freelancing as a techical writer

[Kristen Morrison]

Hello! I'm new to this, and I couldn't find the answer to this. I hope I'm not re-asking something that's been asked a million times.

Can you start off as a freelance technical writer? From my research, it appears the vast majority of freelance technical writers started off in 9-to-5 positions. However, I'm not quite ready to dive into that, since I already hold a part-time, at-home job that I enjoy. It just doesn't pay all the bills.

I'm hoping the technical writing program I'm looking at will give me enough material for a portfolio.

Thanks so much for your advice.

[Tom Johnson]

 

You might get a short contract (3 month or so), but my guess is that employers may be reluctant to hire someone without experience as a remote worker. I started as an entry-level technical writer in a large financial company with about a dozen other technical writers. I really benefited from being on-site with other technical writers.

Tom

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blog: http://idratherbewriting.com
twitter: http://twitter.com/tomjohnson

-----Original Message-----

freelancing as a techical writer

From: Kristen Morrison <scorp...@gmail.com>
To: technical-wr...@googlegroups.com

Sunday, April 01, 2012 at 4:00PM

 

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[Larry Kunz]

Hi, Kristen. I agree with Tom: you might get a few short-term gigs,
but it'll take quite a while to get regular work at the hourly rate
you'd like. Since you already have a part-time job that might be OK
for you; if it is, then go for it.

In the meantime, consider doing volunteer or pro bono work to build
that portfolio. Do you belong to a church, a civic organization, or an
environmental group? Ask if they need help with a website update, a
technical article, or an environmental impact statement. Chances are
they'll be thrilled to get the help, and you'll have something for
your portfolio. (Check out this article by Christian Vasile for a good
description of the difference between "volunteer" and "pro bono":
http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/what-is-pro-bono-work/)

Good luck to you!

Larry Kunz