Intro: Toward a Pattern Language for Editors
- I’m Danica Swanson (aka Black Stone Wordsmith), a senior editor who’s been working in web3 for 2+ years.
- I’m building an open source wiki for web3 editorial teams.
- This is a draft outline of an early-stage work in progress. It is necessarily incomplete.
Long-Term Vision
- The long-term vision for this project is to foster an emergent pattern language for editors who work with text-based media in onchain/web3-specific publishing contexts. This includes the following aspirations:
- Help potential clients find and hire trusted pro editors.
- Help web3 projects understand the what, why, and how of pro editing.
- Help editorial teams and clients allocate time and attention more effectively.
- “Show our work”: make onchain publishing and editorial work more visible (i.e., peek behind the editorial curtain).
- Call attention to opportunities for editors working in onchain publishing to learn from each other, build positive-sum alliances, and uphold professional-level standards.
- Serve as an authoritative, trusted reference for editing standards in onchain contexts.
- Much of “crypto media” centers on tech, finance, and economics. This project aims to help put culture-based web3 editorial ventures (e.g., zines, labels, publishing imprints, and curation networks) on the public radar.
- Can web3/onchain media ventures help mitigate some of the devastation of mass layoffs and funding cuts in the media industry? I’d like to think so. Ideally this project can contribute something useful toward that effort.
Basic Structure: TOC
Web3 Editing FAQ/Explainers
- What do web3 editors actually do?
- Which kind of editor does what?
- Do all writers need editors? Why or why not?
- How do I know what kind of editing a project needs?
- How can I find a skilled editor for an onchain publishing project?