Technical Editing - (Hewlett-Packard Press) by Judith Tarutz (Paperback)

About the Book

Direct from the trenches, here's the practical guidance technical editors can use to apply editing principles under absurdly tight deadlines and constantly changing product specs, tips and tricks for editing common constructs in technical writing, and when to bend the rules to avoid technical ambiguity.

Book Synopsis

At last, direct from the trenches, here's the book technical editors have been waiting for. Unlike other guides which review grammar and spelling-but don't address the special challenges of technical editing-this lively, practical book deals with the real-world problems, issues, and decisions that face technical editors and writers. In this book you'll get tips for preparing a style guide technical writers will want to use. You'll find checklists of what to look for during different types of editorial reviews, learn how to make the transition from traditional to desktop publishing, and see how you can build true usability into printed and online documentation. Enhanced by real examples, case studies, and practical techniques, these flexible and pragmatic solutions go far beyond the mechanics of marking up manuscripts. You get guidance that will help you decide how heavily to edit, how to manage and track large projects, and even how to position yourself for the future when software will handle the copy editing. Whether you edit technical documentation for a living, write technical material, or review the work of others, this book helps you improve your skills and your understanding of the technical editing function.

About the Author

Judith A. Tarutz, a former Senior Technical Editor at Hewlett-Packard, is a co-founder of Ibis Communications Inc. in Lynnfield, MA. She also teaches a graduate-level course in software technical editing.