There are many markets for writers thanks to the internet. Writing work in the online community (and increasingly in traditional publishing venues) requires technical knowledge. Rudimentary skills may be sufficient, but in the technical world in which we operate a little goes a whole lot further.
The questions in this quiz cover a variety of skills and/or information that can be involved in working as a writer in today's market.
Freelance writers don't have the luxury of a Help Desk!
Of course, the time help is always needed most is at the 11th hour, or, when valuable data, if lost, has horrendous results. Much like getting your vehicle's oil changed before the engine blows up, investing some small amount of time in understanding your computer, and the ways of the online world, is only to your benefit.
Section I: Your Computer and You: How Well Do You Know Each Other?
1. Do you know where/how to find:
a. the make and model of your system? __yes ___no
b. the Operating System you use? __yes ___no
c. how much MEMORY you have? __yes ___no
2. What SOFTWARE PROGRAM(s) do you use to compose your work?
(Check all applicable.)
a. Word Processing? (i.e.) MS WORD or Apple Works __
b. Special Writer's Software? ___
c. Text Editor? ___
d. Other? ___
e. None of the above? ___
f. What is Software? ___
3. Do you have any of the following TOOLS or OPTIONS installed or available
to use with your composing software? (Check all applicable)
a. Spell check? ___
b. Word Count? ___
c. Grammar Check? ___
d. Style guide? ___
e. Format? ___
f. Create Plain Text document? ___
g. Create html document? ___
4. Of the tools you acknowledged in #3,
How many of them do you regularly use?
___ (#) __(none)
5. Do you have, or have you created, template(s) to use for your
writing work? (i.e.) article or query template
___yes ___no
6. (If you answered "yes" go to Question #7.)
If you answered "no" in #5, why don't you have them?
a. can't be bothered __
b. don't know how __
c. don't care __
7. Have you ever created your Resume?
__yes ___no
(If you answered, "no", skip to Question #9.)
8. a. When making your Resume, did you use a template from your
Word Processing program?
__yes ___no
b. Do you have more than one Resume? __yes ___no
c. Is your Resume "web-ready"? __yes ___no what's web ready? ___
9. Have you ever posted the Resume you created to an online Job Board?
(i.e. Monster.com)
__yes ___no
10. If "yes" by what method did you do this? (Choose one answer only)
a. cut and paste? __yes ___no
b. type onto provided form? __yes ___no
c. both? ___yes ___no
d. don't know ___
11. Have you ever submitted your Resume in response to an online job ad
via e-mail?
__yes ___no
12. Read the following formats. Check those you understand, and are able to do:
a. send as an attachment ___understand ___ huh?
b. send in the body of an e-mail ___understand ___ huh?
c. send a link to your posted online Resume? ___understand ___ huh?
13. Check the following programs you are able to use:
a. MS Word/Apple works? ___
b. MS Power Point? ___
c. ADOBE (or other) .pdf? ___
d. PAGEMAKER? ___
e. FRAMEMAKER? ___
f. MS EXCEL? ___
g. ADOBE Photoshop, Photoshop CS, or other Graphics Program? ___
h. Animation creator? (i.e.) gif Builder ___
i. MS FrontPage or other wysiwyg program? ___
j. MySQL or PhP/File maker/database program? ___
k. STUFFIT Expander? ___
l. ZipIt? ___
m. Virus Protection Program? ___
n. ADAWARE Detection? ___
o. Spyware Detection? ___
p. Firewall? ___
14. Can you state the names for these acronyms?
a. html ?________
b. css ? _______
c. MS? _________
d. wysiwyg ?_____
e. .pdf? _________
f. .doc ?_________
g. .dot ? ________
h. ISP? _________
i. URL? ________
j. ftp ?_________
k. rss ?________
l. rfid ?_________
15. By what means is your computer connected to the Internet? (Check applicable option)
a. Dial-up? __
b. Modem (dsl)? __
c. Cable? __
d. Satellite? __
e. No idea! __
16. Situation: You are working against the clock on an important article. Deadline is here! Suddenly, you cannot get online!
