Substantive Editing: The Art of the Alchemist  

For any number of reasons — and it's often not the writer's fault — an editor is asked to help transform a document. Water into wine, a specification into a user document. The editor job, from the first draft to the last, is to ensure that the Writing meets the user's need, which sometimes means the document goes through a transformation: lead into gold.

Malone, Jacquelyn and Alma L. Nahigian. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Editing

Substantive Editing: With an Eye on the User  

This workshop focuses on substantive editing with workshop materials that show fast and easy ways to analyze a piece of writing, especially writing that needs the concentrated effort of both the editor and the writer to turn it into a usable document. The workshop is practical in its focus providing tips, checklists, and techniques for approaching material that needs a heavy substantive edit.

Malone, Jacquelyn and Alma L. Nahigian. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Editing>Technical Editing