Earning money while waiting for the world to discover you have written a best seller

In 1990, I was asked to serve on the board of the Council for Wisconsin Writers (http://www.wisconsinwriters.org/ ). The other board members were university faculty, editors, and a literary agent. I was completely intimidated by all these high-powered people, and wondered how I ended up being asked to serve on the Council board with them. At my first board meeting, when I explained that I was a technical writer for the State of Wisconsin, everyone gasped. That made me feel even more intimidated—but just for a moment. Almost immediately, everyone started talking at once, saying things like, “you are so lucky. . . we need someone on the board who actually earns a living writing . . . how did you get your job?”

I have earned a good living as a writer for 30 years. I've written for the private sector as an employee and as a freelance consultant, and also for state government as an employee. And I still am asked how did I get so lucky as to be able to earn a living as a writer, and what is my advice for getting a job as a technical writer?

My first professional job after college was in health insurance. When upper management noticed I could write, I was moved into the Communications Department. The career of Technical Writer did not exist at that time. Now, it is a growing field and covers a wide range of categories. Because I am asked regularly and often about technical writing, I thought I’d include a series of essays on the subject, including discussions of some of the categories such as Grant Writing. Stay tuned . . .