Re: Joing STC and breaking into Technical Writing

[Andrew Plato <gilliankitty -at- yahoo -dot- com>]

"JayWright" <jaywright -at- comcast -dot- net> wrote in message news:171205 -at- techwr-l -dot-  -dot-  -dot- 
> 
> I'm new to this list.  I don't know how often you see these requests for
> information.  I've been communicating with a few tech writers about setting
> up a home based tech writing business.
> 
> I have had a few suggest my best course of action is to join STC.  I have
> had STC members suggest I start here to get thoughts on STC itself before
> joining.
> 
> Is anyone available to share their suggestions or experience on getting a
> business like this up and running?

STC is fine for socializing and commiseration. Its not the place to get a job.
All the people who attend STC meetings are other unemployed people. They can't
help you at all. Of the few hiring people who attend, they usually are empire
builders who want to command teams of followers, not contractors or independents.


You need to network with business leaders and decision makers. To do this I would
recommend:

Chamber of Commerce Meetings
Every city has one and they usually have networking groups. 

Lobby and business groups
Most cities have a wide array of political and special-interest groups. These are
usually funded by the business community to lobby state and local governments on
business issues like transportation, taxes, land use, etc. 

Professional societies OTHER than tech writing
Virtually every profession on the planet has a society dedicated to it. If you
want jobs in the health-care industry, find out about professional societies
related to that and start attending their meetings. 

Partnerships
Sometimes the best way to get ahead is to ride the coattails of others. Locate
some local consulting firms and offer to take the president or an account manager
out to lunch. Offer to be a partner with them. If they need a tech writer for a
project, have them call you and you'll quote them a "wholesale" rate on your
services. 

> My current plan of action is to join STC and get involved with some of the
> SIGs in hopes of meeting people and making some contacts and hopefully
> getting some work from there.  I figure I will likely volunteer to help on a
> few projects at first to build up a portfolio and prove my value.  Does
> anyone have comments/suggestions on this plan of action?

You would be better off to volunteer at the chamber of commerce or a business
council. Offer to do their web site or just help them set up a newsletter.
Anything. Remember, tech writers rarely hire other tech writers for contract
gigs. You're more likely to get a gig through a business manager or director who
needs to finish off a project and needs some help. 

Also - I would plan on NOT working at home. It can take a long time to build up a
sizable clientele to the point where you can work from home. You have to earn
your stripes in contracting, and the only way to do that - at least most places -
is to work on-site.

Lastly - if you are really serious about running a business, you need to think,
act, and behave like a business person. That means a relentless pursuit over
perfecting your pitch, your capabilities, your brand, and your presence. And all
of this is on-top of doing documentation and worrying about templates and device
drivers and such. 

STC tends to focus on writing issues, fonts, styles, grammar, and other stuff
that you should already have mastered. There is a lot of career development crap
as well, but its usually worthless advice since the people giving the advice
aren't doing much better than you and in many cases they are PAYING for the right
to give out advice. That's kind of like a vanity publisher. The material is of
questionable value since the person paid to have it published. 

It is a brutal world out there and only the paranoid survive. 

Good luck

Andrew Plato 

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