Re: What to look for in a technical editor

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

"Richard G. Combs" <richard -dot- combs -at- voyanttech -dot- com> wrote in message

>
> I think Michael overstates when he implies that technical knowledge in
style
> editors is harmful.

I don't think I did imply that. In fact, I stated the opposite
in my third paragraph. What I did say -- and this is for
Andrew Plato's benefit as well -- is that EXPECTING
technical experts to be style experts, and vice versa, will
almost always lead to disappointment. Why? Because they
rarely are. And that is what I meant by "unsatisfactory
results." Perhaps disappointment is not unsatisfactory
for Andrew, but it is for me. And so are badly edited
publications.

> Michael is flat wrong when he says that having separate
> content and style editors "is really the only way to run a
> technical publishing operation."

Richard is taking a figure of speech literally -- a perfectly
excusable habit in a technical writer. I'll say it again
without the hyperbole.

Reviews for technical accuracy should be done
by subject matter experts and reviews for style should be
done by style experts. In technical publishing it is rare to
find both kinds of expertise in the same person, but it can
happen. Even so, a second opinion by a second technical
expert adds value to the review process.

--
MW



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