Monday, October 26, 2009
Week One--Students Whose Last Names Begin with Q-Z
The reading, More than Grammar: Expectations of Technical Editing New Hires, identifies competencies expected of new technical editors. So what’s the difference between a new technical editor (or technical communicator—if that’s more comfortable for you to address) and an intermediate one? Senior one? Be as specific as possible.
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In my way of thinking, the difference between a new hire and an intermediate or senior editor would be several things:
ReplyDeleteNew editors would require more supervision and mentoring.
New editors would need a basic understanding of grammar, punctuation, style guides, proofreader marks, be able to edit for consistency, structure, completenness, usability, communicate with tact and persuasiveness, have confidence in their skills and be willing to accept constructive mentoring.
More seasoned editors would work with less supervision, be more inclined to mentor others, and be more familiar with the clients.
A new editor or communicator should know the basics such as grammar rules, software, etc. and would then be coached on the specifics of the company. An experienced editor or communicator should know the basics, but what's more important is that the person has the right mindset to ask the right questions.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion all levels of editors, namely, junior, intermediate, and senior editors must have a good command of grammar and mechanics of style. This command of language is what makes us editors or writers in the first place. As for style and mechanics that are specific to a Company, editing skills are best learned by observing and following a common set of documentation style guidelines on the job.
ReplyDeleteA junior editor may need more supervision and mentoring in the beginning to get used to the style and mechanics used in the workplace. A senior editor who has years of experience and knowledge of the Company, should be willing to lead and mentor junior editors. In both cases, "experience" is the key.
From Tannis Turnbull:
ReplyDeleteAn intermediate editor should also have a good basis in grammar and document mechanics and be able to easily complete proofreading to substantive edits. She should be able to apply style and standard consistency editorial comments, and have a good understanding of the authoring tools being used to create the content (technology).
An intermediate editor should be able to communicate their edits in a positive fashion, garnering understanding and support, and be able to defend their editorial comments.
As well as having the communication skills and experience required to support their editorial comments, an intermediate editor should be able to integrate fairly rapidly into team and project environments, rapidly coming up to speed on tasks that need to be completed.
I would hope an intermediate writer to have some experience working with content meant to go for translations, but wouldn't expect it. Nor would I expect an editor at this level to have much experience creating or maintaining templates, standards, or style guides.
Senior editors, I would expect to have experience creating, maintaining, and applying style and standard guides for departments or companies. I would expect that a senior editor to mentor junior and intermediate writers, enabling them to improve and grow.
Senior editors should be able to communicate well, with very strong substantive and editorial skills, and be very capable in defending their editorial comments effectively. These editors should have excellent team building skills and be able to integrate very quickly into a team or project.
Senior editors should have a good working knowledge or understanding of the authoring tools used to create the content and in many cases be responsible for creating and maintaining the templates.
In terms of translations, senior editors should have experience in writing and editing for translations, working with simple language, and the common problems that increase costs in translation projects and how a good edit can reduce those problems - i.e., use of jargon, lack of consistent terminology, etc. Senior editors may also maintain a translation style guide, terminology or glossary.
I would say that a new editor knows all the rules but may not really know when and how to apply the rules. A new editor may be familiar with all aspects of editing but may lack knowledge of company style guide. The experienced editor would also be familiar with the tools used by the company to make edits and send them back to writers.
ReplyDeleteSenior editors are also usually well acquainted with industry style standards. Senior editors are expected to be open to taking in inputs from writers and also be open to new or upcoming editing standards.
As a new technical communicator the industry in which one is in dictates the standards that define the role. For a junior level communicator in a technology driven industry the primary emphasis is placed on quick understanding and interpretation of the technology and the ability to produce the appropriate documentation to the targeted audience. The role a senior level communicator is to bridge the gap between the junior and intermediate communicator by identifying ultimate goal for the group. The senior level communicators are seasoned at putting together proposals, guidelines, and standardizations that would divide the tasks appropriately amongst the group. Grammar and mechanics are important in both roles but more so in a junior level role than a senior level.
ReplyDeleteThis is a tough question for me to answer because we do not have an editor and we don't think that we need an editor at this time. We rely on software for spell checking and link validation, and we rely on the writers to proof their work for consistency, grammar, etc. So, with that being said, here's what I think the difference is between a junior and senior editor. A junior editor is someone who is just starting a career in the technical writing/editing field. This person would need about three months of training before actually being able to do the job. A senior editor, on the other hand, would start almost immediately with defining the editor's role, assessing the style guides, evaluating the current processes, and learning the products and technology. Then, the senior editor would roll out her plan for improving the consistency and accuracy of the documentation and enhancing and streamlining our processes. In addition, the senior editor would create, maintain and enforce style guides.
ReplyDeleteTo me, the skills required are the same, as they are based on the nature of work. The difference, of course, is experience. The more projects one completes, the more quality one delivers, the more working relationships one improves, the more senior one becomes.
ReplyDeleteFrom David Stamm
ReplyDeleteJunior, Intermediate, and Senior
I'd expect a junior editor to be already qualified as a an intermediate or senior writer. With the skills and experience for those levels, the junior editor will have seen, and (perhaps) made of (if not all) of the variations from the applicable standards.
I'd expect an intermediate editor to be qualified as a senior writer. An intermediate editor would be more-experienced in developing and maintaining both templates or document type definitions and style guides.
A senior editor must be at least a senior writer first. The senior editor must have greater experience dealing with reluctant (sometimes, recalcitrant) experts who contribute content for inclusion in the information being developed. The senior editor will also be adept at developing — or at least overseeing — changes to writers' workflows.
Jodie Wilford...
ReplyDeleteI think a junior editor would be an editor who knew grammar but needed seasoning in how grammar is best used to communicate unambiguously. This editor would know that style guides were important but might not have any experience in using them or writing them or applying them. This editor also probably hasn't had much opportunity to deal with technical writers. This editor might be inclined to rewrite stuff as he would have written it. This editor edits only what is on the page. Less than 3 years editing.
An intermediate editor would already know and have demonstrated all that and would have dealt with writers both senior (who are easy to edit because they know the value) and junior (who are really defensive of their work). This editor also has an ear for translation and values the need for consistent application of terminology and fonts and what they mean to the reader. This editor no longer feels the inclination to rewrite. This editor is capable of seeing illogic in procedures. This editor sees more than is on the page, he sees what is missing. Between 3 and 5 years editing.
A senior editor is one who does all of that, better, and is able to coach and train the writers to get better at what they do. This editor has the ability to look at the presentation of the material from multiple viewpoints and can anticipate where the communication will break down.