#24611
Seven Discrete Principles for Content Editing 
One of many lessons I learned in 30 years of Technical Editing was to separate myself from the crowd by learning to edit technical content, using seven reader-oriented techniques.
Bush, Donald W. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Editing>Technical Editing
#28164
A SIG Transformation: Past, Present, and Future
A recent discussion about the STC's Technical Editing Special Interest Group (TE SIG) provided insights into the evolving role of communities of interest in the Society. At a meeting of the Carolina Chapter's local TE SIG, Diane Feldman, who is the manager of the Society-level SIG, provided members with an update on SIG activities.
Brautman, Heather. Carolina Communique (2005). Articles>TC>Technical Editing>STC
#20571
Situational Editing: A Rhetorical Approach for the Technical Editor 
Argues that the rhetorical approach to communication considers situations individually and is necessary for technical editors because their work comprises a series of individual rhetorical decisions. Proposes a rhetorical theory of technical editing.
Beuhler, Mary Fran. Technical Communication Online (2003). Articles>Editing>Technical Editing>Rhetoric
#29256
Substantive and Technical Editing: How Far Do You Go?
Authors who cannot answer queries create a barrier to improvement of manuscripts. Some authors resist the idea that their papers might need major changes. Other authors depend on the editor to make changes that the author can and should make. Language barriers can require creative solutions. Also, there is the question of how far to go as an editor in reframing a report (for example, should an editor reframe the purpose of a paper?) and in correcting an author's errors (for example, a claim of a trend when none is shown).
Hoppenrath, Margaret, Joan C. Hinchcliffe, Sharon Naron and Arkady Mak. CBE Views (1998). Articles>Editing>Technical Editing
#24910
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
#29689
Syntax or Sin Tax: Which Should an Editor Choose?
Proficiency and accuracy are necessary to edit technical communication, but both can be diminished by the conflict of standards and rules from respected sources. This difficulty is further compounded with the differing expectations of audiences, employers, and companies. To resolve potential problems, editors need to refresh their basic skills through workshops, professional journal articles, and the study of updated authoritative sources. Editors then need to address their audience expectations by developing appropriate style guides. By focusing upon the needs of the audience, editors draw upon a variety of sources, some of which may not agree upon the same standards and rules. In such cases, the editor may also break or bend rules to achieve the consistent, accurate communications that best serve the individual audience.
Ball, Valerie M. STC Proceedings (2005). Articles>Editing>Technical Editing>Standards
#32043
Tech Writers, Grammar, and the Prescriptive Attitude
Prescriptive grammar is useful for teaching English as a second language, but it has little value for the practicing writer. Clinging to it may provide emotional security, but only at the expense of making writing harder than it needs to be. The culture-wide devotion to it will not be changed in a moment. But conscientious writers can at least change their own habits, and make life easier for themselves.
Byfield, Bruce. TECHWR-L (2008). Articles>Writing>Editing>Technical Writing
#13835
The Technical Editor and Document Databases: What the Future May Hold
Technical editors ensure a document communicates with the reader. With XML, active server pages, and dynamic document creation, Web pages are no longer simple hand-crafted text objects, but dynamic groupings of text assembled moments before the reader views the page. With dynamic documents, high-level editing tasks will be, at best, vaguely defined during text creation. To maximize the information content, future technical editors require tighter control over information consistency and content.
Albers, Michael J. Technical Communication Quarterly (2000). Articles>Editing>Single Sourcing>Technical Editing
#20751
Technical Editors: Are We Are Own Worst Enemies? Strategies For Working With Authors
The authors explore two studies of cognitive assessments, the Myers Briggs Type Indicator and Boundary Spanning of technical communicators, give readers an opportunity to score themselves, and then they argue that knowing the cognitive differences between technical communicators and the authors they edit can help them improve working relationships with authors. When copyediting, they suggest making suggestions rather than dictates; providing rationale for suggestions; basing suggested changes on style guides, standard references and communication research; and using a levels- of-edit approach.
Zimmerman, Donald E. and Charlotte Taylor. STC Proceedings (1999). Articles>Editing>Technical Editing
#22791
Technical Translation: Craft, Not Commodity
Describes the work of translators and suggests strategies buyers can use to find the best translator for their needs.
Cardillo, Louis M. Intercom (2004). Articles>Editing>Localization>Technical Writing
#31939
Technical Writing's Big Secret
The big secret in technical writing is that most of the harder documents aren't written by the technical writers at all. In fact, many "technical writers" never do any writing at all. Instead, the drafts are written by engineers or marketers. The technical writers perform editorial functions and provide publications services -- copy-editing, layout, review management, and so on.
