Introduction To Technical Writing: A beginner's guide
Mastering the Art of Technical documentation in Clear and Persuasive Communication
Are you new to Technical writing? Never written an article before? Well, it's fine! By the end of this article, it will provide you with enough materials to get you started on your technical writing journey.
I will be sharing material courses on technical writing, where you can publish your articles and apply for jobs. I will also share how I got accepted to write for two companies. I hope all your questions will be answered by the end of this article.
What Is Technical Writing?
Technical writing is a type of writing that communicates complex and specialized information to a specific audience clearly and concisely.
It aims to explain technical concepts, procedures, and instructions to readers who may not have a technical background, expertise, and practitioners.
Technical writing includes user manuals, instruction guides, reports, and more. It often involves breaking down complex technical information into simpler terms, using diagrams, charts, and other visual aids to help readers understand the material.
Importance Technical Writing
Let's say the company you work for develops a new software product. The product was innovative and had the potential to revolutionize the market. However, the company didn't invest much time in documenting the technical aspects of the product.
As a result, the product was difficult to use, and customers were frustrated when they encountered problems.
Realizing their mistake, the company hired a technical writer to create comprehensive documentation for their product. The technical writer worked closely with the developers and created user manuals, online help files, and other types of documentation to assist customers.
With the new documentation in place, customers were able to use the product more easily and had fewer problems.
You can see how Technical writing played a crucial role in assisting customers in understanding the company's products. It's like when you buy an electronic gadget and you find a manual inside to help you understand how to use the product.
Technical writers are employed in many industries, such as engineering, software development, healthcare, and more.
Technical Writing Materials
Tech: Write and Earn - (Highly recommended)
Technical Writing - Documentation on software products
Books For Technical Writers
Where To Get Technical Writing Gigs
Several companies pay writers to write for them. Most times, these companies require you to send a proposal. If your proposal is accepted, you get to write on the topic you proposed and get paid. These companies have been compiled in a GitHub repository for easy access.
I will be dropping different Github links, some might contain the same companies but with the addition of
Malgamves Community Writer Program - This contains a list of companies that hire Technical writers.
Getting Started With Technical Writing - This is a list of technical writing material with companies included where you can apply for technical writing jobs.
Who pays Technical writers - A list of Technical writing agencies and the amount they pay.
Technical Writing Tools
I will be dropping tools you can make use of to make your technical writing journey easier.
Technical-writing-template - A sample template with guidelines for writing technical articles.
HackMD - You can collaborate on technical documentation in markdown. It provides you with great writing tools so you get to see the code you document alongside your writing.
Canva - Create cover images for your articles and blog posts.
Annotely - Make drawings, highlights, blurs, and screenshots
Mermaid - Create diagrams and visualizations using text and code.
Notion - I personally make use of notion to write out my blogging ideas. The all-in-one workspace for your notes, tasks, wikis, and databases.
Grammarly - Grammarly is a writing assistant that goes deeper than grammar to offer you comprehensive writing feedback.
Quillbot - It helps you rewrite and enhance any sentence, paragraph, or article using state-of-the-art AI.
README Markdown generator - CLI that generates beautiful README.md files.
Technical Writing Guide
When deciding how to create content, it is important to pay attention to some companies that already have amazing style guides to guide you. Here is a list of them:
Microsoft style guide - Microsoft manual style guide.
Google style guide - provides editorial guidelines for writing clear and consistent Google-related developer documentation.
Diataxis - A systematic framework for technical documentation authoring
IBM style guide - IBM editorial style guide.
Freecodecamp style guide - Their publication style guide.
Build Your Portfolio
One of the fastest ways of getting a response from a company you mailed for a job application is by showing them samples of your work. The two companies I work with got back to me with job offers because I showed them samples of my work - articles.
Having a blog where you post your writing will give you a high advantage and connect you to potential recruiters. Below is the list of platforms where you can post your articles.
Hashnode - A community for developers and technical writers.
Dev - A platform for writers and developers
Medium - A platform for writers
NOTE: You can also get paid on these platforms though they have rules and requirements.
Another important thing you should note is that the article you intend to show to any company matters! Don't send an article on Javascript when the company only deals with the topic of AI. Also ensure, you present your best articles.
When you write, ensure your work is clean, understandable, and readable. That is another trait companies look out for.
Let me know if you have any questions in the comment section and if you found this article useful, please like, follow, and share with your friends.