Quo Corrigo? Survey Results

At the end of April 2018, we sent out a survey called “Quo Corrigo?” asking Corrigo readers to tell us about what kind of content they wanted to see here.

We felt that Corrigo should only present information that focuses on technical editing, rather than on generic technical communication. But we weren’t sure what that meant exactly, so we turned to you to help us define the future scope and direction of Corrigo.

As of the end of June 2018, we’ve received 35 responses to our survey, and we thank all of you who took the time to tell us your opinions.

When we analyzed the results, we found that there were a number of topics that stood out:

1. The topic that was mentioned most was related to editing processes and best practices – how to balance quality and deadlines, how define levels of editing, and how to align writer/editor expectations.
2. The second most-mentioned topic was the benefit/impact of editing and editors in an organization – how to show the value added by editing, and how to convince both management and technical writers about the importance of editing.

Other topics that respondents showed interest in learning more about were tools for more efficient editing, grammar refreshers, and how to create style guides.

Because these are clearly topics that have a direct bearing on technical editing (rather than generic technical communication), we are pleased with the outcome of the survey.

We will now attempt to find and post articles that address these topics – and we need your help.

If:

• You think that you can write an article about one or more of these topics.
• You know a STC Technical Editing SIG member who can write an article about one or more of these topics.
• You’ve read and can recommend an article about one or more of these topics.

Then please contact us at editor@stc-techedit.org so we can discuss this some more, and maybe post an article that meets a need.

The original Quo Corrigo? survey will remain open, so please continue to give us your thoughts about what you want to get out of Corrigo – and what you want to put in!