Editing Like a Team Player

     Chapter three of our Technical Editing course was a particularly interesting one for me (if anyone not involved with this course should come across this blog someday it would, unfortunately, not likely be as interesting to you, but who knows...). It delved into the topic of collaborating with writers, an incredibly important subject for this field as technical editing always involves working as part of a team. Without a writer to author the document in the first place, the need for editors would not exist, and it is a shared goal of both the writer and the editor to publish the best document possible. 

     Teamwork, however, can be challenging. And in a career where teamwork is truly inevitable, editors must develop habits and take measures to help their interactions with clients run as smoothly as possible. I like that this chapter covered things that often happen in interactions with clients, which I would not necessarily have thought of on my own. Here are a few pointers from chapter three of Angela Eaton and Carolyn D. Rude's Technical Editing: Fifth Edition that I found to be the most revelatory. 

1. You have to have a legitimate reason to make an edit-This may seem obvious, but Eaton and Rude bring up the point that "it sounds better" is not an acceptable reason to change something the author has written. One of the biggest complaints authors have regarding their editors is that often times editors implement their own style which contradicts that of the author. Not only can this be offensive to the author, it can unintentionally change the meaning of what was written. This was helpful for me because: It draws a clear line, and often times when I edit things for my friends, I make changes for this reason. This would have been an easy mistake for someone like myself without this rule in place.

2. Make sure you're following the same style-guide as the author- A lot of time can be wasted if you don't work off of the style guide that your author is using, therefore failing to meet the correct standards. Save everyone time and double check to make sure you're on the same page. This was helpful for me because: I didn't know anything about style-guides prior to this but it makes sense and is a good reminder that someone going into this field to figure out what bases you need to cover with each new client or assignment. 

3. Do your research when working with writers from different cultures- Customs in communicating vary greatly in different parts of the world. It's important to be conscientious, do your research and consult your clients/coworkers to make sure you understand the appropriate customs for communicating with your client. This was helpful for me because: We have the opportunity today to work more closely with people across the world than ever before. No matter what career I end up with, taking cultural customs into consideration in any areas where they apply (such as communication) is key in building a reputation as someone who is considerate, respectful and pleasant to work with. 

As I stated upfront, I found this chapter to be really insightful as to how interactions in the workplace for technical editors actually operate. And for those of you reading who also studied this chapter, I'm interested to see in the comments what stuck out to you or if you learned anything new.