How to become a Manual Writer?

EmperorWolf · Jun 23, 2014

As the title says, by that I mean writing manuals. All advice welcome.

Old Hack · Jun 23, 2014

I think it's called "technical writing", not "manual writing". It's a very specialised field.

amergina · Jun 23, 2014

EmperorWolf said:
As the title says, by that I mean writing manuals. All advice welcome.

Do you mean technical writing?

Generally, you get in through the ground up, working in a company. There are many freelance (contract) technical writers, but they generally have several years of experience before they go freelance/contract.

Having a background in other technically-oriented business writing helps. Or if you have strong writing skills and have help-desk type experience. You must have the ability to learn new technical information pretty darn fast. It also helps if you're familiar with something other than Word (i.e., FrameMaker, QuarkXPress, etc.) and/or with structured markup languages such as SGML or DITA.

For me, I had help desk experience at a school known for its computer science and had written some help documentation as part of my job while at the university. This got me a position as a Jr. technical writer and I built my career from there.

I'm not freelance, though. I prefer to be salaried, for a variety of reasons.

veinglory · Jun 23, 2014

Most writing of technical manuals will be in house.

WeaselFire · Jun 23, 2014

EmperorWolf said:
As the title says, by that I mean writing manuals. All advice welcome.

Step 1) Get a job writing manuals for a specific company. This may mean a move to that company's location. Monster.com has jobs like this listed all the time.

Step 2) Work there for several years, building your expertise and honing your craft.

Step 3) Leave the company, go out on your own and make oodles of scratch contracting yourself back to that same company.

It's worked for many writers.

Now, do you mean actual manuals, such as the operations manual for the Boeing 787? Or books that would be bought by consumers to learn how to use a product, such as a Windows 8 user's guide?

Jeff

EmperorWolf · Jun 24, 2014

I meant both. Manuals and user guides. Even instructions on medicine. Honestly to me user guides and manuals are the same thing.

veinglory · Jun 24, 2014

In the market they are different because one is made by the manufacturer and the other may not be. This makes the logistics completely different.

EmperorWolf · Jun 24, 2014

So how would I go about getting a job writing user guides?

amergina · Jun 24, 2014

EmperorWolf said:
So how would I go about getting a job writing user guides?

amergina said:
Do you mean technical writing?

Generally, you get in through the ground up, working in a company. There are many freelance (contract) technical writers, but they generally have several years of experience before they go freelance/contract.

Having a background in other technically-oriented business writing helps. Or if you have strong writing skills and have help-desk type experience. You must have the ability to learn new technical information pretty darn fast. It also helps if you're familiar with something other than Word (i.e., FrameMaker, QuarkXPress, etc.) and/or with structured markup languages such as SGML or DITA.

For me, I had help desk experience at a school known for its computer science and had written some help documentation as part of my job while at the university. This got me a position as a Jr. technical writer and I built my career from there.

I'm not freelance, though. I prefer to be salaried, for a variety of reasons.

WeaselFire said:
Step 1) Get a job writing manuals for a specific company. This may mean a move to that company's location. Monster.com has jobs like this listed all the time.

Step 2) Work there for several years, building your expertise and honing your craft.

Step 3) Leave the company, go out on your own and make oodles of scratch contracting yourself back to that same company.

It's worked for many writers.

Now, do you mean actual manuals, such as the operations manual for the Boeing 787? Or books that would be bought by consumers to learn how to use a product, such as a Windows 8 user's guide?

Jeff

Same way. You look for and apply for technical writing jobs. With 0-2 years of experience in technical writing, you'll be coming in at the ground floor.

veinglory · Jun 24, 2014

It would really help if you were a little more specific about the field you have relevant special knowledge or experience in. Because that really is a prerequisite in 99% of the cases where you are not already a in house writer. The other approach being, get a job somewhere that makes manuals in house. For example I have science qualifications that allow me to apply for technical writing jobs involving anatomy and pharmaceuticals because it means I can cope with those concepts and vocab. If I applied to write technical manuals about software or engineering, I would be out of luck.

EmperorWolf · Jun 24, 2014

The reason I got interested is that I read that for some manuals they just send you all the videos, info, etc and the writer just has to put everything into words. Vacuum instructions, appliance instructions, furniture instructions, things of that nature.

WeaselFire · Jun 24, 2014

EmperorWolf said:
The reason I got interested is that I read that for some manuals they just send you all the videos, info, etc and the writer just has to put everything into words.

Wow. Wish that was true when I was writing them. I had to interview the designers, developers and marketing people, walk through the design specs and do a lot of work with the product.

By the way, you seem to be, through your various posts and questions, looking for the simple way to earn a living as a writer. You need to come to grips with the fact that there is only one way -- by writing. And there are no simple shortcuts to earning a living.

Unless you're John Locke and can write stupid books and pay people oodles of money to review them for you...

