Are you an aspiring technical writer? Do you want to make a difference in your workplace and your life, pursuing a career you love? If so, Heroic Technical Writing: Making a Difference in the Workplace and Your Life was written for you. The original audience for this book was 22-year-old me, Leahy admits. I didn’t know a lot about how the business world worked fresh out of college. It contains all the advice I wish I’d gotten when I was young and looking for a writing job. This is stuff they don’t teach you in the classroom. Addressed to students and young professionals interested in pursuing a career in technical communication, Heroic Technical Writing covers six major topics:1. Product - the documents tech writers produce2. Process - the business activities related to producing documents3. People and Politics - the interpersonal opportunities and challenges that can arise in a tech writing environment4. Professionalism - the behaviors necessary for getting along in a white-collar work environment5. Pursuing Work - the tools and insights needed to find tech writing jobs6. Protecting Yourself - the necessary skills no one talks about, including taking care of your physical and mental health, investing for the future, and retiringMid-career tech writers also will appreciate the book, as it addresses familiar professional challenges, including dealing with difficult people, handling unemployment mid-career, starting a freelance business, and planning for retirement. Leahy depicts the real work world as he’s experienced it-warts and all.Why Heroic Technical Writing? Heroic has two meanings for me, Leahy says. As a ‘heroic’ writer, I want to provide prose that helps my customers’ ideas succeed. As a heroic-minded person, I want to believe that my choices matter, and that those choices can make my goals a reality. I’d like my readers to have that same confidence.
