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Subject:Re: job title nomenclature on biz cards From:Andrew Plato <gilliankitty -at- yahoo -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Thu, 19 Aug 2004 10:36:32 -0700 (PDT)
"diotima" <diotima -at- myway -dot- com> wrote in message news:247407 -at- techwr-l -dot- -dot- -dot-
> do you think clients and employers have strong preconceptions associated
> with "editor" and "writer"? for instance, that editors just mark up documents
> while writers actually do the work? is it commonly assumed that editors are
> also writers, or do editors find they need to state this? any thoughts? does
> it matter?
Well, if you want to be precise in terms of definition:
Editor: This is a job that takes existing material and improves it. While
editors may author some material, this is not the focus of their work. Not all
editors are good writers or communicators.
Writer: This is a job that authors material from nothing. A writer starts with
a blank piece of paper (or computer screen) and produces something. Not all
writers make good editors.
Communicator: A generic term for a person who is capable of communicating
ideas, concepts, designs, etc. independent of the media used. A communicator
must possess knowledge and expertise about a topic to effectively communicate
information about that topic. Very, very few people calling themselves
technical communicators actually possess the necessary technical knowledge to
be effective communicators. They are usually editors, improving other people's
work. Not all communicators can write well.
Most people who call themselves "technical writers" or "technical
communicators" are actually editors since they do not author content or possess
the technical skills to communicate ideas. They merely improve other people's
work.
Some people, who possess the necessary technical skills to communicate
effectively, have elected to call themselves "technical authors" to clearly
differentiate themselves from people posing as technical writers.
If you handed me a card with the title "technical writer" I would expect you to
be able to author content from scratch based on your own knowledge.
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