Gordon Woolf's Blog

Would you cut your editing or layout rates?

Whether you are editing books or articles, do you have a flat fee per page or hour, or are you prepared to cut your rates?

I am not suggesting that you should work for less overall, but there is a case for having discussions about the scope of your editing.

An example of the circumstances which can arise is the work which is being done to a budget. There has been an allocation within the budget for the work of editing and for layout. Both of these categories can sufffer from being near the end of the process and finding that costs have overrun at previous stages so there are only these last stages where cuts can be made. This may not be fair but it happens.

Sometimes layout work can be reduced by a degree of automation -- making the publication fit templates that already exist and reducing the complexity of the layout so there are fewer places where text has to run around illustrations. It may also be possible to run a long work over fewer pages by reducing text size so that production costs are reduced.

There are fewer ways in which editing costs can be cut.

Ways in which such costs can be reduced include reducing the time which will be spent on rewriting or on fact checking provided others in the process are prepared to take responsibility for such things being done at an earlier stage. Some of this comes down to a decision by the overall editor or publisher on whether the author is trusted (Nearly all author contracts require the author to take this responsibility and to indemnify the publisher).

It can mean deciding that the copyeditor is to increase the number of pages or number of words processed in each hour. Is quality to suffer? It may but there are times when a decision has to be made that the end result is "good enough".

This is a generally accepted process on newspapers and on many magazines. The deadline is fixed. As it approaches, so the final editorial processes which might have included rewrites come to focus on avoiding errors which would make the publication look bad. As the hands on the clock rotate ever faster you might hear a call to check proofs for "heads and intros" maybe with an added check to see that column ends read on to the top of the next column.

Fortunate is the editorial desk where a second edition will allow for more corrections later.

Similarly with freelance editing, the worker may have to work to a specific deadline. Sometimes the copyeditor may feel that quality has been compromised to the extent that he or she would rather not have their name associated with the work. However the skilled editor will still be able to justly claim that the limited job done is still better than it would be if a less skilled person had been involved.

So, do you insist on working to the standards you set for yourself or are you prepared to work to a budget and still feel that you did a good job in the circumstances?

No such thing as "writer's block"?

Talked to a local writers' group today: one of the main questions I was asked was about whether I ever got writer's block. My answer: No. ... but that does not mean writing always comes easily.

When I moved on from the first job I got on leaving school, as a stores clerk (or as it was called "trainee purchasing officer" so they could pay less money) and on to a junior position on a magazine one of the more senior people who had been fairly successful in writing articles and short stories wished me well but said he could never do that. He said that he could write when he felt like it but not on demand. "As a journalist you have to write no matter what you feel like".

That's true, and I have never had serious problems. However there are several tricks of the trade.

1. You do not have to start at the beginning. Start anywhere, with any piece of description that you know ought to be included.
2. If it does not flow, be happy to write individual paragraphs. You can even print them out with plenty of space between then slice them up and try arranging them in any order on the desk, then number the sheets and cut-and-paste them in the original word processor document.
3. Write anything as a first paragraph. You know it will be bad but it may well be that the paragraph that it leads into is better, even to the extent that you can often just delete the first paragraph and start with the second. Many articles and even stories have been improved by deleting the first paragraph.
4. Even if the words are needed in a hurry, leave them for as long as you can -- even if just time for a cup of coffee (which you should make for yourself). A short break may still be enough to bring you back with fresh thoughts.
5. If you are not happy with the result, hand it off to someone else. In newspapers there is no shame in telling a copy editor that you are not happy with what you have produced. If you are in a less organized workplace make sure that you know at least one other writer who will look at what you have written and be honest in telling you what is wrong... and do it quickly. You can do the same for that person when he or she needs it.
6. If a word eludes you, write around it. You might find that your prose is better for a simpler vocabulary, or you might find that, having made it unnecessary, the word pops into your mind.

Despite my denying "writer's block", there is a problem which can be just as difficult: procrastination. Often I find it difficult to get a job done without a deadline, and a self-imposed deadline might not work.

The answer can be to promise someone else, such as an editor, that the job will be done by a specified time. You then know that should you fail, there will be much less chance of having items published in future. In writers, as in many other jobs, reliability can be one of the most important abilities.

What's the production schedule for a publication?

I was asked what a typical production schedule for a magazine would look like.

I doubt if there is actually such a thing as a "typical schedule". Most that I've come across start with a simple list working backwards from the print date to the date on which final ads and editorial have to be with page production.

Then both advertising and editorial section will calculate back from that to have separate schedules.

However this is something which should be considered carefully not only in the planning for a new publication but also at other times by every publication. And schedules all have to bear in mind that only a few final items can be prepared on that deadline.

In advertising it is normal to set a deadline a day or two ahead of the date required by the production department, and the following wording occurs in many sets of conditions (this is for a weekly published locally on a Friday):

Preferred deadline for the receipt of all advertising materials is Friday, seven days before publication. Materials and space reservations will be accepted, however, until 5 pm Monday, week of publication. When space has been reserved and paid for by Monday, camera-ready materials can be accepted until 4 pm Tuesday, week of publication. Electronically submitted ads for which space has been reserved must be received by 1 pm Tuesday. Cancellations and changes cannot be accepted after 5 pm Monday, week of publication. For advertisers wishing to approve a proof, the deadline is noon Wednesday, nine days before publication. Major holidays that are celebrated on weekdays generally cause the deadlines to fall one business day earlier.

