Learn Where to Publish
Most writers used to dream about being published in print; but the world has changed a lot; and opportunities are different. Writers today need to adapt, as things keep changing. There are four main areas where your work might get used:
- Print Media
- Electronic Media
- Broadcast Media
- Marketing Media
There are both obvious and not so obvious overlaps between all of these areas, and the dynamic of what you need to write and where you need to sell it, is constantly changing
Print Media
Print media no longer dominates publishing to the extent it once did; however print is still very significant. What has changed?
- Products that were once sold with bulky printed manuals, are now more likely to be sold with summarized user guidelines printed on far less paper, together with either a CD or web site address, giving access to a comprehensive user manual.
- Products used to carry simpler labels with less technical information; but as consumer laws have become more complex, the amount of technical information being printed on product labels has increased.
- Organisations (Clubs, associations, schools, etc) have been moving away from publishing journals and conference reports in print, opting to publish more material electronically. In some instances, members have been given the option to receive electronic rather than print copies. In other cases, the printed material may have become smaller sized documents, as the organisation began to produce newsletters and web sites to carry some of the material that was previously disseminated in print.
- Book, newspaper and magazine sales have decreased. This is partially because people read things on electronic devices today that they could not access electronically in the past. Some publications have begun to offer electronic versions of the same publications as well as the printed version. Some have been forced out of business.
- A big income stream for print publishing in the past, was text books for schools, colleges and universities. As educational institutions have moved to electronic media increasingly, the loss of revenue has impacted significantly on print publishers.
- Some print publishers have adapted by moving into electronic publishing, others have adapted by simply reducing the quantity of print publishing they do. Technical writers across many disciplines, have found it increasingly difficult to get contracts to write non fiction books or magazine articles; and those that do get work are finding the financial rewards of writing for books and magazines, has become poorer than was once the case.
Electronic Media
While opportunities to write for print media may have diminished; opportunities to write for electronic media have increased. The business of electronic publishing is however different to print, in some significant ways.
The cost of writing and publishing something on a CD or on the internet, is minimal, and this has made it accessible to just about anyone; whether or not they are a good writer, publisher or marketer. This has led to an explosion in the quantity of material being published, but also a proliferation of poor quality material being published, that would never have been published when print was the only option. A lot of work is also being published, without the writer being given proper remuneration for their work.
The age of electronic publishing may have increased accessibility for more people to become writers, but it has also resulted in:
- a lot more technical information being published by people who are technically inept.
- good writers having to compete with a lot more people to get reasonably paid work
- profile, visibility and networking over the internet, often having a greater bearing on getting work, than actual technical ability.
Broadcast Media
Broadcast media should not be forgotten as a source of work for technical writers.
The digital revolution has also caused a proliferation of broadcasting opportunities. Mainstream radio, TV and film industries have like the print publishers; seen a huge array of new players in their industry, often small one person radio or video podcast broadcasters, operating on very low overheads. As with electronic publishing; the quality of many new players may be very poor; but some are also very good; and at times can be more financially lucrative than larger mainstream operators.
Amongst all of these people involved in broadcast media, there are people writing and producing segments, shows and larger productions that require technical writing skills. These may include anything from advertising clips to present new products or scientific discoveries, through to technology reports and science shows.
[19/04/2024 22:16:51]