Thank you for the link love. I have, BTW, been enjoying your Blogger Idol. I also had some things to say about your “Forever” post today on my blog.

@ Amy

I was a Lobbyist back in the early nineties, and I could do a series of posts about that as well (the stories are pretty interesting) but the writing aspect isn’t as clear sot it doesn’t fit PoeWar as well.

@ Ugur

To be clear, those events happened in the mid nineties. I have since managed to find more appropriate equipment and employers. I am currently in the midst of a conversion to Author-IT, which looks incredibly cool in theory. I can’t wait to hit the conversion.

Ugur — I like your blog. Anyone who isn’t afraid of correcting the New Tork Times is ok by me.

Thanks for asking. Take care. Ugur

You are very welcome, BTW.

That would allow people from all walks of freelancing answer what they believe the rate should be, rather than having to personally state their own.

Of course, I can see that turning into a bloodbath lol, so maybe not.

Anyway, thanks again for all your hard work. I don’t know what I would do without this site!

It would sure be nice to see some collaborative honesty rather than snarking and back-biting about what we all should (or should not) be charging.

What I’m finding to be “overkilled” is the amount of supposed jobs that really don’t pay you anything. I’ve already learned how to scan a job ad for phrases like “revenue sharing” b/c that’s not what I’m looking for. One reason I LOVE this website is because you offer up true jobs for those of us on the hunt.

I’ve also discovered how many people consider themselves “writers.” Though I don’t think education or a degree boosts you into a higher writing category; I do think at least basic grammar and writing abilities should be mandatory. lol

Ugur — I like John’s blog a lot. I have found many of his posts to be insightful and funny. (I like funny.) I’ve been sporadically reading his blog for over a year but had no idea he had ever been a lobbyist. That’s a fun tidbit to learn.

Here is one which supports my belief that almost anyone can become a technical writer if he or she wants to make the transition:

http://www.poewar.com/a-career-in-technical-writing-a-strange-new-world/

John Hewitt was a lobbyist before shifting to tech writing. He is the first former-lobbyist current-tech writer I know of. I welcome him to our great profession.

I also wish him good luck since he admits: “No one really had a plan for me. They just assumed I would take care of things. They gave me my tools, a P75 computer with Windows 3.1, Microsoft Word and a bootleg copy of PageMaker. The rest was up to me…”

Oops… I can see a lot of “but that’s not what WE thought you’d be doing?!” type of headaches in his future. That doesn’t sound good at all since when the wheels come off the wagon (and once in a while they do) most employers usually think “it’s all writer’s fault.” That’s why a technical writer needs to be well prepared going into any writing project.

You can read about a good way to get around to accomplishing that in my upcoming FWJ column on how to write a “Documentation Plan.”

P.S. Remember my earlier tip about companies that use MS Word as their main technical writing platform, that they are usually better for entry-level jobs and should be targeted by beginner tech writers? Hewitt’s company fits in that profile.

And as to PageMaker… either Hewitt’s supervisor has no idea what PageMaker is designed for, or they’ll ask him to generate some marketing materials, brochures, newsletters, fliers, etc. as well. But even then I’d recommend them to upgrade to InDesign, a much better product and true heir to the PageMaker throne.