Who Is a Technical Editor?

Do you possess singular writing and analytical skills, and work with the precision of a rockstar surgeon and discernment of a sommelier? Do you routinely discover errors – even significant ones – in documents that have already passed muster with an army of reviewers? Do your friends and colleagues view you as overly fussy, even obsessive, over minutiae of English grammar and usage? If you answered yes to all, then you may have the right stuff to become a truly capable technical editor.
Word Nerds and Proud Of It!
Not every good writer can excel as a technical editor, and it’s worth noting that few professional writers actually pursue the duty. It takes a special mindset, a commitment to maximize the inherent value in every piece of work by rendering it leaner, sharper and more intelligible. You must enjoy doing the “surgery” and, like a savvy nanorobot, burrowing deep inside a heavy text to excise all the unnecessary baggage that smothers vitality and access. Your ultimate goal for the finished piece perfectly complements the author’s – achieving the highest clarity and retention with minimal fluff and distraction. The editorial skills you bring to the table are what make that possible.
Engineers Turned TextEngineers
If not having a technical degree, can you at least understand the essential points of an engineer-submitted draft, grammatical errors and all? Good comprehension certainly enhances your editing ability, and should develop through experience, ideally supplemented by company-sponsored training. Editors having a technical background are a double threat since they can routinely root out faulty assumptions, citation of incorrect standards, wrong measurements and the like.
Synergy with QA
Skilled technical editors have a penchant for quality assurance. They master governing company quality procedures without prodding and are likely to remind managers and technical staff when they’re going astray from policy. Though many QA managers may be loath to acknowledge it, the linkage between our functions is, to us, self-evident. Using qualified technical editors helps ensure the highest quality in delivered documents.
Where’s the Reward?
So, how do we know when we’ve made the grade? Can all that we editors do be reduced to stylistic self-gratification as some gruff engineering managers may contend? Recognition comes when a harried junior engineer calls to thank you effusively for transforming her jumbled blob of text into a crisp, logical report, suitable for the customer. It arrives when the lauded PhD scientist solemnly notifies you you’re now his “go-to” for editorial reviews.
These are outcomes we’re quite familiar with here at TextEngineer, and we’d love to make you a believer too!
The following are some technical editing resources you may enjoy.
Also see Proofreading Services.
Professional Editing I
editing and for technical writers wanting to sharpen their writing skills. Course Objectives: Describe the role of the editor and the editorial process. Describe the levels of editing and when to apply them. Use Track Changes in Microsoft Word to edit documents. … Retrieve Full Source
Syllabus Version 2.0 (Changes In Red) Communication …
Technical Editing 1 Syllabus Version 2.0 (Changes in Red) Communication 310 / IDT 531 Technical Editing … Get Doc
Best Practices In Citation Verification And Technical Editing
Best Practices in Citation Verification and Technical Editing Dean Darby Dickerson darby@law.stetson.edu NCLR Code of Ethics “The law review staff’s primary substantive function is to ensure the accuracy of the manuscript in terms of its clarity of language, correctness of grammar, and … Fetch Doc
The Importance Of Being edited – Scriptorium Publishing Services
147 9 The importance of being edited What’s in this chapter Preventive measures Copy editing vs. technical editing vs. production editing Editing the content—what you and your editor can … View This Document
IV. Technical Editing 28%
This exam was developed to enable schools to award credit to students for knowledge equivalent to that learned by students taking the course. … Fetch Doc
ENGL 3140 – Professional And Technical Editing
1 ENGL 3140 – Professional and Technical Editing Instructor: Dr. Shelley Thomas Email: sthomas@weber.edu ? (best way to reach me) Office: SS 336 Phone: 626-6814 … Fetch Content
Freelance Writing Editing Jobs Online – YouTube
Freelance Writing Editing Jobs Online http://www.freelancedaily.net Freelancers are you tired of link surfing morning coffee writing jobs, technical writing jobs, creative writing jobs, los angeles writing jobs, michigan travel writing jobs, christian magazines and … View Video
Freelance Writing Rates- Rehaul Of Info – Writing Jobs For …
Thanks for giving me the ammunition I need to feel better about charging more for my developmental editing, ghostwriting, technical writing, technical editing, and whitepaper work. Martha. (2) freelancewrite says: … Read Article
