Re: What to look for in a technical editor

["Michael West" <mbwest -at- bigpond -dot- net -dot- au>]

> In my one really bad experience with 
> an editor [ ... ] who kept demanding 
> an endless series of pedantic style 
> changes,  [ ... ] had he been capable of doing more 
> technical reviews I might have been ...[etc]

It has long been standard practice in technical publishing
to distinguish between content edits and style edits, and
to use different specialists to perform the two functions.

I am aware that some publishing organizations
are oblivious to, or choose to ignore, this standard
practice, and it certainly shows up in their publications,
But it is really the only way to run a technical publishing
operation. Expecting subject-matter experts to be
intelligent and capable style editors, or expecting style
experts to have detailed technical knowledge of an
emerging technology, usually ends in unsatisfactory
outcomes for the consumer and, somewhat less 
importantly, frustrating working conditions for writers. 

When it works best for everyone is when there is the
added, unexpected benefit of having a content editor
exhibit a facility for clear, concise language, or of having a
style editor develop an easy familiarity with technical 
detail. These things do happen -- but to *expect* them is 
to set up both writers and readers for disappointment.

-- 
Michael West
Melbourne, Australia


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