# Lead and Co-Editor Checklist A Google docs version of this article that you can print and use as a checklist can be found [here](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uvTzvP2MBrUuDEN52gmsLfH3ai3ls6l9JerO6AVf2mo/edit?usp=sharing). This is a checklist for lead and co-editors to remind them of the steps they should be taking at different stages of the editorial process. For more detail, you can refer to our gitbook or ask your editor-at-large or managing editor any questions you may have. Both lead and co-editors are responsible for making sure each step of the process is followed correctly, and lead editors have the added responsibility of drafting and sending emails to authors. The main thing to remember during this process is to set early and firm deadlines. Life happens, and authors and editors invariably fail to meet deadlines. Setting them a bit arbitrarily earlier (e.g., seven days instead of ten) helps to make sure that we meet our hard deadlines. Don’t be afraid to email authors to remind them of upcoming deadlines, and to check in on them when they have failed to meet them! If authors are not meeting deadlines, or you have questions about when to set them for, email your EAL or the managing editor.
## Author Brief As soon as we send out the acceptances and you’ve signed up to edit an article, the lead editor should send out the author brief to introduce themselves to the author(s) and set a first deadline. * [ ] Send the Author Brief and introduction email * [ ] Confirmed deadline with author (2 weeks is good for the first draft) * [ ] Update spreadsheet with new deadline * Example: Sent brief, first draft due 2/1 ## Drafts ### When you receive a draft: * [ ] Email the author to acknowledge receipt and state your deadline for feedback * Example: Thank you for your draft! Camille and I will revise this and get feedback to you by Friday. You should prepare to turn around a second draft by XX date. * [ ] Create a new Google Doc with the draft and name it. Do not share this with the authors until you’re finished editing! * Example: 2nd draft in edits, returning to author by 2/13 * [ ] Update the spreadsheet with the new deadline * Example: 2nd draft in edits, returning to author by 2/13 ### When editing a draft: Editors can use whatever editing strategy works best for them. Usually, both editors work on the same document and discuss, over email or slack, what they thought of the draft. If there are any disagreements between the editors about edits this should be addressed, so that authors don’t receive conflicting feedback. **If this is a first draft,** try to focus on big picture edits: is the topic covered appropriately? Does the author need to do more research, clarify their thesis, or reorganize the structure of the article? You may also make general comments on writing, such as asking authors to use a less academic style, or to refrain from use of the passive voice, but try not to make line edits unless there are no major issues with the draft. **If this is a second draft**, loop in your EAL and ask them to give their thoughts on the article so far. They may have suggestions about where to take the article, what kind of feedback to give, and so on. \ **In subsequent drafts,** once these bigger picture issues are addressed, you should go in and make line-edits to help with the flow and writing style of the article. Remember, we are a general interest magazine, so all writing should be clear and accessible! #### **Things to watch out for:** * Are authors meeting the deadlines you established? Send reminders and follow up as often as necessary. Sometimes authors fall behind, and it’s better to catch that sooner rather than later. * Are authors citing their work according to our style guide? Will the material in their references be accessible to the technical editor? Authors are responsible for writing their own citations, which are checked by the proofreaders, and it’s best to remind them of this early on! * Are there any new authors on the piece? If so, let the managing editor know so that they can be sent a contract. * Are authors receptive to edits and responsive over email? If not, you may want to ask your EAL or the managing editor to intervene. * Does the work have a title? * Will the author be providing any artwork to go along with the piece? If so, reach out to the art editorial collective! ### After editing: * [ ] Consolidate edits in one copy * Example: Rullán\_Draft2\_ForAuthors * [ ] Send to authors in an email including a clear deadline for turnaround (\~1-2 weeks, depending on our timeline and how many edits you have) * [ ] Update the spreadsheet * Example: Draft 3 feedback sent, next draft due 2/20 ## When an article is almost done: If you feel an article is about ready to be sent to technical editing, now is the time to email your editor-at-large and ask them to take a look at the article. Ideally, this will be the third draft, but don’t be worried if articles take 4-5 drafts to be ready - it happens!
