I enjoy 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 fit into 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 17 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, and taxes. Thank you!

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

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.

These are four 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.

At first glance you might not associate beadwork with technical writing. It’s true that writing Complete Beading for Beginners is one of the most fun things I’ve done!

I first had the idea for a book on beadwork in a technical writing class at the New Westminster, BC campus of Douglas College (in 1992). I wrote an eight-page sample in that class, and worked on the design in a desktop publishing class. The support I received from my teachers convinced me to try to self-publish the book. I produced four full-colour, 66-page prototypes, and generated orders for 1,500 copies of the book. However, when I approached the Royal Bank for a loan to cover printing costs, they turned me down.

I was outraged! True, I was fresh out of school, with student loans and only a few months at my first tech writing job. But what about all my years as a faithful customer at the bank? What about my clearly outlined business plan? What about the orders for 1,500 copies, from both Vancouver and New York bead supply wholesalers? When the bank turned down my request, I thought of giving up on the book. But eventually I summoned up the energy to develop Plan B—finding a publisher.

I was incredibly lucky, and my book was accepted by the first publisher I approached, BC-based Harbour Publishing. I thought I had it made, and all my work was over—now I’d just reap the rewards. It didn’t quite turn out that way—the book was accepted in early 1994 and released in late 1996. During the interim I learned many lessons about perseverance, compromise, and conflict resolution. Harbour wanted me to expand the book considerably, which I did. Then the book went through another major revision to fine-tune the tone and make it more suitable to the target audience. Harbour had done some market research and discovered that the teen market was untapped and keen to learn about beading, so this was the target audience we were trying to reach. Initially I had written the book with my younger siblings in mind. They were pre-teens, at least when I started writing the book!

I think mostly I was struggling with my own nature. I’d wanted to self-publish and have complete control. It was very difficult to trust that the people at Harbour knew what they were doing and were actually helping to improve the book. Of course, no one has good ideas all the time (not John Lennon—according to Yoko Ono—and not even the people at Harbour Publishing). So I also had to learn to distinguish between what I was willing to do for the sake of making a good book, and what I strongly disagreed with. Once I’d gained clarity myself, I had to communicate my feelings to the people at Harbour.

I know they also had to learn to trust me. For example, one area of contention was about using clear nail polish to make a knot in the thread more secure. This was something I’d been doing for years, but I guess it sounded kind of fishy. So I was asked to take this tip out of the book. I felt strongly that it was a good tip, so I sought and found proof that using nail polish was a recommended practice in several other books on beading. Harbour checked with a few expert beaders and received mixed responses, and in the end they decided to allow the tip to remain.

There were a few points during this painful process when I seriously considered giving up on the project. But somehow I stayed with the process, and Harbour did too, and the result is a beautiful book that I’m quite proud of. By the way, this process was not what Harbour Publishing expected either. They accepted my book because another book had been dropped from their spring list in 1994. They needed a replacement and thought that my book was ready to go (my full-colour prototype looked really good!). So looking back, I think I was lucky that Harbour didn’t decide to scrap the project when it turned out to be so much work.

Now, 13 years after its release, Complete Beading is a Canadian best-seller. Sales increased steadily from 1996 through 2003, when they peaked. That year, the royalty cheque was enough for me to buy a new car, my Tracker! The book has won local and international awards for technical writing (from the Society for Technical Communication). I’m pleased about the modest financial success, but there’s another reward I hadn’t expected. When I travel, I try to visit bead stores to see if they carry the book, or might be interested in ordering it. The nicest thing is discovering that the store has the book, and recommends it to their customers. That seems quite incredible to me—I created something that is now out in the world with a life of its own, contributing in some way to help others create.

If you Google my name you’ll find lots of beading stores that carry my book. It is available on Amazon.ca, Complete Beading for Beginners, or if you’re American, at Amazon.com, Complete Beading for Beginners. Of course, you can also pick it up at Country Beads on West 4th Avenue in Vancouver, where my book was launched in 1996. Or at Beadworks on Granville Island, also a strong supporter of the book.

I finished a degree in ecopsychology at Naropa University in 2007, and since then I have been discovering different ways to use what I have learned to serve my people… which includes family, colleagues, and my professional organization, as well as other communities. In the busy city of Vancouver, I think we all belong to multiple communities. And to the community of the planet as a whole.

I believe that many people are concerned about the challenges we are facing as a planet, such as climate change, pollution, social injustice, and economic difficulties. I also believe that people want to make a difference, and do many things in their lives that are making a difference already. So I decided it would be empowering and lively to celebrate the ways we make a difference. This theme still excites me, and it carried me through the challenges I occasionally faced as chapter president for the 2008-2009 term. I believe it has infused our chapter membership of technical writers with enthusiasm about being a part of our STC community.

It has been very inspiring for me to hear of the many different ways our members serve their people: bringing food to people living with HIV or AIDS and their families, street-level outreach for the homeless, dog therapy for palliative care patients, helping friends and family members with child care, and many, many other wonderful contributions. It is not surprising that technical writers are so passionate about service when one considers that we have all chosen a type of work that is service-oriented, helping our clients, companies, and the end users of our documentation to solve their problems. One of the ways that I enjoy contributing is through teaching yoga to people who otherwise might not have an opportunity to experience it.