Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Seizing opportunities
Sometimes, writing opportunities come from out of nowhere. And you need to not only be ready for them, but to take the opportunity. Last month, I wrote an article on Linux tools for technical writers. While I had planned to query the editors at Linux.com about this piece in June, one such opportunity came my way.
Newsforge.com published an article on why more technical writers aren’t using free/Open Source software. After reading that article, it occurred to me that my idea would be a nice complement to it. So, I fired off a query to the editor and (much to my surprise) got the assignment on the same day.
Sure, the article didn’t garner me a huge payday (the amount that I received was decent, though) and I didn’t get exposure in a large monthly. But the article did get published and attracted some generally positive notice.
Newsforge.com published an article on why more technical writers aren’t using free/Open Source software. After reading that article, it occurred to me that my idea would be a nice complement to it. So, I fired off a query to the editor and (much to my surprise) got the assignment on the same day.
Sure, the article didn’t garner me a huge payday (the amount that I received was decent, though) and I didn’t get exposure in a large monthly. But the article did get published and attracted some generally positive notice.
