Technical Writer Resources

INTECOM - The International Council for Technical Communication—Aims to improve technical documentation and communication through international co-operation among technical communication organizations.

International Computer Consultants Association—"The Independent Computer Consultants Association (ICCA) represents a wide variety of information technology consultants who provide consulting, implementation, support, training, strategic planning, and business analysis services."

Society for Technical Communication—STC is an individual membership organization dedicated to advancing the art and science of technical communication. Over 23,000 members.

Trade, Association and Business Publications International—TABPI endeavors to bring together editors working for English-language publications worldwide, and encourage a common dedication to editorial ethics and excellence.

Career Outlook for Technical Writers to 2010—Article summarizes US Dept. of Labor's “Occupational Outlook Handbook, Writers and Editors."

Making Money In Technical Writing—Peter Kent, author of the best-selling Complete Idiot's Guide to the Internet (Que) and Making Money in Technical Writing (MacMillan Publishing) shares his secrets for breaking into this lucrative field.

Newbie Tech Writer—A resource for the beginner technical writer with information about finding jobs, publishing tools and writing resumes.

Online Technical Writing: Online Textbook—This text is used by students in online technical-communication courses worldwide as well as the online version of TCM1603, Introduction to Technical Communication, taught by David A. McMurrey, at Austin Community College (ACC) in Austin , Texas USA .

Technical Writing FAQ—Answers to frequently asked questions for beginning technical writers by technical writer John Hewitt.

Technical Writing Tips—Ten useful tips on technical writing by Matthew Arnold Stern, creative and technical writer.

The Value of Adding Images to Technical Documentation by V. Berba Velasco—A discussion of why it is important to judiciously images to make technical documentation clearer and more readable.

Usable Web: Guide to Web usability resources—A collection of 449 links and accompanying information about human factors, user interface issues, and usable design specific to the World Wide Web.

IRS FAQs About Independent Contractors

Your Rights as an Independent Contractor—Contractor-centric discussion of basic legal issues.

A Handbook for Technical Writers and Editors—This publication is directed toward professional writers, editors, and proofreaders. Those whose profession lies in other areas (for example, research or management), but who have occasion to write or review others' writing will also find this information useful.

APA Style Guide—This site is devoted to APA Style and includes free style tips as well as links to online purchasing of the APA Publication Manual, Style Guides, and APA Style-Helper software.

Document Design—Journal of Research and Problem Solving in Organizational Communication. Site provides back issues, subscription, contribution guidelines, and board members.

Style Manuals & Writing Guides—What is a Style Manual? A handbook or guide that illustrates the accepted format for citing your references in term papers, theses, articles, etc.

Writing for the Web—A research project about how users read on the Web and how authors should write their Web pages (a study by John Morkes and Jakob Nielsen): includes downloadable files, tasks, and questionnaires to allow replicated or revised experiments

Writing Style Guide—This guide describes proper writing style for documents written by Hawley & Associates. Good technical writing is often hard to identify because it usually goes unnoticed, while bad technical writing is easy to notice, whether it's spelling or grammatical errors, inaccurate or confusing technical language, colloquial or offensive language, or other problems. One way to avoid these pitfalls is to follow the rules found in a good writing style guide.

101 Writing Answers—A Directory of Writing Resources t he place to find writing resources on the Internet or to showcase your own resource.

A Non-Writers Guide to Estimating Writing Projects

Documentation Managers Survey Results—Sponsored by Metri-Mark, Inc., 1026 respondents of which 566 were managers and 455 were non-managers.

Online Dictionary—Features a complete dictionary and thesaurus for easy lookups, and it offers them in several languages. You can also improve your vocabulary with a "word of the day."

refdesk—indexes and reviews quality, credible, and current information-based sites and assists readers in navigating these sites. An incredibly useful site, with search engines, dictionaries, news, finances, weather, miscellaneous facts...you name it. You've got to check it out!

ScribeStudio—100% Web-based e-Learning toolkit that enables subject matter experts to quickly and easily author and publish online courses and training programs and to manage and communicate with learners online.

TechEncylcopedia—is a comprehensive technical dictionary containing More than 11,000 definitions of computer terms and concepts.

The EServer TC Library—part library index, part web portal--for professional, scientific, and technical communicators (including technical writers). The goal of this website is to provide tech comm practitioners, students, teachers, and managers a single location from which to access the best resources available online.

The Technical Communicators Resource Site—A comprehensive resource for writers of technical publications, containing many links.

EServer TC Library—A real-time chat site for technical communicators, built to create an inviting online space as a way to foster a sense of community among professionals in this emerging field.

Yahoo Groups - Technical Writing—Choose from over 15 discussion groups and mailing lists directly related to technical writing.

Career Outlook for Technical Writers to 2010—Article summarizes US Dept. of Labor's “Occupational Outlook Handbook, Writers and Editors."

Ethics of Technical Publishing: Trust Yourself—An article providing a look into the ethic side of technical publishing and writing. Who can you trust and what do you do when you are confronted with an unethical boss, co-worker or assignment.

Marketing Yourself as an Independent Technical Writer by Ron Kurtus

The Value of Adding Images to Technical Documentation by V. Berba Velasco—A discussion of why it is important to judiciously images to make technical documentation clearer and more readable.

What Technical Writers are Paid by Ron Kurtus

Writing - Copyrights and Trademarks Protect You by Marilyn Schwader—When most people consider writing a book, they don't think about Trademarks. However, I highly recommend that you leverage your writing for multiple purposes, and that's why registering a Trademark for your concept is a good idea. If you use your writing as the basis for workshops and other products, it's in your best interests to protect your concepts with a Trademark.

The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr

Choosing and using a technical writer by Jean Hollis Weber

Getting Contractors Up to Speed Quickly by Miki Magyar

Hiring a Technical Writer

Hiring a Technical Writer by Eric J. Ray

Outsourcing Your Documentation

Reasons for hiring a technical writer by Joe Woodard

Strategies for hiring a technical writer by William T. Kelly

Strategies when hiring a technical writer by  William T. Kelly

Ten Questions To Ask Before Hiring a Freelance Writer by Linda Elizabeth Alexander

Who needs a technical writer? by Jean Hollis Webe

Working with contract tech writers for documentation needs by William T. Kelly

Document Design—Journal of Research and Problem Solving in Organizational Communication. Site provides back issues, subscription, contribution guidelines, and board members.

Journal of Technical Writing and Communication—Serves as a major professional and scholarly Journal for practitioners and teachers of most functional forms of communication. (Baywood Scholarly and Professional Publications)

Technical Communication Quarterly—An ATTW (Association of Teachers of Technical Writing) publication that requires registration for access.

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