Excellent Technical Writing: Beware Of Your Editor/really like Your Editor

Your editor should be an integral part of your writing team. Do not believe of him/her as a judge, but rather as a resource to help you in all phases of the writing project. This article will assist you overcome any worry of your editor, and how to properly use your editor during the writing approach.

Beware of Your Editor

Some of the adjustments that an editor may well recommend could make the User Document a lot more hard for your Reader to understand.

Improving You...

Overview

Your editor must be an integral portion of your writing team. Do not assume of him/her as a judge, but rather as a resource to aid you in all phases of the writing project. This post will support you overcome any worry of your editor, and how to effectively use your editor during the writing procedure.

Beware of Your Editor

Some of the modifications that an editor might recommend could make the User more bonuses Document a lot more tough for your Reader to realize.

Improving Your Writing

When your editor has gotten past the fundamental mechanical editing tasks of:

* grammar

* punctuation

* spelling

* editing to a Style Sheet,

he/she may possibly work on "improving your writing."

Your editor may possibly think that 1 way to make the writing more interesting is to use synonyms when you refer back to a thing. Therefore you could call some thing a "chip bin" in one particular part of your text, and your editor might recommend employing a diverse term, such as "waste trap," later in the document. This really should make your writing "more interesting."

You do not want intriguing writing in your User Documents! You want clear, basic, quite simple to realize writing. If you make your writing a lot more fascinating by making use of the synonym ("waste trap") then you force your reader to have to feel about no matter whether or not these are the same thing. I advise that you use the exact very same wording every single spot in your User Document where you are referring to the same point. No synonyms right here!

If your Reader wanted to be entertained or have his/her thoughts provoked, then he/she would be reading a novel.

Do not let your editor make your writing more interesting or much more clever if these efforts makes the material tougher for your Reader to comprehend.

Erudition

Yet another spot to beware of your editor is "erudition." That is, when an editor that tries to make your User Documentation sound much more formal. buy minecraft server Other than disclaimer, legal, and safety data, the User Document really should sound friendly, with a conversational tone.

For instance, an editor may recommend changing contractions (such as "don't") into their more formal form ("do not"). Do not do it! Contractions are conversational and they really should not be avoided.

If you feel about it, most folks reading the User Documentation for any solution are below some form of stress:

* they either want to get on with utilizing the product, or

* some thing has gone incorrect.

A formal document will place the User off. The document really should not be silly or flippant nonetheless, it must provide the data that the User wants in a conversational, effortlessly understood style. The needed information must be effortless to discover.

Although most word processor grammar checkers are woefully inadequate, many of these checkers can be produced to supply a readability score (you could have to set an option to enable this feature). Editing really should help boost the readability (indicated by a reduce in the reading grade level) of the document. If editing increases the reading grade level, ask your editor why that score has changed.

What to Do

Provide your editor with the details that will enable him/her to do the finest job. Here are some things to inform your editor:

* The intended audience for the User Document

* Tell your editor that you want an informal style of User Document

* What style manual or guide to be employed in editing

* Scheduling and progress of the project

* Format for sharing and editing the text (make positive the editor can read your electronic documents -- do this when you employ the editor)

(Whenever you are dealing with a person outside your organization, you must have a signed non-disclosure agreement. This is in addition to any other contractual items amongst the outsider and your organization.)

Get to Know Your Editor

Your editor visit website is NOT your school teacher. In your school days, your teacher-as-editor was a judge. Your goal was to impress your teacher with your writing. You had been operating for a grade. Therefore you could have come to fear your editor.

Modify your thinking! Now, your editor is on your side. Your editor will operate with you to generate the best feasible writing. You will not have to worry excessively about grammar. You purpose is to get the info "on paper" as clearly and totally as you can. Your editor will suggest alterations to polish the text.

So do not worry your editor. Make your editor component of your writing team.

Really like Your Editor

Hire Your Editor Early in the Project

Employ your editor early in the life of the project. There are at least two positive aspects to hiring the editor early:

* 1st, your editor will be prepared for the editing process. He/she will have had time to get to know the product, target audience, and your organization's style guide.

* Second, your editor can support you with your writing, as I describe beneath...

Let Your Editor Help You

If you run into problems about how to write one thing, call on your editor. Most likely your editor can supply an effective wording to get you around your block. That is one cause why you got the editor on the project early. Here's another...

A Recommendation

I recommend that you perform on small pieces of the User Document, and circulate these small pieces (rough drafts) to the development team for comments. Then use their comments to enhance the writing, and re-circulate the improved material. Continue this for a couple of cycles. I call this "Iterative, Interactive Writing." This is an effective technique for writing rapidly and accurately.

If you feel uncomfortable about circulating rough drafts to the product development team for assessment, here's a resolution. Have your editor perform a fast edit of the rough draft before you circulate it for comments. Your "drafts" will look fairly good, and the development team will concentrate on the content, not the wording or grammar (and comments about content are you want from the team).

The Bottom Line

Don't assume of your editor as an enemy lurking at the finish of your document production path. Instead, recognize that your editor can be a valuable member of your writing team, and is on your side. He/she must:

* Be brought onto the writing project early

* Be kept aware of the status of the writing project

* Be utilised as a writing, as well as an editing, resource

TIP: It is much far more enjoyable for the writer (you) to function with "marked-up" electronic documents, rather than marked-up printed documents. Investigate your word processor's "many reviewers" capability. To employ this capability demands that you and your editor use the exact same or compatible word processing computer software.

NOTE: I am not an editor, nor do I represent any editors. But as a writer, I worth editing.