CrashTestChix

Tom ‘Duffbert’ Duff and I put together a BOF at Lotusphere 2011 about technical writing.  I’ve recently been asked again – how does one get started with writing a technical article or book and I thought I’d share some of our bullet points from that session.

When you’re writing for a technical audience, be it a white paper, article, or book, here are some things to keep in mind:

• Know your audience – senior management or users?
• Know your material – and give credit where credit is due.  If you’re presenting your own material be sure to say so, but also if your writing includes information from someone else be sure to give that person recognition.
• Be specific and minimize use of acronyms – not everyone knows them.
• If you blog (and you should), treat it as a constant advertisement for your skills in writing. That may be how you receive your first writing assignment.
• Make liberal use of your spelling and grammar checker.
• Focus on positive ideas.
• Don’t try to be overly funny in your writing. It may not transfer over well to other cultures.
• Read!  Pay attention to trends, content, writing styles.  You’ll learn a lot from other writers!
• Pick up and read some basic books on writing:
  • The Elements of Style by Strunk and White
  • The Elements of International English Style by Edmond H. Weiss
  • Rules for Writers by Diana Hacker
  • Practice some of the basic errors that catch writers: its/it’s, their/they’re/there, theirs/there’s.
• Start writing and contributing NOW:
  • Blogs (yours or guest authoring)
  • Lotus wikis
  • Technical newsletters (DeveloperWorks, LotusUserGroup.org, technical publications)
  • Contact industry publications and ask about freelance policies
  • Start small and work your way up.  Don’t expect your first writing effort to result in a book.

If you’re thinking about submitting a proposal for a technical book or article some items to include are: 

• Topic Summary
• Description
• A “sell line” – why would someone want to buy this book?
• Sales features – would you include code or additional download?
• Style/approach
• Chapter outline – probably one of the most important steps, this should be very detailed!
• Page counts – Yes page counts – publishers like to have an idea as to how long the book will be to gauge their publishing costs.
• Schedule – how long do you think it will take you to write?
• Related titles – what other titles are available that may compete?
• Target audience
• Market information – are you writing about a specific product, if so what is the market for the product and is a book necessary.
• Trends
• Author information – include your credentials! What makes you the expert to write the book!
• Promotion – some ideas for promoting the book.
• Reviewers – suggest some names for the publisher.  Don’t assume they have a pool of reviewers, especially for niche products.

Writing is not easy, but it is one of the most fulfilling things you can do!  So start scribbling and who knows where it might take you!