Producing Good Technical Communications Requires Two Types of Editing

This paper points out that producing good technical documents requires two types of editing. It discusses the differences between literary and technical editing, and defines the facets of editing that are of primary concern to the literary editor and to the technical editor. It emphasizes the need for both types of editing at different stages of manuscript development, regardless of whether each type is done by different people or by the same person at different times. In short, the literary editor is primarily concerned with things involving the language and mechanics of writing and producing a document, while the technical editor is primarily concerned with the document's technical content and how well it is presented to the intended audience.