Jeff

cornflake · Jun 24, 2014

EmperorWolf said:
The reason I got interested is that I read that for some manuals they just send you all the videos, info, etc and the writer just has to put everything into words. Vacuum instructions, appliance instructions, furniture instructions, things of that nature.

I've never done that, and according to the post following yours that doesn't seem to be how it works, but even if it were, you're making what sounds like a nightmare to me sound like a walk in the park.

Think about describing how to assemble something to someone if they cannot see you do it. Like, if you had to sit and, without touching anything, describe in a small, specific number of words, how to assemble a piece of Ikea furniture, or if you had to watch a video of someone troubleshooting a vacuum and then write it in simple, very few words, that are meant to be abundantly clear to anyone. Night.Mare.

Bicyclefish · Jun 24, 2014

veinglory said:
In the market they are different because one is made by the manufacturer and the other may not be. This makes the logistics completely different.

Yup and based on my personal observations instructions written for different end users will require different levels of expertise and writing style.

veinglory said:
For example I have science qualifications that allow me to apply for technical writing jobs involving anatomy and pharmaceuticals because it means I can cope with those concepts and vocab. If I applied to write technical manuals about software or engineering, I would be out of luck.

This. I happened upon a forum with some technical writers here that also provide some insight, in particular the 3rd one.

Technical writing is a weird field. Your job is to do something that everybody else hates doing, using arcane and complex information that you've gleaned from an expert who is frustrated by having to explain it to you because it's so simple. You then have to make that information simple enough for your target audience to understand without being condescending. You need to ensure it's complete, professional, and well edited [...] You might have a style guide if you're with a big company, or you might have to invent one. Style guides are critically important and reflect strongly on the business. Any change that doesn't make it into the documentation reflects badly on you, even if you just didn't know it had changed.

If you want an idea of what various companies are looking for, check job listings at sites like Monster or Indeed. For example here's the requirements for a position with a software company:

* 5+ years of experience writing commercial software documentation. Experience working with localized products is a plus.
* You are able to describe complex and technical topics clearly and accurately in a way that is appropriate for the target audience.
* You can juggle multiple projects and prioritize tasks with conflicting deadlines to ensure on-time completion.
* You are persistent and resourceful. You are not satisfied to simply rephrase use cases and specs. Rather, you verify how the products actually work and provide appropriate documentation.
* You are drawn to technical subjects and enjoy digging in and learning more. You enjoy talking to developers about software. You might even have specific database, network, or programming domain knowledge.
* You have a holistic approach to writing that includes thinking about how the documentation will be accessed and used. You are committed to creating useful and beautiful documentation.
* You have a B.S. or B.A. degree in Technical Writing or equivalent professional technical writing experience.

Amazon posted an ad requiring:

Basic Qualifications
* Bachelor’s degree in English, technical writing, or related field or comparable job experience
* A minimum of 5 years in a technical writing, content strategist, or information developer role with a primary focus on platforms, software and workflow applications
* Proven experience designing and delivering high-quality online documentation (writing samples required) for a consumer audience
* Experience with content creation for translation and localization into other languages
* Dedication to team success while working independently on multiple projects
* Experience managing content projects, including coordinating with other functional teams

Preferred Qualifications
* Experience with HTML, XML-based (preferably DITA XML-based) content management systems, document tagging, and SEO best practices
* Ability to conceptualize and execute projects, with a strong bias for action and the ability to prioritize and meet deadlines
* Experience working in an agile (preferably SCRUM) content development environment
* Experience working with product and UI designers and writing UI text
* Experience working as part of a global team with remote colleagues

Last, a position for medical devices required:

* Bachelor’s Degree, preferably in Communications related discipline.
* Technical or Clinical training highly desired
* 5 years technical writing experience in a manufacturing environment, preferably in medical devices.
* Proven, outstanding technical writing ability, ideally with experience writing for translation.
* Strong research and information gathering skills.
* Technical savvy with high motivation to understand technical concepts
* Fluency in technical communications software tools, including Adobe FrameMaker, PhotoShop, and Illustrator. Knowledge of medical device labeling regulations a plus. Knowledge of/experience with usability testing a plus. Experience with online help/help systems a plus. Experience with topic-based authoring tools, including Author-it, a plus.

dantefrizzoli · Jun 29, 2014

I think if you look into it there may be specific sites that could help you out or articles/forums

How to become a Manual Writer?

EmperorWolf

Old Hack

Such a nasty woman

amergina

Pittsburgh Strong

veinglory

volitare nequeo

WeaselFire

Benefactor Member

EmperorWolf

veinglory

volitare nequeo

EmperorWolf

amergina

Pittsburgh Strong

veinglory

volitare nequeo

EmperorWolf

WeaselFire

Benefactor Member

cornflake

practical experience, FTW

Bicyclefish

Pedaling Pescado

dantefrizzoli