3 Skills I Learned in My Last Writing Profession and Still Use Every Day

When I was switching careers from the nonprofit world to UX writing, I thought a lot about the stuff I didn’t know: the strange, scary tech lingo and what seemed like cultural differences—yikes!

But when I got down to the actual day-to-day work, I found so much that was similar. 

I spent over a decade writing for academic institutions. I was, and still am, a real professional writer, with hours (lots of ‘em!) logged clickety-clacking away at my computer. And there are habits and skills I developed in that career that I still use every day. 

So if you’re a professional writer looking to pivot to UX writing, fear not: you probably already have a lot of hard-earned skills that you can put to work. Here are my top three:

1. Research

Any writer needs to have pretty good detective skills to get the information they need. 

Writing for a university, I used to interview professors about their research in fields like robotics or neuroscience for grant proposals. I’d visit their lab to see for myself and figure out how to explain it in my own words.

Writing for an educational nonprofit, I needed to collect information so I could write reports about an activity that happened. This would include sifting through reams of written data and summaries, talking to the program directors, and interviewing participants. 

Now, as a UX writer I need to understand the product I’m working on. That means asking the product team a million questions, reading through their brand documents, doing research online, working on the copy, and then going back and asking a million more.

2. Tailoring copy to the audience, author, or situation

Any writer has to think about who they’re writing for and the message they’re trying to get across.

In grant writing for a nonprofit, I used to write descriptive, sentimental grant proposals for one kind of donor (an older person with an emotional connection to the organization) and straightforward, get-to-the-facts proposals for another (a foundation interested in outcomes and numbers). Or I would ghostwrite emails for one executive who wanted a personal, flowery tone and then switch over to emails for another one who was a more buttoned-up, ex-military type. 

In UX writing, these fluctuations and different styles tie into what we call voice and tone. Is your product’s tone of voice funny or serious, formal, or casual? We’re talking about products rather than people, but it uses the same skills.

3. Editing, editing, editing

Any writer knows that the first draft isn’t the final one. The best writing (in any field) comes from precise editing. But editing your own work can be challenging. The words start to blend together when you look at the same page for too long. 

After years of needing to pump out pages of copy, I’ve developed strategies that help me edit my own writing with a clear head:  

• Sleep on it and read it over fresh in the morning

• Change the medium or location: Print it out and read it over with a pen in hand, or just move your laptop to a different room

• Read it backwards: Start from the end and read it one sentence, line, or screen at a time

• Read it out loud: What does it sound like in your spoken voice? 

Good UX writing definitely requires great editing skills. If you’re lucky, you’ll be working with others to help go through your work with a fine-tooth comb. But you’ll still want to be able to produce the best, most accurate work you can. 

So, dear new UX writer, you may be a beginner in a lot of ways, but if you have professional writing experience, you’re already halfway there.

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