Google Season of Docs provides direct grants to open source projects to improve their documentation and gives professional technical writers an opportunity to gain experience in open source. Together we raise awareness of open source, of docs, and of technical writing.

How does GSoD work?

Google Season of Docs allows open source organizations to apply for a grant based on their documentation needs. If selected, the open source organizations use their grant to directly hire a technical writer to complete their documentation project. Organizations have up to six months to complete their documentation project. At the end of the program, organizations complete their final case study which outlines the problem the documentation project was intended to solve, what metrics were used to judge the effectiveness of the documentation, and what the organization learned for the future. All project case studies are published on the Season of Docs site at the end of the program.

Organizations: apply to be part of GSoD

The applications for Google Season of Docs open February 22 for the 2024 cycle. We strongly suggest that organizations take the time to complete the steps in the exploration phase before the application process begins, including:

• Creating a project page to gauge community and technical writer participant interest (see our project ideas page for examples).
• Publicizing your interest in participating in GSoD through your project channels and adding your project to our list of interested projects on GitHub.
• Lining up community members who are interested in mentoring or helping onboard technical writers to your project.
• Brainstorming requirements for technical writers to work on your project. Will they need to be able to test code, work with video, or have prior experience with your project or related technologies? Will you allow the use of generative AI tools in creating documentation for your project?
• Reading through the case studies from previous Season of Docs participants.

Organizations: create your project page

Every Google Season of Docs project begins with a project page, which is a publicly visible page that serves as an overview of your documentation project. A good project page includes:

• A statement of the problem your project needs to solve: “users on Windows don’t have clear guidance of how to install our project”.
• The documentation that might solve this problem: “We want to create a quickstart doc and installation guide for Windows users”.
• How you’ll measure the success of your documentation: “With a good quickstart, we expect to see 50% fewer issues opened about Windows installation problems.”
• What skills your technical writer would need (break down into “must have” and “nice to have” categories): “Must have: access Windows machine to test instructions”.
• What volunteer help is needed from community members: “need help onboarding technical writers to our discussion groups”. Include a way for the community to discuss the proposal.
• Most importantly, include a way for interested technical writers to reach you and ask questions!

Technical writers: reach out to organizations early

Technical writers do not submit a formal application through Google Season of Docs, but instead apply to accepted organizations directly. Technical writers can share their contact information now via the Google Season of Docs GitHub repository. They can also submit proposals directly to organizations using the contact information shared on the organization’s project page. Check out our technical writer guide for more information. We suggest that interested technical writers read through the case studies from the previous Google Season of Docs participants to get an idea of the kinds of projects that have been accepted and what organizations have learned from working with technical writers.

General Timeline

Google Season of Docs provides support for open source projects to improve their documentation and gives professional technical writers an opportunity to gain experience in open source. Together we improve developer experience through better documentation and raise the profile of technical writers in open source.

For 2023, Season of Docs is pleased to announce that 13 organizations will be participating in the program! The list of participating organizations can be viewed on the website.

The project development phase now begins. Organizations and the technical writers they hire will work on their documentation projects from now until November 6th. For organizations still looking to hire a technical writer, the hiring deadline is May 10th.

How do I take part in Season of Docs as a technical writer?

Start by reading the technical writer guide and FAQs which give information about eligibility and choosing a project. Next, technical writers interested in working with accepted open source organizations can share their contact information via the Season of Docs GitHub repository; or they may submit a statement of interest directly to the organizations. We recommend technical writers reach out to organizations before submitting a statement of interest to discuss the project they’ll be working on and gain a better understanding of the organization. Technical writers do not need to submit a formal application through Season of Docs, so reach out to the organizations as soon as possible!

Will technical writers be paid while working with organizations accepted into Season of Docs?

Yes. Participating organizations will transfer funds directly to the technical writer via OpenCollective. Technical writers should review the organization's proposed project budgets and discuss their compensation and payment schedule with the organization before hiring. Check out our technical writer payment process guide for more details.

General Timeline

See the full timeline for details.

Care to join us?

Explore the Season of Docs website at g.co/seasonofdocs to learn more about the program. Use our logo and other promotional resources to spread the word. Review the timeline, check out the FAQ, and reach out to organizations now!

If you have any questions about the program, please email us at [email protected].

By Erin McKean, Google Open Source Programs Office

After graduating from University in the midst of a pandemic, I knew that I wanted to be a tech writer, but I wasn’t sure how to start. Google Season of Docs was the perfect way to launch my career; it let me work on my own terms and led to me starting my own business and to subsequent tech writing jobs in open source. I am currently working as a tech writer at Google and volunteering for documentation-related open source projects.

Should you join an open source project?

The charm (and challenge) of open source is that the line between creators and users becomes blurred. Do you wish that your beloved tool had that one feature you really need? You can add it yourself! Other users might support your feature request and may even help you build it. Before you know it, you’re part of a wonderful community bound together by passion.