You will find many such schedules in the online conditions of publications.

There are also likely to be earlier deadlines on small display ads and perhaps later ones on classifieds which are just run in automatically by system software.

In editorial, magazines will tend to work in production runs even though all the runs may be on the press at the same time. So there will be perhaps on a 64-page magazine deadlines each day for perhaps 16 pages. The deadline given for editorial submissions would normally be a week or more ahead of the earliest of those dates for regular contributors who can be relied on to meet deadlines, a week or two further ahead for contributors who are not yet trusted, and then another couple of weeks further ahead for anything which is being considered at an editorial conference or on which the editor has yet to make a decision.

All these dates will normally be indicated by marks or stickers on a wall planner -- I have come across publications using computer scheduling but it is too easy to ignore something that is not constantly in the face of the actual users.

A production run which is a physically separate run on the press, even if only a day earlier, will usually be regarded as a separate production process to be completed before the final section, and so will most likely have a deadline at least a week before the rest. It can almost be regarded internally as a separate publication.

It basically comes down to ensuring there is a steady flow of work for each person in the process, so not only does the person setting the schedule have to consider what amount of work is possible in the time, but also what those people will be doing at other times. That is why it is common for feature pages of daily newspapers to be scheduled for all work to be completed two to three days ahead of the news pages. News pages will also have a succession of deadlines -- and the only pages actually prepared on deadline for a daily newspaper are likely to be the front page and the main sports page.

Despite the common impression that publications are a frantic hive of activity on deadline, any publication which is like that other than when a disaster occurs just ahead of that deadline, has a production schedule which needs work. I've worked on magazines where final deadline day can be very quiet, a time for long lunches because those in charge of checking final proofs just need to know where everyone is in case there is a query. A newspaper may be very quiet after midnight with just a late copyeditor watching the wire service.

On the other hand, if unexpected news breaks just as the deadline approaches, then real life may resemble the newsrooms of the movies.

How long does writing take?

When I was chief of reporting staff for a local weekly newspaper I used to tell reporters they should get a column inch of copy from every minute they spent on the phone. Columns were narrow so it worked out about 25 words to the inch, so a 500 word item should never take more than 20 minutes on the phone and about the same to write it from their notes.

Only one reporter on the newspaper was given the time to do in-depth research which could involve contacting many people in the hope of a snippet of information. But even he would keep several stories on the go at any one time so he always had a backup lead story for the paper which could be ready in half an hour or so if a planned story failed to come through.

Later, as a freelance I got 5 cents an inch from the same paper, so it would only pay if I cc'd the local radio news, and the State dailies plus a rewrite or two for farming newspapers and/or magazines.

The killer is the research time, but, as prolific author Isaac Asimov maintained, the key is to do your research once and then write it many times. Research into a period of history could produce a factual article for adults, a similar piece for children, a short historic story and maybe even a piece of present day or science fiction based on the same events and reactions transposed to a different time.

Keeping to deadlines: How is it done?

How do editors budget their time to ensure that all deadlines get met? That was an interesting question on an email list. The question continued: What techniques/tricks do you find helpful?

I'm a former editor, chief sub-editor, sports editor, news editor, chief of reporting staff, publisher etc of various magazines and newspapers, and the prime technique I've seen is to ensure that the person outsiders are happy to deal with as the senior person is not the one who has responsibility for production and meeting deadlines.

Hence the many terms - managing editor, production editor, senior editor, editor in chief, and the sometimes junior position of just plain editor.

Then of course there are the positions which relate the to actual job being done, so, while I have been night editor on a morning newspaper, I was that for several hours on certain nights only.

Thus, the main technique is to not have the person responsible for deadlines being in a position to have time stolen.

When someone gets through those barriers, what is the next protection? As a normally quiet person, I've found shouting quite effective.

Plan for disasters, then only the details are "unforeseen". For example, on the production side, know who you can call to say -- "I need our paper printed tonight".

When someone else misses a deadline, you need to know which writers you can ask to get a major story written in a couple of hours? But don't allow deadlines to be broken in the first place. And always have backup material.

There will be deadlines which have to be met and deadlines which are set for those who are unable to meet deadlines. Telling a writer "You're too late; we may use it next issue," usually works.

The most difficult situation is when you are editor/publisher/owner and the only staff writer on a weekly newspaper. To help overcome that I had two offices -- the second one with entrances from back and front of the building.

For the editor to have a second desk in the main editorial production area was another trick I learned from the editor of a major daily and it can be easier to work in a busy, noisy office than in the quiet of the management offices where receptionists are loathe to tell anyone that you are in, but can't see anyone. At least they could look and truthfully say "he's not in his office".

On another paper, a long time ago, one of the linotype operators was infallible in knowing when I was in their area for a legitimate reason or when to say "Who are you hiding from?"

I love Douglas Adams' comment (you know the one: "I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by"), but unfortunately it doesn't work.