Editing: The Big Picture

Editing: The Big Picture

Chapter 1, Questions 1, 3, 4, 6

1. I searched for technical editor openings on Clemson JobLink, not because it is my favorite job search engine, but to point out that Clemson’s career services do not cater to the humanities. Entering “technical editor” generated 273 results from all over the world. Common cities included New York, Atlanta, and Fort Worth. Most of the positions were not actually for editors. Rather, many of the descriptions included several instances of the word “technical.” However, the first posting did include an editor position for an international newspaper. It is unpaid and located in Ghana. The editor would “supervise the style and content of the newspaper.” This would require many of the duties and traits that Chapter 1 mentioned. The editor would do comprehensive editing, be part of a team, tactfully interact with writers, and be skilled in language, communication, and envisioning the readers’ experience.

3. Word Works Communications is a technical editing service that specializes in business and technical communications. The staff includes writers, editors, web designers, and publication layout designers. Besides proofreading, copy editing, and comprehensive editing, they also write documents, do eBook formatting, digital format conversion, cover design, and publication consulting. Their prices are not listed, but they do offer to edit part of a project as a sample.
4. This discussion (http://stc-techedit.org/tiki-view_forum_thread.php?comments_parentId=2155&topics_offset=9) is about the use of “over” versus “more than.” It is based on an article from the Grammar Girl blog, a source that I have used to relearn forgotten grammatical particulars, and that often results from Google searches about grammar questions. The discussion participants did not say if they are professional editors, but it is interesting to know that I use the same source as people who care enough about language correctness to engage in obscure online forums.

6.  Most of the journal articles about technical editing on Eserver are concerned with what roles a technical editor ought to fulfill. Others discussed strategies for finding jobs, Q&A’s about common copyediting issues, and theories about technical communications. The most interesting titles is “The Role of Social Construction in Technical Communication.”