Hello all! I know I have a lot of readers involved in a huge number of different fields, and I have a personal favor to ask. Seeing as how I've now finished my Ph.D. and I'll have a little more free time on my hands, I'm very interested in starting a side business. In thinking, what am I good at?, well, I know a lot about technology and I know how to write. I'm a fast reader and an excellent editor, and with my technical background I think I have the ability to provide a valuable service. Many engineers are terrible writers, so I want to take advantage of my combination of talents.
I'm going to be spending the weekend researching the opportunities available in this area, and I'm keen to hear from all of you about whether or not there is a need for such a service. Please pass on any pointers you might have about finding freelance editing jobs as well. Do big publishing houses need technical editors? What about small businesses? Academic publishers? Any ideas will be well appreciated!
In my experience it's pretty much impossible to break into one of the big publishing houses unless you know someone and are willing to do entry level grunt work for a while before even being able to look at the manuscripts coming in.
With technical writing, it seems like most places want people with extremely specialized knowledge. So, you could probably do well with computer-oriented technical writing, but not so much with medical, etc.
Technical writing is not something you want to do with a PhD. It's one of the lowest paying IT jobs and tops out early. With decades of experience here in the Midwest, you'll end up almost making what a fair developer will make after a couple years on the job. Tech writing positions are underappreciated (some regard documentation as superfluous, an after thought, and/or ultimately a waste of money), usually understaffed, and can look forward to being one of the first layoffs in a tight time.
Take it from me, I'm a recovering software tech writer.
Of course, I moved into QA, so I'm not proving myself any smarter, but at least now I get to dish out some pain instead of merely taking it.
It seems that you blog about those current topics already so why not evolve this blog to advertise your professional services? It seems like a logical step once you have a highly trafficed blog.
Toby