The "Fine Art of Editing"
- Reena Misra
An editor, a connoisseur of words, language, human behavior;
A project manager, a legal expert, ethical and just;
Or, simply a pedant, a pusher, a demoralizer, and a harsh critic.
So, who amongst us loves a good editor? I have gone through the pangs myself. But, this is role that many of us choose to play as we travel the road.
Editing is an art that needs to be cultivated and fine-tuned just like any other. When one is novice, the editing goals are to proofread, to clean up the text, and to correct ‘grammatical’ errors. The entire focus is on words and phrases. So, when they edit, they read the text as it comes and edit the words to make the text read better. What is it that they really miss? They often miss the big picture, the whole idea, and the context.
As one gains more experience, one learns to change the goals as an editor to capturing the main ideas, to the organization, and to the effect the writing would have on its audience. These experienced writers edit first for the purpose and then for mechanics.
So what do you do when you get a draft for editing? Begin with substantial editing and get the global picture. Does the document meet the purpose for which it was written? Does the document attend the need, attitude, and knowledge of the intended audience? Do all the paragraphs and the text support the intended purpose? Are there any legal or ethical issues in the document? Is the content illogical, fuzzy, or inconsistent? Is the organization appropriate? Are there appropriate signposts to lead the audience? Is the tone right? Is the design appropriate? Do the illustration support the content? Is the typography readable? Do not, at this stage in editing, fuss over the grammar and missing semi-colons.
Once a document clears substantive editing, copyedit. Look at the style, mechanics, and format. Is the document cohesive? Do headings / subheadings lead into the text? Do paragraphs flow to the next? Do pronouns have clear antecedents? Are the sentences simple? Is there passive voice? Are there meaningless words or repetitions? Are there sentences with unclear actions? Are there negative phrases? Is the format and spacing appropriate? Are the headers and footers right?
As you groom yourself as an editor, you may do substantive editing and copyediting as two different stages. But, many experienced editors do global editing and local editing together. It just takes time and experience.
Suggestion for all to-be-editors:
- Make sure you have a style guide in your department that all writers follow. This will reduce your work in ‘correcting’ the missing colons, the misused words, and the formatting styles. Have a review checklist to manage the mechanics.
- Make sure you educate your writers in topics related to the art of technical writing: content organization, document design, information gathering, audience analysis, interviewing and so on. Mentor them, have training presentations, ask them to write short articles. The more educated your team is, the easier is your task.
- Learn to be humane and not a nitpicker. Appreciate your writers and encourage them. Understand their idea behind the writing. Gently steer them to what you want. Understand the preoccupations of the writers, appreciate their investment in the writing, and respect their style. Develop a trusting and a tactful relationship your writers.
- Be a mediator between the writer and the audience. Along with maintaining a good relationship with writers, you need to be responsible to the audience. Analyze the audience requirements well, profile your audience clearly, and learn the art of negotiation. No writer likes to see their work shredded.
- Maintain your professional objectives regarding the quality of the work. Become an expert in text conventions, grammar, and style. Make sure that documents are correct and professionally presented, so that the communication itself is not impaired by technical problems. Understand legal obligations, such as issues of copyright.
- Be a domain expert. Keep in touch with the technical happenings in the domain that you work in.
And, a suggestion for all writers:
- Respect your editor. Appreciate them for all the red marks they make on your document. Learn from them. And, of course you have the right to question them.
Happy editing!!!
About the Author
Reena Misra has been working in the field of technical writing for the last 8 years. Currently, she is employed with Interra Systems, Noida as Lead Information Designer. She primarily works on the EDA and Digital Media domain. She can be contacted at: reena@interrasystems.com
- The Quintessential Organizational Being - by Vinay Babu.
- The Myth of "The User” - by Geoff Hart.
- INDLISH: A Book for Every English-speaking Indian - by K. V. Srikumari.
- A Lesson in Usability - by Harini Babu.
STC India | Home | Contact Us