Does your technical writing team have offices in Bangalore? Many US software companies are moving technical writing projects to India, Romania, Singapore and Poland. I often help these teams setup their tech writing dept and mentor junior writers who are finding their way. Document reviews are one area you need to focus on to ensure […]
How to Choose the Right Style Guide for Technical Writers
How do I choose the right style guide for my technical writers? I’m setting up a Technical Publications Dept. for a Financial Services company. What is the best style guide to encourage the staff to use? The benefit of adopting a style guide is that it puts guidelines in place to ensure consistency across all […]
Svi Ben-Elya on Technical Writing in Israel
After moving to Israel in the early 1980s, Mr. Ben-Elya became one of Israel’s first technical writers. He developed a reputation for helping companies solve their documentation problems innovatively but painlessly, while within the technical writing community he became known for helping others. Mr. Ben-Elya’s reputation enabled him bring together all parts of Israel’s technical writing community (independent contractors, technical writing companies, and in-house writers) in Oct. 2003 to found Elephant. http://elephant.org.il.
Are Daily Rates for Technical Writers Starting To Improve?
In December, I looked at the daily rates for technical writers and others in the tech comms industry. At the time daily rates for technical writers are down to $30 per hour in some places in the Bay Area. However, maybe things are starting to turn around. In Ireland (Euro HQ for most US IT companies) Google has announced 150 new jobs, many in technical roles. So, is the tide starting to turn?
3 Ways to Turn Outsourcing to Your Advantage
Image Chris Pirillo Outsourcing is not going to go away. Our recent Technical Writers survey showed that US companies are now outsourcing technical documentation projects big-time to India, Poland and Portugal. This is not going to change. It’s just a business decision. Feeling bad/sad/mad about it won’t change it. But what you can do is […]
Audience Analysis Tutorial
When discussing Audience Analysis, David McMurray points out that, “for most technical writers, this is the most important consideration in planning, writing, and reviewing a document. You “adapt” your writing to meet the needs, interests, and background of the readers who will be reading your writing.
Are Daily Rates for Technical Writers Collapsing?
Daily rates for technical writers are down to $30 per hour in some places in the Bay Area. Recent articles on other technical writing sites suggests that daily rates for technical writers is collapsing in the US, in particular the west coast, as more writers struggle to find roles that match their previous salaries.