Most writers and copy editors are best at certain types of text, such as children's books or biographies. Not everyone can work with a text that is highly specialized. Therefore, if you want to produce books about engineering, you need a team that includes an experienced engineering technical writer and editor.
Ideally you would like a person who has a background in engineering. However, not many engineers are great with words. If you can't find someone who can communicate the technical know-how efficiently, it's often better to look for someone with a background in writing and editing instead.
One reason why engineers don't automatically make a good choice is that they may assume that their readers will already understand the concepts in the text. However, someone new to the field may not always know what certain terms mean. People with a background in writing and editing know this and will ensure that they explain every concept in a way that is easy to understand.
Great technical writers and editors have excellent research skills. In fact, they like doing research and learning new things. They won't just take everything at face value but will think deeper about the facts to ensure that they really understand the subject before trying to find ways of explaining it to the reader.
Naturally you need to look at the candidates' grammar and spelling too. This is especially important when choosing someone to do the editing, since this person's job is to correct any grammatical and spelling mistakes the author may have made and to improve sentence structure to make the text more readable. However, you can save a lot of time and money by choosing an author who gets it right in the first place.
It's a good idea to include at least one subject specialist in your writing and editing team. This person's job won't be to check spelling, grammar and syntax but rather to double-check facts. For instance, they will check calculations and formulas for accuracy, since this could make the difference between a strong and safe construction and one that will collapse. Your best candidate for being the subject specialist would be an engineer.
There are different ways to find good writers and editors who might have the background needed for your project. These days, a popular method is to look on job sites for freelancers. However, you'll find many people applying for the job and not all of them will be qualified. Therefore, carefully go through their profiles to see what kind of professional experience they have. Ask for short samples of their previous work and check their references.
Finally, it helps to remember that, as with all things in life, you get what you pay for. If you're not offering market-related rates, the good writers and editors won't be interested in working for you. However, pay well and set realistic deadlines and you might have your pick of people who will be a real asset to your project.
Ideally you would like a person who has a background in engineering. However, not many engineers are great with words. If you can't find someone who can communicate the technical know-how efficiently, it's often better to look for someone with a background in writing and editing instead.
One reason why engineers don't automatically make a good choice is that they may assume that their readers will already understand the concepts in the text. However, someone new to the field may not always know what certain terms mean. People with a background in writing and editing know this and will ensure that they explain every concept in a way that is easy to understand.
Great technical writers and editors have excellent research skills. In fact, they like doing research and learning new things. They won't just take everything at face value but will think deeper about the facts to ensure that they really understand the subject before trying to find ways of explaining it to the reader.
Naturally you need to look at the candidates' grammar and spelling too. This is especially important when choosing someone to do the editing, since this person's job is to correct any grammatical and spelling mistakes the author may have made and to improve sentence structure to make the text more readable. However, you can save a lot of time and money by choosing an author who gets it right in the first place.
It's a good idea to include at least one subject specialist in your writing and editing team. This person's job won't be to check spelling, grammar and syntax but rather to double-check facts. For instance, they will check calculations and formulas for accuracy, since this could make the difference between a strong and safe construction and one that will collapse. Your best candidate for being the subject specialist would be an engineer.
There are different ways to find good writers and editors who might have the background needed for your project. These days, a popular method is to look on job sites for freelancers. However, you'll find many people applying for the job and not all of them will be qualified. Therefore, carefully go through their profiles to see what kind of professional experience they have. Ask for short samples of their previous work and check their references.
Finally, it helps to remember that, as with all things in life, you get what you pay for. If you're not offering market-related rates, the good writers and editors won't be interested in working for you. However, pay well and set realistic deadlines and you might have your pick of people who will be a real asset to your project.
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