Time for another tech editor interview! Last week I interviewed Annie Lin of https://knitabl.com/. Annie provides grading, editing, schematics, and pattern support for knitwear designers. She actually enjoys working in spreadsheets and has personally made more than 50 sweaters! Click below to watch the interview on YouTube or scroll down to read an excerpt from the blog transcript.
What made you decide to become a technical editor?
When I was doing test knits, I was finding more than the average tester in terms of things that you wouldn't typically rely on a test knitter to find—it was more the things that a tech editor would find. I made some great friends at the local yarn shop and was teaching and having a good time doing that. It really fulfilled that part of me that needed to be something other than mama at that point in my life. And I met really fabulous people—just the generosity and the kindness and inclusion of this group of people was exactly what I needed.
And one night, I was out with a couple of fiber friends who are local here to the Boston area, one of whom is a designer, and I said, you know, I was thinking maybe I should be a tech editor. And they were like, “Yes! Yes, you should.” And the next week, I had a pattern sitting in my email, and that was the start of it. It was just like, okay, here I go!
I have learned a lot on the way. It's been about ten years that I've been dabbling in this direction.
What's been the hardest part of tech editing for you?
I would say in the beginning it was confidence. Starting out and learning something new is hard, it's really hard to do. And self doubt came in; for me, that's just a vulnerable point. So when I was first getting going, both at tech editing and then later when I first started grading, the self confidence and the trust in myself that I had done the work, I had done the learning, I understood the things, and that my voice deserved to be heard was really the first, biggest struggle for me.
I second guessed myself so much in the very beginning, especially in first grading projects. But I recently walked a client through her first grading project that took months from start to finish. It's really fulfilling to watch someone find their feet, find their voice, learn what they need to learn, and get to the point where they're saying, This is going to work. And then have something go to test and have the feedback be fabulous. I just love that process. I am all for getting people to the point where they outgrow me.
I love it because people that I have guided into the process of writing a clear pattern or learning how to grade the first time, then become good at it. I'm learning from them, and it's a collaboration, and it pushes me to keep striving to become better, to learn more, to do something new, to pick up something I haven't done in years. I love that continual change.
I am not the kind of person who can have the same job every single day, so I love the change, the refreshing bit of it, the new construction, all the new things to dive into.
Do you have any advice for editors who are just starting out? If you could travel back in time, what wisdom would you whisper to yourself?
Don't be afraid to be vulnerable. Ask questions.
I think by asking questions as an editor, we show that we're observant because we're noticing that things are different here or there, or that it didn't quite make sense to us. Listening to that little head in your brain that's saying, what does that mean? And rather than making an assumption, a lot of times I find that a designer may have done something on purpose and it's not a mistake. It was done with clear intent. It just wasn't explained clearly why it was done as it was. So don't be afraid to ask a question. And when you ask that question, make sure that you're not just asserting something is wrong.
Ask the question in the way of, this is how I see this. Is this what you meant, or is this how it's supposed to be? Because it's not necessarily just wrong. You're a partner. You're not an adversary. You're trying to make things even better than they already are.
The other day, I was working with a client, I was editing a pattern, and I was like, oh, your front and your back necklines just don't work. And she bounced it back to me, and she was like, “Are you sure?” And I looked at it, went, oh, no, I made a math mistake. You are totally, 100% correct.
We're human, and in a partnership. And I do not guarantee that everything I return is 100% error free, because I am human. And I mess up. I make mistakes. And I expect that my clients will be taking my feedback in the same way of like, oh, I made a mistake. Great, we caught it. Let's move on. Let's make it better.
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In the FB Group
What mistakes do you notice first when you look at a new pattern?
What do you love to make but won't edit?
Dreaming of chunky cables the color of an October sky,
Sarah
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I am a knitting technical editor, author, and sweater nerd. I like coffee, puzzles, many books (all at once), and a good sniff of yarn fumes. This TE Hub is all about helping *you* find success as a technical editor from any direction that works.
When you are ready:
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