Case studies: Technical author: Paul

Paul has been working as a freelance technical author for about two years. He combines this with teaching and examining, primarily in the field of biology.

I have a degree in pharmacy and worked as a pharmacist for 15 years as an owner, manager and locum. I then went into teaching science and started examining as well. In both these fields, I discovered that I was good at explaining difficult subjects and concepts to people with little or no prior understanding of them. I eventually started my own training company in the security sector and got involved with writing courses. This involved manuals, PowerPoint presentations and business documentation - health and safety documentation, for example.

This lasted for a couple of years and then, about two years ago, I found myself at a loose end. Quite by chance I saw an advert in the Times Educational Supplement for a technical writer. The job involved writing work sheets on biological topics and producing an interactive dictionary of biological terms. I attended a very informal interview and was given the job. It was contract work and steady employment wasn't guaranteed, but I thoroughly enjoyed the work, which involved a lot of research, mainly on the internet, and then validating the information, writing the material and sourcing suitable images. I learnt a lot about a subject in which I believed myself to be quite an expert.

It's not well paid if you add up honestly all of the time you put into it, but it does give you a lot of freedom and you can choose when to work and when not to. I enjoy the work, the freedom it gives me, learning new things, finding ways of explaining difficult concepts and seeing a finished product. You have to maintain a high standard of work, as this determines whether or not you're offered more contracts. The work can sometimes be a bit boring and repetitive and it's also frustrating when work is short. Also, depending on the contract, I sometimes have to wait some time to be paid, and it may be in the form of royalties, so you don't always know how much you're going to get.

I'm computer literate and confident with a wide range of software, I know my subject well and I'm used to working for myself. As an examiner, I have no trouble keeping to deadlines and managing my own time and workload. However, I think I've been at a disadvantage in not having done any specific communication training. There are plenty of courses available, from short distance learning to MAs that require attending university, so I'd advise anyone thinking of going into this field to take advantage of the training available and to talk to specialist recruiting agencies.