Audrey Schroder

Technical writers don't just write documentation. They protect. Users from confusion. Teams from miscommunication. Products from bad first impressions. This is the work nobody sees. The error message that prevents user frustration. The terminology alignment that stops internal conflict. The clear onboarding that saves the launch. Most people think documentation happens after everything else is done. But technical writers are in the room preventing problems before they start. Prevention is invisible. Prevention is expertise. What do you protect in your role? Let us know in the comments! Reshare this if you've prevented a problem nobody knew was coming. 📰 Want weekly insights on navigating the reality of technical writing? Subscribe to our newsletter (link in comments). Want more career insights for technical writers: 1. Follow Technical Writer HQ 2. Like the post 3. Repost to your network

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6 ways document managers support technical and UX writers (and make documentation workflows more efficient): Managing large documentation libraries, coordinating updates, or maintaining consistency doesn’t have to be overwhelming for technical and UX writers. Here’s how document managers help create smoother systems and reduce unnecessary friction: 1. They streamline documentation systems. ↳ Navigating large libraries can be time-consuming. ↳ Fix: Centralized systems with clear structures make resources easy to find. 2. They ensure consistent content. ↳ Multiple contributors can lead to inconsistencies. ↳ Fix: Style guides, templates, and workflows maintain uniformity across documentation. 3. They coordinate timely updates. ↳ Outdated content creates confusion. ↳ Fix: Scheduled review cycles and update tracking keep documents current. 4. They facilitate team collaboration. ↳ Poorly aligned workflows slow teams down. ↳ Fix: Organized processes within tools like Confluence or SharePoint help teams stay aligned. 5. They manage version control. ↳ Conflicting versions lead to errors. ↳ Fix: Version control practices ensure writers work on the latest, most accurate documents. 6. They enhance compliance and security. ↳ Sensitive information needs protection across all industries. ↳ Fix: Security protocols and adherence to standards safeguard documentation. With document managers streamlining processes, technical and UX writers can focus on producing high-quality content without distractions. Strong systems lead to stronger results. Want more career insights for technical writers: 1. Follow Technical Writer HQ 2. Like the post. 3. Repost to your network.

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Technical writers make decisions every day. Not just writing decisions. Strategic ones. Most people see documentation. Technical writers see judgment calls. Calls that shape product success. Here are 6 decisions technical writers make every week: 1. Document now vs. wait for it to stabilize You're balancing launch readiness with accuracy. Neither is optional. 2. Deep documentation vs. broad coverage Users don't need equal coverage. They need the right depth. In the right places. 3. Write for the 80% or cover every edge case You can't serve everyone equally. Prioritizing the majority while accommodating outliers. That's the balance. 4. Ship incomplete docs vs. delay the launch You're protecting user experience. While respecting business timelines. Collaborative prioritization builds trust. 5. Technically accurate vs. user-friendly If users can't find it, accuracy doesn't matter. If they can't understand it, precision is useless. Documentation exists to help users succeed. 6. Document workarounds vs. flag the bug You're balancing user needs with product integrity. Transparency builds trust. These aren't edge cases. They're daily judgment calls. They directly impact product adoption. Support costs. User satisfaction. Making these decisions every week? You're doing more than documentation. You're shaping product success. Save this for conversations about your role. Reshare it if your team needs perspective. Which decision is hardest for you right now? Drop it in the comments. 👇 Want more career insights for technical writers: 1. Follow Technical Writer HQ 2. Like the post 3. Repost to your network

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“Can we hop on a quick call?” Translation: “I don’t respect your time, I don’t have a clear ask, and I want free consulting without commitment.” Early in my freelance career, I used to say yes to every call. (Ok, it happened until about 5 years ago.) I'd think: What if it’s a big opportunity? What if I offend them by asking for context? 90% of the time, it wasn’t an opportunity. It was a time suck. Calls with no agenda are rarely worth your time. • They’re “picking your brain.” • They’re “exploring ideas.” • They want strategy or ideas without paying. Here’s what works better: ✔️ I ask what the call is for before scheduling. If they can’t articulate it, we don’t book it. ✔️ I pre-qualify my clients on the call-booking form. ✔️ I direct casual inquiries to email. Boundaries = respect. ✔️ I charge for strategy. Always. Because strategy is the work, not the prelude to the work. Freelancers aren’t on-call consultants or vending machines for ideas. We are business owners with booked calendars, processes, and pricing. You don’t need to be “available.” You need to be intentional. What’s your policy on “quick calls”?