People join open source projects for many reasons:

• They believe in the vision of a project and want to help build it
• They want to build professional and technical skills
• They are motivated by the possibility of hundreds—or even thousands—of people using their work

Life in open source as a tech writer

Many contributors in open source come from a software engineering background. They are great at building software, but they sometimes struggle with documentation. Through Google Season of Docs, open source projects can hire technical writers to help them create much-needed content. These technical writers are likely the first person in the project working exclusively on educational content—which comes with ups and downs.

The fun parts

As an open source technical writer, you will often be in close contact with your users. Through researching user needs, technical writers develop more empathy for the struggles of the users. Many tech writers (myself included) find that this closeness helps them write better.

Contributing to open source also allows you to create documentation in different contexts. For example, you might have authored content in a CMS in the past—diving into an open source project gives you the opportunity to explore a docs-as-code workflow. Another circumstance could be that you wrote documentation in a different industry and you want to see what it’s like to document software. Changing up your writing routine helps you find more creative ways to tackle problems for the next project you work on.

The hard parts

Documentation quality can be quite variable in open source. While some pages might be really useful, others might be outdated, don’t follow the user workflow, or cover way too much information on one page. Making sense of the existing documentation landscape can feel like a daunting task.

Most open source projects suffer from gaps in the documentation. Since open source developers are so enmeshed with their code and the project, they have a lot of context, and suffer from the “curse of knowledge”. It’s hard for contributors, or anyone who has held a position for a while, to remember what it was like to be a beginner or new to a project. When developers write documentation, their brain auto-completes what is missing on the page.

Because many people work on open source for personal satisfaction, you might experience pushback from people who are protective of their documentation. I find it helpful to view pushback as an act of caring about documentation. Take a closer look at why you are receiving pushback:

• Do the developers have concerns about your technical understanding?
• Are they not ready to let go of their document?
• Do you have different ideas of who the user is and what their goals are?

Understanding developer concerns can help you reach the shared goal of improved documentation.

Succeeding in Google Season of Docs and beyond

These tips helped me make the most of my Google Season of Docs experience.

Gain clarity

Take time in the beginning of the project to really understand the software, the user’s needs, and your docs landscape. (I allocated one third of my entire project timeline to gaining clarity.) Talk to your project mentors, do user research, and perform a content audit—this will help you understand the current structure and identify weaknesses and gaps in the content.

Keep your community in the loop

Open source communities attract contributors from all over the world—which means communication is usually asynchronous and in writing. Transparent communication is a must to keep your users (and potential co-creators) engaged. When they know what’s going on, it’s easier for them to chip in.

Deal with pushbacks

Transparent communications and a solid documentation plan go a long way towards addressing concerns. It’s easier to receive support if your team knows what you’re doing.

Build a professional support network

Find other tech writers to geek out with, especially if you’re the only technical writer in your project. Groups like Write the Docs and The Good Docs project are good places to find like-minded people to brainstorm and learn with.

I hope you find a project that interests you and the bandwidth to participate in Google Season of Docs. It was a worthwhile experience for me, helped me advance in my career, and I hope the same for you.

P.S. You can find a detailed write up of my work for Season of Docs ‘21 on my website.

By Tina Luedtke, Technical Writer – Google

After graduating from University in the midst of a pandemic, I knew that I wanted to be a tech writer, but I wasn’t sure how to start. Google Season of Docs was the perfect way to launch my career; it let me work on my own terms and led to me starting my own business and to subsequent tech writing jobs in open source. I am currently working as a tech writer at Google and volunteering for documentation-related open source projects.

Should you join an open source project?

The charm (and challenge) of open source is that the line between creators and users becomes blurred. Do you wish that your beloved tool had that one feature you really need? You can add it yourself! Other users might support your feature request and may even help you build it. Before you know it, you’re part of a wonderful community bound together by passion.

People join open source projects for many reasons:

• They believe in the vision of a project and want to help build it
• They want to build professional and technical skills
• They are motivated by the possibility of hundreds—or even thousands—of people using their work

Life in open source as a tech writer

Many contributors in open source come from a software engineering background. They are great at building software, but they sometimes struggle with documentation. Through Google Season of Docs, open source projects can hire technical writers to help them create much-needed content. These technical writers are likely the first person in the project working exclusively on educational content—which comes with ups and downs.

The fun parts

As an open source technical writer, you will often be in close contact with your users. Through researching user needs, technical writers develop more empathy for the struggles of the users. Many tech writers (myself included) find that this closeness helps them write better.

Contributing to open source also allows you to create documentation in different contexts. For example, you might have authored content in a CMS in the past—diving into an open source project gives you the opportunity to explore a docs-as-code workflow. Another circumstance could be that you wrote documentation in a different industry and you want to see what it’s like to document software. Changing up your writing routine helps you find more creative ways to tackle problems for the next project you work on.