Do you:
a. know how to troubleshoot and probably solve the problem?___yes ___no
b. know how to contact your ISP for assistance?___yes ___no
c. freak out and have a complete meltdown? ___yes ___no
17. Do you have the following information written down and filed somewhere where you can access it quickly if needed?
a. Contact for computer manufacturer, serial #, model #, original bill of sale? ___yes ___no
b. Service contract details? ___yes ___no
c. ISP contact? ___yes ___no
d. DNS settings? ___yes ___no
e. I.P. #'s? ___yes ___no
f. Incoming and outgoing server settings? ___yes ___no
Section II: Online Life
1. Do you know how to access your e-mail from the online web mail at your ISP?
___yes ___no
2. Do you have a web site?
___yes ___no
3. Do you have a Blog?
___yes ___no
4. Do you own or moderate an online Group?
___yes ___no
5. Have you ever heard of:
a. Search engine optimization? ___yes ___no
b.Google Ad Sense program? ___yes ___no
c. Click-thru/ClickZ programs? ___yes ___no
d. meta tags? ___yes ___no
e. the "invisible" web? ___yes ___no
f. cookies? ___yes ___no (not for snacking!)
g. tracking beacons? ___yes ___no
h. hacking? ___yes ___no (not your coughing!)
i. worms? ___yes ___no (not your bait!)
j. E.F.F.? ___yes ___no
k. digital divide? ___yes ___no
BONUS! (5 POINTS! CAN YOU DEFINE AND/OR EXPLAIN EACH OF THE ABOVE?)
6. If asked by an Editor, could you:
a. download and use the publication's article template? ___yes ___no
b. download and use the publication's Editorial Calendar in .xls format? ___yes ___no
c. submit required photos as per the publication agreement, with your article? ___yes ___no
(6.a.) BONUS: 5 points: Can you state the optimum print resoluton?)_____
7. Do you maintain a collection of your favorite resources/research/sites/info sources? (i.e.) bookmarks, db
___yes ___no
8. Do you use an online calendar?
___yes ___no
9. How do you track your Submissions? (Choose one answer only)
a. a program? ___yes ___no
b. make notes, (i.e.) calendar ___yes ___no
c. DNS track ___
10. Do you use a Signature in your e-mails?
___yes ___no
If "Yes", how did you obtain it? (Choose one only)
a. e-mail program created it? ___yes ___no
b. from scratch by html? ___yes ___no
11. Do you know what "bcc" is?
___yes ___no
If "Yes" , have you ever used it to contacts editors or magazines? ___yes ___no
12. Do you use your ISP's SPAM blocking options?
___yes ___no
13. Do you know how to obtain a receipt for e-mail you send?
___yes ___no
14. Do you know how to locate a site owner via "whois"?
___yes ___no
15. Do you have a resource to verify if an e-mail is a hoax?
___yes ___no
16. How often do you back up your data?
a. once a week? ___yes ___no
b. once a month? ___yes ___no
c. sometimes? ___yes ___no
d. don't back-up data? ___yes ___no
17. If you do back up your data, what method do you use to accomplish it?
(Choose one only)
a. zip drive? ___yes ___no
b. CD/DVD? ___yes ___no
c. online site? ___yes ___no
d. tape? ___yes ___no
18. Can you:
a. burn a CD/DVD? ___yes ___no
b. view a site's source code? ___yes ___no
c. verify links on your web page? ___yes ___no
d. verify the code your web page is written in? ___yes ___no
NOTE: You need to have a site to answer these questions:
19. If you quote authors and/or their works, do you know how to properly cite them?
___yes ___no
a. If "yes", can you locate citations online? ___yes ___no
20. Are you able to comply with the AP and/or Chicago Manual of StyleStyleguides using their online sites?
___yes ___no
21. Do you find yourself surfing the web when you are supposed to be writing?
(No answer required....)
Congrats! You made it! Go to: The Answers to calculate your score.
The Writers Tech Check Quiz