Lessons from Working as a Contract Technical Writer in the South

About five years ago, I started advertising my services on oDesk (now UpWork) for technical writer projects. Why would I do that after the most enjoyable year I had as an English teacher? Mostly the challenge of knowing the true value of my talents and experiences; after all, I had written my own lesson plans, exams, and ghostwritten grant letters as well as created this blog that most of you have read from since 2012. It wasn’t boredom per se, but I wanted to utilize everything I had learned over the course of this lifetime into a way of simplifying processes to an easy-to-read level.

One thing I must pass on:  the work is definitely underappreciated. My greatest challenge comes from the pay and timeline – as in customers want their products yesterday for a flat ten dollars in the most succinct detail possible. The competition is brutal – from what I’ve experienced in bidding wars, the winners typically work for pennies on the dollar per word and the services are often outsourced to Second World nations.  For the few bids I was able to win, it was for local projects that I essentially served as a ghost writer.

I have learned several lessons from my time actively pursuing tech writer projects and am sharing them below:

1)    Because I am a black man in a technical discipline, I already stand out. Therefore, I absolutely must stay abreast of industry trends for fear of falling behind and out of work. Way back in 2002, I was a monster with web development yet the need to survive (as in paying Sallie Mae and keeping a hoopty somewhat functional) outweighed my choice of employment opportunities. Even in central Arkansas, everyone looked to working for the same tech companies:  Alltel, Acxiom, or a regional IT firm. The independent economy was still in its infantile stages and sadly, I didn’t know what I thought I did.

2)    Stay encouraged. You may not get a phone call returned or an email replied, or become the subject of a disciplinary message (I was part of one and I won’t say which employer) due to an overlooked detail, but it happens. I busted my a** to get to this point, so tucking tail and running away just as the job starts to slow down and get easier would be the worst thing to happen.

3)    Being unique is strength to be valued; cookie-cutter employees are the first to be replaced.  I may not always feel that way about my current employer as some members of the senior management team and floor supervisors underscore my worth because they do not always see the tangibles brought to the table. People do remember you simply for being there and taking an interest in what they do, and if you can make an impact in your current role, then you carry leverage come evaluation day – and when someone chooses to reward said gifts.

4)    Help someone up the ladder – as in mentorship. It does not cost anything to help someone up the ladder even if they end up climbing to a higher step than you. Not only do you feel better, but others also recognize another facet of leadership since you have developed a mentee who had become a success.

5)    Just because I work for myself does not mean disregard the three C’s:  concise, clear, and coherent. I still expect myself to explain processes clearly in a manner than they are easily understood without the use of flowery language. The need to flex your vocabulary sometimes is a deterrent to those who require a simpler verbiage.

While most of the technical writer jobs I see daily online are on the coasts and in larger cities, the talent and opportunities are there in Middle America. It may take a little more effort to be seen, but hard work and using our brains will yield a greater reward. For me, my biggest takeaway is to remain even-keeled through the highs and lows of contract work since it will not make me a rich man.