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To start with, can you please tell us why you decided
to become an editor?
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I decided to work as an editor because it is something I'm
good at. All of my life, I have enjoyed both reading and
writing. It was something that I actually studied in
school - I have a degree in technical and scientific
communication - and I enjoy it immensely.
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What are the differences between an editor and a
writer?
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The processes themselves are quite different. While
writing, I concentrate on just the content. With editing,
I have to focus on not only the content, but also the
mechanics, the grammar, the punctuation, etc. So, a
slightly different skill set is involved; but being an
editor and understanding the mechanics of language also
helps me as a writer. On the other hand, being a writer
and understanding how to structure a paper and the
principles of flow help me while editing.
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Do you end up editing your own writing at
times?
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I think everyone needs the help of an editor. As for me, I
do edit my own writing when the need arises. But, I would
always prefer if someone else went through my writing. I
just think it's very difficult to edit your own writing,
because once you spend hours working on a piece, you are
too attached to it to be able to catch the errors.
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You mentioned that you have done your Bachelor's in
scientific and technical communication. What kind of
knowledge does that give? What kind of teaching does
such a course provide?
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Well, there were lots of writing classes. I learned how to
write technical manuals, such as for a VCR and for
software. I took classes in medical writing, medical
terminology, technical editing, and proposal writing. I
also took a class on writing for the web - it is very
different from writing for a book, with a different
audience and a different style. I took several intensive
composition and rhetoric classes as well as linguistics,
which helped me learn the general mechanics of language.
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Your primary areas of graduate training are in public
health and health policy. How do you manage editing
documents that are not from these areas?
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Well, my understanding of medicine and healthcare comes
from over 10 years of work experience in the field. I've
worked in large hospitals, managed care organizations, a
healthcare management consulting firm, and a clinical
research organization. In these positions, I have been
exposed to nearly every medical specialty in one form or
another. I usually don't have to do much by way of
research while
editing medical documents, because I am mostly familiar with the terminology.
While editing documents from other subject areas, I pay
more attention to the content because it's important for
me to get everything right. If it's a term I am not
familiar with, I will obviously look it up. I have access
to numerous reference resources and medical encyclopedias.
And of course, there is always the internet for retrieving
electronic journal articles.
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Can you briefly describe the procedure you follow while
editing a document?
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Sure. The first thing I do when I receive a manuscript is
to look at the instructions for authors for the target
journal, after which I format the paper according to the
instructions, before looking at anything else. Then, I do
a second pass for editing. I tend to edit line-by-line and
then paragraph-by-paragraph. I'll usually go back again
and make sure that I haven't missed anything and that the
paper reads well and has a good flow. Thus, I do three
passes with each document.
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How has your experience been with manuscripts written
by non-native English speakers?
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Well, I think that it must be very difficult to write in
one's second or third language, and I have a lot of
respect for people who can do it because I know that I
couldn't do it myself. Many common errors arise due to the
differences between Japanese or "research" English. For
example, the system of English articles (a, an, the) does
not have a counterpart in Japanese, making it a very
difficult part of English to learn, and it seems to be an
area where a lot of errors occur. My advice is to always
use an editor, more so because it is very difficult to
edit your own work. Another piece of advice is to read
your work out aloud. This is to help identify errors that
you cannot normally detect unless you are reading. I would
suggest keeping a gap of a few hours between editing an
article and then re-reading it with fresh eyes.
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Do you often proofread on paper while editing, or do
you do it directly on screen?
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I almost always edit on screen. I'm used to it by now. I
think that it really depends on the editor. Some people
are more comfortable with editing on paper and they can't
get used to editing on screen. But I find it much more
efficient to edit on screen with the aid of Microsoft
Word's Track Changes function. Also, if I were to make
changes on paper and then go back to enter those changes
on screen, it would consume more time. So, if it's a
really complex assignment, I do most of the editing on
screen and then print out a copy with the changes accepted
and review it on paper. It is funny that there are always
errors that you can catch on paper even after having done
two passes on screen. A point one has to remember as an
editor is that there can never be a "perfect" edit.
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What are you most careful about while editing a
manuscript?
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I think that the most important thing I'm careful about is
clarity, or ease of understanding. It's important that the
material is presented in such a way that it is easy for
the reader to gather what is being said. It's best to
always have the reader in mind while editing.
I'll give you an example of what I'm talking about. Many
times you'll see a list of clinical measurements such as
blood pressure, oxygen in blood, etc. being measured
followed by a list of values of the respective parameters.
It is difficult for the reader to correlate these two
quantities because they then have to go back to the
beginning of the sentence to know what the numbers are
referring to.
So in that situation, I move the numbers closer to their
respective parameters.
