This is in response to The Editing podcast episode: 4 types of editing for 4 kinds of writer. I highly recommend listening to this podcast!
Check out my other responses:
The nervous writer can write well but they’re worried about making mistakes. They second-guess themselves and agonize over the publish button.
I work in open source. Most open source projects are global. That means I work with people who are writing in their second or third (or even fourth!) language. These are my nervous writers. They are confident in their subject matter, but self-conscious about grammar.
I want these writers to focus on getting their message down on paper. I make it clear that I will polish their writing before publishing.
I strive to be a friendly, helpful editor who makes my writers look good! This way, they’re more likely to continue writing for the project. Knowing someone will smooth the text later frees them up to write naturally and get their thoughts down. The community reaps the benefits with a constant flow of content like the next tutorial, blog post, community sprint review, or team retrospective.
Non-code contributions make for healthy open source projects and communities!
Image credit: Nail biting image from Cedars Sinai
