The Power of Speaking Out Your Goals
Hey there, fellow tech enthusiasts and aspiring writers! Remember when I mentioned in my "So Far So Good" post about aiming to land a paid tech writing gig by the end of the year? Well, guess what? I did it! š I had the incredible opportunity to work as a paid reviewer for a non-profit organization's open-source project tutorials. Imagineāa perfect blend of open-source projects, documentation exploration, and getting paid for it. Sigh, itās a dream come true! š„¹
As I sit and reflect on this achievement, I want to share three important lessons I have learned from my experience. Why? To inspire you of course! š Let's go! š
Lesson 1: Research About the Project/Organization
Ever heard of checking someone's social media page before a date? Well, the same idea applies when you get your paid first tech writing opportunity. Itās always best to do some research on the organization youāre working with. Itāll help guide you on how to create content that aligns with your purpose. For instance, in my in-depth research on the organization, I learned that their project has a web editor that generates colorful images, aiming to make coding more accessible for non-tech professionals such as artists, educators, and other creatives. This has helped me immensely in my review of one of their reference pages as I suggested to the docsā lead to simplify explanations, and hyperlink terms that have their own page. Now research is not the only lesson that I learned from this experience. Letās look at another one.
Lesson 2: Ask Before Signing
Before clicking on the 'Agree' button, asking questions is crucial. When I first read the agreement for the reviewer role, I asked the following questions:
- How will I receive payment?
- What are the main tasks that I will focus on during this opportunity?
- What tools will I be using?
These questions added clarity to the agreement and helped me learn more about the role and its expectations. Now before you go, thereās just one more thing I want you to consider when getting your paid tech writing gig.
Lesson 3: Donāt Be Afraid To Seek Clarification
Sometimes, despite our best efforts, miscommunications occur. After I worked on my feedback and discussed it with the docs lead, I reread it again and found some areas that needed improvement. Unfortunately, I hit a dead end in getting further input from the docs lead, leaving me to wonder āShould I pile on more feedback or hold back?ā I felt torn between fulfilling the agreed hours and potential overstepping. Eventually, I decided to include the comments. Days later, the docs lead mentioned the extra commentary wasn't necessary. This taught me that seeking clarification, even amidst uncertainty, is crucial.
Not too Bad Overall
So, there you have it, three lessons I have learned from my first technical writing gig. It was an incredible experience, and I'm eager to do more of them in the future. If you're hungry for more opportunities in the tech writing realm, I recommend reading @blackgirlbytes'guide on writing technical blog posts:
The Ultimate Guide to Writing Technical Blog Posts
RizĆØl Scarlett ć» Jun 6 '23
Itās filled with great tips on how to write engaging technical posts. I also suggest exploring the CommunityWriterProgramsārepository on GitHub:
malgamves / CommunityWriterPrograms
A list of Developer Community Writer Programs
Paid Community Writer Programs
Paid writer programs usually have just enough of an incentive for people to get started creating developer content, besides the extra income it is an amazing opportunity for people to build a career out of it. For non-technical sites, have a look at http://whopayswriters.com.
A list of companies that have paid Developer Community Writer Programs.
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Abstract API - $100 per article.
Technical content and tutorials related to the APIs in their catalogue.
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Adeva - $200+ per article
Technical guides, thought leadership content and resources for Engineering Managers.
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Agora - $250 per article
Technical content and tutorials for the Agora community.
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AIConfig - $75-$200 per article.
Technical content, tutorials, and building demo projects that include AIConfig (open-source project from LastMile AI).
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Airbyte - $900 per article of about 1500 words.
Data engineering tutorials, tutorials that cover Airbyte use cases and features.
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Alan AI - $75-$200 perā¦
Itās a treasure trove filled with places that offer paid technical writing opportunities. And while you're looking, letās stay connected! Find me on BioDrop for more tech content and support. Now, go forth and start writing! āļø
Top comments (8)
Great post, Chrissy!! š
Oh woah, thanks for the post, very nice to know some tips about writing paid posts, and just seen how many enterprises propose that ! š
Thanks for sharing, Chrissy!
Thanks for sharing. Keep being a source of inspiration. More wins.
Sure will @lymah! :)
This is on point, Christine. Thanks for sharing.
can you help me with a React Project?
Sorry, Iām not the best person for that.
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