Book Review

Technical Editing
The Practical Guide for Editors and Writers

by Judith A. Tarutz, 454 pages
Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1992

Reviewed by Carolyn McKay

When I was first given Technical Editing, The Practical Guide for Editors and Writers, I was expecting another guide to the mechanics of editing, filled with tips on grammar, spelling, and stylistic do’s and don’ts. I was surprised to find a guide that deals with editing from a realistic perspective. This book deals with the issues technical editors face every day (tight schedules, difficult writers, and constantly changing source material). This book provides a guide to the everyday life of the technical editor, and deals more with concepts of attitude, organization, and function than it does with the specific tasks involved in editing technical material.

The book is divided into three main sections which discuss: the editor’s role as a member of the product team, how to perform the role of editor, and the editor’s career. The preface provides instructions on how to use this book, and a list of the chapters you should read according to your role in publishing. For example, relevant chapters are indicated for writers who edit their own work. For managers, chapters which describe how to interview, hire, and manage editors are indicated.

The book begins by describing the various types of editors, and how technical editing differs from other types of editing. For example, the technical editor has to balance an adherence to rules of the English language with the technical terminology. Certain format conventions that are specific to technical writing must also be recognized by the technical editor.

Another section deals with the twelve basic rules of editing, which are explained with a number of interesting examples. One of the editor’s most difficult tasks is editing for style. Tarutz discusses how to edit without interfering with the writer’s personal style. According to Tarutz, the issue of style is probably the main cause of antagonism between writers and editors. She lists a number of writer complaints about editors, and provides tips that editors can use to avoid being seen as the writer’s number one enemy. She explains, using a sample mark-up, how to edit using constructive comments, and how to suggest ways in which the manuscript could be improved, without resorting to negative criticism. This section provides some valuable insight into how writers and editors can work together to improve the working relationship and achieve a sense of mutual respect. A discussion of the editor as team player, however, seems like self-promotion, and the baseball catcher analogy is a bit much. After all, this is a book for editors, and we all know that good editing is essential to producing a professional finished product.

The chapter that I found most useful deals with the various types of editorial reviews, such as: developmental edit, copy and literary edit, and production edit. Each type of edit should be done separately and at a different stage in the production of the document. Just as a proofreader cannot search for every type of error at the same time, neither can the editor review every aspect of a document at once. Each type of editorial review is described in detail, with a list of the types of errors to look for, a sample editorial checklist, and suggestions on how to best plan each review within the production schedule. There is also a chapter on levels of edit. In an ideal situation, the editor would have unlimited time. This is almost never the case. Tarutz offers procedures for determining the level of edit appropriate to the project schedule, based on such factors as: the skill of the writer, the condition of the manuscript, and the editor’s familiarity with the subject. She also discusses how to perform triage on a project, by listing what you would do (if you had time), and determining what you can do (within the deadline). The list of ten things to check if you have only one hour also provides a useful guide.

The book contains a large number of examples of editing and proofreading gaffes. My favourite chapter contains the 100 most common errors. These are examples from actual publications, trade magazines, manuals, and instructional documents. It is hoped that the manufacturers whose instructional materials are used in these examples have a more efficient quality-assurance process for their products than they do for their manuals.

The final section of the book deals with editing as a career and the future of editing in a desktop environment. Traditional publishing processes have evolved with the increasing use of desktop publishing software. Editors must learn to expand their skill sets to keep up with constant technological developments. Tarutz touches on this subject, but does not provide any specifics. I would have liked to have seen a more thorough examination of the editor’s role in the production of on-line documents and presentations.

As a technical writer, I found that this book contained a great deal of useful information about how editors work, how to deal with editorial reviews, and how to cope with criticism and still maintain a working relationship with your editor. The examples that describe common writer complaints, and the scenarios detailing how editors should handle difficult situations were amusing, but did not provide enough practical information to be truly useful.

This is definitely a book for editors, not writers per se. Although the tips provided help readers to understand the editor’s role and the process of editing, I would not recommend this book to the casual editor who may be looking for more specific instructional information. The exercises, however, provide good examples of what to look for when editing, and could be used by writers to practise the skills necessary for performing preliminary edits of their own work, or that of their peers. Although not recommended for use as a source book, or reference guide, this book still provides an adequate and useful overview of the editing process.