I enjoy when something on my RSS reader makes me sit up and take notice, and that’s just what happened today when I came to “The Cure for Content-Delay Syndrome” at A List Apart.
Pepi Ronalds, who has studied professional writing and editing, writes about the crucial role that an editor can play when it comes to developing online content. She makes a business case for engaging editors early on in a web project as they can deal with multiple authors/writing styles, help manage the project, and much, much more.
If you are still trying to find the words to describe what you bring to the table as a professional writer, then this article is a wonderful source of language about what editors do and how they do it. Ronalds even touches on “specialist web editors” who have editing skills and knowledge of web issues, which provides even more ways of defining what a professional writer has to offer. Able to save money through project management? Now that’s something that corporations can understand.
Tags: Online Resources
Angela, thanks for sharing this! Pepi Ronalds is reinforcing everything I have been thinking about our profession for the last few years, and sums it up perfectly in the line: “Editors also have project management skills. They can set tasks and schedules. They can make sure our writers meet their milestones.”
I’m learning more and more the importance of project management for editors — these are now MUST HAVE skills — it’s not enough to just be a good copyeditor (see my post, “A Business Approach to Publishing.”)