Free Write: Chapter Two from Technical Editing Thoughts

For this week’s reading, we were asked to read chapter two from “Technical Editing” by Carolyn Rude and Angela Eaton called “Readers, Users, Browers, Problem Solvers…” I wanted to focus on this chapter for my free write this week because I was amazed at the array of situations and concerns an editor has to think about when it comes to usability. As I previously mentioned in my first free write about my view of an editor, I saw editors as a job that works specifically with words and nothing else; yet this chapter is defying every notion of that thinking.

The first line of this chapter struck me “as an editor, you have two major responsibilities - to your reader and to your writer” (16). This is obvious to me. Of course you are editing someone else's work to make them sound clear, which benefits the reader and the writer. The next part is what surprised me “your responsibility to your reader should always come first” (16). At first I thought, hmmm… that makes sense, but then as it sunk in I questioned that statement. Isn’t the editor’s main focus supposed to be on the work that the writer created? Shouldn’t we work hard to please the writer and make their work shine? While a simple yes can be answered for these questions, it becomes clear that without the reader, there is no need for a writer or an editor. Harsh… but very true. So yes, I do agree that the reader should always come first.

As Rude and Eaton describe the many areas of editorial concern, the one that struck me the most was the physical features that will work best for the reader. They note that as an editor, we need to anticipate how the reader will interact with the physical document before they even begin to read it. They give examples including: a restaurant with low lighting will need a menu with larger text, an outdoor reading would require weatherproofing to ensure it’s able to hold up during the task, the size of the product will matter based on how it’s stored- in a pocket, on a shelf, in a file cabinet, and so on. These are all such small aspects to the overall document, but they matter immensely. As a reader, if I get distracted, the font or size is too big or small, or the document is messy with mistakes or ads then I will not use it. Even if that document has all of the secrets to the world and is the best writing ever, I need it to be properly usable in order for me to read it.



Overall, this chapter was insightful and has made me think through all of the documents that I use and appreciate. The first that comes to mind is my planner. An editor had to sit down and think about all the physical components of this planner to make it useful, engaging, attractive, and organized. They had to think through the tabs, colors, layout, size, thickness of pages, and so on. From now on, I will be more aware of the physicality of documents that I come into contact with and when I come across a well-produced document, I will mentally thank that editor for their eye for detail and thoughtfulness.