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How would you define substantive editing, and
differentiate it from copyediting?
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Copyediting is concerned more with the mechanics of
language than with clarity in the flow and the syntax.
Generally, with
copyediting
you wouldn't necessarily change a word or rephrase a
sentence. A copyeditor would just put in the correct
punctuation and check article usage (a, an, the).
On the other hand,
substantive editing
is also concerned with accomplishing good flow by
rearranging paragraphs or sentences. Sometimes authors
repeat information in the text that is already mentioned
in the tables. So a substantive editor would pay attention
to that and reword sections that are redundant or
irrelevant.
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Do you think it is always necessary to re-arrange
sentences or paragraphs in substantive editing?
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No, it's not always necessary. While working on a
substantive edit, you have to be alert for opportunities
to improve the clarity of writing, which can sometimes be
done by reordering information. Perhaps one out of every
four papers requires that level of
substantive editing, while the other three would only need cleaning up of
punctuation, etc.
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What measures do you take to deliver consistent
quality?
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Well, I always try to research a new piece. I do not edit
when I'm tired, such as at the end of a long day when I've
done a million other things. I always work in a quiet
environment where I can't be distracted and where I can
work for an hour and a half, uninterrupted, because I find
that it takes about an hour and a half for me to be able
to get into the writing and into the piece sufficiently.
So I avoid situations in which I might be interrupted
after 10 minutes and will have to go do something else and
return to the edit after an interval.
I'm always looking for ways to improve my quality and
learn new things. If the document is from a subject area
I'm not familiar with, I will often read another paper in
the field and get to know the terminology to make sure
that I do as good a job as possible.
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According to you, how important is it for an editor to
have a personal interest in the subject that he or she
is editing?
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I think it is important, because it helps an editor be
involved in greater detail when he is interested in the
subject. So, if I were editing a banking-related document,
I might not be able to read in depth because it's not a
subject that really interests me. But just about any
science manuscript would have me hooked - even topics such
as oceanography and physics. So it's important to have a
passion for editing, because what we are doing has great
importance - the manuscripts are the ultimate result of
hundreds of years of human endeavor.
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Like you said, you would be interested in any science
document. Have you edited documents from subject areas
other than medicine?
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Well, I have read quite a bit in other fields of science.
I actually spent last summer working on an oceanographic
research vessel. So I have some familiarity with that
field, which in itself covers areas like physics, biology,
and chemistry. I have also taken a number of
undergraduate-level classes in the hard sciences. Even so,
I would obviously need to gain some background knowledge
of a new field if I were to edit documents from it. Every
assignment has the same requirements in the sense that the
goals of an editor are the same.
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You've been affiliated with quite a few associations
such as the Editorial Freelancers Association and the
Board of Editors in the Life Sciences. How does that
benefit you as an editor?
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Well, the Editorial Freelancers Association has helped me
get a lot of freelance work. Their online directory helps
authors get in touch with good editors, particularly
because there aren't many editors specializing in medical
documents. The Board of Editors in the Life Sciences has
awarded me a special certification in editing. They have
very strict requirements for certifying medical editors,
which benefits clients because they are assured of the
ability and credentials of the editor. In addition, I
belong to the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA).
Its annual conference has workshops where I can polish my
writing and editing skills. AMWA also has a monthly
journal that covers medical writing and offers very
insightful articles.
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You mentioned that most of these associations conduct
workshops. What kind of training do they provide at such
workshops?
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Well, there are several types of workshops. I've attended
one on punctuation and clarity. I have also attended one
on researching medical literature and one on writing in
health and fitness publications. Also, there are workshops
on some science topics (like microbiology) for people who
don't have a good background in those areas.
Then, there is a two-part CD-ROM-based workshop on
grammar, which I really recommend. It can also be accessed
through the AMWA website. It's called Basic Grammar I and
II and includes quizzes and a final exam that is to be
answered on paper and mailed to AMWA.
I have also taken workshops on tables and graphs, creating
posters, and on proper paragraphing.
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At times, you may have received assignments with very
close deadlines. What is your view on such assignments?
And how did they affect your quality?
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Well, I generally have plenty of time, even if the
assignment is due the next day. The crucial point when you
are on a really short deadline is to get the most
important things right. So, I concentrate on spellings and
typing/mechanical errors (e.g., "two" or "to" instead of
"too").
Technical Editing: The Practical Guide for Editors and Writers by Judith
Tarutz provides good guidelines for working with tight
deadlines, which I normally follow.
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But with such short deadlines, do you think the quality
of the edit would be as good as that of a normal
assignment?
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Well, it depends on the document. If it doesn't require
too much editing, than having a short deadline is probably
fine. If it really requires
substantive editing, I might put everything else on hold in order to
complete the assignment on time.
