I’m pretty sure that I can do a better job than this.

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I’m now officially a freelance writer. Although I’ve been at this a few weeks now (and signed off the dole last week since I was finally working enough hours to do so), I’m not sure that it’s sunk in yet.

When I lost my job last December, my first reaction was to update my CV and then apply for as many new technical writing jobs as I could find in Northern Ireland. By some fluke, I managed to find six to apply for (it’s usually rare for there to be even one vacancy out there), and over the course of January, I applied for them all.

But I decided not to just sit back, claim Jobseeker’s Allowance, and wait. I also signed myself up for a trio of websites which match freelancers to jobs: oDesk, PeoplePerHour, and Elance. I put together my profile on each, took some tests on oDesk (such as Technical Writing Skills and US English Vocabulary), and started to apply for work.

Each of these sites seems to work slightly differently. I started with PeoplePerHour, by completing my profile and then bidding on a job. That involved writing a bid proposal – something I was new to, and found quite daunting. I put it off for at least a week after I’d seen a job advertised that I wanted to try for! In the end I went for it, although I still have no idea whether the way in which I structured my proposal was at all correct, since I didn’t get the job.

I found it easier to apply for jobs on oDesk, since here it was a simple case of making sure my profile was complete and then applying for each job with a customised cover letter. And lo! I picked up some work, started it on February 7th, and felt rather proud of myself.

And it turned out to be just as well, since I hadn’t heard much that was encouraging from the jobs I’d applied to. I had two rejections, where I didn’t meet the job criteria. I had been interviewed by phone for another job, and invited to a face-t0-face interview… but by this time I was 2 weeks into the freelance work, having picked up enough to keep me busy and to get me off the dole, so I decided not to go to the interview. (If it had been a local job, I might have, but another reason for wanting to stay freelance is that I can’t bear the thought of commuting across Northern Ireland again.)

So here I am, slowly building up a portfolio of clients. I’m tackling a nice variety of work: installation and user guides, web content, article writing, proof-reading and editing, and I’m even having to expand my areas of expertise to things like SEO. It’s all interesting though, and I hope it’s a decision I don’t regret.

Astute readers – or just my few regular ones – will have noticed some changes to this blog. In particular, most of its content seems to be missing!

But panic not: it’s just that since I’ve taken up freelance writing on a regular basis, I want to use Sharp Words as a more professional website. Most of my old posts have been archived off to a more personal blog – Sharper Words – so I can concentrate this blog on technical writing and the other forms of writing that are bringing in the money for me.

Sharper Words will focus on books, reading, and my personal writing (fiction and poetry). Some of the old posts are visible on both blogs, and it’s possible that some future content will also appear on both (especially posts about words, grammar and punctuation).

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This is a topic that’s been on my mind lately, since in each of my technical writing jobs, I’ve been attached to a different business area or team (sometimes changing areas/teams within the same company). And of course, I’m currently looking for a new job…

I’ve yet to decide which ‘location’ I prefer, to be honest – any in which I have direct access to the subject matter experts (SMEs) will suit me just fine!

In no particular order, here are some examples of where a technical writer can be placed in a company (as always, these examples come from my personal experience in documenting software, and can hopefully be extrapolated to other types of technical writing):

Part of an independent technical writing team with its own manager
This has to be a strong position! It’s always great to have other technical writers around you (whether you’re the manager or the managed). A downside can be that you’re not connected to the SMEs such as developers, testers, support or customer services – and that’s much worse if you’re contracted out of your own company.

Part of a technical writing team attached to development or testing, and managed by their manager
Again, not bad. You have other technical writers for support, plus (generally) direct access to the SMEs. I’ve found it more useful to be attached to the development team than to the testing team, so that I could get information right from the source, but either is a good position.

A lone technical writer attached to development or testing, and managed by their manager
This is great for building good relationships with the SMEs, especially since you’ll be relying on them to review your documents, but it can be horribly lonely without anyone who understands your deep passion for correct grammar and punctuation. On the plus side, you’re often in charge of the operation and can set your own (high) standards for the documents.

Anyone got any other scenarios to add?

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If you have any questions or comments about this article, or any suggestions for future posts, please comment on this post or email me via my contact form.

The message at the recycling company near my work now reads:

‘FREE’ complimentary gift

Oh, right, so I do have to pay for it!