Writing for Money

[viscousmemories]

With the prospect of a technical writing job on the horizon (should I manage to get and 'pass' the interview despite having no training and limited experience), I'm curious to hear stories about the trials and tribulations of writing for money. I'd be writing documentation for a software product if I got this particular job, but even if I don't it's just one branch of a much bigger tree. So any stories, tips, etc. about professional writing are welcome and encouraged.

[slimshady2357]

With the prospect of a technical writing job on the horizon (should I manage to get and 'pass' the interview despite having no training and limited experience), I'm curious to hear stories about the trials and tribulations of writing for money. I'd be writing documentation for a software product if I got this particular job, but even if I don't it's just one branch of a much bigger tree. So any stories, tips, etc. about professional writing are welcome and encouraged.

Hey vm, you might want to contact LukeT on either the SC or JREF, I think he is currently employed as a technical manual writer or was recently.

Just a thought.

I've never written anything for money.

[viscousmemories]

Thanks for the thought, slim, but I think I can safely say LukeT wouldn't want to help me. :shiftier:

[lisarea]

You are such a whore.

I AM LOOKING ASKANCE AT YOU.

[viscousmemories]

Mua? Shirley ewe gest.

[slimshady2357]

Thanks for the thought, slim, but I think I can safely say LukeT wouldn't want to help me. :shiftier:

I used to think that about LukeT and me as well, but he seems to be a forgive and forget kind of guy.

You'll likely get some great responses here anyway though :)

FF is da shit ya know.

[lisarea]

OK. I am still looking at you all askance and shit, but

The most important thing for that kind of job is to try to understand the naive user. Writing for money is like method acting or, eh, you know, trolling. You have to sort of adopt an appropriate persona, even for pretty standard stuff. In most cases, that persona is "smarmy corporate shill."

Establish what your use cases are, and try to predict your low-end average user. Do they know how to turn on a computer? Use a mouse? Are they familiar with prevailing desktop metaphors, menu hierarchies, and file systems?

Overexplaining is worse than underexplaining, so err on that side, but don't err too far.

I'll try to think of some more stuff later.

[The Lone Ranger]

I think lisarea has illuminated what is probably the most important point.

While in grad school, I wrote a manual on how to use some of the equipment in the lab and what those big, impressive-looking machines actually did. My goal was to write it so that your typical undergrad -- who probably knows little about oxygen consumption and aerobic respiration -- could not only operate the machine, but would understand what it was actually measuring.

I guess I succeeded more or less, because they not only paid me for it, I was told that it was the most "user-friendly" manual they'd read.


I suspect that a lot of technical writers forget what it was like not to understand what they're writing about, and so have difficulty relating to the average Joe on the street -- who probably knows next to nothing about the subject, and so must be taught, starting with the basics. (Since I'd just learned to use the oxygen-analyzer myself, I didn't fall into that trap -- I knew that the average person on the street wouldn't know how to operate the thing or what it does.)

With that in mind, while it's often necessary to assume that your reader knows nothing at all about the subject, this doesn't imply that the reader is stupid or that (s)he won't notice if (s)he's being patronized. Far too many technical writers fall into the traps of writing material that's either too difficult for the average reader or that is so "dumbed down" that the reader feels patronized.


I don't think that'll be a problem for you though, vm. In my humble opinion, the key to successfully conveying information in writing is to make sure that your writing is well-organized, so that the reader moves from topic to topic in a natural and progressive order. Beyond that, you typically have to assume that your reader probably doesn't have anything beyond a rudimentary grasp of the subject matter, and so must be educated. Treat your reader as ignorant but basically intelligent. [Exactly how ignorant your average reader is will vary, of course.]


Good luck!

Cheers,

Michael

[D. Scarlatti]

Isn't the key to writing software manuals having your work translated to Chinese and back again?

All the ones I've read seem to have been.

[JoeP]

Writing for Money
Dear Mom and Dad,
I know it has been a lot time since I last wrote but I have been busy looking for work. Things are getting a bit tight and I wonder if
...

I used to follow a discussion list called "work for writers" http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WorkForWriters/ which often had links to how-to articles. But it is (or was) dominated by journalistic channels and to some extent finding the jobs and dealing with contracts and stuff, rather less about getting the actual writing done. Are you looking for help on getting the work, or on getting the work done?

[viscousmemories]

Getting the work done. If I don't get the job I'm looking at now I'll probably go a different route.

Thanks for the tips, everyone.

[Legs]

vm, no advice, just wanted to wish you the best with this endeavor.

