SAS Publishing

On the Mark with Mike Boyd

By Shelly Goodin

From editing to puppetry to perfecting SAS Publishing News, SAS senior technical editor Mike Boyd's refreshing wit shines through.

A technical editor at SAS, Mike Boyd is a gifted man. He's one of the smartest, kindest, and most intriguing people that I know. And no, I'm not just saying that because Mike kindly spends time copyediting SAS Publishing News each month. He shows one-of-a-kind dedication to the written word and manages to make corrections or suggestions in such a pleasant manner that one can learn from him without feeling like an errant fifth-grader.

I've been looking forward to interviewing Mike and hope that you will enjoy getting to know this multi-faceted editor, writer, and former stage actor.

Shelly Goodin (SG): Mike, how long have you been a copyeditor?
Mike Boyd (MB): More than 20 years. I've had several positions where my title included "editor," including being a technical editor with other hardware and software companies. In the Army and at colleges and universities later, I did editing for public relations and news releases. When I was an instructional designer, I also did a lot of editing.

(SG): What do you most enjoy about your job?
(MB): Taking something that is complex and making it easier to understand. The nature of the content that our writers work with is complicated. Due to the fact that the material is new or fresh to me, I sometimes can see ways to make the content easier to follow. I also like unofficially representing the users by asking myself, "How will they see this?" I'm often the last person to review and test a book and online Help before they go to the customer.

I've been a technical writer, and it's a difficult job. A technical writer's responsibilities are varied, and the level of detail that technical writers must deal with is extraordinary. I'm fortunate to work with great writers who are amazing in all that they do. It's always a learning process for me.

(SG): Do you have a favorite proofreader's mark? A grammatical pet peeve?
(MB): Hmmm. Tough questions.
Favorite proofreader's mark: Delete. Editing something or just reading something online or in the newspaper (Sometimes, I can't stop editing.), I often see something that can be removed to make the content easier to read and more concise.
Grammatical pet peeve: Subject-verb agreement. I very rarely see it in the SAS content that I edit, but I do see it a lot in other content I read. There's an old joke: Subject and verb always has to agree. Unfortunately, some people don't get that joke.

(SG): Tell us three things that most people don't know about you (that you'd like them to know)...
(MB): While in college, I was "Worry Worm" on "Hopscotch House," a children's television program broadcast in Indianapolis for a while. Worry Worm was a hand or sock puppet. I operated him (You might say I had a hand in him.) and did his voice. I learned the art of fine whine.
I was a voice actor in plays performed at Gallaudet University.
I compiled a book of my great-grandfather's poetry and essays.

(SG): Share the names of three of your favorite books
(MB):The Little SAS^® Book: A Primer by Lora Delwiche and Susan Slaughter
The Family of Man
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare

(SG): If you could change jobs for one day, what would you want to do?
(MB): Photographer

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