Editorial calendars are used to plan the development and publication of content. The calendar outlines the themes to be covered and articles to be written, sometimes months in advance, helping the editor focus on the big picture and what issues to explore. Such calendars also ensure the inclusion of timely and relevant material, prevent redundancy in coverage, and assist in managing expectations in-house. They are commonly used at magazines but are also used by smaller organizations with publications distributed on a regular basis.
I found myself in such an organization as a young copy editor assisting with two monthly health newsletters. Here, I present that context, what factors helped with the establishment of the editorial calendar, what I wish I had done differently, and lessons learned.
My department was composed of four physicians, a web coordinator, and me. The physicians’ main jobs did not involve writing for the newsletters. They spent their days poring over research, diving into databases, testifying before congressional committees, and writing petitions to government agencies.
Each month, I sat down with the director of the department (who was one of the physicians) to plan the upcoming issue. This usually involved him sharing what research the physicians could write about.
After our meetings, I or the director would assign a story to the physicians, who would then have about a week to think about their framing and write the story. The short notice, at times, left them scurrying to complete drafts and affected the quality of early versions.
The process made my work with them far from seamless. I needed a routine that would give the physicians more time to write and think about how to communicate to a lay audience.
Realizing that I needed to manage the workflow better, I used two strategies that aided the transition to having an editorial calendar: I leveraged the director’s receptiveness to improvement and made sure my requests to the team were specific.
I asked the director if I could hold a meeting so the team could flesh out an editorial calendar. With the director’s buy-in, the meeting held more significance for the team. I asked each physician to bring two or three ideas.
On our first try, we were able to put together an editorial calendar for the next three issues. After that, meetings were held quarterly. The gatherings primed the physicians to think about how their research could be translated for our audience before it was time to discuss the calendar.
If I had to start the process again, I would push the imaginations of the team even further by taking on themed issues. I also would insert an “idea bank” of readers’ questions at the bottom of the calendar, to see whether any of the physicians would be willing to answer those questions in an article. To find out what they were working on and be proactive about framing articles for a lay audience, I would communicate more regularly with the physicians. To make the meetings even more productive, I would discuss each publication’s calendar at separate times.
In an organization of subject matter experts, copy editors can often be seen as “just” support staff. However, if we are grounded in what we know (i.e., editing, organizing, and being process oriented) and think creatively about our strengths, we can contribute much more than good grammar to our teams. Opportunities that call for our specific skill set allow us to lead from where we are and to challenge ourselves.
Using an Editorial Calendar to Improve Productivity was originally published in Tracking Changes (Fall 2020 edition). Members receive a PDF of the quarterly Tracking Changes newsletter by email.