[viscousmemories]

Thanks Legs. :)

[ChuckF]

He's a private writer
A writer for money
Writes what you want him to write

Yes a private writer
A writer for money
Any old topic will do

Good luck vm :thumbup:

[viscousmemories]

Thanks, Chuck.

Even though it's hard not to hate you for putting Tina Turner in my head.

[godfry n. glad]

Dear Dad:

The stipend you provided to get myself established down here in college-town did exactly that....and not much more. Now I'm facing tuition and books, with potential costs that look to soar far beyond initial estimates.

I think we slipped a decimal place...the tight way.

Please send more money ASAP.

Love ya...

Yer son.

[seebs]

I do this full-time. No, wait; I do it part-time. It's just that I don't do anything ELSE for money.

I'm a freelancer. No job. This has downsides and upsides. Mostly, I like it.

A few things:
1. Lose the ego. If you are a good writer, you will probably find it very annoying that people keep telling you to change things. Everyone will have their own answer to the question "what is a good voice to write in". Here's the key: If they're paying you, they get to pick a "good" writing style. I've done everything from "For Dummies" chapters to really heavy and dense technical material. The person paying the bills calls the shots.

It shocks me how many people can't cope with this. If you have to work with an editor, be happy, and work with the editor, even if the editor's sometimes difficult. Editors end up being the people who make decisions on who gets writing gigs. Editors who remember you as pleasant and easy to work with pay you more. I don't think I've ever had an editor buy one article from me and then never buy from me again; I attribute this in no small part to cheerful and supportive responses to editorial requests.

You can, indeed, lose jobs over style stuff. I once heard of a guy who ended up killing a several-thousand dollar contract because he couldn't accept the employer's style guide requirement that the reader be addressed informally as "you" rather than as the more-formal "one". IANMTU.

2. Deadlines. Meet 'em. Be early when you can. At the VERY first hint that something might delay you, let the editor know about your concerns. Editors can work miracles given a week of warning; they can't usually work them overnight. Reliability of warnings matters in some ways more than reliability of meeting deadlines. An editor can learn to give you an extra week on a project if you tend to be a little late, but an editor can't learn to give an extra week because your grandmother might die; editors need to get the warning as soon as possible when something comes up that may require a scramble.

3. Read in your field. Write in your field. Expand into new fields. Stay as flexible as you can. I am currently writing about everything from Linux kernel architecture to POWER5 instruction sets to OS X user interfaces. Flexibility means you are qualified for more of the jobs that come along.

If someone asks you what you know, tell the truth; don't exaggerate your competence, but let them know if you're willing to learn, and how long it will realistically take you to be up to speed. I've gotten gigs based on "I don't know, but I could be ready to write an entry-level article on the topic in two weeks." All my stuff on the Cell Broadband Engine was written based on knowing nothing about it the day I got the gig.

4. If you're doing freelance, try to get an agent. Agents are wonderful, because they perform a vital service; they can negotiate without seeming greedy. It's socially acceptable. The standard commission rate is 15%, and assumes that an agent will do some amount of hunting for likely work for you. Different agencies have different qualities; if you can, talk to established writers to get their opinions. There are agencies I'd rather not work with, and there are other agencies I'd probably like. (I have a weird setup with an agent that's pretty much going solo right now, for various reasons.)

5. Take breaks sometimes. Find out what refreshes you and do it. For me, it's mostly video games and the like, but the key is, you should have a non-writing hobby. Tragically, BBSs don't count, at least for me. If you do full-time writing, allocate a few hours a week for exercise, because a sedentary job isn't good for you.

6. Estimate your taxes early and often, and if at all possible, put the money away in advance. Trust me, the alternative sucks very badly.

[Plant Woman]

An actual letter I wrote after moving to Hawaii:

Dear Mom,

Safe and sound and getting brown.

Please send money.

Love, Deb

[Plant Woman]

5. Take breaks sometimes. Find out what refreshes you and do it. For me, it's mostly video games and the like, but the key is, you should have a non-writing hobby. Tragically, BBSs don't count, at least for me. If you do full-time writing, allocate a few hours a week for exercise, because a sedentary job isn't good for you.

I walk almost daily for an hour before I start to work. That really helps!

Freelance writing can sometimes be a lonely life, so to add to your excellent recommendations, I say be sure to get out and interact with others. I have a studio I use that overlooks the water that is calm and peaceful, my office at home and I write in a cafe sometimes, or down on the beach at a picnic table. Also writing in a cafe or other public place does me a world of good. I will work for awhile and usually end up talking to people here and there. I do more work away from my office than at home, and because I need to take some reference material with me and download to my notepad it helps me focus better.

