TrancedelicBlues Posted June 23, 2004 Share Posted June 23, 2004 I know someone, currently living in Colorado, who made a good living for 18+ years writing tech manuals. Now she's been unemployed for over a year, and she's feeling kind of... well.. bad... Speaking strictly as a musician/consumer, I think many of the manuals for gear I have bought recently just plain suck. Perhaps she could do better? What suggestions should I make to her? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
synthetic Posted June 23, 2004 Share Posted June 23, 2004 Send a letter to the attention of the marketing manager of a pro audio company. Attach a list of project completed, not a writing sample until requested. Most companies I've worked for hire outside technical writers. However the manuals are often written in Japan by non-native speakers. Don't ask why, they just are. Personally, I look for (and strive for in my own writing) good application tutorials. Anyone can write the reference type stuff, parameter 6 of menu 3 controls this and that. It's more difficult and useful to say if you want to record into a computer, step 1... A good manual has both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle ggurl Posted June 23, 2004 Share Posted June 23, 2004 Some companies also hire in-house ... she could check websites of specific companies in their "Jobs" area to see if there's a position she's interested in and qualified for. I've found tech writing, because it's, well, tech, is usually a local job, if not entirely in-house. you have to be able to interview engineers and demo gear that is often in prototype stage. FWIW, another thing I've found is that, although you as consumer think the manuals suck and need a facelift, companies don't. Tech writing by a pro writer is the last thing companies hire for, the first thing to get cut when economics are concerned. They'd just as soon have engineers -- who, in a tight economy, will take half their engineer pay to write instead of flipping burgers -- write the stuff poorly and leave it at that. At the very least, writers these days are expected to have a high level of technical proficiency in the area they are writing about. One of the reasons I don't do much tech writing ... Yes, these observations are from personal experience, as I have been hired to repair engineer-written manuals, and have both benefited and been scathed by the economics of this particular discipline. All I can say is, best of luck to your friend; it seems the job market is on the mend, and with all that experience I'm sure she'll find something. Original Latin Jazz CD Baby "I am not certain how original my contribution to music is as I am obviously an amateur." Patti Smith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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