Preface
(An excerpt from Stet
Again!)
This is a new volume of The Editorial Eye's "Greatest
Hits" — a selection of original pieces from the subscription
newsletter for professional writers, editors, designers,
publications managers, and journalists. The previous edition
(Stet!) concentrated on traditional editorial work
as we knew it before 1990. That was then, this is now. Hence,
Stet Again!
Many of the "rules" of the publications process have changed.
The one thing we can count on is that technology won't stand
still (though we might wish it would as it invades our comfort
zone). It's making offers we can't refuse. Since there's
no turning back, sources of continuing education are essential
— that's what The Eye is here for. We know that
the demand for talented writers, editors, designers, and
publications managers isn't going to go away, but we'll
have to do some homework if we want to keep our professional
reflexes spry in the next millennium. The trick is to hold
on to guidelines that still work well while adapting to
new media and hybridized tasks.
Virtually anyone can be a "publisher," a "document" may
never be produced on paper, "readability" is a term that
applies to multimedia and World Wide Web screens, and "literacy"
is knowing how to talk back to computers. Precisely because
publishing is overrun with new definitions, The Eye
honors the mission established by founding editor Laura
Horowitz in 1978: to help define publishing excellence and
offer resources for upholding it.
In that light, we selected some of the more thought-provoking,
enduring articles and practical problem-solving features
that The Eye published between 1990 and 1996. We've
barely touched on evolving issues of electronic copyright,
cross-training, and Web publishing. This book will probably
look quaint in the year 2000; so what else is new? Consider
Stet Again! a film-in-camera snapshot of a backlit
moving target.
The authors are all veterans of real-world publishing skirmishes
(biographical notes are on page 343). The other Eye
contributors listed on page iv are witness to the truly
collaborative nature of our newsletter publishing venture.
Finally, on page iv we acknowledge the talented EEI people
who created this book, in which we hope readers will find
an indication of what's going on in our field these days
and an inkling of what's to come.
--Linda B. Jorgensen
Editor
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