Every writer finds there own way of doing things.

[lisarea]

Hey, seebs! You forgot "Don't work for free."

When you get a new client, bill them early and wait for the check to clear before you invest too much time. The client I'm working almost exclusively for now had to pay me for every tiny little discrete project for a couple of months before I started trusting them.

I don't even want to say how long it took me to learn that lesson.

Anyways, that's all freelance stuff. vm's not going to be a filthy freelancer. He's going to have a real job! And he's going to buy us lots of presents!

RIGHT, VM?

[viscousmemories]

Right! If I get a real job (the first in, what... five, six years?) presents for everyone!

Thanks for the tips seebs, PW and lisarea. Maybe I'll try to get some other writing gig if this one falls through, but right now I'm pretty much counting on my friend pulling strings to get me over the "no training or experience to speak of" hurdle. I'm not sure I could get my foot in a door otherwise.

[viscousmemories]

The technical writing job I mentioned in the OP never materialized, but by coincidence the temp agency called me today with a copy editing/proofreading job at a publishing company for Tue-Fri of this week. It'll at least be much needed cash and an interesting experience, but I'm hopeful that it'll develop into something more. :eager:

[ChuckF]

Please let it be a niche erotica publishing company, please let it be a niche erotica publishing company, please let it be a niche erotica publishing company. :crossed:

"Yo Tom, how do you spell bedonkadonk?"

[pescifish]

Good news about the temp gig, vm!

[viscousmemories]

"Yo Tom, how do you spell bedonkadonk?"
Ironically, I learned this morning that it's badonkadonk.

Thanks, :fishie:.

[viscousmemories]

Speaking of irony, I'm resurrecting this thread because there's a slim chance I'll be transitioning into a writing job soon.

(Wow, this thread is more than 1200 days old).

[Bastard]

With the prospect of a technical writing job on the horizon (should I manage to get and 'pass' the interview despite having no training and limited experience), I'm curious to hear stories about the trials and tribulations of writing for money. I'd be writing documentation for a software product if I got this particular job, but even if I don't it's just one branch of a much bigger tree. So any stories, tips, etc. about professional writing are welcome and encouraged.

I've had stories and articles published in magazines, but I don't think that is applicable to your circumstance.

[BDS]

So any stories, tips, etc. about professional writing are welcome and encouraged.
.

My first job out of college was writing copy for The Bradford Exchange. You've probably seen their ads -- they are still around and specialize in selling "collector's plates" and other "fine collectables".

When I worked there, they billed themselves as an "Exchange" in fine collectables. This was so they could write letters to their customer list bragging about how the plate they recommended 3 years ago was now "trading" for $937.

Very little actual trading was done -- although, by law, the Bradford Exchange was required to honor their quoted prices. However, few 'collectors' actually wanted to cash in. Instead, they wanted to think they were making a sound "investment". There were some other tricks of the trade: the quantity of plates made was not generally limited by number, but "strictly limited to 3 firing days, after which the mold for the plates will be destroyed, and no more plates will ever be produced." Of course, in three firing days, as many plates could go through the kilns as were ordered by the credulous public.

My boss was a strange guy -- very smart and talented, but of the opinion that well written advertising copy was as artistic as Shakespeare's plays. He later started his own collectables company, and wrote a biography of the artist who designed most of his plates. The biography was designed to give credibility to the notion that the artist was so well respected that biographers were clamoring to write her 'life'. My old boss was so talented, though, that he ended up selling tens of thousands of copies of the biography, along with uncounted thousands of plates.

[seebs]

FWIW, I'm no longer writing for a living, mostly, but I did put a couple of months a year or two back into developing a developer's guide for part of $dayjob's stuff. I've been too busy with other consulting stuff to write much.

But writing remains fun.

[Plant Woman]

Nothing more satisfying then writing. Even my critical analysis papers in school are proving to be fun to write. Congrats visc! Now will you put a capital letter in front of your name, so it doesn't drive me bonkers to write it? :giggle:

[viscousmemories]

:laugh: Nevah!

[seebs]

Holy crap.

Doing my taxes, I discovered that I made no money writing in 2009.

[Demimonde]

He writes hard for the money
so hard for it honey!
He writes hard for the money
so you better read him right

[Lauri D]

Speaking of irony, I'm resurrecting this thread because there's a slim chance I'll be transitioning into a writing job soon.

(Wow, this thread is more than 1200 days old).
Well I hope you'll forgive me for my all-consuming envy.

But more importantly, if it works out, huge congrats.

[viscousmemories]

It's technical writing, I'm pretty sure it won't be all that enviable. :)