Conference Follow-Up: Speed Mentoring and Business Cards

Posted on September 20, 2018 by

Perhaps as preparation for my mentoring activity at UCF, I decided to accept the invitation to participate as a mentor in a “speed mentoring” activity at the AIAA Space 2018 Forum this week. I also had to learn a hard lesson in remembering to bring business cards. The adventure was nonstop! Continue reading →

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Attending a Conference

Posted on September 17, 2018 by

As I noted last Thursday, I will be attending a conference today. I’ll share some of my impressions later this week. Happy Monday!

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Making Conferences Work for You

Posted on September 13, 2018 by

This post has been updated. The name of the conference/session I’ll be attending is AIAA Space Forum.

Next week I will be attending the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Space Forum here in Orlando. At least, that’s the plan. Last year the conference was canceled due to the arrival of Hurricane Irma. My big goals, as always, are to learn what’s going on in the space business and, of more personal interest, reconnect with my contacts in the industry to discuss possible work opportunities. However, there is a bit more to conference preparation than selecting your wardrobe and deciding which sessions to attend. Continue reading →

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How to Market Yourself When You Have Multiple Skill Sets

Posted on September 10, 2018 by

When I first started freelancing, I had a challenge marketing myself. I wasn’t just a proposal writer. I also did education and outreach, technical papers, marketing, speech writing, engineering documents, and training and development scripts. I rather liked the opportunity for variety my previous corporate jobs offered me, and I wanted to keep doing that. Can you market yourself as a generalist? Yes and no. Read on! Continue reading →

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Guest Speaking and Classroom Support

Posted on September 6, 2018 by

The school year is starting again in the U.S. As a reminder, this blog was designed to provide insights and advice regarding the business side of technical writing for students and young professionals. Today I thought I’d share some ways I can help teachers–college or maybe even high school–help your students. Continue reading →

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Labor Day

Posted on September 3, 2018 by

As today is Labor Day in the U.S., I am taking the annual, paradoxical break from laboring. I will be back to blogging on Thursday.

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Can I Be a Technical Writer Without a Technical Writing Degree?

Posted on August 30, 2018 by

Can you be a technical writer without an actual technical writing degree? The short answer is yes! I’ve suggested ways for a reader with a teaching career pursue a job in technical communication, but teaching is not the only alternate route into this curiously fulfilling career. Another reader–Celeste, a creative writing major–suggested I address people with other majors as well. Happy to oblige! Continue reading →

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