Name: Kathryn Houghton
Titles: Web Designer and Technical Writer for Eastern Washington University; Web Editor for Willow Springs
Websites: http://kathrynhoughton.com
Location: Spokane, WA
Tell us about your educational/professional background.
I graduated with a degree in professional writing from MSU in 2008. While at State I worked as a writing and digital consultant at the Writing Center and as an editorial assistant for Fourth Genre, MSU’s literary magazine of nonfiction. Currently I am a graduate student at Eastern Washington University (EWU) studying fiction writing.
Tell us about your current job.
I hold two different positions right now. I work as a web designer and technical writer for Online Learning at EWU. Online Learning basically encompasses all of the online courses and the resources required to maintain them, and so I spend a lot of time working in Blackboard LMS or making updates to the various websites that fall under the umbrella of my division.
My other position is web editor for Willow Springs, EWU’s literary magazine of poetry, prose, and interviews. I am responsible for updating and maintaining the Willow Springs website, which can mean anything from fixing typos and updating staff lists to creating new graphics and contacting authors for featured content. Since this position is also part of the management team, I also get to work in some other areas such as manuscript screening and copyediting.
What does a typical day look like for you?
With Online Learning I usually come in, touch base with my boss on project progress, and then get to work on whatever that project may be. I usually spend at least a part of my day fighting with our CMS (also known as making web edits) and writing or editing help sheets. Right now I’m also in the middle of a transcription project, so I spend a lot of time typing.
With Willow Springs my days are even less structured. Right now I’m getting ready for a sizable release of new content (author profiles and interviews), but I’m also working with two other graduate students to change the website from HTML to PHP, so that’s taking up a lot of time.
What kinds of documents do you produce?
Help sheets, web page text, transcription files, closed-captioned lectures, product research reports, and style manuals for my position with Online Learning. It’s primarily web pages for Willow Springs, though I’ll be interviewing an author next month as well.
What communication skills are needed for your jobs?
Strong written and verbal communication skills, absolutely! A lot of what I produce is digital, so I also have to take those elements into account. Both of my positions bring me into contact with people of a variety of technical backgrounds, so I constantly have to evaluate my audience and adapt my communication methods accordingly.
How did you prepare for your jobs?
I don’t feel like I did a lot of conscious preparation other than attend my professional writing classes back at MSU. The intersection of writing and technology has always been something I’ve been drawn to, and so I’ve never really had to go out of my way to prepare. I guess for Willow Springs I did some background research into the journal itself.
List three of your favorite professional resources/references/tools and tell us why they’re your favorite.
www.good-tutorials.com – a great resource for graphic design tutorials, primarily with Photoshop and Flash, but there’s sometimes some PHP or Illustrator or the like.
Literary magazines and journals and their websites – I don’t tend to have specific ones that I read on a regular basis, but it’s the only real way for me to stay current in such a subjective and changing industry.
Style manuals – We primarily use APA with Online Learning, but we also have a few in-house manuals (different depending on what the document’s intended audience and purpose is). With Willow Springs we use Chicago.
How do you stay up-to-date in your field?
Can I lump all the blogs I read into one answer? I read maybe two dozen blogs–on topics from creative writing, publishing, and grammar to graphic design, web design, and Photoshop–and it’s these more than anything that keep me up to date.
How would you define professional writing?
Audience-driven communication. It encompasses so much more than words printed on a page but it’s always writing created with the audience as a primary concern.
Do you have any tips to share with other professional designers/writers/editors?
Don’t be afraid to go for something that’s beyond your current comfort level. I had zero technical writing experience before my current job, but I was able to get it by playing up my current skills and how they showcased my ability to learn other skills quickly. So when you’re looking at requirements for a new job, don’t be afraid to go for it if it doesn’t seem like a perfect fit. You’d be surprised (or maybe not…) at how versatile the skills of a professional writer are.
Tags: In the Workplace
[...] See the original post: beyondwords » Blog Archive » In the Workpla&… [...]