6 Steps of a Quality Editorial Process

Article Written By: AtomicInteractive

Nearly everyone involved in publishing would agree that having a standard editorial process in place can help ensure quality in publications. But what does standard” mean? Does quality control differ by industry or shop? Or do commonalities—identical steps or close variations on a standard process, exist across publishing worlds? The Eye asked four professionals from three different industries what process they use to increase the odds that content will be meaningful and mistakes will be avoided:

1. Decide what should be written

It sounds obvious, but the first step in any publishing process is to determine the type and scope of the content. At a newsletter like ADAW, with a small staff, the editor herself may decide what goes in each issue—and may also report and write the stories.

At an ad agency, even more hands may stir the pot. Nesbitt says, After we learn from a client that they need a new campaign, we ll have a brainstorming session with the creative director, a designer, and a writer, sometimes with all our designers and writers—to decide on the concept that will drive the campaign. We also might come up with actual pieces of the copy—headlines, slogans, or taglines, for example.” Once an account executive gets client approval for the concept, the writer can get started.

A newsletter reporter might write copy over the course of five or six hours; a book contributor might take five or six months. In any case, writers must hit their deadlines. A late submission means that the rest of the production processes will have to be compressed—hurrying the quality assurance process or skipping some steps of it altogether.

2. Substantively review content

Someone in charge” must review the content and do one of three things: approve it, approve it with revisions, or reject it. For a book publisher, a developmental editor or a subject matter expert who sits on the book s editorial board does this review; for ADAW, the executive editor does it. At an ad agency, both an account executive and creative director do a review. The AE checks to see that copy follows the general guidelines set out for that client; the creative director makes sure the piece is on point with the overall message and creative direction of the campaign.

3. Copyedit content before layout

Once content has been approved, but before it goes into layout, nearly all publishers (well, all sensible ones) have the material copyedited. The copyeditor generally works in Microsoft Word using the Track Changes function, with a specific three-part mission: to correct errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation; ensure consistency with a given editorial style; and enhance readability by revising or querying awkward or confusing language.

4. Get final copy approval and/or approval of changes

After substantive editing and copyediting, a piece goes back to the writer for approval of the changes and perhaps for resolving queries.

Many but not all newsletter and magazine editors show reporters a PDF of their articles in layout for final fact-checking; the tight turnaround of a weekly like Knopf s may not have time for more than a final layout readthrough by the editor-in-chief, or someone else who hasn t seen all the copy iterations.

Once the copy is approved—either immediately or after further revisions—the text should require minimal changes as it moves forward into a finished design.

5. Proofread copy in layout

After a designer has formatted the copy—whether by placing it in a simple two-column format or turning it into an elaborate brochure with display text treatments, pull quotes, and graphics—the material must be proofread. That means checking the formatting against specifications and correcting any errors or style discrepancies overlooked by the copyeditor (or introduced in design).

Moreover, it goes without saying that every change sent to the designer must be proofread; that is, after a change is made, someone other than the person who made it must go back and check that it was accurately done—and that no other errors were introduced.

6. Check printers proofs with care

This is the last chance to look at the piece in its entirety and catch any anomalies before it is printed.

In the final stages of publishing a book, Wagley says, We may only have a day or two to check page proofs. So we re not looking at the words anymore. We re asking, are the running heads correct? Are the folios correct? Do the pages align? Is the art in the right place? Does it have the right caption?”

Nesbitt cautions that reviewers may want to pay some attention to words. She describes a situation in which she accidentally sent the previous version of a newsletter to a printer—the spring instead of the summer issue. When the production manager got the proofs, she just glanced at the colors and bleeds and OK d the file without putting it through the proofreader because we were on a tight deadline. So the newsletter had the wrong month on it, the wrong season, but it wasn t caught. We printed 5,000 copies, all of which were thrown away at our expense.”

The bottom line

Not every publication follows an identical production process. But the guiding force behind every process must be full attention to quality control by all those involved, from start to finish.

But if we provide our readers with great information, they ll forgive occasional errors—especially if we acknowledge serious mistakes of fact or analysis that could confuse people or cause trouble. The Eye is often asked how many mistakes it s okay to make in a document.

That s unanswerable, of course. How many cars is it okay to manufacture with faulty airbags? How many angels can dance on the head of a pin? Our advice: Aim for perfection and settle for consistently very clean copy.

About the Author

Samantha Enslen runs Dragonfly Editorial, an editing and copywriting firm that specializes in proposals, corporate communications, medical editing, and scientific and technical publications.

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