Plamondon, Robert. High-Tech Technical Writing (2008). Articles>Writing>Technical Writing>Technical Editing
#26967
Der Technische Redakteur erstellt und aktualisiert aussagefähige, umsetzbare, verständliche technische Dokumentationen aller Art.
#22688
Ten More Errors in Technical Writing
So, well, here are 10 more errors. This time we will focus on grammar and punctuation. Most of these are simplistic and obvious. But then they are too common. As usual, I have slipped in some content for the advanced writers too. (This article is a follow-up to 'One Hundred Simple Tech Writing Errors .)
Kamath, Gurudutt R. IT People (2003). Articles>Editing>Grammar>Technical Writing
#30287
The Art Of Editing: User's Guides Versus Technical Documents
While contemplating topic areas for a presentation at this year's conference, our biggest challenge was the fact that not all technical editors edit the same type of documents. Presentations at STC conferences are heavily concentrated toward user documentation and software instructional manuals. With that as our prime focus, we identified six common elements that we both consider as we edit a document. We then compared our methods of approaching these elements. One of us edits primarily user's guides and procedural manuals; the other edits scientific and technical documents.
Cluff, Susan C. and Sandra R. Marks. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Documentation>Editing>Technical Editing
#22117
Editors need to know some basic techniques for dealing with files if they are going to be editing them electronically. These techniques apply to files in any format, but exactly what you do depends on which word-processor, desktop publishing program, help authoring system, or other software you are using.
Hollis Weber, Jean. Technical Editors Eyrie (2001). Articles>Editing>Technical Editing>Online
#32134
Technical editors are constantly required to edit and revise pieces that they don’t fully understand - or even have much information about. That’s part of the game.
Schwarcz, Mati. Art of Technical Communication, The (2008). Articles>Editing>Technical Editing
#33545
Perspective—it’s one of the first things you learn about in any art class. The basic idea is that it’s the way your eye actually sees something, represented on a flat surface such as paper or a monitor. A simple example is drawing a group of objects: You represent an object in the distance by making it smaller, while making objects close to the viewer larger—make sense? In this tutorial, I’m going to show you how to create perspective shadows in Adobe Photoshop CS3. The result is dynamic, but the technique is a breeze!
Gray, Lawrence. Event DV (2008). Articles>Graphic Design>Image Editing>Technical Illustration
#34793
Why the Focus on Review Practices?
improving document review practices is of great concern to many in the biopharmaceutical industry. The reason for this interest can be explained by the following observations which provide some insight as to why review is, or needs to be, a central focus for improving knowledge propagation and dissemination.
Mahajan, Jessica. Brainery.net (2009). Articles>Scientific Communication>Technical Editing>Biomedical
#35007
Creating an Anthology on Editing
Pulling together New Perspectives on Technical Editing, an anthology on editing, was a complex, yet exhilarating experience. The process fell into four stages.
Murphy, Avon J. Corrigo (2009). Articles>Editing>Technical Editing>Case Studies
#35008
Paper, Screen, or Scissors? Editing on Hard Copy or Soft Copy
The question posted in our discussion list: Should editors edit on hard copy or soft copy? The answer: Yes. Or, it depends. Essentially it is not a matter of should; it is a matter of personal preference and what works best in different situations.
Slager, Tim. Corrigo (2007). Articles>Editing>Technical Editing
#35639
Understanding the Value of a Technical Editor 
Not all companies understand why it's important for them to have technical editor(s). In fact, many technical editors must justify their existence on a regular basis.
STC Technical Editing SIG (2009). Articles>Editing>Technical Editing
#35640
Demonstrating the Value of Editing
Like all other technical communicators, we editors must sometimes struggle to prove our worth to employers. We know our value, and the more clueful of our authors understand, but sometimes it takes a bit more work to convince senior managers that we serve a useful purpose. Managers generally require specific examples, usually supported by hard numbers. In this article, I’ve provided a few random facts and figures that I’ve accumulated over the years that you can share with management.
Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Corrigo (2007). Articles>Editing>Technical Editing
#35710
Writing Great Documentation: You Need an Editor
All good writers have a dirty little secret: they’re not really that good at writing. Their editors just make it seem that way. It doesn’t matter how well you’ve mastered the language; nobody, even grammar geeks, gets this stuff right on the first pass. If you really want to produce great documentation, it needs to be edited.
Kaplan-Moss, Jacob. Jacobian (2009). Articles>Documentation>Technical Writing>Technical Editing