The hard parts

Documentation quality can be quite variable in open source. While some pages might be really useful, others might be outdated, don’t follow the user workflow, or cover way too much information on one page. Making sense of the existing documentation landscape can feel like a daunting task.

Most open source projects suffer from gaps in the documentation. Since open source developers are so enmeshed with their code and the project, they have a lot of context, and suffer from the “curse of knowledge”. It’s hard for contributors, or anyone who has held a position for a while, to remember what it was like to be a beginner or new to a project. When developers write documentation, their brain auto-completes what is missing on the page.

Because many people work on open source for personal satisfaction, you might experience pushback from people who are protective of their documentation. I find it helpful to view pushback as an act of caring about documentation. Take a closer look at why you are receiving pushback:

• Do the developers have concerns about your technical understanding?
• Are they not ready to let go of their document?
• Do you have different ideas of who the user is and what their goals are?

Understanding developer concerns can help you reach the shared goal of improved documentation.

Succeeding in Google Season of Docs and beyond

These tips helped me make the most of my Google Season of Docs experience.

Gain clarity

Take time in the beginning of the project to really understand the software, the user’s needs, and your docs landscape. (I allocated one third of my entire project timeline to gaining clarity.) Talk to your project mentors, do user research, and perform a content audit—this will help you understand the current structure and identify weaknesses and gaps in the content.

Keep your community in the loop

Open source communities attract contributors from all over the world—which means communication is usually asynchronous and in writing. Transparent communication is a must to keep your users (and potential co-creators) engaged. When they know what’s going on, it’s easier for them to chip in.

Deal with pushbacks

Transparent communications and a solid documentation plan go a long way towards addressing concerns. It’s easier to receive support if your team knows what you’re doing.

Build a professional support network

Find other tech writers to geek out with, especially if you’re the only technical writer in your project. Groups like Write the Docs and The Good Docs project are good places to find like-minded people to brainstorm and learn with.

I hope you find a project that interests you and the bandwidth to participate in Google Season of Docs. It was a worthwhile experience for me, helped me advance in my career, and I hope the same for you.

P.S. You can find a detailed write up of my work for Season of Docs ‘21 on my website.

By Tina Luedtke, Technical Writer – Google

Google Season of Docs provides support for open source projects to improve their documentation and gives professional technical writers an opportunity to gain experience in open source. Together we raise awareness of open source, of docs, and of technical writing.

How does GSoD work?

Google Season of Docs allows open source organizations to apply for a grant based on their documentation needs. If selected, the open source organizations use their grant to directly hire a technical writer to complete their documentation project. Organizations have up to six months to complete their documentation project. At the end of the program, organizations complete their final case study which outlines the problem the documentation project was intended to solve, what metrics were used to judge the effectiveness of the documentation, and what the organization learned for the future. All project case studies are published on the Season of Docs site at the end of the program.

Organizations: apply to be part of GSoD!

The applications for Google Season of Docs open February 15 for the 2023 cycle. We strongly suggest that organizations take the time to complete the steps in the exploration phase before the application process begins, including:

• Creating a project page to gauge community and technical writer participant interest (see our project ideas page for examples).
• Publicizing your interest in participating in GSoD through your project channels and adding your project to our list of interested projects on GitHub.
• Lining up community members who are interested in mentoring or helping onboard technical writers to your project.
• Brainstorming requirements for technical writers to work on your project (Will they need to be able to test code, work with video, or have prior experience with your project or related technologies?).
• Reading through the case studies from previous Season of Docs participants.

Organizations: create your project page

Every Google Season of Docs project begins with a project page, which is a publicly visible page that serves as an overview of your documentation project. A good project page includes:

• A statement of the problem your project needs to solve (“users on Windows don’t have clear guidance of how to install our project”).
• The documentation that might solve this problem (“We want to create a quickstart doc and installation guide for Windows users”).
• How you’ll measure the success of your documentation (“With a good quickstart, we expect to see 50% fewer issues opened about Windows installation problems.”).
• What skills your technical writer would need (break down into “must have” and “nice to have” categories. “Must have: access Windows machine to test instructions”).
• What volunteer help is needed from community members (“need help onboarding technical writers to our discussion groups”) and links to where the community can discuss the proposal.
• Most importantly, include a way for interested technical writers to reach you and ask questions!

Technical writers: reach out to organizations early!

Technical writers do not submit a formal application through Google Season of Docs but those interested in working with accepted open source organizations can share their contact information now via the Google Season of Docs GitHub repository; or they may submit proposals directly to the organizations using the contact information shared on the organization project page. Check out our technical writer guide for more information. We suggest that interested technical writers read through the case studies from the previous Season of Docs participants to get an idea of the kinds of projects that have been accepted and what organizations have learned from working with technical writers.