Estimating Editorial Tasks: A Five-Step Method

Accurate time estimates are essential to projecting the costs of doing work, whether it's for external clients or other departments within an organization. In the olden days, it didn't seem to matter how many hours were spent editing, as long as all the errors were caught. Now, managers everywhere are looking for ways to cut costs; they want to know in advance how long things will take so they can monitor their increasingly strained budgets. Publications are often a prime target for cost cuts.

Cormier, Robin A. STC Northeast Ohio (2001). Careers>Editing>Pricing>Estimating

Estimating Editorial Tasks: A Five-Step Method

Everyone would agree that publications work is subject to many unknowns, but it's still possible to pin down key aspects of a project, apply educated guesswork, and calculate a relatively accurate time estimate. Here's a five-step method for arriving at that elusive number.

Cormier, Robin A. Editorial Eye, The (1997). Articles>Editing

One Last Look: The Final Quality Control Review

Virtually everyone in the publications field has a story to tell about 'the one that slipped through' -- a horrible, glaring, embarrassing error that went undetected and made it into print. My personal worst was the time the company I was working for was sending a proposal to the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon, only our proposal cover said 'Joint Chefs....' There is always plenty of blame to go around when these errors occur, but usually it is the error-prevention system that is faulty.

Cormier, Robin A. Editorial Eye, The (1997). Articles>Editing

Telecommuting: Practical Option or Management Nightmare?

Telecommuting can be a wonderful benefit for your editors and can save your department money -- as long as you set clear terms and carefully monitor the results. It doesn't have to be the management nightmare you may be imagining.

Cormier, Robin A. Editorial Eye, The (1998). Careers>Telecommuting>Management

When You and Your Employee Clash: Clarifying Expectations

Will you have to fire this employee? Maybe. First make sure that she understands your expectations and the requirements of the position. Start fresh, and give her the opportunity to perform the duties you define to the level you require. Set specific, measurable goals for her to accomplish, and set a date to evaluate her progress. If she still doesn't meet your expectations, accept the fact that this was simply not a good match and give her — as an applicant once described his termination — 'the green light to pursue other opportunities.'

Cormier, Robin A. Editorial Eye, The (1998). Careers>Management