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Open Organization Community Editorial Process

Bryan Behrenshausen edited this page Mar 23, 2021 · 4 revisions

Editorial Process Description

About

This document outlines the Open Organization project's editorial process—the process by which our community creates and publishes various resources that help people understand open organization principles and practices.

Following this process ensures that our materials remains clear, consistent, and coordinated. It also ensures that our editorial process is transparent, inclusive, and collaborative.

The Process

We maintain a project board to visualize the flow of work through this editorial process.

Backlog

Anyone with an idea for new materials the community might create should list those ideas in the Backlog. An idea can exist simply as a "note" in this column, or the submitter can create an editorial issue pertaining to the idea. Anyone interested in working on new community materials can view the Backlog for inspiration.

Drafting

Materials enter Drafting when someone begins creating them. When materials enter Drafting, the author or creator should:

  1. Turn the "note" into an "issue" (if it's not already)
  2. Assign the issue to themselves
  3. Label the issue appropriately

When applying labels to the issue, consider the following:

  • Media type: What form will this resource take? Will it be an article, a video, or something else?
  • Genre: What type of resource is this? A case study? A framework? An interview?
  • Series: Is this resource part of a series?

Using labels helps maintainers identify, track, and assist with editorial work. Materials remain in Drafting until creators feel they've completed initial drafts of their work.

Initial Review

Drafted materials enter Initial Review when creators inform an editor or maintainer that they've completed a draft. Materials remain under Initial Review as an editor or maintainer assesses them. Editors and maintainers do this to provide feedback to creators—proposed edits, additions, revisions, etc. Conversation occurs in the issue thread or via private correspondence, depending on authors' preferences. If an editor or maintainer feels the work requires revisions, the work moves to Under Revision. If an editor or maintainer feels the work is ready for publication, the work goes In Production.

Under Revision

Materials in this phase are under revision with their creators, who are working to address editorial feedback. When work has been sufficiently revised, an editor or maintainer can put the work In Production.

In Production

Work In Production is being prepared for the platform on which it will be published. If it's an article, it's being typeset for Opensource.com. If it's a video, it's receiving bumpers and being rendered for YouTube.

Receiving Final Approvals

Work that is Receiving Final Approvals is awaiting "one last look" from anyone who wants one. Authors, for example, are signing off on their typeset article proofs, and maintainers are checking to ensure that everyone is prepared to publish the work. At this time, maintainers review materials already Scheduled and propose a date for the work that's Receiving Final Approvals. We aim to coordinate publication of our materials so their releases don't overlap.

Scheduled

Materials that are Scheduled are ready to publish, and all stakeholders have agreed on a publication date. We arrange items here in chronological order so we can track and coordinate upcoming releases.

Published & Promoting

Work that's Published has been released—a video is live on YouTube, an article is live on Opensource.com, etc. The work is now ready for promotion via social media channels. Social media account maintainers use this space to coordinate their promotional efforts. When that has concluded, we official close the issue and mark the item Completed.

Completed

Work that has been published and sufficiently promoted moves here before it gets archived. Issues remain Completed for one month, for purposes of reporting.