* [ ] Make a new copy of the document and do not share it with authors * Example: Rullán\_Draft3\_EAL * [ ] Email editor-at-large with a draft and a deadline (\~72h) * [ ] Let technical editor know article is reaching completion, and to expect a draft soon * [ ] If there is feedback: Incorporate EAL feedback to email with author and set a deadline for turnaround * You may have some of your own line edits or suggestions to ask for authors, and the EAL might note changes that should be made. If this is the case, you should email the authors with a draft that has all feedback consolidated and clearly stated as well as a deadline for a next draft. * [ ] If the EAL okays the article: send the article to the technical editors and email the author to expect technical edits by X date. ## Technical editing Technical editors usually need 1-2 weeks to do their work. If you need turnaround more quickly, make sure you agree on this with the technical editor ahead of time. It’s important that authors have clearly cited their sources and have provided access to ones that may be hard to find early on so the TE can work more quickly. **Authors cannot make substantice changes (content, ordering, etc) after this stage.** * [ ] Create a new document in the folder and do not share it with authors * Example: Rullán\_TE * [ ] Email the TE, cc’ing the EAL and the TE lead. * Remember to set a deadline for turnaround from technical editing! 1 week is ideal, **hard** max 2 weeks. * [ ] Email the copy-editor to let them know the article is in TE. * [ ] Update spreadsheet * [ ] Email authors if the TE needs access to certain sources ### After TE * [ ] Revise TE comments but **keep a copy** * A copy of the document with the technical editor's comments must be kept on file. Make a copy of the draft that includes their comments/feedback for the author. This helps in cases when a fact might be questioned later so that we can see if it was verified or not. * [ ] If there are major changes or suggestions from the TE, or points that still need clarification, email a clean draft of the edits to the author with a deadline * [ ] If there are no major changes, editors can accept the TE suggestions and move the article to copy-ed * Example: If an author got a date or a number wrong, or if a sentence was slightly rephrased to make it more factually accurate (e.g., so-and-so was raised in → so-and-so was born in) * [ ] If your article is being translated, send a clean copy to managing editor so they can send it to the Translation collective. ## Copy Editing Copy editors work to make sure that the language in the article is clear, concise, and that all grammar, spelling, style and citation rules are followed. They usually need 1 week to complete their work. **Authors cannot make sentence-level changes after this stage.** * [ ] Create a new document in the folder and do not share it with authors * Example: Rullán\_CE * [ ] Email the CE, cc’ing the EAL and the CE lead. * Remember to set a deadline for turnaround from copy editing! * [ ] Email the proofreader to let them know the article is in CE. * [ ] Update spreadsheet ### After CE * [ ] Revise CE edits * [ ] If there are major changes, let the copy-editing lead know so that they can revise the CE’s work. At this point, all changes should be relatively minor. If there are major changes that they CE lead agrees with, you can email the author to offer them a chance to address them. However, we typically do not email authors their CE feedback - this part of the editorial process helps us ‘clean up’ and standardise our articles. * [ ] Move article to proofreading ## Proofreading Proofreaders check the final draft of the article to make sure there are no spelling or grammar mistakes and that all citations are properly formatted. They do not change language or the content of the article, only catch mistakes. Proofreaders typically need 1 week to finish their work. * [ ] Create a new document in the folder and do not share it with authors * Example: Rullán\_Proof * [ ] Email the proofreader, cc’ing the EAL and the proofreading lead. * Remember to set a deadline for turnaround from copy editing! 1 week is usually more than enough. * [ ] Update spreadsheet ### After Proofreading * [ ] Revise proofreader edits, accept as necessary and make a clean copy for the final draft * Example: Rullán\_FINAL * [ ] Select 2-3 pull quotes to highlight in the article * [ ] Write down the final word count next to the article title and make sure that title and author names are spelled correctly * [ ] Place a link to the final article in the spreadsheet and let the proofreading lead and managing editor know the article is done ## After design Editors and authors will receive a proof of the article from the designer to review, along with the meet the contributors section. Any edits should be relayed to the ME and copy/proof lead as comments on the PDF or via email. * [ ] Revise article for typos --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://sftpmag.gitbook.io/sftp-publishing/editing-resources-1/editor-checklist/lead-and-co-editor-checklist.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.