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While editing, do you use any special tools or macros
in Microsoft Word?
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No, but if I'm doing something over and over again, I will
write my own macros to lessen the amount of time required.
I do know that many editors use shortcuts, and I'm quite
familiar with keyboard shortcuts, which can be assigned as
and when required. For example, if I'm formatting a
document, I'll set up three levels of headings with
keyboard shortcuts. And then as I'm going through the
document, I can apply the styles at the press of a button.
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You had mentioned that you also do web editing. How
does that differ from copyediting?
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Well, it's mainly due to how people read on the internet.
On the internet, people don't read blocks of text very
well. They begin, they scan, but they don't tend to go
deep into the text. So, while writing for the internet,
it's important to make things shorter and use boldface and
other formatting appropriately.
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When you are not editing, how do you spend your
time?
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I really like to hike in the mountains and in the woods.
I'm a good gardener and like growing both vegetables and
flowers. I also love traveling. So whenever I can, I like
to go traveling, even if it's just a short trip.
Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of free time right now,
because I work full time, freelance, and attend school
part time! I'm also on the board of directors of a music
company and am active in my garden club.
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On your resume you've mentioned that you have been a
grant writer and a publicist. Can you tell us about that
experience?
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That was part of my volunteer work for a non-profit
organization, which involved writing grant applications to
get funding from the government or other non-profit
organizations. The principles of grant writing are similar
to any other kind of writing - you should be aware of your
audience and be clear and precise. It's obviously not as
technical as a medical manuscript.
I have also done some volunteer work as a publicist, which
involved writing press releases and other communications
for the media and getting them to write articles on the
work of the organization. This was very different from
medical writing, which is much more objective and which
obviously cannot be biased. With publicity, one needs to
be rather persuasive.
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A qualidade dos serviços prestados pela ENAGO foram importantes na escolha da empresa. A ENAGO foi rápida na execução da revisão e contribuiu de maneira importante para a qualidade do manuscrito enviado para publicação. As sugestões e correções realizadas foram pertinentes e tornaram o texto mais claro e objetivo.
- Marcio A. Torsoni Universidade Estadual de Campinas - Brazil .Enago proporciona aos não nativos de língua Inglesa a chance de sentirem-se confiantes no momento de submeterem seus manuscritos aos Periódicos Ingleses ou Americanos. O meu manuscrito está em análise para publicação em um periódico altamente competitivo, após ter usado os serviços de Revisão de Textos em Inglês da Enago. Eu estou profundamente satisfeito com a qualidade do trabalho e o revisor fez as alterações necessárias sem influenciar no meu raciocínio inicial.
- Marcelo Ricardo Vicari Universidade Estadual de Ponta Grossa - Brazil .Estou muito satisfeito com o trabalho de revisão do meu artigo que foi submetido para publicação em um periódico de fator de impacto relevante. O profissionalismo, a rapidez e os produtos oferecidos são excelentes e o preço muito competitivo. Recomendo a todos os serviços da Enago.
- Heliofábio B. Gomes Universidade Federal de Alagoas - Brazil .O processo de realização de serviços da ENAGO é perfeito. Uma revisão de inglês rápida e com ótima qualidade científica. Pretendo utilizar novamente os serviços da empresa em publicações futuras e recomendo a outros pesquisadores.
- Fabrício Cieslak Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco (UNIVASF) - Brazil .Eu estou muito satisfeita com a qualidade da Revisão e Correção de Textos em Inglês da Enago. O revisor fez as correções necessárias para aprimorar a qualidade do meu manuscrito. Fazer o pedido e efetuar o pagamento através do site é muito fácil. Com certeza, eu terei meus próximos manuscritos revisados pela Enago e recomendo essa empresa a todos que precisarem de Revisão de Inglês de alta qualidade para os seus artigos científicos.
- Cristiane Polo Faculdade de Odontologia, Universidade de São Paulo - Brazil .Venho utilizando os serviços da Enago há dois anos e, nesse tempo, já obtive sucesso em minhas publicações. A experiência e atenção dos profissionais da Enago fizeram muita diferença na qualidade final dos meus trabalhos o que refletiu na minha escolha pelos serviços de tradução, revisão e orientação para publicações em revistas internacionais.
- Dr. Anderson Freitas Hospital Ortopédico e Medicina Especializada - Brazil .Estamos satisfeitos tanto com a qualidade técnica dos serviços como dos tramites administrativos para a realização e execução dos trabalhos. Sentimos um comprometimento da ENAGO em solucionar as diversas particularidades que envolve o universo acadêmico.
- Amauri Bogo Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina - Brazil .
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