How to sell yourself as a Technical Author

Bryan ladeTCUK Conference Oct 2012

Topics

• A bit about me• The authoring world (UK)• Author types & traits• CVs and applications• Networking• In the workplace

A bit about me

• I am NOT a writer!• Started career as an Engineer • Previously been a: Product Manager, Project

Manager, Technical Manager, eCommerce Dev, Marketing Manager, Business Dev Mgr, Operations Director (now @ 3di Information Solutions Ltd)

• Managed project to re-write the RS 20k page catalogue (2005)

• Have managed 100+ Technical Communication projects…

Managing Technical Communication projects

• Every project unique• Every project has its own specification, typically a mix of…

– Consultancy– Authors– Information Designers– Project Management– Quality– Software / tools– Processes– Timescales

• I’ve worked with many authors on many projects!

The authoring world (UK)

Companies that recognise technical

authoring

Companies that don’t recognise technical

authoring

The authoring world (UK)

• Small and relatively unknown discipline in the UK• Only two Degree courses: SH and Portsmouth• The majority of business professionals have never

heard of “Technical Authoring”• UK culture is that stuff gets written by others;

Project Managers, Product Managers, etc• Don’t assume people recognise or understand

your discipline!

Generic Technical Author traits I have seen – more than once!

– Poor personal communicators (email!)– “NO ONE LOVES ME, NO ONE VALUES ME!”– “I know best”– Some can’t actually write– Blinkered to the bigger (business) picture– Weirdest dress sense (a telling sign?!)– Practical, not creative…– Useless at marketing

Author Types

• Permanent, Contract, Freelance• Good, bad, indifferent!• Sole authors, team authors• Need to be told, need to tell• Techy, processy, reporty, marketingy (and

those that think they can do it all!)• Fell into it, pursued it

Permanent, Contract, Freelance

• Permanent:– Safe & long term – Commitments– Constrained by location

• Contract:– Usually willing to travel– Good authors work a lot– Bad authors work little

• Freelance:– Multiple projects on go, Project Management skills, flexible, consultative –

offer solutions

You are one of these by nature, though can change over time

Technical Authoring – the basics

Make sure you really understand what you (should!) do – it’s your foundation, your motto

• You represent the user experience• You bridge the gap from product development

and design to the user• You are not the Subject Matter Expert, but you

get the concepts of a product or service• You articulate what “good” looks and feels like• You make complicated things easy to use

CVs & applications • Your CV showcases you as an author!• Your CV will rarely be read

– No typos!– No bad grammar!– No waffle! (clear concise communication!)

• Does your CV reflect how and what you write?• Upload your CV regularly – old ones will not be found• Think of your CV as a database that will be searched – needs to be keyword

rich– Documentation / information types– Industries– Technologies– Tools– Software– Processes– Location

CVs & applications Your turn – see if you can determine what your keywords

for your CV will be?

Mine? – assuming I stay in this profession:Director, General Manager, Operations Manager, Interim

Manager, Consultant, Documentation, Technical Authoring, Technical Writing, Technical Documentation, Degree, Content Management, Technical publications, Information Design, User Support Information, Online Help, eCommerce (expand), Catalogue production (expand)

CVs & applications cont’d• Recipients will be looking to gauge if you are a

contractor or permy by nature• Avoid: Old fashioned feeling, too long, too short,

typo’s, poor grammar, etc. GET IT CHECKED!• Samples & support information - make sure they are

good– “I work under NDA, don’t have samples” utter rubbish!

• Introducing yourself: please, please, please, make application covering emails relevant (please do one!)

• If you are going to build a web site, please do a good one or get it done by a professional

Going to build a web site?Make sure you get the basics right:• Pagerank?• SEO?• Blogging• Use social media to link and raise awareness• Structure & submitting for search (spidering)• Keywords? (competition)• How will you use it? Push or Pull - do you expect

people to find it?• A good web site can be invaluable for contractors and

freelancers

Networking• Don’t leave networking until you need it• LinkedIn (& Twitter?) – invaluable – do it – know it

– Grow your network regularly– Many people headhunted– Groups = intelligence– Your profile needs to reflect your keywords– InMail?

• ISTC, local area groups, Conference!• Do communicate your availability regularly:

– “If you don’t ask you won’t get”– Telephone– Email– Social media

Networking - LinkedIn

• Top keywords in the sub header

• Make connections

• Summary must be keyword rich

• Get recommendations

• Make recommendations

• Complete your profile

In the workplace Two golden rules you must be aware of:

• Most colleagues will not give two hoots about technical documentation

• Most colleagues will therefore see you as an unnecessary cost

Selling the value of what you do is not easy.…and it’s all about cost…and cost!

In the workplace cont’dBefore, at interview and throughout:• Gauge expectations:– Do they really care / who cares?

• If they “don’t care” – make a point of speaking to them. Often.

– Do they know what good looks like?• Articulate it – competitor analysis?

• You can’t sell something without benefits (tangible)• Business “change” will alter the above – watch for it!

In the workplace cont’d• Communicate!

– “they don’t care/understand!”– Do you really help them to? (poor comms?)– Who do you need to communicate with?– Frequency and how?

• Email updates• Team meets, get invited to others, go present• Wiki, web• Samples (noticeboard?)• Document specifications – get more input• Person to person

Your turn – what do you do now and what could you do?

In the workplace cont’dMeasure (and communicate)!

– Quantitative or qualitative – do something– Customer support– Speak to customers– Web stats– Usability testing– Translation benefits– Legal requirements

Cost benefit ideally, but customer satisfaction if not. Your measures should be aligned with agreed business objectives

Your turn – what do you measure and what could you measure?

In the workplace cont’d• It’s a hard sell:– Your colleagues and peers typically won’t care

unless you make it relevant and worth caring about

– But if you measure & communicate, you can change this

For more details please refer to Rachel Potts excellent article in the summer Communicator, “Measuring success”

In summary• Don’t assume that anyone knows anything

about Technical Authoring or what you do • Take time to get your CV & support information

perfect and make those applications relevant• Network – now• Find your value, find your supporters and communicate your value and successes

Any questions?

Thank you and enjoy the conference

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