Through my blog, I receive a lot of questions from users. I’ve seen the same questions numerous times, so I’ve decided to compile a list of answers to those questions and add a link to them on my contact page. These are the 10 most frequently asked questions about technical writing: 1. What technical writing Continue Reading »
Tag Archives: tools
Reader Question: “My Wish List for Technical Writing Tools”
I recently received a comment from a reader who sent me a wish list for technical writing tools. Sam from Canada writes, Hi Tom, I’ve been enjoying your posts along with Mark Baker’s. You both have good points about technical writing trends. I could be totally wrong, but maybe it’s not the tech writers that are resisting Continue Reading »
Professional Technical Writing Careers — Answers to Questions, by Cheryl Landes
Technical communication professors often ask students to interview a professional technical writer to get a better sense of the field. The following responses are from Cheryl Landes, a professional technical and marketing communicator. Cheryl owns her own company, Tabby Cat Communications. The questions come from a student at Missouri State University. What preparation did you have for Continue Reading »
How Can Newbies Learn Tech Comm Tools Given Their Cost?
I recently received the following question from a reader: Hello. I’ve read some of your blog articles and they’ve been very helpful. I’m interested in changing careers and am hoping to pick your brain with a brief couple of questions. First, how do outsiders learn the software that TechComm folks use? I’ve looked at Adobe’s Continue Reading »
Graduate Research Findings about Technical Communication and Blogs in the Workplace
The following is a guest post by Michelle Tompkins. Earlier this year she asked me to post a survey about technical communication and blogging. I posted it here, and then asked if she would follow up to share her findings. This guest post shares her findings. Earlier in December, Tom Johnson was nice enough to Continue Reading »
What Tools Do Technical Writers Use
Students and others trying to break into technical writing are always wondering what tools they should use. The latest tools survey from WritersUA seems helpful in answering this question. The survey concludes that some of the most popular tools for technical writers are Adobe Acrobat, Camtasia Studio, Adobe Captivate, Dreamweaver, Madcap Flare, Framemaker, Photoshop, Robohelp, Continue Reading »
The Proximity Problem for Technical Writers
Last year I wrote a series of posts about moving from the sidelines to center stage. In the series I described how I transitioned from a low-key, hardly-speaking project member to a key player on the project team, someone with a voice that mattered in project decisions. But recently, with some projects, I’ve come full Continue Reading »
Formalizing My Help Strategy
In a previous post, I started to explain my approach to help authoring. I’m trying to flesh this out into a more developed and detailed — but not too long — statement about how I do help. This information would be useful both to project managers as well as other writers I work with. I Continue Reading »
Answers About the Field of Technical Writing for Students
Download MP3 Length: 27 min. In this monologue podcast, I answer a student’s questions about the field of technical writing, including how I fell into it, what kinds of projects I work on, and other details. Her questions are as follows: What did you study in college and where did you attend? What degrees/certificates do Continue Reading »
An Interview About Technical Writing
Download MP3 Length: 30 min. This is a special podcast for Carly Finseth at Clemson University who is thinking about entering the field of technical writing and wanted to ask me a few questions. After I recorded the podcast, she was kind enough to transcribe it. I polished up the transcription a bit so that Continue Reading »