How to be a better editor
We’ve all heard people say, “I can’t edit my own work.”
But as a technical writer, editing skills are essential. In my career of more than 20 years, I have been on only one project that had editors in addition to writers (at IBM years ago).
Usually, you will be the lone writer/editor surrounded by engineers or software developers.
Here are some tips to become a better editor:
#1. Cut out unnecessary words.
X “At this time, we have decided to increase the budget to $9000.”
✓ “We increased the budget to $9000.”
#2. Use active, not passive, sentence construction.
X “A new product which is called MacroWave was developed by the team.”
✓ “The team developed a new product called MacroWave.”
#3. Outline and plan your content, so that you know precisely what should go in each section. This reduces the need for moving large chunks of text around.
#4. Edit each sentence as you go, reworking it to be as clear as possible.
#5. Use short words instead of long words when you can. For example, choose use not utilize.
#6. Use style sheets, so your document is formatted automatically. That way, you won’t introduce formatting inconsistencies by accident. If you create a Note style as Verdana 10 point, indented to 0.5″, with a blue sidebar, you don’t have to remember those details again—just apply the Note style to your text.
#7. Enlarge text. After you type a paragraph or two, enlarge the text to 125% to make it easier to read, and then re-read the text on your screen, letter by letter from left to right.
#8. Proofread. After finishing each section, print it out and proofread it carefully letter by letter, with a red pen in hand. After making corrections, reprint the section and compare the before and after text, using a red pen to check off each correction as you verify that it was incorporated.
#9. Set it aside. If you can, set the section aside for a day or two. It is very hard to proofread something you have just written, because your eyes tend to skim the text.
#10. Read the text out loud and listen to whether it flows (this is not always possible if you share an office).
Remember, the best writers are excellent editors as well.
