Editing

Editing is the process of correcting or adjusting a document before publication or distribution. It is an important part of quality assurance.

What is included in the editing process?

Which issues are fixed during editing, and which are addressed during the review process? That must be agreed upon by the parties who are involved.

Most commonly, editing technical documents involves concentrating on issues such as:

• Spelling or grammar
• Stylesheet and styleguide compliance
• Indexing

Editing can also include modifying structure and layout. However, normally such issues, as well as content, are usually addressed by reviewers.

What Is a Quality Assurance Editor?

According to signetinteractive.com, a quality assurance editor is one that, “ensures content quality excellence from conception to publication. The Q.A.Editor is responsible for researching, planning, reviewing, content expansion, production, and administration of content through...editorial process”(Quality assurance editor, 2011).

Types of Editors

While some businesses have positions specifically titled Quality Assurance, the title is more often used as an umbrella term for editors who work to ensure the highest quality product possible. Below are some examples of editors who work under the overarching goal of quality assurance.

From “5 Different Types of Editors” by Emma Woolley on Career Bear:

• Editors-in-chief: Overarching, high ranked editor who ensures that all pieces of the publication are consistent with company goals and standards.
• Acquisitions Editors: Preliminary editors who gather new writers, stories and manuscripts. Duties also include reviewing pitches and determining which submissions move on to higher editors. Most common in book publishing.
• Developmental/substantive editors: Help writers through the entire process from start to finish. May help with ideas and delegate them to writers. Guide writers from the inception of an idea to the finished product.
• Copy Editors: Concerned with the grammar, word choice, punctuation, and spelling. They also ensure that each piece adheres to the style guidelines set by the commissioning publisher/client. Some copy editors may also be required to proofread, check facts, and write titles or headlines.
• Online Editors: Require a mix of skills involved in all phases of editing to publish, edit, and regulate online material. Responsibilities also include format design, artwork selection, and making relevant connections.

Qualifications for a Quality Assurance Editor

Editors are involved with the production of a project from its discovery to its publication. A multitude of skills are required to ensure that the work is accurate, coherent, and consistent. In some instances, editors may work on 10-15 different publications at a time (M. Daniello, 2013). It is essential to be able to keep track of each project’s progress through various stages. Editors must possess excellent communications skills as well; such skills facilitate the movement of projects back and forth between the authors, other editors, managers and proofreaders (M. Daniello, 2013). Signetinteractive.com gives an overview of some essential qualifications:

1. Bachelor’s degree (English, Communications or related fields)
2. Experience in related fields such as editing, website management, and social media
3. Good researching skills; capable of compiling relevant information
4. Written and verbal communication skills--particularly skills of close editing (punctuation, grammar, typographic)
5. Proficient in organization, multitasking, and critical thinking

Work Tasks

According to signetineractive.com, quality assurance editors have a variety of responsibilities:
1. Work cooperatively to identify business goals and needs
2. Be proficient in citation and reference notation, including MLA, APA, and Chicago styles
3. Identify and analyze business competition
4. Revise and edit company documents and publications

Mary Daniello, Productions Manager at John Wiley and Sons publishing company, also emphasizes the importance of working within two strict confines: a deadline and a budget. She states that the main goal of an editor is to provide “Quality products, on time, within budget” (Daniello, 2013).

Works Cited and Suggested Resources

Chand, E. (2011, March 07). The Importance of Editing: 6 Tips To Help Make the Most of Your Manuscript. Retrieved from http://www.novelpublicity.com.

Ng, Monica. Editing vs. Revision. Retreived from Student Learning Center, University of California, Berkley http://slc.berkeley.edu/writing/EditingvRevision.htm

Quality assurance editor position. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.signetinteractive.com.

Woolley , E. (2011, November 30). 5 different types of editors. Retrieved from http://careerbear.com.

Technical Editing SIG of the STC
Technical Editors' Eyrie
Books on technical editing available from Amazon.com

Content partially developed by Caren Fitzgerald, Jessica Stanley, and Alex Lindstrom