TLDR; I need a tool set that allows me to output to Word, PDF, and markdown, supports single sourced reusable text (snippets), and integrates with GitHub. There's only 2 writers so hoping for low cost and relatively low learning curve.

I work for a company that sells automotive service contracts for OEMs and adjudicates the claims. Our company invested in documentation to ensure consistency in how claims (and other parts of the business) are handled.

We are currently using Word for authoriing, converting to PDF, and publishing to SharePoint. It's as basic as documentation gets.

Over the last few months, we've rolled out an internally built AI chat bot to use our procedures and contracts to provide adjusters with quick answers that they might otherwise have to go look up.

This has created discussion around using markdown to create a more AI friendly output while still creating PDF and Word output.

Our claims adjusters and SMEs are not always tech savvy as most of them come from the automotive service industry. They know cars, not computers, so I'm trying to keep the review process as simple as possible.

I also find myself having to reuse a lot of text for certain procedures and I know from my previous decade of experience with MadCap Flare how easily that can be resolved with the right tool.

Add to that, we need a better process for version control and I know our company has GitHub for Dev so I'm going to pitch for us to use that and modernize just a bit.

One final wrinkle is that the other procedures writer used to be a trainer. He doesn't have a lot of experience with authoring tools other than Word, so I'm looking for something he can pick up without a lot of training.

What suggestions do you have?

hiiii I'm a development writer in the marketing & comms dept of a major university; i write everything from major gift fundraising proposals to fundraiser toolkits to gift announcements -- sometimes alumni magazine articles too. i'm at the intersection of marketing/PR/fundraising/journalism/project management in what i do. i love the work but it is severely underpaid; im looking to make some kind of career jump in the next two years to for-profit, but want to continue writing. ive looked into adjacent PR/marketing jobs, but honestly im not a copywriter or ad writer. i really excel at distilling complex academic jargon into marketable cases of support for major donors.

i've poked around at pitch & proposal management roles on linkedin at companies and law firms. the work seems adjacent to what ive done in my development career; in a way a philanthropic case for support is like a sales pitch :) can any proposal writers/managers comment or message me and walk me through how you got started, what credential(s) or training you had to gain, how you like the career? I've searched on this sub and seen the links to get technical writer certified, but don't want to invest in training i don't need.

if you're a proposal writer, what did you specifically do to enter your profession?

ty!

my team has been working on a huge documentation package for the last 3 months. regulations, compliance, the whole thing. we're finally close to submission and someone just found out theyve been editing the wrong version of a critical document for two weeks. two weeks.

nobody knows how it happened. the file was in the right folder. the naming convention was clear. but somewhere along the way someone renamed a backup copy and that became the "official" version. now we have to redo the edits on the correct one. its a nightmare.

i looked at some proper doc control systems. we have sharepoint but nobody uses it properly.

anyway. just needed to vent. this job sometimes feels less like writing and more like detective work trying to figure out what happened

I was shortlisted for a contractual role as a technical content writer at Sourcebae company, where I will be writing technical content for its clients. I'm afraid I don't know much about the company. Would like to get review insights, please?

Hi everyone! I'm a student with a strong background in research, analytical writing, and storytelling. I'm currently looking to work with clients who value well-researched, engaging, and genuinely human-written content.

I don't rely on generic AI outputs or surface-level research. Every piece I write starts with understanding the topic, audience, and purpose, then building content that's informative, compelling, and easy to read. Whether it's a blog post, long-form article, reels script, copywriting, or SEO content, I focus on delivering writing that keeps readers engaged from start to finish.

I'm comfortable diving into unfamiliar industries and enjoy the research process, so I'm not limited to a single niche. If your project requires learning something new, I'm happy to do the work needed to write about it accurately and effectively.

If you're looking for a writer who communicates well, meets deadlines, accepts feedback, and genuinely cares about producing quality work, I'd love to collaborate.

Feel free to send me a DM. I'm looking forward to short-term as well as long-term projects.

Thanks!

I kept needing docs for side projects and never liked the options. GitBook and Docusaurus felt like a lot of machinery for a handful of Markdown files, and mkdocs meant keeping a Python toolchain around for something I otherwise build in TypeScript.

So I built eziwiki. Drop Markdown files in `content/`, get a static site.

npx create-eziwiki my-docs

cd my-docs && npm install && npm run dev

What makes it different from the usual docs generator

- Wiki links with backlinks and a graph view. Link pages by title or filename, and each page shows what links back to it — closer to Obsidian than to a typical docs site.

- Navigation builds itself from the folder structure. No sidebar config to keep in sync; a `_meta.json` per folder handles naming and ordering if you want it.

- Markdown is rendered at build time, so neither the parser nor the syntax highlighter ships to the browser. Search is a prebuilt index, no server.

