Every complex product needs to be explained to its users, and technical writers, also known as technical communicators, are the ones who do that job. A growing field, technical writing requires multiple skills, including an understanding of technology, writing ability, and great people skills. Whether you're thinking of becoming a technical writer, just starting out, or you've been working for a while and feel the need to take your skills to the next level, "The Insider's Guide to Technical Writing" can help you be a successful technical writer and build a satisfying career. Inside the Book Is This Job for Me? What does it take to be a technical writer? Building the Foundation: What skills and tools do you need to get started? The Best Laid Plans: How do you create a schedule that won't make you go crazy? How do you manage different development processes, including Agile methodologies? On the Job: What does it take to walk into a job and be productive right away? The Tech Writer's Toolkit: How do you create style guides, indexes, templates and layouts? How do you manage localization and translation and all the other non-writing parts of the job? I Love My Job: How do you handle the ups and downs of being a technical writer? Appendixes: References to websites, books, and other resources to keep you learning. "The Insider's Guide to Technical Writing" builds on Van Laan's previous book, "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Technical Writing, " but is significantly rewritten, extended, and brought up to date. About the Author Krista Van Laan has worked in, managed, and built from the ground up multi-level Technical Publications and User Experience departments in telecommunications, consumer software and hardware, enterprise software and services, and Internet companies, both in the United States and internationally. She is co-author of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Technical Writing." Krista is currently the Director of User Experience at a Silicon Valley enterprise.