I love learning to use new products and getting to know new people. I work as an independent contractor and consultant technical writer because I like the variety of work. I am up-to-date with the technical writing tools of my profession and learn about my clients’ products and processes very quickly. I have a meticulous eye for detail, the skill to explain concepts and processes in simple terms, and the ability to help people see how the parts fitinto the whole. I always get the job done on time, while producing top-quality documentation.

Technical writers bridge people and technology

I am a senior professional technical writer with 18 years of experience in the computer software industry, well established as an incorporated consultant. The simplest way to describe the many things I do as a technical writer is that I bridge people and technology to help you do business. I help people use technology to serve their needs and meet their business goals in the simplest, most effective way possible. I was the 2008 – 2009 president of the Canada West Coast chapter of my professional organization, the Society for Technical Communication. I also teach a workshop called Yoga for the Office, in which I teach people how to be close to their technology and take care of their bodies at the same time!

The Portfolio page shows some technical writing samples. I also invite you to visit my consultant listing in the STC directory. See my profile on LinkedIn for recommendations of my work.

Technical writing is one of my passions, and I enjoy the challenges that each new contract brings. Don’t hesitate to contact me, whether your technical writing project is big or small. I am willing to relocate from Vancouver to other parts of Canada for projects of one to six months. I also often work for US companies, via telecommuting.

If you need a technical writer, and you’d like to discuss how I can create great documentation for your next project, please call me at 604.251.6337 or send an email to kyrempel [at] gmail [dot] com.

No recruiters or placement agencies, please. I prefer to contract directly to the clients who will be using my services. I have been an incorporated consultant since 2003 and handle my own contract negotiations, invoicing, insurance, and taxes. Thank you!

I was recently interviewed by Chatelaine magazine to tell my story of being addicted to stress. Here’s the article. Vancouver-based Dr. Gabor Maté has written a great book on the subject, When the Body Says No: The Cost of Hidden Stress. I recommend all his books, but this one in particular woke me up to the trap I was in of creating a stressful lifestyle for myself. Anyway check out the Chatelaine article to see some helpful tips about reducing stress!

Image credit © 2006 Avanti Press, Inc., Box 2656 Detroit, MI 48231

About 10 technical writers came to learn some gentle poses that can be practiced by any office worker, right at your desk at work, to refresh yourself after a stressful meeting or too many hours at the computer. They discovered that simple movements combined with awareness of your breath can transform your state from prickly to peaceful in a few minutes.

The class was wonderful to teach. My students were a very receptive group of technical communicators, highly motivated to ease shoulder tension and various aches and pains. I was very pleased with the turn-out and with the peaceful space for inner exploration that we created together. Namaste!

October 18, 2011 Program Meeting: The Business Side of Technical Communication

I had the pleasure of being one of three presenters at the STC Canada West Coast’s October program meeting. The topic was “The Business Side of Technical Communication.”

Sheila Jones of Wordsmiths was the first presenter, and she shared many decades’ worth of experience about working with clients, estimating project costs, and growing one’s technical writing business.

Mike Smith of IS Solutions presented the perspective of project managers who provide technical writers for large projects. Unlike some recruitment or placement agencies, IS Solutions actually manages the project, oversees the technical writers’ work, and trains and mentors the writers. Definitely the way to go!

As an independent contractor and consultant, I shared my perspective on contracting directly to my clients versus going through a recruiting or placement agency. I had a fabulous time sharing some of the trials and tribulations I’ve gone through in this business. I also shared my recent experience of targeting a company I’d like to work for and convincing them to hire me. I think I’ve come to the conclusion that contracting is similar to dating—it’s better to let the guy/client make the first move. Then they know they want me, and are more invested in making the relationship work!  

For a detailed write-up of the program evening, see the STC Canada West Coast website.

I invite you to spend a summer morning in the North Shore mountains, just 20 minutes from downtown Vancouver and 10 minutes from the Commercial Drive area, exploring your yoga practice in an idyllic sandy spot in nature, by the glorious Seymour River.

