A schedule in a spreadsheet, correct once
At the start of the season, every title has its dates: manuscript to copyeditor, copyedit back, to typesetter, first proofs, author corrections, second proofs, cover final, files to printer, bound copies, publication. The spreadsheet is carefully made and it is right on the day it is made.
Then the author takes an extra fortnight on proof corrections. The typesetter is busy with another house's lead title. The cover designer's second round is delayed. Each change is noted in an email, and the spreadsheet is updated for that one stage. The dates after it are not. At the end of the month, the printer asks where the files are for a slot booked months ago.
Why schedules go stale
The schedule is written as a list of dates, but it is really a set of dependencies. Moving one date should move everything that depends on it, and in a spreadsheet nothing moves unless someone moves it.
- Stages are handled by freelancers (copyeditors, proofreaders, typesetters, designers) outside the office.
- Delays are reported in email to whoever the freelancer normally writes to.
- The printer slot and publication date are fixed long before the stages that feed them.
- Metadata and marketing dates depend on the publication date but live elsewhere.
- Several titles share the same freelancers, so one delay affects another book.
When the schedule lies
| Hidden slip | Visible consequence |
|---|---|
| Proofs late | Files miss the printer slot and the next one is weeks later |
| Cover late | Retailer images are missing when pre-orders open |
| Bound copies late | Review copies and launch stock are not ready |
| Publication moved late | Metadata, events and publicity dates all need changing at once |
| Shared freelancer overbooked | Two titles slip together |
The worst outcome is a publication date changed close to publication, because the book is already listed at retailers and booked for events.
Our method: a schedule that recalculates
- A schedule template per book type, with stages, typical durations and which stage depends on which.
- Each title's schedule generated from the template and adjusted by the production editor.
- Freelancers given a simple link to confirm receipt and return of work, or the editor records it when the email arrives.
- Recalculation of every later stage when a date moves, showing the new projected publication date against the fixed one.
- Warnings when the projected date for files to printer passes the booked slot, or when publication is at risk.
- A season view of all titles, and a freelancer view showing who is working on what, so clashes are visible.
When a publication date does have to change, the system produces the list of things that depend on it: distributor metadata, retailer listings, events and review copy mailings, so the change is handled in one go.
What production meetings look like
Instead of reading out dates and asking whether they still hold, the weekly meeting starts from a list of titles whose projected dates have moved. The editor can see that the late proofs on one book have eaten the buffer before its printer slot, and has a day to decide: push the freelancer, move the slot, or accept a new date.
The publisher can open the season view and see which months are crowded, and which freelancers are carrying too much. Next season's schedules start from the actual stage durations of this one, not optimistic guesses.
Is your schedule telling you the truth?
- Your schedule spreadsheet is only updated for the stage that changed.
- You have missed a printer slot because a slip was noticed late.
- Publication dates have moved after retailers had listed the book.
- Freelancers report delays to different people by email.
- You cannot see which of your titles share an overbooked freelancer.