As Deirdre and I prepare for the "Professional Writing" presentation for the Fraser Valley career development group, I came across an internal email I sent a couple of years ago, which I resent last year, and which still holds true today. We've used it as the foundation for some new Tip Sheets (which we'll post to the site), but here's a more complete version for our internal use.
1. Standards: Develop (and use) a writing standards checklist for each project. In many cases, standards will remain constant (e.g., re which font to use, margins, spelling, punctuation). However, some projects will use design elements that everyone working on the project needs to know about. When sending a project for review, please attach the appropriate writing standards document.
2. Accountability: Before hitting send, take the time to carefully review the project, compared to the standards. It's unreasonable (and a waste of time) to send something forward hoping that the next person will review in detail. As a benchmark, I asked Deirdre to be my second set of eyes on a journal article on Friday. It took her 10 minutes to review a 14 page paper in detail; she made 2 changes and asked 1 question in a comment. This is how "clean" a final draft should be.
3. Formative Reviews/Consultation: If you are looking for feedback before a project has been carefully edited or formatted, be VERY specific about the kind of feedback you are looking for (and about what hasn't been done). This is actually challenging for any reviewer as it's tempting to correct errors we notice in fear that we'll miss them the next time around. So...our preference is that projects aren't sent on in a rough format. However, occasionally (e.g., if I am travelling and know I'll be offline for the whole day you're at work), this might be necessary just so someone else can use her available time to move the project forward. As an example, I sent Cassie a pathetic draft from Chile so that she could pull general content for a PPT presentation - I was clear with her what a mess it was and then fixed it up as soon as I got back online.
4. Proofreading and Editing: We have found that printing is most effective for noticing the fine details. However, it's not the editor's job to make the changes. This means that you may need to come to the office to pick up the paper revisions. If there were a signficant number of revisions, send back to your reviewing partner (with the hard copy edits for her to compare to) and clearly indicate with highlights or comments what has been changed. This, unfortunately, will slow you down but, eventually, we hope that the errors will be less and these extra steps will be unnecessary. Deirdre and I will still need to be the final set of eyes.
5. Scheduling/Logistics: It seems obvious, but likely worth mentioning, that it's super important to let the reviewer or editor know what stage the project is at (e.g., when Deirdre or I ask you to create a PPT presentation, there is no point asking a reviewer to spend time looking for stray commas or inconsistent capitalization when you don't even know if we'll keep the slides in; in such a case, send the PPT draft to Deirdre or I, indicating your comments and questions, and telling us what stage you're at - i.e., "Still needs editing - very rough draft just to see if I've captured your visions" or "I'll add pictures after you identify which slides to keep.")
6. Compatibility: It's essential that we be working from compatible software. There have been some issues with MAC/PC conversions as well as old and new versions of Word. When at the final, picky stages of editing it is absolutely essential that the computers involved are using the exact same software. This may mean scheduling time to physically work in the office so that you can sit right at the computer that the project is being edited on. It is completely inefficient for several people to make hand-written edits and then phone one person to enter them in. If several people are contributing to a project, the compatibility issues have to be dealt with.
7. Big Picture: Before embarking on your contribution to a project, take time to step back to ensure you have a grasp of the big picture. Who is the audience for this project? What's the purpose/objective/rationale? If it's not obvious, ask.
8. Core Services: We have a lot of projects right now that require writing (e.g., conference presentations, marketing, newsletters, papers). We also have several potential projects (e.g., curriculum development, papers) that will require a similar degree of team input. If we can sort out the editing process, the projects will become much more creative and fun for everyone involved.
I'm excited about the work we're doing and I hope you are, too. We're getting excellent feedback. If we can work together to minimize the need for multiple revisions, that will make the projects much more fun (as well as profitable). :-)
