Category: Of Interest

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Of Interest: Why Do We Need an Editor on the Team?

Are technical editors “must-haves” or “nice-to-haves”? Do you really need an editor as part of your documentation team? What are the benefits?

On Wednesday, 15 December 2021 at 4 PM PT (click here for
your local time zone), join a group of very talented and tenured editors (Edna Smith, Li-At Rathbun, Sherri Leah Henkin, Kelly Schrank, and Dr. George Hayhoe) in Green Room 42 to discuss what it takes to succeed as an editor and the impact the role has in enhancing and elevating the overall quality of the entire team.

For more information and to register, go to https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_iuhGVVz7SYu2m-DYCtfuyw.

Green Room 42 is the meeting place for active conversations about topics of interest for technical and professional communication practitioners. In this episode, we talk with practitioners about the impact that editors have in enhancing and elevating the overall quality of content strategy and how it works with corporate strategy.

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Of Interest: Editing Essentials for Writers and Editors

Comtech and CIDM are pleased to announce the Editing Essentials for Writers and Editors online course presented by Dawn Stevens, Wednesdays, 3 November to 15 December 2021, from 12pm to 2pm ET  (click here for your local time zone).

The goal of technical writers and editors alike is to produce consistent, accurate, and complete information products. Reaching this standard requires a systematic approach to condensation, organization, and correction of the copy. During this 2-hour, 6-session class, participants will work through the different levels of editing and gain strategies and tips for creating cleaner content.

For more information and to register, go to https://comtech-serv.com/training/editing/.

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Of Interest: So You Think You Know What Your Readers Want?

by Yoel Strimling

Do you know what your readers really want from the documentation you send them? You might think you are giving them high-quality documentation, but do your readers agree with you? Have you asked them?

On 13 October 2021 at 1200 PM EDT (click here for your local time zone), join me as I present data from an applied research study that proposes a preliminary, focused, clearly defined, and reader-oriented model for collecting meaningful and actionable feedback to improve documentation quality and increase reader satisfaction.

In this interesting and interactive talk, we will get some clear, research-based takeaways that we can use to:

  • Collect meaningful and actionable feedback
  • Provide reliable methods and metrics for measuring documentation quality
  • Create a common documentation quality terminology
  • Help writers understand what is important to readers

This is a joint STC Technical Editing SIG, STC Santa Barbara, and STC Los Angeles event, and is open to members and non-members. To register for this event, click here.

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Of Interest: What Does Documentation Quality Really Mean and How Do We Improve It?

By Yoel Strimling

As technical editing practitioners, we put a lot of time and effort into ensuring that the documentation we send our readers is of the highest possible quality. We want to make sure that it helps our readers do the tasks they need to do or understand the concepts they need to know.

But what do we mean when we talk about “documentation quality”? What do our readers mean when they talk about it? And is it the same thing we mean?

For the past seven years, I’ve been researching these questions. As a practicing technical editor, I don’t always have time available to investigate what readers want. But because I see myself first and foremost as a “reader advocate”, I feel that it is critical that we as technical editing practitioners have solid and empirical evidence to help us do our jobs better.

On 1 September 2021 at 0830 PDT (click here for your local time zone), join Liz Fraley, Janice Summers, and me in Room 42 for a lively and interesting discussion about how readers see documentation quality and how we can use this information to make them happy. And, after all, who doesn’t want happy readers?

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Of Interest: The Phases of Successful Freelance Technical Editing

Freelance technical editing can prove a rewarding career choice once you understand the subtle distinctions of the various flavors of the profession. Most substantial editorial workflows fall into seven phases, from acquisition editing to proofreading. Most freelance editors are stronger at some phases than at others.

On 7 July 2021 at 11 AM PDT (click here for your local time zone), STC Fellow Avon Murphy will present a session that will help you learn how to discover which phases best suit your temperament and skill set, and find more satisfaction in your freelancing career.

He will give some tricks of the trade that can help you make an impact in each type of editing. The result will be clients who understand what you’re doing at any point in the development of their projects, not to mention more focused and helpful editing.

To register for this event, click here.