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Kathryn Scoffield writes <<... a small column on techwriting for a local
pub. This month's column will approach the topic of how NOT to personalize
reviewers' feedback, even when it's delivered in an insensitive manner. The
main focus of the piece will be that the users come first. If the reviewer's
feedback will help the users, that's all that matters.>>
By "personalize", do you mean "take personally"? If so, you're playing to
all my prejudices; I'm a strong believer that my own writing improves
greatly whenever I can find someone to give it a good, ruthless edit (aka
"review"). It's not easy to convince most writers that their own opinions
and feelings are unimportant compared with those of the readers,
particularly since the default human reaction to criticism is to take it
personally. So in your article, don't forget to emphasize the benefits to
the _writer_, not just the benefits to the reader. Even egotistical writers
often admit (if pressed) that they don't write as well as they'd like; it's
a short step from that admission to the recognition that being edited is a
great way to improve their skills. After all, one of the major
justifications for the existence of critics is to alert us to the blindness
that we all develop to our own faults.
I've often pointed out to colleagues that when an editor or other reviewer
makes a mistake in editing my writing or misses my point entirely, this is a
strong clue that I didn't write as clearly as I thought I'd done. Given that
my goal is to communicate, I want to fix that particular problem. A little
thought usually shows me how I could have written something better or more
clearly, and a little practice paying attention to the problem can teach me
to avoid the problem in future. Call me a masochist, but I enjoy being
edited despite the pain; finding and fixing flaws in my own writing makes me
a much better writer than I'd otherwise be, and reviewers are far better at
spotting those flaws than I am.
<<If you'd like, I'll immortalize you in the piece...>>
Ah, what price immortality? <g> Would you be willing to simply acknowledge
the source of any quote you use, and send me a copy for my clipping file?
--Geoff Hart, Technical Editor, FERIC, Pointe-Claire, Quebec
geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
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