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The places I've worked with tech writers have tended to be larger companies, yeah. At startups, if any of the engineers has passable writing ability, they get

The places I've worked with tech writers have tended to be larger companies, yeah. At startups, if any of the engineers has passable writing ability, they get tech writing on their list of job duties, in my experience. My previous company was a fintech startup, for example, and I wrote all the customer-facing API documentation and tutorials and code samples for their currency exchange service, in addition to implementing most of the service itself.

qprofyeh 3y ago
This is the way. Later on tech-savvy freelance writers are contracted to write more “professional” articles and documentation. It’s fluff but necessary to build the brand. IMHO the person who did the external API design should be able to convey the ideas behind their design in long-form as well. And vice versa, only let a person who can explain stuff well in writing design external APIs. Some companies call them DX’ers.
- remoquete 3y ago
  Author here: I spoke about how tech writers can assist API design here: https://passo.uno/posts/how-to-assist-api-design-as-a-technical-writer/ https://passo.uno/posts/how-to-assist-api-design-as-a-techni... In fact, I worked as the API designer for one of the APIs I also documented…
- nsoonhui 3y ago
  But aren't the "tech savvy freelancers" easily replaceable by ChatGPT nowadays? Since they are not adding more real meat there.
  - remoquete 3y ago
    Define "tech savvy freelancer". Writers for content farms? Those are the technical writers the post describes.
remoquete 3y ago
And don’t you think it’d have been way more efficient to have a dedicated writer?
- koreth1 3y ago
  Maybe, but it wouldn't have been a slam dunk, because "have a dedicated writer" isn't a magic wand. I would have spent hours interviewing tech writer candidates instead of writing docs. I would still have spent a bunch of time putting information about the API into words for the benefit of the tech writer. But the more important thing is, the product wasn't big enough or changing quickly enough to justify having a full-time tech writer on staff. The initial published version of the documentation was a few weeks of work to write and edit (spread out over a longer period since I was also doing other things, but a few weeks total). And after that, it only needed occasional updates when we changed something about the product or when a customer had a question that we realized indicated a gap in the documentation. So we would probably have ended up hiring a contract tech writer. The writer wouldn't have been intimately familiar with the product. Which can sometimes be a good thing (since it means they have the perspective of a reader who is also not familiar with the product) but isn't necessarily great for efficiency. And also, I enjoy writing! So it wasn't a burden for me at all, efficient or otherwise.

qprofyeh 3y ago

This is the way. Later on tech-savvy freelance writers are contracted to write more “professional” articles and documentation. It’s fluff but necessary to build the brand. IMHO the person who did the external API design should be able to convey the ideas behind their design in long-form as well. And vice versa, only let a person who can explain stuff well in writing design external APIs. Some companies call them DX’ers.

remoquete 3y ago
Author here: I spoke about how tech writers can assist API design here: https://passo.uno/posts/how-to-assist-api-design-as-a-technical-writer/ https://passo.uno/posts/how-to-assist-api-design-as-a-techni... In fact, I worked as the API designer for one of the APIs I also documented…
nsoonhui 3y ago
But aren't the "tech savvy freelancers" easily replaceable by ChatGPT nowadays? Since they are not adding more real meat there.
- remoquete 3y ago
  Define "tech savvy freelancer". Writers for content farms? Those are the technical writers the post describes.

remoquete 3y ago

And don’t you think it’d have been way more efficient to have a dedicated writer?

koreth1 3y ago
Maybe, but it wouldn't have been a slam dunk, because "have a dedicated writer" isn't a magic wand. I would have spent hours interviewing tech writer candidates instead of writing docs. I would still have spent a bunch of time putting information about the API into words for the benefit of the tech writer. But the more important thing is, the product wasn't big enough or changing quickly enough to justify having a full-time tech writer on staff. The initial published version of the documentation was a few weeks of work to write and edit (spread out over a longer period since I was also doing other things, but a few weeks total). And after that, it only needed occasional updates when we changed something about the product or when a customer had a question that we realized indicated a gap in the documentation. So we would probably have ended up hiring a contract tech writer. The writer wouldn't have been intimately familiar with the product. Which can sometimes be a good thing (since it means they have the perspective of a reader who is also not familiar with the product) but isn't necessarily great for efficiency. And also, I enjoy writing! So it wasn't a burden for me at all, efficient or otherwise.