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If you don't have project management skills, get
them soon. Gone are the days when we worked solo
or on single projects. I'm more an editor than a
writer, but here's a typical month's workload:
- 10-20 manuscripts floating somewhere between
first draft, peer review, desktop publishing and
the printer.
- 1-2 small or mid-sized writing projects (e.g., a
user manual for our in-house mailing list
database)
- a constant stream of interruptions (helping
authors to outline an upcoming report).
I describe this with a juggling metaphor: handle
each incoming job fast and accurate, then lob it
high in the air so you can get on to the next job
before the first one comes back down. Long-term
management (e.g., symposium proceedings) is
similar, but like juggling chainsaws instead: lots
of moving parts to watch out for instead of just
one.
Lots of organisations (e.g., CareerTracks) offer
project (or time) management courses, and they do
help.
--Geoff Hart @8^{)}
geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
Disclaimer: If I didn't commit it in print in one of
our reports, it don't represent FERIC's opinion.