You will learn the nature psychology of the four directions, an ancient-modern model of understanding the psyche of humans and nature. Each cardinal direction has its own colours, textures, seasons, stages of life, and qualities of true nature. We will explore the qualities embodied by the directions through yoga poses that connect these elemental energies with your own physicality. This is an opportunity to deepen into your connection to yourself and the natural world.

Enjoy the carefree feeling of being a child outdoors, the vivid colours of summer, and the beauty of our westcoast rainforest with a small group of people like you who are interested in exploring the depths of nature.

Location Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve, North Vancouver

Date & Time Saturday, July 21, 2012, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm

Cost $69

Carpooling We will meet at 9:40 am at a location on Commercial Drive to drive to the location.

To register, please email the following information to: register [at] bcwildernessvisions [dot] com.

• Name
• Phone number
• Program you are registering for, including date
• Questions or comments

For payment information, please see the Fees page at the BC Wilderness Visions website.

Questions Contact Karen at 604.251.6337 or email info [at] bcwildernessvisions [dot] com.

About the teacher

Karen Rempel is a certified and registered yoga instructor, and spent a year as a volunteer teaching yoga to youth in prison. She’s also taught yoga to seniors in Merritt, and developed a Yoga for the Office program that she teaches in Vancouver. She is certified and registered through Yoga Alliance and YogaBC. She is also a trained wilderness guide. For information about other nature programs, please visit the BC Wilderness Visions website.

Karen Rempel
President, Monkey Valley Enterprises Inc.

604.251.6337 (cell)

kyrempel [at] shaw [dot] ca

2180 Wall Street
Vancouver, BC V5L 1B5

Photo credits

• This page and Welcome topic: Dina Goldstein Photography
• Yoga for the Office pix and last pic on Leadership page: Stephen Arthur
• Leadership pix and STC program evening: Marika Piehler

• Superior written and verbal skills
• Agile development
• Writing for the web
• Problem solving and analytical skills
• Creating and implementing effective documentation plans
• Leadership and project management
• Wide range of subject matter experience
• Information architecture
• Excellent interpersonal skills

My full resume includes the executive summary and gives additional details of the skills and experience I bring to my clients:

• Computer experience
• Writing and publishing experience
• Business and administrative experience
• Education
• Service work

While I am based in Vancouver, much of my technical writing experience has involved working with development teams located in the US and throughout the world, including Europe, India, and China.

The information interview service connects volunteer senior technical writers with people who are requesting information interviews, whether they are tech writing students who are required to do interviews for their programs, or people considering entering the field of tech writing.

The service offers a 30- to 60-minute interview (length is at the discretion of the senior writer). It could be in person or on the phone, depending on what the two people decide.

This service gives new writers access to some of the best technical writers in Vancouver, and gives you a chance to get an insider’s view of the field of technical writing, current market conditions, what type of skills are needed, what employers are looking for, what rates to charge, and anything else you have been wanting to know.

For full details, see the chapter website. To request an information interview right away, please email info-interview [at] stcwestcoast [dot] ca.

You might wonder why this is necessary. The reason is that Temenos is not an “out of the box” solution, like Microsoft Word, that is ready to go the minute you buy it.  Though for those of us who have upgraded through various releases of Word, it is not really ready to go, as we have favourite ways of setting up the program to work for us. Come to think of it, the more expert a user is, the more they are likely to customize aspects of a software package before starting to use it. But I digress!

Used by over 600 banks world-wide, the Temenos T24 software is a very robust package that is customizable for each financial institution’s unique needs. The implications of this might not be obvious at first, but the software is actually intended to be developed further once it is purchased by a client. The documentation that comes with the Temenos T24 software is not intended for end users in banks and credit unions, such as front-line staff and people working in the back office to complete the behind-the-scenes aspects of banking. The Temenos T24 documentation is very comprehensive, but its intended audience is the implementation team of software developers, business analysts, and others who need to understand the nuts and bolts of the software’s structure of tables, applications, and modules. Using this knowledge, the implementation team must develop their own databases and screens for use with their company’s existing member structure, products, and processes.

