Editing is one of the few tasks that I look forward to doing at my job. This past week I began editing a new forensic online course that is being developed. The structure of the forensic online courses are different than most of the English online courses I have taken at WVU. The forensic courses are made up of multiple units that contain a variety of sections. Each section contains one to multiple paragraphs of information or the section can contain an interactive animation to engage the student. I view it as a condensed version of a book that is online but more engaging than words on a page.
When a new course is being written, it goes through a multi-step editing process. The writer submits each unit as he or she completes it to the director and me for the initial edit. When we complete the edits, I discuss them with the writer to let he or she know where we are coming from with our changes and suggestions. Once the writer completes the first drafts and finishes the first edits, the second drafts are distributed to all the writers and me for the second round of edits. Once these edits are complete, the course is beta tested by a group of peers and professionals in the forensic field.
Back to the current edits: one of our new hires from January is writing a new course and it is the first time he has ever done anything like this. I warned him not to be afraid when he gets his edits back because the pages may look like they are bleeding since I use a red pen to make my marks. Since it was the first time he has had anything edited by me, I provided him with a key as to what my editing symbols and marks mean. I find this makes it easier for him and me both; he knows what I am saying and I don’t have to explain every mark. After I finished marking the unit, I provided the writer with a handwritten note to explain major edits or thoughts and ideas that were an additional to the general edits. After the initial edit of unit one, I scheduled an appointment with the writer so I can go over the edits and explain the process. This opens the dialogue and lets the writer know that he can ask questions. I find this method works best and make the writing/editing process go smoother than if there were no communication.
How great to see your whole process. It sounds like you follow along quite closely with the general process guidelines outlined in the Technical Editing book used for ENGL 302.
ReplyDeleteI think it's a great idea to provide the new writer with a copymarking symbols or proofreader's marks document. Does your department/organization have a style guide? Perhaps that's another project idea! It could include the copyediting symbols and other field-specific style requirements that you want to be consistent across all of your online courses (and/or publications, too.
So, what was the reaction of the neophyte designer? How did he react to the bleeding document?