Writing & Translation
Hire Technical Writers
Technical writers explain complex products and processes clearly, so users, developers and support teams can get things done.
The role
What technical writers do
A technical writer interviews subject experts, tests products, structures documentation, writes step-by-step guides, creates diagrams and keeps docs updated with product changes.
Typical deliverables
- User guides and manuals
- API documentation
- Knowledge base articles
- Process documentation
- Release notes
Tools you will see
- Markdown
- Docusaurus or GitBook
- Confluence
- Swagger/OpenAPI
- Snagit
Choosing
How to choose technical writers
What to look for
- Clear step-by-step documentation.
- Ability to understand technical topics.
- Experience with docs-as-code if needed.
- Structured, searchable content.
Questions to ask
- 1How do you learn a complex product?
- 2Can you write API documentation?
- 3How do you keep docs updated?
- 4Which documentation platforms have you used?
Planning
Before you post the job
Access to experts
Writers need product access and time with engineers or subject experts.
What drives cost
Product complexity, number of pages, research, diagrams and maintenance.
Hiring on Open Lance
- Posting a job and reviewing proposals are free.
- Each milestone is funded into escrow before work starts and paid when you approve it.
- Hire fixed-price, hourly, as a monthly Dedicated Hire, or buy a packaged Drop-In.
- Client fees are shown before you pay and added on top of the work.
FAQ
Questions about hiring technical writers
Can technical writers code?
Some do. API and developer documentation benefits from coding knowledge.
What is docs-as-code?
Writing documentation in version-controlled files, often alongside software code.
Can they improve our help centre?
Yes, including restructuring and rewriting articles.
Related
Related skills
Post a job for technical writers
Describe the work and compare proposals. You only fund the first milestone once you have chosen someone.