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Technical writers know what leadership rarely gets to see. 👀 Here's what closes the gap: 1. Docs Shape the User Decision → Documentation affects adoption, retention, and support volume → Treating it as a finishing task creates costs that show up elsewhere 2. The Questions Are the Work → Pre-writing research is where documentation value is built → The questions aren't delays. They're early-warning signals. 3. Earlier Involvement Costs Less → Late documentation creates rushed work that needs more revision after launch → Early context means better docs, fewer revisions, fewer surprises 4. One Change Ripples Everywhere → A single product change can affect interconnected docs, screenshots, and release notes → What looks small often isn't 5. Prevention Doesn't Show on Dashboards → Support tickets not created and onboarding calls not needed don't appear in reports → Measuring impact only by output misses the value of problems that never reached the team 6. Documentation Is Organizational Memory → Knowledge that lives only in people's heads leaves when they do → Technical writers build the infrastructure that makes teams resilient to change Better visibility = better decisions. TW + Leadership = teams that scale. Which point do you wish leadership understood most? Drop the number (1-6) in the comments. 👇 Save this for the next time you need to articulate your value upward. Share this with a technical writer who's building their case with leadership. Want more career insights for technical writers: 1. Follow Technical Writer HQ 2. Like the post 3. Repost to your network

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Technical writers struggle to measure documentation impact. Most technical writers ship articles and wait for feedback that never comes. Here are 5 signals that prove your documentation is working: 1. Support tickets reference your docs → Support teams link to your articles → They close tickets with "See documentation" 2. Engineers share your docs in Slack → They paste links without prompting → They trust your work to answer questions 3. Users complete tasks without follow-up questions → Low support volume after launch → Key workflows succeed on first try 4. Stakeholders quote your docs in meetings → PMs reference your work to leadership → Your docs become the source of truth 5. New hires cite your docs during onboarding → They mention specific articles that helped → They self-serve under time pressure You don't need analytics to prove impact. Watch for these signals this week. Save this as your impact tracking checklist. Share it with a technical writer proving their value. 📰 Want one actionable technical writing insight every week? Subscribe to my newsletter (link in comments). Want more career insights for writers: 1. Follow Joshua Gene Fechter 2. Like the post 3. Repost to your network

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If you’re a writer early in your career, do this one thing consistently: Reach out to senior writers. Not just the ones at your company. Find them here on LinkedIn. Send a message. Ask questions. Start conversations. You’ll gain: • Perspective • Guidance • Real talk about what actually matters Some of the best advice I’ve ever received didn’t come from a course. It came from a 20-minute call with someone who’s been doing this for 15+ years. Build your network before you need it. Be curious. Say hi. You’ll be surprised who responds.

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I want to talk about age, seniority, and worth. A senior technical writer isn’t expensive because of their age, they’re expensive because of what they prevent. Decades of pattern recognition means they can spot problems early, preventing: • Bloated help centers filled with words without clarity • Conflicting product language • Endless repeated content that isn't reused content • Piling support tickets that never quite go away A senior writer has likely: • Built documentation systems from scratch (and knows which ones don’t scale) • Inherited broken systems and made the call to rebuild instead of patch • Broken things on purpose so they could be rebuilt cleanly • Learned how to steward language gently and almost invisibly, so teams adopt it instead of resisting it This isn’t about typing faster or knowing more tools. It’s about judgment. • When to standardize and when to leave well enough alone. • When to push for consistency and when nuance matters. • When silence will do more than a meeting. Fewer messes. Quieter wins. Less rework. Paying a senior technical writer more is not paying for output. It's paying for the absence of chaos. And that’s worth the salary.

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Proposal sections often get muddled because authors dive into writing before planning what they are going to write about. Storyboarding helps writers clarify structure, messaging, and evidence before they start work on the first draft. Here's our simple approach to creating a storyboard:   • What does this section need to prove?   • The 3-5 critical points to convey.   • What will we show to back these claims?   • What graphics will help illustrate the story?   • What logical structure (chronological, thematic, benefits-led) will best guide the evaluator? Typically, it will reflect the order in which the questions are asked. The storyboard is particularly useful when you have a page limit. You can map out what needs to be covered across the pages to make sure you are emphasising the key points, along with any graphics/tables or diagrams that need to be included. Even a 15-minute storyboard sketch on a whiteboard or A3 piece of paper can transform clarity and speed in proposal writing. Want your team to master this? We cover this and much more in our Mastering the Art of Proposal Writing course. Message me if you’d like to know more. #proposalwriting #proposaltraining #bidwriting #bidwinning

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I see quite a few posts talking in the context of freelancers going "full-time", to mean going "perm" or back into employment. Most freelancers are already full-time, they work long days, have fewer holidays, are more productive, and often juggle multiple clients at once. Making an unfair binary between 'full time' and freelancing perpetuates the idea that freelancers aren't committed, focused, effective, or just doing work as some sort of side hustle. This is our full time job. Not a hobby. Not a thing we do between looking for a "real job". Language matters.

