“Working With A Technical Editor” by Jean Hollis Weber Presented by: Paul Rattray July 2, 2007

Overview Editor's Roles and Responsibilities What Do You Mean When You Say “Editing”? Types of Editing Rule-based Analysis-based When Do I Contribute? Questions to consider Typical scenarios Is It Time to Edit Yet? What About Technical Reviews? Personality Issues

Editor Roles and Responsibilities Some of the things technical editors do: Get involved in a writing project from planning stage through completion. Plan documents necessary for a project's Content Cost Schedule Resource requirements Set and enforce standards for the company's publications and for a particular project.

Editor Roles and Responsibilities (cont.) Determine material suitability for target audience Review, edit and rewrite all copies as necessary Supervise graphic artists and editorial assistants Translate technical concepts to simple English idiomatic expressions Test written procedures against products (software/hardware)‏

What do You Mean When You say “Editing”? Two types of editing: Rule-based editing Analysis-based editing

What do You Mean When You say “Editing”? Rule-based editing Covers ways to make a document correct, consistent, accurate, and complete, using standards and guidelines Non-negotiable with the writer; editor enforces rules specified by company Some examples Spelling, grammar, punctuation Adherence to legal requirements(copyright, etc.)‏ Bibliographic references and citations

What do You Mean When You say “Editing”? Analysis-based editing Covers the process of evaluating a document for concept, content, organization, form, and style, to make it “reader-friendly” Mostly negotiable; editor suggests improvements rather than make corrections Problems arise when the difference between “enforcing rules” and “making suggestions” is not clear.

When Do I Contribute? Knowing the best way to divide up the writing and editing cycle depends on the situation, individuals involved, project, and organization: Questions to consider: How many people are involved in the project? What are their skill levels? Time constraints? What is each members work load? Do team members respect other's work?

When Do I Contribute? Typical scenarios: Editor receives writer's material, makes changes, and sends result directly to layout and production. This method is best for a writer who has left or when fast turnaround is needed (ex. newspaper article).‏ Editor makes changes and types up questions to be discussed with the writer in person. Technique used with new or inexperienced writers Editor makes comments in a separate file and writer or layout department inserts them into the file. Occurs when editor doesn't have the software to edit a particular file (ex. brochures).

Is it Time to Edit Yet? There is no specific time to edit. As we have seen, editing varies on multiple factors. A document should be edited multiple times at various stages of the writing process. For example, a substantial amount of editing should be done early, when ideas are still being developed and re-writing will not be a huge task. At that stage, much of the draft is still raw, unformatted and simply the writer's ideas, so a lot of material is usually missing (ex. layout not completed, company style guide has not been applied, etc.).

Is it Time to Edit Yet? Copy editing – process of making formatting changes and improvements to a manuscript Should be done different times and in different levels of detail; depends on the agreement between writer and editor Some things editor may want verified: Numbered lists are numbered correctly Captions for illustrations are consistent Clickable links work Required front and back matter is included(preface, index, glossary, etc.)‏

What About Technical Reviews? Technical Review – the process of submitting a work to a board of directors to be critically evaluated for content 3 ways to approach a technical review Conduct review before editing Best when substantial change by board is anticipated First-pass editing done before review Best for new writers or those unfamiliar with the company writing style Editing is done as a part of the review Best when time is limited

Personality Issues As a writer, you should expect certain things from your editor. For example: An editing schedule Private, constructive editorial conferences when appropriate Assistance, when requested, with indexing, figures, tables, tables, etc. Training when necessary A different perspective on content and organization of a document Collaboration rather than confrontation

Conclusion As we have seen, there are many different ways and approaches to editing a document. As a writer, it is important to know Editor's general roles and responsibilities Types of editing Rule-based Analysis-based Personal responsibilities as a writer When to edit What to and not to expect from your editor

Questions