot Expensive than above all I standard edition some features are missing. Take care of this before purchasing the order. SCREENGRABBER.NET Free tool to capture screen from movies. EasyCapture The main feature is its ability to capture scrolling windows and adding annotations. It is provided to you free. Capture Me A  free and simple software for your Macintosh. Clarify-it Capture, sequence and annotate screenshots to create documents that are a great alternative to screen recordings Screenpresso.  It’s free and has some basic annotation and editing options. PicPick     It’s free A discussion on LinkedIn on the similar topic. Looking for training on Adobe RoboHelp, Framemaker or Technical writing? Information Developers offers live, online Adobe Tools classes each month. We can also bring the same great training onsite to your facility. Interested? Contact us for details. For more Info on the HAT.

How to start as a Technical writer So you want to start as a technical writer/Information Developer, I will try to answer few questions, I was searching when I decided to embark on this journey. Career opportunities   Technical writers find career opportunities in the financial, industrial, construction, electronics, automotive, medical, computer, biomedical, healthcare, agricultural and petrochemical industries.In IT industries, a growth pattern is very much similar to software developers.  Do I have a trait to be an Information Developer? Unfortunately, most of the tech writer in the industry does not become tech writer by choice but it happens to them and many starts loving it and few change their way. Who are the people who change their way and why? A technical writer is expected to have great technical skill as well as writing skill i.e. exceptional command over language and understanding of technology and this is a very rare combination to find. Some companies depending on their requirement either hire a candidate with domain expertise’s and an average writing skill while some give priority to the language experts. New picking up trends are companies start giving preference to the candidate with engineering background with at least one language knowledge and domain knowledge with good communication skills. Although writing skill or technical skill for a technical writer is one of the most debatable topics on the different forum. I believe Students must have a command of the English language, and understand the basic principles of a composition including grammar and sentence construction and common sense (logic). Common sense helps to learn new tools quickly as well as it also helps to understand the flow usability of application which is also the main prerequisite for tech writers. So before you jump this bandwagon make sure you love to write and have a nick to learn tools and programs? If your answer is yes, then be sure you are choosing a right career. You can download the trial version of tools used by a technical author and try to get familiar with it. Above all correct attitude will help you to get your dream job. You can read about the qualities of a technical writer. Where to start? Which class to join classes and What to learn? Now you know you want to be a tech writer/information developer, the question is where to start? Which class to join to be a good technical writer and, above all, get a good paying job??? There is nothing like that if you get a chance to join directly any company without any training classes. Training classes are not a bad idea but starting directly is a great idea. I myself joined a class to become a tech writer but fortunately, I got placed before I complete my course? No, my institute does not have to do anything with my placement as I get it. It was my luck. So now you are considering joining a class to learn this skill. There are many classrooms and online courses are available.   What should you learn? I hope minimum these things you should learn in any classroom.   Introduction to technical writing. Concepts and Principle Importance of Technical Communication Software Development Life Cycle and Documentation Development Life Cycle Style Guide (MSTP) Authoring Tools (Word, RoboHelp, Framemaker) Imaging Tools (Snagit, Paint) After completing the course you should know: how to determine  the audience, purpose, and objectives for the various documents how to follow steps to successful technical writing how to write collaboratively how to write a procedures manual how to design the most common types of technical documents   Links to technical writing courses classrooms/online (India and International)