Thus, the implementation team becomes a development team. Once development is involved, it necessitates an entirely different set of skills than implementation. Coding, testing, designing user interfaces, creating business requirements (if you don’t have them already! ) and functional specifications, and creating end user documentation. And that’s where I come in. To the best of my knowledge, I am the only technical writer in Vancouver with experience developing end user documentation for the Temenos T24 software. If your company is undergoing a Temenos implementation, I would be happy to assist you with creating online help and quick reference materials that are suited to your banking processes. The key to a successful implementation is ensuring that everyone knows how to use the new software! I can help you do that.

I have been working in the field of technical writing since 1993, writing and editing many types of technical documentation, including manuals and online help, training materials, web materials, and policies and procedures. I have worked in many capacities, from supervising writers on a project to being the sole technical writer on an international team where all the communication is virtual. I have a diploma in Professional Writing from the highly regarded Print Futures program at Douglas College, as well as an MA degree. I served my professional organization, the Society for Technical Communication Canada West Coast Chapter, in its highest office, president, for the 2008 – 2009 term. I was also honoured to win the STC’s Distinguished Award for technical communications.

I produce top quality documentation quickly and always ahead of production deadlines. I learn about my clients’ products rapidly, and am adept with the latest development tools, such as those used for video and screen capture, print and online document production, content management, illustration, and source control. My experience and skill-level allow me to meet my clients’ goals in a fraction of the time of less experienced technical writers. My rate is commensurate with my experience and skill-level.

Industry standards for technical writing rates

The STC Canada West Coast chapter lists a range of $75 – $95/hour for senior technical writers in the Vancouver marketplace (2011).

The US-based Editorial Freelancers Association provides a range of $50 – $100/hour (2009).

The US-based Writing Assistance provides a range of $52 – $80+/hour, with an average of $68/hour (2009).

The National Writers Union provides a range of $62 – $106/hour (adjusted from 1999 to 2007). This information was published on their web site earlier in 2009, but has since been moved to their Freelance Writers Guide, which you can order from their web site.

The Professional Writers Association of Canada lists a range of $50 – $125/hour for technical writing (2006).

These are five reputable sources that provide guidelines for what to pay a technical writer. Of course there are many factors that influence rate, including experience of the writer, local market, size of the company, level of responsibility (for example, supervising others), and budget.

Initially, I wanted to design a class that would help technical writers like me, who work at the computer all day and are subject to sore eyes, necks, shoulders, backs, arms, and wrists. Then I realized that these areas would be prone to soreness and stiffness for anyone who works at a computer or typewriter, or even possibly at a piano! Conforming our bodies to machines or pianos takes its toll, even with the most ergonomically appropriate workspace. So I broadened the focus from technical writers to office workers in general.

The class is a gentle and revitalizing yoga program that can be done anywhere, including at the office, with no special clothing or equipment required. Absolutely no experience is necessary. Both the one-hour session and the 15-minute class are appropriate for any fitness level and teach some simple yoga breathing and postures that you can do at your office—even in business clothing—to revitalize yourself during your work day, bringing energy and suppleness into your body, focusing your mind, and easing tension from your eyes and neck. I also include a five-minute refresher exercise that’s great to do at home at the end of the work day. I provide a take-to-work Yoga Handout that you can use to practice the poses after the class is over.

I offer the one-hour workshop to offices in the Lower Mainland. Please let me know if you’re interested! You can reach me at 604.251.6337.

I am a certified and registered yoga instructor, and spent a year as a volunteer teaching yoga to youth in prison. I’ve also taught yoga to seniors in Merritt. I enjoy teaching people who are new to yoga. I am certified and registered through Yoga Alliance and YogaBC.