newbie has education questions re: tech/professional writing

The_Happy_Magyar

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Hi everyone,
I'm new here (hi!) and like others on the forum, I'm trying to get set up as a freelance writer.

Along with my business plans I'd like to take an educational upgrade. I'd like some feedback on my plans:

There are a few colleges nearby that offer writing programs. Some of these are distance learning (online, and possibly with skype with the instructor). I also see some programs are Technical Writing and some are Professional Writing.

I can ask, do any of you see any drawback to going the distance learning route (learn online)? The college is reputable BTW, it's a bricks-and-mortar college (Humber in Toronto). But I wonder if being in a physical classroom has advantages. FWIW I'll probably take the distance learning out of necessity.

Also do you have any feedback on going the Technical Writing route vs. the Professional Writing route? (one is focused on, well, technical writing while the other is aimed more broadly at nonfiction writing professionally, not just technically).

FWIW I'd probably take the Professional Writing except that it's not offered distance, and that would mean I'd have to commute to the campus (I live outside Toronto) off and on. Also the Tech Writing starts in a few weeks whereas Professional Writing starts in September. So I'll probably take TW for that reason, it helps me move forward faster.

Nevertheless I'm wondering if anyone sees any strong reason not to do this. For that matter I could just take local college courses w/o a degree, on writing and related subjects, rather than a formal program. I would like the piece of paper at the end asserting I'm educated however :)

Thanks for the feedback.
 

cornflake

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Hi everyone,
I'm new here (hi!) and like others on the forum, I'm trying to get set up as a freelance writer.

Along with my business plans I'd like to take an educational upgrade. I'd like some feedback on my plans:

There are a few colleges nearby that offer writing programs. Some of these are distance learning (online, and possibly with skype with the instructor). I also see some programs are Technical Writing and some are Professional Writing.

I can ask, do any of you see any drawback to going the distance learning route (learn online)? The college is reputable BTW, it's a bricks-and-mortar college (Humber in Toronto). But I wonder if being in a physical classroom has advantages. FWIW I'll probably take the distance learning out of necessity.

Also do you have any feedback on going the Technical Writing route vs. the Professional Writing route? (one is focused on, well, technical writing while the other is aimed more broadly at nonfiction writing professionally, not just technically).

FWIW I'd probably take the Professional Writing except that it's not offered distance, and that would mean I'd have to commute to the campus (I live outside Toronto) off and on. Also the Tech Writing starts in a few weeks whereas Professional Writing starts in September. So I'll probably take TW for that reason, it helps me move forward faster.

Nevertheless I'm wondering if anyone sees any strong reason not to do this. For that matter I could just take local college courses w/o a degree, on writing and related subjects, rather than a formal program. I would like the piece of paper at the end asserting I'm educated however :)

Thanks for the feedback.

That piece of paper will not help you w/re freelancing.

What freelancing do you want to do? If you're interested in technical writing, you usually need some background in the area you're seeking to write about.

If it's freelancing in general, I don't even know what a degree would profess to do.

You'd be spending money on a degree that won't get you a return on that investment. If you're very unsure about your writing ability, then planning on freelancing as a moneymaker seems an odd choice. If you want to just take classes to take classes and the money doesn't matter and you're not counting on the paper to get you any jobs or make you a more attractive hire, then, you know, go nuts.
 

The_Happy_Magyar

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Well, I'm hoping that I could get the following benefits from a program of study:

* I'm hoping that my existing writing abilities, will be improved by formal study;

* I also want to learn to use modern software tools (I just know Word);

* Some of these courses are on relevant topics like how specifically to construct a technical manual, and how to find markets for your writing;

* I'm imagining that if I am offering my services as a technical or professional writer, having some kind of credential (formal education) can't hurt;

* ...and I'd also like to do it, just for my own edification.

In my technical career I spent a lot of my 20+ years writing documents of all kinds, and I believe my existing abilities are there, but I'd like to strengthen them further.

