Re: Writers vs Editors
One quality of editors that I do not see mentioned in these discussions
is understajndinhg the mindset of the reader. If you are editing a
maintenance manual on some electronic equipment, is it not essential to
understand how a maintenance technician's mind works--i.e., what information
and what processes he is likely to want to learn? -- Herm
Absolutely. Just as a writer needs to know this. I neglected to mention it in my post to the list, so thanks for mentioning it. Lisa Wright also makes the point, among others, and illustrates it very well.
I do discuss this "reader's representative" aspect on my website, though not as much or as explicitly as I should. You've encouraged me to move higher up my priority list a task to revise some of the pages. In my copious spare moment, that is...
Regards, Jean
Jean Hollis Weber
mailto:jean -at- wrevenge -dot- com -dot- au
The Technical Editors' Eyrie http://www.wrevenge.com.au/
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Develop HTML-based Help with Macromedia Dreamweaver! (STC Discount.)
**NEW DATE/LOCATION!** January 16-17, 2001, New York, NY.
http://www.weisner.com/training/dreamweaver_help.htm or 800-646-9989.
Sponsored by an
anonymous satisfied subscriber since 1994.
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
Previous by Author:
Style guides, conventions, standards and plans (was: anyone else in the same boat?)
Next by Author:
RE: oddball Word questions (involving making multiple documents into one book)
Previous by Thread:
Re: Writers vs Editors
Next by Thread:
Re: Writers vs Editors
Search our Technical Writing Archives & Magazine
Visit TechWhirl's Other Sites
Sponsored Ads