Frequently asked questions

I get a lot of enquiries from fledgling TAs; here are some of the FAQs...
How did you get started?
I got started by doing a mail shot of my local companies (within an hour's drive). I also used to scour computer magazines for hardware and software reviews; if someone got panned for their documentation, I'd write to them enclosing a photocopy of their bad review! Mind you, that approach didn't work too well...
My personal contacts have got me several decent jobs over the years but, nowadays, I get all my new clients through my website.

How does a technical author work?
There are three types of technical author: full-time employees, serial contractors (nomads moving from one contract to the next, generally working on site) and freelancers. I've never been a full-timer but I've known a few and I wouldn't recommend it. When hard times arrive, the TA is the first out of the door - so not a lot of security there. In my early days, I worked on a few long-term contracts and hated the experience. The money was good but there was all the office politics to deal with and the worry of what to do when the contract ended. Anyway, I engineered a freelance role for myself; I wanted to be my own boss and be able to tell a client to stuff it if there was any nonsense.
How do you find work?
I pay Google about a fiver a month to make sure I'm near the top of the list for certain keyword searches - that's probably how you found me. I'd definitely recommend getting a website and setting up a Google Adwords campaign.
I've tended to have just a few companies on the books at any one time and don't often have the need or inclination to take on new ones.
Where do you work?
I work from home and mostly at home. I've got several clients that I have never met. They send me their products and I document them. To be honest, I very rarely get out of the house now. It's quite an adventure to go and visit a client!
What software do you use?
I do most user documentation in Word. It's not wonderful for large documents, and can cause plenty of headaches, but it's what most clients want you to use. For mighty, highly technical and immensely boring tomes, such as specification documents, Framemaker is the industry standard.
You need to be able to produce a PDF from your source document since most manuals are served from websites rather than as a printed work. Printers often prefer a document to be supplied as a PDF. There are a huge number of utilities that can do this, particularly from Word documents. For Help systems, Robohelp is the preferred compiler.
You'll need something to do graphics; I use CorelDraw. There are cheaper (and more expensive) graphics suites on the market; it just depends how much you need to do. If you only ever generate screenshots then Paint in Windows is good enough.
Do you need special qualifications to be a technical author?
I did the City and Guilds qualification in technical communication. At the time, I saw it as more of a statement of intent rather than a learning experience. It was hopelessly out-of-date (in fact, my first paid TA job was to rewrite some of my correspondence course material). Mind you, it made me realise that my English wasn't as gooder as I thought it was...
If I was starting out anew, I probably wouldn't bother with it. Nobody has ever asked me about my technical writing credentials - clients are normally just relieved that someone is willing to do the work. As with most things, it's experience that's important. Some knowledge of the subject matter, and enough expertise with software packages (especially, unfortunately, MSWord) to be able to craft a document. If you know how to use document styles, templates, bookmarks, fields and index entries then you're streets ahead of the rest of the business community, and well worth a bit of contract work.
Where can I find more information?
Have a look at the Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators website. I've never been one for belonging to professional bodies (I'm not a member), but it will have lots of interesting info for you. There's also a portal for freelance authors at www.qualityauthors.co.uk.
Are there any agencies for technical authors?
Agencies come and go so this list may go out-of-date very quickly:

Documentation People
PO Box 1099, Woking, Surrey, GU24 9WU
Tel 0870 241 6269 Fax 01276 485768

TAC Europe
Matrix House, Basing View, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG21 4HG
Tel 08700 600 822 Fax 01256 356371

Plain Words
Plain Words House 1 Curridge Green, Curridge, Newbury RG18 9EA
Tel: 01635 202013

3di Information Services Ltd
High Street, Ripley, Woking, Surrey GU23 6AF
Tel 01483 211533 Fax 01483 479635