Technical Editing: Perfection or Perfunctory
Training for the Professional/Technical Writer in Cross-discipline Industries
By Natasha David-Walker
In “Let The Authors Have Their Words,” Don Bush recaps his early days in editing and laments the disconnection between editors and those who edit, “a thorny interface.” He cites the problem as a “gap between two cultures.”
As the title indicates the issue between the two professionals is on the surface, the choice of words – which he calls “pride of authorship.” Even deeper are fundamental writing differences that exist in both the creative writing genre and the scientific writing field.
In order to decrease the friction (that is par for the course between authors and editors), strategies have been developed to bring about a more fluid relationship. First, editors are advised by Bush to make as few marks as possible. Bush admits this is in reality a ploy – perhaps to make the author feel the writing has met the [high] standard of the more technically-minded editor.
There is also the issue of mechanics and abbreviations, which, dependent upon the style manual being used, differs. The key to avoiding this literary roadblock is using a company style manual since as Bush says, “manuals may become overstuffed with pedantic rules and pet peeves, eagerly gathered from myriad questionable non-technical sources.” On the other hand, Bush says company style manuals can become a problem if you write/edit for different companies.
Working with a “join the team” attitude versus the “language police” stance, allows for a more productive and personable work environment and according to Bush helps “authors develop a message as well as deliver it.” By asking questions and showing interest in the author’s work, the editor may earn the confidence of the author who then feels the meaning will not be changed in the document. By using these basic but personal strategies, the editors got away with bushwhacking.”
Ultimately, final draft decisions are left up to the author, however, technical editors bring clarity to a document through structural changes and by making a document user-friendly, which Bush says “is a different thing from friendly.”
Bush, Don. (1993). Let the authors have their words. Technical Communication. 40(1).
