Hi there,
did the season already change wherever you are? Here it’s grey and rainy today. And start of knitwear season :-)
I released two patterns this month, a cowl and a hat, so great timing, I’d say.
Anyway, when I told a friend I had a pattern in the works but had to wait for the tech editor before sending it out to the test knitters, she reacted very surprised.
”Why do you use a tech editor? You are a tech editor!”
Yes, I am. And if you’ve worked with me, you know I’m thorough and detail-oriented.
So, why do I use a tech editor? For similar reasons, that therapists talk to other therapists. You might be great at your job but you can’t do both jobs in one project. You can’t be designer *and* tech editor. After a while you get blind for your own work. And having finished writing a pattern definitely counts as “after a while”. You know what you mean, you know what you meant to say. And that means that you don’t see mistakes anymore. Your eyes just swipe over it but your brain doesn’t register that there is a fragment of a sentence originating form a former version or that you wanted to say “from” and not “form”.
Maybe reading your work aloud would help. But I don’t know where you work on your patterns. This mightn’t be an option. And since this isn’t all I do as your editor, that’s where I come in.
I was told not to talk about mistakes and errors when I talk about my job. No, they didn’t mean that I shouldn’t tell other people about your hilarious error. Even if it would be a great joke for a party. (As I treat all information I get as confidential, that won’t happen anyway.)
No, they meant I should avoid using those words in describing what I do. As in “I’m here to ensure that your pattern is free of errors.” Nobody wants to hear that they make errors. But that is what I do. I *do* ensure that your pattern is free of errors (as far as humanly possible).
Yes, I know, it doesn’t feel great to open a document and see that you didn’t know how to write merion. Wait, merino. Yes, I chose that example because I know that I spell it wrong every single time.
It can feel embarrassing to make a stupid mistake. Like that time when I persistently addressed someone by their company name because that was a family name too. Let me assure you I never repeated that mistake!
But there are other mistakes too, mistakes which aren’t stupid or just spelling. But mistakes which could make your instructions very difficult to understand.
Here’s an example: I’m working on a pattern for mittens with two versions. There are full mittens and fingerless mitts. At first I thought I’d have to write separate instructions because I used two different variations of the colourwork pattern. I always start with making the chart. Due to the separate instructions in my head one chart started with round 1 while the second started with round 2. So I finished the charts and put them into my pattern template. I checked off *make different charts for mitten and mitts* from my list. However, when I started writing the instructions I realised I could write parts of them together for both versions. So I did that. And I totally forgot my first plan and that I should check if the charts fitted the new plan. The instructions and charts would result in mittens resp. mitts but with a lot of confusion at the knitter’s end.
And as a designer you want to avoid confusion of knitters at all costs. Luckily, the error was caught before I published that pattern.
See how easily something like that can happen. And according to the plan in my head everything was fine. My list was all done. I’d never have caught that error myself.
But a fresh pair of eyes will see these things.
As a tech editor that is exactly what I do: I see the instruction “work round 1 of chart 1A or 1B” and I’ll look at chart 1B and see: there is no round 1, there is a round 1 in chart 1A though. This doesn’t fit together so I’ll mark it and ask the designer to check this again.
Note that I don’t say “There is an error there, round 1 is missing in chart 1B”. Because I don’t know that. It could be that the instructions are wrong or I misunderstood them. However, I know there isn’t a fibre called merion so I’d make a note “merino” and leave it at that.
Because I know how it feels to make mistakes and how easy they happen to all of us, I won’t think I’m cleverer than you because I see it and you don’t. I think I’ve shown you enough examples that you know I’m not cleverer than anyone anyway.
As designer and tech editor we’re a team. I tend to feel connected to patterns I work on. I want them to succeed and be the best version this team of designer and tech editor can make them.
This means I’ll never give you a bad feeling about the things I mark in your pattern. I take into account how much experience you have and how well we know each other. I explain why I mark things and changes I propose. I never want to tease or anger you, I work with you, not on your pattern.
I have your back and you have time for the creative side of the designing business. And I bet I’ll become a fan of your work and cheer you on.
Publishing a pattern or even show an idea to somebody else can be frightening. I know that it needs courage to do so, so I value your trust in me. I’m direct and can be bold but I’m always friendly.
Take the next step and get an estimate for the editing of your pattern.
Talk soon,
Frauke x