2. Although retired from full-time work, Linda still
teaches editing classes for UCSD Extension and does
occasional writing and editing through individual
contracts. She is an STC Fellow and a past President of
the Society. A graduate of UCSD, she spent the
majority of her career as a project manager, people
manager, or senior writer /editor for the Department
of Defense and various software, oil and gas, and
consulting firms. She also worked in Human Resources
and Training and Development. She currently
volunteers for the San Diego Library READ program,
tutoring adults to read.
lloriter@cox.net
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindaoestreic
h/
LINDA OESTREICH
3. INTRO EXERCISE
Aviation Security
Take 1 minute to review document
Put doc aside and write steps you would take to do edit
3
4. OVERVIEW
Be Prepared — Are you race-ready?
Know Yourself and Your tools — Run trials before you race
Skim the Job — Review the track
Set Priorities and Tasks — Know what, when, and how to win
Edit — Run the race
Embrace Quality Control — Be bold, but be safe
Know When to Stop — Finish a winner
4
5. BE PREPARED — ARE YOU RACE READY?
Checklists
Style guides
Style sheets
Customized tools
Levels of edit
5
6. KNOW YOURSELF AND YOUR TOOLS —
RUN TRIALS BEFORE YOU RACE
Foibles and gotchas
Keyboard shortcuts
Proven process routines
6
7. SKIM THE JOB — REVIEW THE TRACK
Review length and complexity
Note organization cues
Get feel for level of technical accuracy and readability
Understand audience and purpose
Online or on paper?
7
8. SET PRIORITIES AND TASKS — KNOW
WHAT, WHEN, AND HOW TO WIN
Know levels of edit — how little can you do to make it acceptable?
Note legal issues
Based on previous step, determine what’s needed for audience/purpose
Set process of what’s most important to do first, second, third, etc.
Organization
Legal issues
Paragraph/headings
Sentence structure
Word level fixes
OR edit for
Organization
Substance
Readability
Grammar/punctuation/usage
Final proof
8
9. EDIT — RUN THE RACE
Use software to help—but only if you know it and trust it
Keep to your list of priorities
Review your tasks with your checklists
Embrace quality control
9
10. EMBRACE QUALITY CONTROL —BE
BOLD, BUT BE SAFE
Follow appropriate style guide
Pay attention to details
Ensure technical accuracy
Be consistent
Watch preferred terminology
10
11. EDIT EXERCISE
Edit Aviation Security document
1 minute to revise plan (if needed)
5 minutes to edit
Discuss
11
14. REFERENCES
Six Tips to Speed Up How You Edit Medical Documents,
https://intelligentediting.com/blog/six-tips-to-speed-up-how-you-edit-medical-
documents/
Write Better Legal Documents with an Editing Checklist, https://lawyerist.com/write-
better-legal-documents-editing-checklist/
Using Checklists to Increase Consistency and Productivity in Communications Tasks,
K. Shrank, https://www.single-sourcing.com/events/checklists-increase-productivity/
The Levels of Edit, January 1980, R. Van Buren & M.F. Buehler, Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, California
The Ultimate Online Editing and Proofreading Checklist, P. Vaughan,
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/ultimate-editing-checklist
14
Editor's Notes
Intro topic—remind folks of Triple Constraint: Quality, Time, Cost: pick two.
Look at doc. Do not edit now! Just make list of things you would do if you only had 5 minutes to edit it.
Review of what’s coming…keep to the race theme!
Things you can do BEFORE the document arrives—always be ready because you know the time will come when you’ll need to speed! Review each of these things and have them handy.
Checklists:
Your personal one?
The company one?
For online docs
For hardcopy docs
For long docs with lots of time
For short docs with no time
For comprehensive edits
For copy edits
For Speed Edits!
Style guides—company? Industry?
Style sheets?—not usually needed for speed editing!
Customized tools—prep software before you need it! Save preferences that match the work you do; understand the software so you can get the most from it!
Levels of edit
Yours?
Your company’s?
Classic from JPL?
Technical accuracy first?
Copy edit rules?
Legal requirements?
What are your personal “gotchas”? Be aware of them—be sure they are on your checklists
Do you know keyboard shortcuts to save time? Research them; add them to your pit crew!
What has worked in the past? Do you edit for major issues first? Do you do it all in one pass? Two? Three?
When the heat is on—we often panic. But, if we have a plan for speed editing before we need it, we’ll succeed!
And, if you truly are a professional, you’ll test yourself and your tools before you get asked to race!
So, the job comes in. What now?
Skim first!
Does it seem well done and will only need minor edits?
Is it a mess and will take a Herculean effort to make it barely acceptable?
More than likely, it will be something in the middle.
Based on your earlier decisions—focus on most important issues first…the less important items may never get done. Be prepared to accept that.
Know what your audience will accept. Know that they often do not see what we see!
This slide is follow-on to the previous one…as you get into the project, you’ll make decisions on the fly as to how you can finish with a product that won’t get you sued—and will (we hope) meet its requirements
As you edit, remember these things:
Software is a tool. As with any tool, you need to use the right one at the right time and know how to use it. It needs to be ready to work. Don’t depend on something that could prove problematic. (for example: No global fixes unless you’re ABSOLUTELY certain of them!)
Keep to your checklists for speed edits
Do as much as you can to ensure adequate (not perfect) QUALITY!
Quality control means doing the things noted here…
Again, all dependent on time available…
So, let’s try to apply what we’ve learned…
Go back to the document you first looked at. Now, do quick revision of your earlier list/plan. Then do hardcopy edit—noting what queries you MUST ask author if you have technical issues.
In most cases, legal issues, content, and knowledge conveyed are most important—style & format follow.
And, then, you have to run to the meeting…or send the doc back to marketing…or email it back to your boss. You MUST finish and be as satisfied as you can be.
Remember: following every grammar/punctuation rule might not be most important thing. Does article do what it’s meant to do? Can the reader get the information he or she needs?
Can you put your pen down, stop the car, walk away knowing you did the best you could with the time and resources available?
IF so, then you WON!