How Much Technical Knowledge Do Editors Need? The Authors’ Perspective  

Technical communication professionals and educators often discuss how much technical training editors need to effectively perform their job: however, their authors’ opinions are seldom considered. Thus, I designed a survey to gauge the authors’ perceptions of how much technical knowledge editors need and how this technical knowledge affects the editorial process. The survey results indicate that most authors think technical editors should have some technical background, but this background does not have to be in any particular subject. In addition, most authors believe that this technical background improves the editorial process.

Roper, Donna G. STC Proceedings (1993). Presentations>Editing