This is where I'm coming from. Am I the exception, considering people who market their writing services professionally?
 

gettingby

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That piece of paper will not help you w/re freelancing.

What freelancing do you want to do? If you're interested in technical writing, you usually need some background in the area you're seeking to write about.

If it's freelancing in general, I don't even know what a degree would profess to do.

You'd be spending money on a degree that won't get you a return on that investment. If you're very unsure about your writing ability, then planning on freelancing as a moneymaker seems an odd choice. If you want to just take classes to take classes and the money doesn't matter and you're not counting on the paper to get you any jobs or make you a more attractive hire, then, you know, go nuts.

I disagree that a writing degree doesn't come with benefits. It's true that you don't need a degree to write, but taking writing classes can up your abilities. There are also practical aspects of the industry that are addresses in courses. And that piece of paper can help you land jobs. I had a long career as a journalist and never met a fellow writer (freelance or staff) that didn't have a journalism or English degree. I'm not saying there aren't people who do this without, but I think the majority of professional writers do have these degrees.

I also think it's unfair for people do dismiss these degrees. People work just as hard in writing classes as in other classes and can learn just as much.
 

WriterBN

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Nevertheless I'm wondering if anyone sees any strong reason not to do this. For that matter I could just take local college courses w/o a degree, on writing and related subjects, rather than a formal program. I would like the piece of paper at the end asserting I'm educated however :)

Thanks for the feedback.

Courses can always benefit you in some way. If you're writing for corporate clients, though, they'll probably be more interested in your experience and clips than a degree.
 

cornflake

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I disagree that a writing degree doesn't come with benefits. It's true that you don't need a degree to write, but taking writing classes can up your abilities. There are also practical aspects of the industry that are addresses in courses. And that piece of paper can help you land jobs. I had a long career as a journalist and never met a fellow writer (freelance or staff) that didn't have a journalism or English degree. I'm not saying there aren't people who do this without, but I think the majority of professional writers do have these degrees.

I also think it's unfair for people do dismiss these degrees. People work just as hard in writing classes as in other classes and can learn just as much.

I've certainly known journalists without either, but journalism and English degrees are two very, very different things. Tons of people have English degrees - the degree doesn't necessarily have anything much to do with writing at all, and it certainly doesn't necessarily, or even often, have anything to do with journalism.

A journalism degree is a specialized field of study (and there are tons of journalists without these, though there are certainly those with and it's can [or could, back in the day] help someone land an internship or entry-level position at a good paper.

However, the OP is talking about writing programs, not degrees like that.

I'm on board with education for its own sake, god knows, hence the latter part of my post.

If the OP believes that having completed one of these courses will help him or her get freelance gigs, I stand by what I said.
 

amergina

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Hi, I don't usually hang out in this section, but I thought I'd throw my $.02 in. I'm a tech writer with 20+ years of experience. Degrees are interesting, but FWIW, I have two and both are in creative writing. That is, they had little to do with my tech writing career.

What was the most useful for landing my first writing gig was my experience as a computer lab manager in college and a little troubleshooting guide I wrote as part of that job.

So, the documentation you've written as part of your tech job is probably the most valuable in transitioning to tech writing (should you choose that route).

Classes can help, but more for building out your skillset than as something attractive on your resume/cv. Build a resume/cv that highlights your previous writing experiences in your tech job. Get together some writing samples.

As for learning doc tools,knowing tools like FrameMaker or Quark is useful, but more and more, knowing markup languages like DITA is of greater use in the market.

Personally, I find that if you're decent with learning software in general, you can learn any tool you need (having learned to use two different proprietary documentation systems in the past...year).

Anyway, hope that helps a bit. :)
 

cornflake

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Well, I'm hoping that I could get the following benefits from a program of study:

* I'm hoping that my existing writing abilities, will be improved by formal study;

This is a who knows kind of thing. I'd venture not, given what we're talking about, but maybe.

