Thoughts on an Editing Portfolio?

[Geoff Hart]

Danielle wondered: <<I'm currently a student in a technical  
communication program and was recently thinking about portfolios.  
Specifically, I was wondering what kind of things one might include  
when trying to create a portfolio to show off editing skills. At  
first, I was thinking that I would need to include some "before-and- 
after" documents, but then I came to the conclusion that anything I  
have in the portfolio will show off editing skills.>>

I've been doing this so long that I no longer worry about portfolios;  
most of my work now arrives via word of mouth. Those rare times  
someone wants to see what I do before committing to work with me, I  
ask one or more of my clients for permission to use one of their  
current manuscripts as an example. I edit exclusively on the screen,  
so I can create a portfolio on the fly simply by selecting  
appropriate manuscripts from my current collection; here,  
"appropriate" means in a genre related to the work I'm trying to win.

My take on this is that a good editing sample should show a range of  
editorial attributes:
- completeness (no significant errors remaining)
- consistency (internal, with a given style guide)
- correctness
- the ability to recognize the difference between necessary and  
arbitrary corrections
- an ability to suggest improvements that are wise, even if they're  
not crucial
- an ability to engage the author in dialogue through polite,  
helpful, judicious comments

Lots of details on this in my book (see below).


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-- Geoff Hart
ghart at videotron.ca / geoffhart at mac.com
www.geoff-hart.com
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***Now available***  _Effective onscreen editing_
(http://www.geoff-hart.com/home/onscreen-book.htm)