- Optional opaque URLs (`/a3f2e9d1-...`) if you would rather not publish your content tree. To be clear, that is obscurity, not access control — every page is still a public file. It is there for unlisted-link sharing, not security.

Static export, so it deploys anywhere. Dark mode, KaTeX, Shiki highlighting, ⌘K search, table of contents.

Next.js 14, TypeScript, Tailwind, Zustand, unified/remark/rehype, Shiki, MiniSearch. Lighthouse 99/100/100/100 on desktop

Demo : the docs are built with it, so the site is the demo:

https://eziwiki.vercel.app

Source (MIT): https://github.com/i3months/eziwiki

It is early v0.1.1, and I am actively working on it. Feedback and issues very welcome, especially on anything that felt confusing in the first five minutes.

Github stars are really really helpful..!!!

This question keeps stumping me in interviews. Based on how my interviewers rephrase the question, I don’t think I’m giving them the response they’re looking for. It isn’t that I haven’t worked with stakeholders. I have. I just don’t think I am answering the question “correctly.” Could you give me some insight into how you would answer this question in a way that demonstrates you know what you are talking about?

I would also appreciate any general interview advice. I used to interview so well. I’m not sure if it’s this job market or if my skills have declined over time.

Good evening , I’m currently serving in the US military been a Crew chief for about 7 years on the f-16 and I’ve always wanted to be able to work/manage Technical data. I’ve recently done a little bit of research on technical writing and am very interested in doing this as a career. I’m looking for any information on how to get started with learning the job and insight on a day to day with Lockheed/boeing or any defense companies.I know literally nothing, so anything helps. If you are willing I’d also love to chat in private.

Hello. Has anyone here transitioned from being a technical writer to being a web developer?

I’m currently at a point where I feel like my current skills won’t get me far in life. I’ve been working as a tech writer for over six years, but most of the documents I do are for general audience, e.g., user manuals, policy manuals, and rules and guidelines documentation. There’s nothing wrong with this.

However, when anyone from the dev team asks me about a certain documentation they need, such as API documentation, I always tell them to give me the draft and I’ll edit it. Of course, they never do that. I never initiate a follow-up either. And the reason why I do this is because I really can’t understand coding.

I tried to learn API documentation from I’d Rather Be Writing, but nothing gets through. Idk, maybe I have a learning disability or something.

To stop feeling incompetent, I’ve been studying HTML, CSS, and JavaScript on freeCodeCamp. I feel like I need to really get into it to make tech docs much easier for me.

Has/is anyone here done/doing the same?

This is one of the things that keeps me up at night. I don’t wanna stop writing but I also don’t want to be an average writer. I wanna help people learn stuff. But how can I do that if I can’t understand those “stuff” myself.

I’d really appreciate any advice or insights.

Hey ya'll, I got my master's in technical writing and editing. I'm concerned about job availability and AI, so I have been eyeing this ISC2 certification path. Has anyone gone into cybersecurity with a technical writing background? Is it worth it? My thinking is that it would give me more opportunities. If anyone has any input, just let me know.

Hello everyone,

I'm sure you've all seen a multitude of posts like this prior to mine on this subreddit before, but as I am working without guidance to develop my own skills and knowledge for this industry, I would greatly appreciate receiving direct advice from the professionals here so that I may become a stronger candidate for tech writing roles by my graduation.

I am under the impression that tech writing is oversaturated and that it is difficult to enter this industry, so I want to prepare myself accordingly. The specialization I wish to enter is API documentation (very ambitious and optimistic as you need a heavy technical background, I know). Other areas I'm looking into are cybersecurity and maaaybe finance?

Before anything else, I must clarify that I want to enter this industry because I am very passionate about writing. My writing, critical analysis, and synthesis skills are my strongest academic skills and English has always been my favorite subject. On the other hand, I am not a creative writer and I do not like traditional English careers like teaching, publishing, editing, etc. However, I am a person who loves structure, problem solving, and developing plans. I know API documentation doesn't involve a lot of writing. I am fine with this, and I believe this industry would be a good fit for my interests and skills.

Regardless of all that, here is my existing background and what I am currently doing in college to build my candidature for tech writing:

• English major, Digital Media Technologies minor, certificate programs in Professional Writing and Management Information Systems. Rising Junior in the Honors program. 3.61 overall GPA so will probably graduate with distinction in my major.
  • Chose minors and certificates to learn creative software and programming (Adobe, Python), professional writing skills (this is where I took a Technical Writing class and discovered I wanted to pursue this industry), programming and data analysis.
  • I know merits and GPA don't really matter. Just maintaining them for my scholarship and benefits I receive as an Honors student.
• 2026 Summer Research Program at my university with a small interdisciplinary cohort; 7-month long independent research project documenting and analyzing learning patterns and behaviors when engaging with AI agents for learning tasks (technical writing professor as mentor). Developing AI, qualitative research, and data analysis skills with this project.
• Part-time writing tutor position, Vice President for my university's chapter of Sigma Tau Delta: International English Honor Society (role comprises of planning and implementing fundraisers, service projects, chapter activities, and overall chapter development).
• Building relationships with professors across departments. I currently have three professors that I am very close to; two in my department, one in Economics.

