Another Writing Avenue to Explore

In this Great Recession, which has hit writers at least as hard as other industries, I've had the opportunity to coach more than a few writers who find themselves in transition, as they consider the next phase of their career. I've pointed some to a segment of the industry that's easily overlooked--technical writing. That involves writing such things as user manuals, training videos, software guides and all kinds of other useful materials we take for granted, all of which are written by professionals. It helps that there's a vibrant community of these folks in my region--the Northeast Ohio Society of Technical Communication. I simply point folks in that direction, and that lively, welcoming group sometimes does the rest. But there's another easily overlooked writing subculture: grantwriting. There again, Northeast Ohio happens to have a vibrant community. You can go here, to the Foundation Library, which is associated with the Cleveland Foundation, to learn more about various grantwriting classes. I hope some readers will look into that, and report back on what they find.