Guest post by Meredith Kinder and Lori Meyer
Many STC members are editors. Some of us actually have “editor” in our titles. Many of us are not editors by title, but we regularly perform editing tasks of some sort. Whether you edit full-time or are a writer/manager/information architect who edits, chances are you are interested in keeping your finger on the pulse of the latest editing topics.
The 2013 Technical Communication Summit offers editors of all types the opportunity to learn from each other through different types of presentations and interactions. Summit presenters include members of the STC Technical Editing SIG, the largest special interest group in STC. The SIG is well-known for fostering some of the most highly regarded editors in our profession, and its activities provide modern platforms for an open exchange of ideas.
The following scheduled Summit sessions are editing-centric. They are listed according to the type of presentation. See the program page on the Summit website for details about dates and times.
Preconference programs (education opportunities prior to the conference available for an additional fee)
- Technical Editing Fundamentals, by Linda Oestreich and Michelle Corbin
This certificate course is designed for beginning through advanced technical editing practitioners and writers. It provides a look at editing beyond regular editing practices for beginning technical editors, a great refresher for advanced technical editors, and a peek into the world of editing for writers who either do editing or who work closely with editors.
Lightning Talks (five-minute presentations where each speaker gets 20 slides, displayed for 15 seconds per slide)
- Motivational Editing, by Marcia Wood
- To Serif or Not to Serif, by Michael Opsteegh
- Oh, the Crap I’ve Seen, by Rhyne Armstrong
- The Hairball of Content, by Ray Gallon
Progressions (roundtable discussions where attendees join any presenter, and switch tables every 20 minutes to join multiple discussions)
- Writing and Editing progression
- Technical Editors and Converting Documentation to DITA Content, by Louise Galindo
- The Proactive Editor: Involved Throughout The Project Lifecycle, by Meredith Kinder
- Plain Talk: Get the Marbles Out of Your Message, by Eric Koup
- Every Topic Is Page One, by Viqui Dill
- Communication and Translation progression
- There’s Nothing Simple About Simplified Technical English, by Bernie Koontz
- Plain Language: Accessibility for Content, by Whitney Quesenbery
- Education and Training progression
- Teaching a College-Level Editing Class, by Jonathan Arnett
- Creating Community in Massive Open Online Courses, which highlights challenges with community-driven content, by Phylise Banner
- Management progression
- Content Roles in the Mobile World, by Ann Rockley
Presentations (60-minute traditional presentations)
- Collaborating in DITA, by Paul Wlodarczyk
This presentation discusses DITA -based collaboration best practices and demonstrates emerging technologies that improve the speed and effectiveness of review and collaboration. - Editing as an Extreme Sport, by Leah Guren
Extreme editing takes nerves of steel, quick reflexes, and razor-sharp intellect. Learn how to fearlessly cut through the fluff, boldly slash vague prose, and bravely restructure to improve usability. - The Art of Explanation, by Lee LeFever
Professional communicators explain ideas every day, but we rarely take a step back and think about the skill of explanation and what it can mean to our audience. This presentation will help you take a fresh look at what makes explanations work, how to plan an explanation and use media to make your explanations remarkable. - Content for Everyone: Making Information and Multimedia Accessible, by Whitney Quesenbery
From informative headings to links that make sense to meaningful alternatives for images or multimedia, making content understandable and perceivable is the front line of accessibility. Come learn how to make sure that your documents, websites, help, or application content will be accessible for everyone. - Writing for Everyone: SEO, ESL, Translation, and Accessibility, by Char James-Tanny
During this session, you will learn about the benefits of consistency, word selection, and careful sentence structure. Writing needs to be for everyone and easier for them to get the information they need, reduce confusion, translation costs, improve searches, and optimize content strategy. - Journal Editor Panel, by Liz Pohland and others
A panel of editors from diverse technical communication research and educational journals, magazines, and book series will share their thoughts on published content and dispel myths about the publishing process. - Addicted to Meaning: Mental Models for Technical Communicators, by Kai Weber
This presentation explores how “meaning” works in technical communication, why it fails, and how you can create meaningful documentation. Kai shows with examples why minimalism works but FAQs don’t, and how to write for users without irritating them. - Every Page Is Page One, by Mark Baker
In a world in which readers arrive at content by doing a search or following a link, every page is page one. Content must not only be findable, it must work once found. Is your content ready for a world in which every page is page one?