ABSTRACT
In 1988, I took an intern position (or cooperative education position) at IBM,
where I learned about the technical communication practices involved in pro-
ducing software documentation. In 1989, I became a full-time information
developer with IBM, responsible for writing online help systems and printed
guides, and I had my first experience with a dedicated technical editor who
became my mentor and coach and taught me how to improve my writing and
communicate better with our users. After seven years as a technical writer, and
after some career counseling, I discovered that the editing or revision process
was where I excelled. I left IBM for a position as a development editor at a
publishing company that produced retail books on computers and the Internet.
In that position, I found my passion and focus for my career. Although that
company closed its doors only a few short years later, I took that passion
for editing and turned writer positions into writer/editor positions or ultimately
simply editor positions. In 1999, I returned to IBM, taking a full-time technical
editor position. In the past eight years, I have applied my editing skills and
passion, taking on the role of information architect (and sometimes team lead),
all the time remaining a technical editor at heart. I present this brief summary of
my career to provide a backdrop or foundation to the views and explanations
that I offer in this chapter about the editor in the modern organization.