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Confession: I’m not the best proofreader on my own team. And I’m completely fine with that. There are people here who have an uncanny ability to spot formatting errors. Others are brilliant at catching logical gaps or awkward phrasing, or they can slice through a dense document faster than I ever could. And that used to rattle me. For years, I believed leadership meant being the sharpest pair of eyes in the room. If I wasn’t, what business did I have running a proofreading team? But the reality is that leadership doesn’t mean being the smartest person at the table. It means making sure the table is set right. For me, that looked like: → Building systems so every project moves smoothly → Hiring people who are stronger than me in specific areas and letting them do their thing → Creating a culture where we stay on top of deadlines and have each other’s backs The day I stopped trying to be the best proofreader and focused instead on being the best leader was the day Super Copy Editors really started to take off. I didn’t become “less of an editor.�� I became something else entirely: the dude responsible for making sure the whole team succeeds. And you know what? That’s been the most challenging and rewarding edit of all.

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💫 New Opportunities for Expert Technical Writers in 2025 🌟 New technological, operational, and user-experience trends have elevated the role of technical documentation from a “nice-to-have” to a strategic necessity. Companies of all sizes—from agile startups to global enterprises—are experiencing pain points that directly translate into high demand for seasoned technical writers and knowledge management experts. ➡️ Here’s how technical writers can provide critical value: ⭕ AI and Automation Projects: ✔️ Companies integrating AI and autonomous agents into their products urgently need clear, user-friendly documentation. ✔️ An AI-certified technical writer bridges the gap between complex technology and user understanding, crafting user guides, chatbot content, and optimized documentation for seamless AI support. ⭕ Cybersecurity and Compliance Initiatives: ✔️ Businesses facing stricter cybersecurity and compliance demands require precise, audit-ready documentation to mitigate risks and pass inspections. ✔️ Experienced technical writers deliver comprehensive compliance manuals, detailed security guidelines, and accessible training materials aligned with standards such as GDPR, ISO 9001, ISO 27001, and ISO 42001:2023 - the world’s first international standard for AI Management Systems (AIMS). ⭕ Consolidating Knowledge Bases Post-Layoff: ✔️ Organizations experiencing layoffs or talent loss risk losing critical institutional knowledge. ✔️ Technical writers quickly capture and organize centralized knowledge bases to protect operations and preserve expertise. ⭕ Tool Integration and Workflow Documentation: ✔️ As companies consolidate their fragmented digital tools, clearly documented workflows become essential for efficiency and productivity. ✔️ Technical writers produce SOPs, integration guides, and user-friendly training resources to smoothly transition teams to unified platforms. ⭕ Customer Education and Self-Service Content: ✔️ Modern users demand immediate, frictionless self-service options to solve their issues, prioritizing robust customer education. ✔️ Certified technical writers design intuitive tutorials, contextual intelligent help tools, and comprehensive knowledge bases to empower users and reduce support costs. ⭕ Developer Relations and API Docs: ✔️ SaaS companies expanding platforms and developer integrations rely heavily on high-quality API documentation to drive adoption. ✔️ Experienced technical writers create engaging developer portals, interactive API references, and practical use-case guides to ensure successful integration and sustained developer engagement. ⭕ Continuous Documentation & DocOps: ✔️ Rapid technological changes have driven companies to adopt continuous documentation workflows (DocOps) embedded directly into agile development cycles. 💬I’m listening… share your take in the comments below ⬇️ Your input helps shape the future. #AIintegration #AIsolutions #documentation #technicalwriting

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New post: The Emerging Picture of a Changed Profession: Cyborg Technical Writers — Augmented, Not Replaced, by AI I'm giving a presentation at Louisiana Tech University on March 30, 2026, on what I'm calling the cyborg model of technical writing. The tldr is that I feel the emerging model for tech writing isn't one in which AI replaces tech writers; instead, it's one in which AI augments tech writers. Tech writers interact with AI in a continuous back-and-forth, iterative process, representing the cyborg model. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gthFyNri

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I have learned that writers, especially technical writers, tend to thrive in remote environments, not because we are introverted or hiding behind our screens, but because writing needs space. Real space. The kind where you can think, reflect, and let ideas settle before turning them into something clear and useful. This may not be true for every writer. Some love the buzz of an office and the energy of in person collaboration. But for the vast majority of writers I have worked with, we do our best work when we have our own time and our own space to sit quietly with our thoughts. When you are writing, quiet is not a luxury. It is part of the workflow. Deep work does not happen in a room full of background chatter or constant interruptions. It happens in those moments where your brain finally unclenches and you can actually hear your own ideas forming. And honestly, comfort matters. Good writing does not appear because you are sitting in a conference room. It shows up when you are in a space that feels calm and natural to you. Your favorite chair. Your perfectly imperfect home office. Even your kitchen table with coffee in hand. Remote work does not make writers less connected or less collaborative. It gives us the environment to do what we do best: think deeply, write clearly, and create content that truly helps people.