* I also want to learn to use modern software tools (I just know Word);

What tools? It's writing.

* Some of these courses are on relevant topics like how specifically to construct a technical manual, and how to find markets for your writing;

The first, ok, but if if you don't have the qualifications, useless; the second you don't need a classroom course for.

* I'm imagining that if I am offering my services as a technical or professional writer, having some kind of credential (formal education) can't hurt;

This is where you're off - it can't help, imo. I mean it's not going to come up, and I'm afraid it'd look quite weird if you offered it, like yeah, it might hurt.

* ...and I'd also like to do it, just for my own edification.

That's cool. I just worry you're looking at it like it will help you get freelance jobs.

In my technical career I spent a lot of my 20+ years writing documents of all kinds, and I believe my existing abilities are there, but I'd like to strengthen them further.

This is where I'm coming from. Am I the exception, considering people who market their writing services professionally?

I'm not sure I know what you mean by the last - exception to what?

As I said, imo, if the money isn't an issue and you just want to take courses, more power to you. If you're spending the money in hopes of getting a return because you believe the degree will give you a leg up in the world of freelance, don't.
 

amergina

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What tools? It's writing.

Well, for technical writing, there *are* specific documentation tools that aren't normally used in business writing.

Word really isn't the best for large suites of documentation. There are better tools. They're not impossible to learn, certainly. But there is a learning curve for some of them.

But for tech writing now-a-days? Structured markup is the best to know, whether it's DITA or SGML or another markup. More and more, companies are moving to editors that use a structured markup language for ease in version control (because you're ultimately dumping to XML, which is text and easy to do difs against) and single-source output ('cause you're dumping to XML and can create style sheets for PDF or HTML or whatever).

Freelance writing, I'm guessing, is an entirely different ball of wax. :) I have no experience there.
 

Angie

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I've yet to be asked for either my educational background or a resume by any of the clients I've worked for. The only thing they want to see is relevant clips - and it sounds like you've got plenty of those.

If you've got the money and time to take the courses, and if that would give you the confidence to put yourself out there as a freelancer, then by all means do so. But a formal writing education is not a requirement in order to be a freelance writer. I know several successful freelancers (including Carol Tice of Make a Living Writing) with no college degree at all.

ETA: I don't do technical writing, so of course if there's a specific markup or software you need to learn, then definitely do that. ;)
 
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The_Happy_Magyar

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Hi everyone, thanks for the ongoing discussion, it's enlightening.

Earlier I asked 'if I was the exception'. What I meant was, am I in the minority to think formal education is useful in professional writing? And by professional writing I mean technical writing, business writing (proposals, grants) etc.

And my understanding is limited, but from what I know there are apparently specific tools used in technical writing, like Madcap Flare (not that I know anything about it at this point, other than it exists).
 

Michele AKA Twig

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If I were you, I would forgo the college courses and find professional writers that are willing to help you get started.
A good place to start looking is at the renegade writer blog. The author, Linda Formichelli, has tons of useful stuff for freelancers both new and old.

Good luck in your ventures.
 

cornflake

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Well, for technical writing, there *are* specific documentation tools that aren't normally used in business writing.

Word really isn't the best for large suites of documentation. There are better tools. They're not impossible to learn, certainly. But there is a learning curve for some of them.

But for tech writing now-a-days? Structured markup is the best to know, whether it's DITA or SGML or another markup. More and more, companies are moving to editors that use a structured markup language for ease in version control (because you're ultimately dumping to XML, which is text and easy to do difs against) and single-source output ('cause you're dumping to XML and can create style sheets for PDF or HTML or whatever).

Freelance writing, I'm guessing, is an entirely different ball of wax. :) I have no experience there.

Learn something every day. Thanks. :) I dunno nuttin bout no technical writing besides I've met a person or two who engaged in it, but software didn't come up I guess, heh. My bad.