You don't have to be an experienced editor to edit official Zope documentation. All you need is a desire to make a difference and some knowledge of Zope. Some editors focus on helping authors with writing, while others review material for technical accuracy.

How to Become an Editor

To become an author find a documentation project that interests you. Read up on the project in the fishbowl and see what there is to do. If it looks interesting contact the manager and let them know that you'd like to become an editor.

What You Need to Do

Your basic job as an editor is to help the author(s). You help them by responding to what they write and trying to make sure that they are communicating clearly and are on target with the scope and topic. You can also help them by reviewing their writing for technical accuracy.

The bulk of your time will be spent reading and responding to work done by the author(s). You may give your feedback either by sending email, or checking your comments and changes in, or by creating tracker issues. Your manager and author will help you choose a system that works best for you and the author.

No piece of writing is ever perfect the first time. For tips on writing see Documentation Writing Tips.

See also Documentation Authoring Formation and Documentation CVS Repositories for nuts and bolts information about authoring formats and CVS.