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Books and Courses for Technical Writers

The best technical writers are lifelong learners. The tools, platforms, and even the programming languages change constantly, but the foundational principles of clarity and audience focus remain constant.

Here is a curated list of resources to help you deepen your skills in specialized areas, from content strategy to hands-on tooling.

1. Essential Foundational Books​

These texts are widely recognized as foundational reading for professional technical writers, offering timeless principles on grammar, style, and structure.

The IBM Style Guide: Conventions for Writers and Editors

A comprehensive guide used globally. Excellent for learning strict, unambiguous rules on capitalization, hyphenation, and writing command-line instructions.

Docs for Developers: An Engineer's Field Guide to Technical Writing

Written specifically for engineers (and technical writers working with engineers), this book focuses on practical applications and the Docs-as-Code philosophy.

Technical Writing 101: A Real-World Guide

A great practical handbook covering the entire documentation lifecycle, from gathering information to managing reviews and publishing.

The Microsoft Manual of Style (MS MoS)

While specific to Microsoft products, its rules for UI text, accessibility, and clarity are invaluable for any writer working on modern software interfaces.

For hands-on learning and practical application of tools, online courses offer structured paths to specialized skills.

A. API Documentation​

Mastering API documentation is a high-value skill that often commands higher salaries. These courses dive deep into specification languages and tooling.

API Documentation Fundamentals (Multiple Platforms)

Learn to use the OpenAPI Specification (OAS/Swagger) and tools like Postman to document REST APIs. Focuses on writing clear parameter and response descriptions.

B. Docs-as-Code Tooling​

To successfully integrate with engineering teams, you must be comfortable with the command line and version control.

Git and GitHub for Technical Writers

Courses on platforms like Coursera or LinkedIn Learning can quickly teach you the essential Git workflow: cloning, branching, committing, and creating Pull Requests.

C. Content Strategy and Information Architecture​

For senior writers, understanding how to structure and govern large documentation sets is key.

Information Architecture or Content Strategy Courses

Focus on principles like the Diátaxis framework, content modeling, and building effective navigation menus.

3. Essential Online Style Guides​

You don't need to buy a book for basic style rules. Always keep these public guides bookmarked:

  • Google Developer Documentation Style Guide: (Free) Excellent for code examples, API reference, and general tone for a developer audience.
  • A List Apart: While not a style guide, this resource offers deep dives into content strategy, web writing, and usability.
  • The Write the Docs Glossary: A great, community-maintained resource for quickly looking up technical writing jargon and industry terms.

4. The Best Resource: Community​

The single most valuable resource in technical writing is the community.

  • Write the Docs: The largest and most active technical writing community. They host conferences, run local meetups, and maintain an extremely helpful Slack channel.
  • Reddit (r/technicalwriting): A great source for career advice, tooling debates, and finding answers to common problems.
  • Local Meetups: Search for local technical writing, documentation, or user assistance groups in your area for in-person networking.

By engaging with these resources, you ensure your skills are always current, relevant, and in demand.