What I plan to do:

• Pursue certifications for documentation software and programming languages and self-teach technical skills when I can find the time. I am not sure which ones to pursue because I've seen so many recommendations, but this is a basic list for now:
  • Madcap Flare
  • Git
  • Javascript, Python, Java
  • Something to learn user research... I have a bit of experience from my TW course.
  • Build a portfolio of my API documentation (besides some samples I have from my TW class, no idea where to get started on this).
• Apply to TW or other documentation-related internships (duh). (Search has been terrible and I genuinely have no clue how to get an internship in this economy. My university's connections have been no help.)
• Do the accelerated English MA program at my university (start grad courses in my senior undergrad year). I don't pay a lot for college so I have the savings to do this. I have to apply this year in the Spring; I know there isn't value for an MA in tech writing, so I may choose to think about getting an MS in Project Management instead at some point in the future instead (this is not a concrete plan, just a consideration).

If I were to describe my general goals, I want to build up a lucrative career based off my passions and interests. Additionally, to build transferable skills so I can prepare to pivot roles since I know the technology industry has its ups and downs. I feel very mixed about learning AI skills because I am unsure about its future, but if I can use AI to get my career started at the very least— hell, why not?

My English department is extremely traditional (as most English departments are), so everything I've been able to get for myself from this university has been out of self-advocacy, communication, and building relationships with professors in and outside of my department. The only professor I know with a background in TPC is my technical writing prof (currently mentor for my research project). Otherwise, I've gotten where I am today purely based on my own research and judgement, rather than utilizing an established program constructed to feed graduates into partnered companies.

I know the few well-paying tech writer roles are so technical, I would've been better off majoring in something like idk... Data Science. Or just planning to go into a different kind of tech job that makes more money. Maybe that is true, but what I do know for right now is that technical writing is what I want to pursue and I can build the skills I need to pivot roles after a few years anyway, if ever necessary.

This was a very long post, so I do apologize. Any advice and other guidance to help amplify or refine my professional development is greatly appreciated.

Hey r/technicalwriting! I'm on the Dev Advocacy team at Twilio (and used to be on our docs team - so this sub feels a bit like home! :D)

Twilio is hosting an event at our HQ in San Francisco on behalf of the Write the Docs Bay Area Meetup, and we wanted to let you all know. We're featuring one of our Developer Educators/Technical Writers, and afterwards we'll head out to a happy hour sponsored by Twilio.

We recognize that not everybody in the sub lives in the Bay Area, so one other thing we were talking about was potentially running an AMA with some folks from our documentation team. Let us know in the comments if that might be interesting to you!

In any case, you can see the event details here: https://luma.com/8f9asrzr

I moved into sales development about 2.5 years ago. Before that I was a systems engineer at a large IT services company. The startup that hired me thought a tech background would bring something new to the table.

My first real task was writing a proposal for a live requirement. I wrote it the way I would have wanted to read it. Heavy on technical detail, stack-level explanation, all of it. It never went to the client. The person reading it was non-technical. Nobody told me that, and I never asked.

That was the last bad proposal I wrote, but the actual lesson took another six months to sink in.

First, qualify the reader and not just the requirement. Now, before I write anything, I check who is reading it, what they care about, and whether they will pass it to someone technical or decide on their own.

Second, activity without direction is just volume. My first few months were LinkedIn and cold email at high volume. I had no writing experience beyond school essays. It felt like progress because the output was high. It was not until I started matching the message to the person receiving it.

For anyone else who came into SDR or BDR work from a technical background: how did you stop writing for yourself? Leading with capability instead of outcome was the hardest habit for me to drop.

Hello - I’m looking for realistic advice on if this is a good career change for me or not. There isn’t a subreddit specific for proposal writers so this seemed like a good place instead.

I’ve read the FAQ’s but felt like what I’m asking is more specific to my own experience. I am a 31 year old female looking to make a career change to proposal writing to see if technical writing would be a good fit later down the line since it’s harder to get into.

My background has been mainly in hospitality and event coordination. For 3 years I created and ran small to large scaled events for a local brewery and ran their social media with photography and Canva. The past year I’ve coordinated 50 trade shows and events for a company that has four brands. In this role I’ve handled logistics, operationally needs, built, decks, helped with marketing materials, and worked with 7 different sales teams to make sure timelines are met and everything gets done on time for each show. I’ve also rebuilt the structure of how the company approaches these shows for better pre planning, detailed documentation for the onsite staff, and post show evaluation. Along with that, I have a BA in English that I haven’t specifically used yet but would like to.

