The Invisible Work: What It Takes to Be the First (and Only) Tech Writer on the Team
summary
Creates API docs built from zero by mining the support queue for customer pain points, collaborators, and examples, then negotiates scope with managers and wins permission to add end‑user guides. Sets a Slack channel for doc updates and a lightweight Jira/ticket template for requests. Runs a company‑wide docs seminar that draws almost the whole org and yields early invites to engineering projects. Uses demos, Figma mockups, and AI tools to prototype drafts and proves the work reduces churn and repeated questions.
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chapters (20)
- 0:00Introduction
- 1:24Solo tech writer journey
- 2:48Challenges of being first
- 3:50Value of technical writing
- 6:58Trust with stakeholders
- 9:27Speaking team's language
- 11:12Docs from scratch
- 15:34Making work visible
- 18:44Cross-functional projects
- 20:50Overcoming invisible work
- 21:56Summary and call to action
- 22:38Q&A
- 23:19Peer success stories
- 24:44Getting work appreciated
- 26:08Lack of managerial support
- 28:16Planning time off
- 29:20Elevator pitch for teams
- 31:06Impact of saying no
- 32:51Helping other teams
- 34:17Collaboration processes
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