If you've ever considered writing a computer trade book, or would be interested in writing magazine articles, a great and easy way to start your writing career is to write for one or more technical Web sites. Specifically, you'll want to write for a Web site that focuses on providing technical resources for the particular technology you're adept at, prferably one of the more visited ones that strive to have high quality content.
Now, there is some good news and bad news about writing for a technical Web site. First, the good news: most technical resource Web sites are eager for content and will happily accept a submission from a first-time author. The bad news: many technical Web sites, even those run by big companies, don't pay for content. This makes sense, of course, since many of these sites essentially give away their content for free. Typically, the only Web sites that will pay for technical content exclusively for their online division are those that charge people to view such content - such as ASPToday.com and CSharpToday.com, prior to Wrox's meltdown - and companies who have a ton of money, such as Microsoft. (All of this should come as no surprise if you've read my post on The Economics of Book Writing; there's not a lot of money in technical writing, unfortunately.)
Despite the direct lack of monetary compensation, writing for an online technical resource can pay off in many indirect ways. First, it exposes you and your writing to hundreds to hundreds of thousands of developers (depending on the popularity of the Web site you end up writing for). This exposure can provide good feedback on your writing style; while rarely will you get an email from a reader saying, "I think your setnence structure could use some work," you will get emails with questions on what you write, such as, "I want to do this, which is similar, but am stuck," or, "I didn't understand it when you said xxx." Think of these questions as breadcrumbs, as they leave a discreet trail to what you need to work on in your writing style. If you get a lot of, "I didn't understand this part"-type questions, perhaps you're not focusing enough on English explanation and instead jumping into the code too quickly. Or maybe the organization of ideas is too confusing, hence the article doesn't flow cleanly from one section to the next.
Writing for a Web site also helps you establish a relationship with the person or party that maintains the Web site. If this is a Web site for a book publisher, these contacts can be invaluable. If this is a Web site run by a prominent leader in the technology's online community, you can utilize your relationship with the Web site owner to make more contacts and become more involved in the online community yourself.
Getting Started
Clearly the first task in writing for a technical Web site is deciding what Web site you would like to write for. Make a list of those Web sites that you visit regularly for your technical information, and then scour through the Web site to see if you can't find any links for information on how to write for the Web site. Many technical Web sites will have a, "Write an Article" link somewhere on their homepage, with instructions on who to contact for more information. For example, on the Web site I run, 4GuysFromRolla.com, there is a link on the homepage titled, "Author an Article." This hyperlink leads to a page that discusses the writing process, deadlines, the format the submitted article should be in, and so on. If you have trouble finding such a link on the Web site you want to write for, you can always email the site mainters directly and ask them about writing opportunities.
While there are likely many technical Web sites out there that have content on the technology you wish to write about, I would strongly encourage you to try to write for a Web site that puts out only high quality articles. Many Web sites, I've found, will publish just about any contribution sent their way, with little or no editing. Try to avoid these Web sites for two reasons:
- If the Web site will publish your content without making any edits or changes or suggestions or comments, how will you sharpen your writing skills, and
- Typically such Web sites have an overall lower quality of articles; no need in associating yourself and your writing with such a Web site!
Once you have decided that you want to write one or more articles for a particular technical Web site, the first step is not to contact a Web site and say, "I would like to write some articles," the first step is to come up with several ideas for articles, and then contact a Web site! Coming up with ideas can be hard, and you shouldn't try to offload this responsibility on the people running the Web site. (Of course, some Web sites might have a particular idea/topic they would like you to write on; however, don't assume this is the case, and come up with your own ideas first.) Once you have your ideas in hand, and you know the Web site you want to write for, pitch your ideas and see if you get any bites.
Writing the Article
Before you begin writing, make sure that you have communicated with the Web site's editor and that you know the answers to the following questions:
- What format should the article be written in? HTML? Word? Text? Any of the above?
- How should the article be submitted when completed? Should it be emailed to the editor? Is there an online submission form?
- When is the article expected? Some Web sites will pose a deadline, saying, "Please have your article completed by so-and-so date." I've found not too many take this approach, seeing as they are paying you $0.00 for writing the article.
- What is the article about, specifically? How long will it be?
I cannot stress the importance of getting these four questions answered and following the answers precisely. If you submit an article in the wrong format, or submit it in an incorrect manner, or vary from the topic that you and the Web site editor agreed on earlier, you will unquestionably make the editor's process more difficult, which means the editing process will take longer and you will get on the editor's bad side. This is not a good place to be if you want to write for this Web site again in the future! :-)
Also, a good question to get answered from the Web site editors is, "What is the process after I submit the article?"
When actually sitting down to write the article, be sure to follow these recommendations. Try to tailor the article to the Web site's intended audience. That is, if the Web site caters to developers new to the technology, make sure to explain the topics in your article in great detail, and to provide analogies, diagrams, and other useful aides where appropriate.
Submitting the Completed Article
Once you have finished writing the article and have submitted it, the editing process should begin. The editing process for Web sites varies on a site-by-site basis, from non-existant to a full-blown editing cycle typical of the editing cycle in book writing. If you chose well in deciding what Web site to write for, there will be an editorial review of your content. Usually within a couple days to a few weeks, you'll either be informed that your article is acceptable and that small edits have been made, or you might get your article back and be asked to make some changes before it is published.
Regardless of the editorial process and their results, if you are an aspiring writer, you should definitely take advantage of this situation and ask the editor for tips on how to improve your writing. While the Web site editor, for certain sites, might be a full-time developer who does the Web site on nights and weekends as a hobby, she likely has seen hundreds of submitted articles, and can help you in assessing your writing prowess.
Assuming the editorial process completes, and you end up getting your article posted online, be sure to first pat yourself on the back, and then start thinking about future articles! :-)