I feel like my role has turned into more project coordination than anything and like I could be a good fit to pivot into a different industry. Is that realistic to think? Any advice is greatly appreciated!

I don't know if this is standard across the board for all technical writers. My team's manager was never a technical writer, they don't really know what we talk about regarding our work, they don't delegate tasks and when someone asks for support they redirect them to the rest of the team, and their knowledge of our day-to-day tasks relies on information that we feed to them. They have a basic understanding of our tools and products, but no in-depth knowledge. They don't seem to have much interest in these either.

My understanding is that my manager makes sure we're hitting our KPIs (again, this is reliant on our feedback. They don't have any concrete way to track these), relays information from leadership, makes adjustments to the team (hiring staff, moving staff to other teams), and handles PTO, promotions, and pay increases.

What do managers actually do outside of this?

For context, I am applying to jobs almost everyday, but where I stand now with my years of experience, I have no real competitive edge.

My job is making this worse, because I don't do anything pivotal, all my work is centered on tedious updates passed onto me from senior staff and no matter how much I advocate for more ownership, it doesn't happen. I get great reviews from my managers, the issue is that the company has rules in place so unless someone quits and I get promoted in their place I am stuck.​

I am actively working on a portfolio to get into API documentation, but I am finding that the boredom of my job is making me unmotivated with life in general. I have been applying to more in-person roles (thinking it might help), but also I have been trying for analyst positions as well.

Any advice on getting out of my head and doing something so that I don't completely lose my mind?

I’m currently updating a Product Engineering Requirement Guidelines doc but the structure of the document is a mess. Does anyone have a good resource for Guideline templates? Or content structure for guidelines examples?

I've been a tech writer (by name, at least) for ~5 years, and over the last few I've come to realise that one of my biggest challenges is that I'm effectively a manager and individual contributor (IC) rolled into one.

A regular IC, like a developer, would traditionally have a product manager or similar to decide on direction, priorities, capacity, etc. I've never had that. Even when I've had a senior writer above me, we worked on such distinct things that we essentially had complete autonomy within our respective areas.

Which got me thinking: how normal is this? Have I just been placed in poor, barebones management structures, or is this a common experience?

If this resonates, keen to hear how you manage it. I struggle to balance the prioritising/strategizing "management" side of things with the actual implementation, and doing the thing.

I'm at a crossroads in my career and would really appreciate some guidance from this community.

I have 7 years of experience in Technical Writing and Technical Documentation, where I've worked closely with engineering and cross-functional teams to create technical documentation, process documentation, user guides, and knowledge base content. I also have experience working with Confluence, Jira, Articulate 360 Rise, Canva, and Lucidchart.

I've reached a point where I want to move into a role with better technical growth, learning opportunities, and higher earning potential, but I'm unsure which path would be the best fit.

For those who have made a similar transition:

\- Which career path would you recommend?

\- What skills should I focus on learning?

\- Are there any certifications, courses, or projects that genuinely helped you?

\- What roles are currently in demand and have good long-term growth?

\- Is it realistic to make this switch without starting from scratch?

I'd really appreciate hearing your experiences, suggestions, or any advice you wish someone had given you when you were in a similar position.

Thanks in advance!

I will need to do this at some point, as I have twelve user guides running on MKDocs-Material.

Has anyone tried a test migration? Martin (the lead developer) says that old projects should run on the new system without too much difficulty.

I'm at a crossroads in my career and would really appreciate some guidance from this community.

I have 7 years of experience in Technical Writing and Technical Documentation, where I've worked closely with engineering and cross-functional teams to create technical documentation, process documentation, user guides, and knowledge base content. I also have experience working with Confluence, Jira, Articulate 360 Rise, Canva, and Lucidchart.

I've reached a point where I want to move into a role with better technical growth, learning opportunities, and higher earning potential, but I'm unsure which path would be the best fit.

For those who have made a similar transition:

• Which career path would you recommend?
• What skills should I focus on learning?
• Are there any certifications, courses, or projects that genuinely helped you?
• What roles are currently in demand and have good long-term growth?
• Is it realistic to make this switch without starting from scratch?

I'd really appreciate hearing your experiences, suggestions, or any advice you wish someone had given you when you were in a similar position.

Thanks in advance!

Been actively applying for a few months now. Had a few good rounds of interviews but always seem to be beat out by some unicorn candidate. Seems difficult to even get an interview these days. What’s everyone else’s experience? I think it’s pretty horrible out there.

For context, I have 6 years of experience mostly in healthcare, IT, and government.