I co-authored a book on Python last year and it was a lot of work, but also a lot of fun. Does anyone have experience with writing part time or full time on technical topics? How would one get started?
Ask HN: Is it possible to live off technical writing?
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Re: Ask HN: Is it possible to live off technical writing?
#2I used to be part of a small tech writing firm. The bulk of our work was RFQs, tenders, req specs, user manuals, procedures manuals - all corporate wordsmithing. It paid pretty well, but I found it very tedious. And the politics and the PHB attacks were draining to say the least. Creative and Fun are two words that positively do not come to mind about that phase of my life.
Re: Ask HN: Is it possible to live off technical writing?
#3At my last sfw eng job we had two full time writers mostly working on documentation and legacy system diagrams. These people were both contractors, but were employed full-time there before I started and after I left (4+ years.) Like the other poster they may have come from writing firms or just done individual contracting. Maybe contact some head hunters?
Re: Ask HN: Is it possible to live off technical writing?
#4I am part-time author of books and articles from IT area. Nowadays I am writing my third book. Article take me just a few hours during evening. Books around 250 pages takes ma around one year, written mainly during evenings and nights (my wife is getting insane from this).
In regards to money...no, you can't pay your mortgage from it.
In regards to fun .. yes, it is fun, usually I learn a lot with every book.
In regards to development....yes, it can help me get better job since it is some kind of marketing, and there are not so much candidates with same portfolio. Another thing is that it helps me develop my skills, language and thinking.
In regards how to start ... get in touch with some chief editor, they have a list of topic they and possible readers are interested in. I always send them resume with short description of my previous work and projects.
Re: Ask HN: Is it possible to live off technical writing?
#5I serve on the evangelism team at Twilio. Technical writing is a big part of our job. We also spun up a Developer Education team last year which writes in-depth tutorials and the docs.
I think you may have been asking if it's possible to live off of freelance technical writing, in which case, I can't answer that based off of personal experience. But there absolutely are jobs out there that require a competent developer with exceptional communication and teaching ability.
Re: Ask HN: Is it possible to live off technical writing?
#6I know several people who have full-time employment as technical writers. The downside is that they don't get to choose what to work on.
Re: Ask HN: Is it possible to live off technical writing?
#7As a full time job at a company, it'll pay less than your counterpart role in development. As a solo person building a brand a la Michael Hartl (Rails, Learn Enough), it's a business, and marketing is a big part of it.
In terms of getting a job at a company, I've seen people pursue technical writing certificates. Though, I think a long list of open source contributions will speak for itself when it comes to modern software gigs. It seems like you have a bit of experience pursuing the second route already, so it's not a bad idea to keep doing that, then lateral into a place of employment.
I think the likelihood of making a living as an indie developer is greater than as an indie on the App Store for example. Tracy Osborn (Hello Web App) said herself that one book wouldn't provide a living, though she surmised that someone with multiple books might. The speaking engagements, networking, and new opportunities will help overall in filling the gaps.
An in depth book may take 6 months to a year to write, but if the writing process can be scaled down to 1 - 2 months per book, with the quality not suffering too much, I don't see why it's not possible that a person can be doing this full time/exclusively after a year of publications, with other contract engagements. To clarify, a number of these books will likely address to a specific framework du jour, or learn X in 1 week, but there can be some that are absolute gems/labor of love.
Disclaimer: I'm just an observer, hoping to explore the same path.
Re: Ask HN: Is it possible to live off technical writing?
#8I am the Community Evangelist for Cocos2d-x. Technical writing is a big part of my job.
I really enjoy it. I am always looking for ways to improve what we write. One downside is that I don't get a lot of freedom to chose what I write. The topics are usually given to me.
Re: Ask HN: Is it possible to live off technical writing?
#9I know several people who have full-time employment as technical writers. The downside is that they don't get to choose what to work on.
I regularly worked with technical writers (usually one specific guy) at my previous job. Definitely a thing.
Re: Ask HN: Is it possible to live off technical writing?
#10While a student I was writing for a Linux e-zine. Paid 20$/article, at least 700 words(?) a.f.a.i.k. Not a good source of income, but fun and easy to get into, I just emailed the editor that I am attending a conference, and would write few articles for them. Usually sites like these will tell you if they are looking for writers, and whether they are willing to pay for them :)