Help:Edit Toolbar – Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Editing; Formatting; Links; Sources; Talk pages; Policies; Registration; Images; Graphics; IRC (live chat) Newcomer training; Student training; Technical information; How to pages: Appealing blocks; Article deletion. Image deletion; Books; Categories; Citations? Citation Style; Cite errors; References; … Read Article
ENGL 3804, Technical Editing And Style – Composition At …
The Rise of Technical Writing Instruction in America, Central Works, 3-19. Durack, Katherine T. Gender, Technology, and the History of Technical Communication, Central Works, 35-43. ENGL 3804, Technical Editing and Style … Access Document
Project 3: Electronic Editing
For use with Technical Editing, 3rd ed. (© Pearson Education 2002) 1. Article about Nanoscience and Nanotechnology This definition of nanoscience and nanotechnology could be used in an institutional policy statement or in a proposal for funding. … Doc Viewer
The Technical Editing Test – Angela Eaton & Associates, LLC
The Technical Editing Test TECM 5195 The state of research in tech editing TE remains the most scholarly underdeveloped subfield of technical communication Most research can be classified as “cup of coffee” (Eaton, 2010) or anecdotal Throughout the semester, we’ll talk more about the … Read Content
Editing And Revising CHAPTER 7 – Caslon Services Inc …
The Technical Writing Primer 93 Editing Steps incorrectly used. For instance, spell checkers think “it’s” used as the possessive is fine. They do not distinguish between words like “no” and “know,” or “they’re” and “their.” … Document Viewer
Sentence Structure Of Technical Writing – MIT – Massachusetts …
• Technical writers want to communicate as efficiently as possible, and active voice is more straightforward and is stronger than revising, and editing. • Learning and improvement requires self-review, peer-review, subject-matter expert feedback, and practice. … Get Doc
HL7 V3 TECHNICAL EDITING: RIM INTRODUCTION
HL7 V3 TECHNICAL EDITING: RIM INTRODUCTION 29 September, 2008 Ockham Information Services LLC … Read More
Technical Writing – Micron Technology, Inc. DRAM, NAND Flash …
A majority of technical writing involves revising, editing, and improving existing documents, not creating new documents. You have done your research, written a first draft, and created an illustration. I am going to ask you to edit and rewrite your instructions. … Document Retrieval
TECHNICAL WRITING, EDITING, GRAPHICS AND Electronic And …
Writing: Develop original manuscripts from scientific and engineering source material, staff interviews and hands-on experience. Editing: … Get Content Here
Writing And Editing Grade Evaluation Guide
Technical writing and editing assignments often involve departures from commonly accepted theories or methods in the subject-matter field. They require substantial analysis to present convincing evidence of new findings or to present accurate and critical information, for … View Doc
Substantive And Technical Editing: How Far Do You Go?
196 ? CBE VIEWS ? VOL 21, NR 6, 1998 Chair: Karen Potvin Klein Wake Forest University School of Medicine Winston-Salem, North Carolina Panelists: Margaret Hoppenrath … Fetch Doc
Grammar, Punctuation, And Capitalization – Engineering …
Preface Page iii Preface The four chapters making up this reference publication were originally written as part of an ongoing effort to write a style manual for the Technical Editing Branch of the NASA Langley Research Center. … Document Viewer
Editor: Career Paths In Archaeology
Edit technical reports for archaeological projects, manage publication and produce reports, organize and produce written documents including web-based and traditional publications … Read Article
API Writer – Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
An API writer is a technical writer who writes documents that describe an application programming interface (API). The primary audience includes programmers, developers, system architects, and system designers. An API is a basic library consisting of interfaces, functions, classes, structures … Read Article
Levels Of Edit – Technical Expressions Inc.
The technical editing process is often thought of as a manuscript polishing job – the cosmetic finish to a manufactured product, the final stage in the process of fabrication. To many an author, the editor is someone who “fixes up grammar.” … Doc Retrieval
NP College – Media Technical Production Www.npcollege.edu …
Media Technical Production Program ENROLLING NOW www.npcollege.edu The structure of this course combines introduction to medical/patient care skills, editing machines, cameras, graphics for broadcasting and lighting. … View Video
Sonic Artifact – Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Because there are always technical restrictions in the way a sound can be recorded (in the case of acoustic sounds) or designed Editing processes that deliberately produce artifacts often involve technical experimentation. … Read Article
Adobe FrameMaker – Desktop Publishing Software Profile …
Adobe FrameMaker is powerhouse desktop publishing software for corporations and others producing technical writing or complex documents for Web, print, and other distribution methods. … Read Article
