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Accessibility tip: Add contrast to color. Clients often ask, "Does accessibility mean the end of color-coded graphics?" Absolutely not. Color is a great tool for conveying information. It's catchy. It can help people process and remember concepts. But not everyone experiences color in the same way. If we only use color to convey information, some people won't be able to access it. The solution? Provide the same information using color and another visual form. Pattern fill and text labels are popular options. But the fix isn't always so involved. Hue and contrast are different visual phenomena. So, *contrast* can be a second way to convey info. Important non-text colors should have at least 3-to-1 contrast. Non-text colors are "important" if they meet one or more of the following conditions: (1) The colors touch, and people must be able to tell them apart to understand the image. (2) The colors convey information, and you also want to use contrast to provide that info. Both conditions apply to the example with this post. The fraction model consists of a 4-by-4 grid with black borders on a white background. Twelve grid squares are shaded blue to represent twelve-sixteenths. Per Condition 1, blue and black are important. Students must be able to tell them apart to understand the structure of the model. These two colors have good contrast (12.3 to 1). Per Condition 2, blue and white are important. Blue indicates selected parts of the whole (the numerator). White indicates the rest of the whole. Unfortunately, the contrast for these colors is only 1.7 to 1. As a result, people who are colorblind or low vision might not know certain squares are shaded. We can fix this issue by darkening the blue fill color, so that blue and white have a contrast of 3.1 to 1. The contrast for blue and black is still high (6.7 to 1). And, the overall visual design remains the same! 5 more tips for fixing use-of-color and non-text contrast: (1) At most, only three colors can have 3-to-1 contrast with each other. If a graphic has more than three important colors, contrast may not be a viable "second visual form." (2) Add higher-contrast borders to low-contrast regions. But remember this doesn't address Condition 2. (3) Some non-text features such as borders are as thin as a font stroke. In such cases, aim for 4.5-to-1 contrast or higher. WCAG only requires 3 to 1. But why not produce a better user experience? (4) If you use pattern fill, the pattern (e.g., lines, dots) must also have adequate contrast. I'm generally wary of pattern fill. But that's a whole other post. (5) Aim for at least 0.1 higher than the required contrast ratio. If the minimum is 3 to 1, aim for 3.1 to 1. Results from color-testing tools can vary slightly. Color values can also shift between the source image file and the final product. It's good to have a buffer. Image note: The image is described in the body of the post. #accessibility #education #publishing #EdTech #straive

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EARLY WINS In Your First Tech Writing Role - Post#3 One thing new technical writers rarely expect: You’ll spend more time reading than writing. Before you write a single word, you’re reading: * existing documentation * tickets and specs * code comments * Slack threads and emails * even SME's face sometimes :D  * and also what AI has to say At first, this can feel unproductive. You might wonder if you’re falling behind because you’re not “writing enough.” You’re not. This reading phase is where you build context. It’s how you learn the product, the users, and the team’s mental model. Here’s how to use this phase well: * Read with questions in mind, not just for information * Execute what you learnt, specially the parts user needs to listen * Note inconsistencies and gaps instead of trying to fix them immediately * Turn what you read and tried into clarifying questions for SMEs * Capture patterns. They guide what needs documentation most This is also how you quietly build credibility. When you ask better questions, reviews get faster. When you understand context, your drafts need fewer revisions. Reading isn’t a delay. It’s part of how technical writers do their best work.

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Here are 5 remote freelance job boards (that share the best jobs): First, it's becoming increasingly difficult to find legitimate, quality freelance jobs, and on top of that, if you don’t know where to look… It’s even harder. I send out a newsletter full of freelance jobs hiring every other week (comment JOBS and I’ll send it your way to sign up for it... It's totally free). These are just 5 of the freelance job boards we search - there are many many more! 1. Flex Jobs (flexjobs.com) 2. Publish Press (jobs.thepublishpress.com) 3. Remote.co (remote.co) 4. Jobspresso (jobspresso.co) 5. Guru (guru.com) Hopefully this list will give you a start on where to look. I highly recommend signing up for these or whichever ones interst you so you can be notified of new job postings that match your criteria. My mission with the Freelance Job Newsletter is to share *quality* jobs to help people work remotely so they have a life of FREEDOM AND FLEXIBILITY. We source from all over, pick the best, and share them with anyone who wants to get ‘em - totally free 👍🏼 ➡️ Comment JOBS and I’ll send it to you to check out and sign up if you want. May the odds be ever in your favor 😉

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