Most writers and copy editors are best at certain types of text, such as children's books or biographies. Not everyone can work with a text that is highly specialized. Therefore, if you want to produce books about engineering, you need a team that includes an experienced engineering technical writer and editor.
Obviously the best person for the job would be someone who knew something about the subject. However, engineers aren't necessarily your best choice because they don't always have the writing skills to produce great texts. It's much better to choose someone who can write well or who can edit a text to improve it, even if they don't know much about engineering.
One reason why engineers don't automatically make a good choice is that they may assume that their readers will already understand the concepts in the text. However, someone new to the field may not always know what certain terms mean. People with a background in writing and editing know this and will ensure that they explain every concept in a way that is easy to understand.
Another important quality to look for is research skills. Authors should be able to use a variety of sources to ensure that the text is factually correct. In addition, editors should be able and willing to check facts rather than simply assuming that the author has done so. Writers and editors both should have an enquiring and analytical mind too in order to think about the facts and to understand the concepts themselves.
Editors naturally need to be excellent at going through texts and correcting grammar and spelling. They should also be able to restructure sentences or even entire paragraphs to make the text as readable as possible. However, you can shave weeks off the production process by choosing an author who pays attention to spelling, grammar and structure too, since the editor will be able to get through the text more quickly. In addition, light edits cost much less than rewrites of texts.
It's a good idea to include at least one subject specialist in your writing and editing team. This person's job won't be to check spelling, grammar and syntax but rather to double-check facts. For instance, they will check calculations and formulas for accuracy, since this could make the difference between a strong and safe construction and one that will collapse. Your best candidate for being the subject specialist would be an engineer.
There are different ways to find good writers and editors who might have the background needed for your project. These days, a popular method is to look on job sites for freelancers. However, you'll find many people applying for the job and not all of them will be qualified. Therefore, carefully go through their profiles to see what kind of professional experience they have. Ask for short samples of their previous work and check their references.
In order to attract the best candidates, you need to offer decent rates. People who are willing to work for free or for rates much lower than the market standard tend to be amateurs or people with hardly any experience. Truly professional writers and editors value their work and want to be paid their worth, so they won't apply for jobs that pay too little or that has unrealistic deadlines.
Obviously the best person for the job would be someone who knew something about the subject. However, engineers aren't necessarily your best choice because they don't always have the writing skills to produce great texts. It's much better to choose someone who can write well or who can edit a text to improve it, even if they don't know much about engineering.
One reason why engineers don't automatically make a good choice is that they may assume that their readers will already understand the concepts in the text. However, someone new to the field may not always know what certain terms mean. People with a background in writing and editing know this and will ensure that they explain every concept in a way that is easy to understand.
Another important quality to look for is research skills. Authors should be able to use a variety of sources to ensure that the text is factually correct. In addition, editors should be able and willing to check facts rather than simply assuming that the author has done so. Writers and editors both should have an enquiring and analytical mind too in order to think about the facts and to understand the concepts themselves.
Editors naturally need to be excellent at going through texts and correcting grammar and spelling. They should also be able to restructure sentences or even entire paragraphs to make the text as readable as possible. However, you can shave weeks off the production process by choosing an author who pays attention to spelling, grammar and structure too, since the editor will be able to get through the text more quickly. In addition, light edits cost much less than rewrites of texts.
It's a good idea to include at least one subject specialist in your writing and editing team. This person's job won't be to check spelling, grammar and syntax but rather to double-check facts. For instance, they will check calculations and formulas for accuracy, since this could make the difference between a strong and safe construction and one that will collapse. Your best candidate for being the subject specialist would be an engineer.
There are different ways to find good writers and editors who might have the background needed for your project. These days, a popular method is to look on job sites for freelancers. However, you'll find many people applying for the job and not all of them will be qualified. Therefore, carefully go through their profiles to see what kind of professional experience they have. Ask for short samples of their previous work and check their references.
In order to attract the best candidates, you need to offer decent rates. People who are willing to work for free or for rates much lower than the market standard tend to be amateurs or people with hardly any experience. Truly professional writers and editors value their work and want to be paid their worth, so they won't apply for jobs that pay too little or that has unrealistic deadlines.
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