Keeping Your Writers On Task & On Schedule

Written by Garnet Miller

Ghostwriting has its advantages for the online business owner including helping you to meet your business commitments. But, having people working for you also adds managerial duties to your schedule. Handling multiple writers and projects requires that you stay on top of things so they run smoothly.

Running an online business is mostly a force of one getting things done. As your business grows, it may become necessary to hire others to help you. This is the reason you decided to use ghostwriters in the first place.

Your writers are professional and good at their job. It would be erroneous to assume that you are their only client. So, while you are juggling various projects, so are they most likely. To keep it all together, a schedule is needed for each of your writers and their projects.

Using a tool like Basecamp is great for helping you to manage your writers and projects without getting a daily headache. we all know though that a tool only works when we use it and use it often.you can set milestones for projects, communicate with writers and utilize other features to keep them on track.

Here are some suggestions for communicating with your writers to help them keep to the schedule without nagging them to death.

1. Stress due dates in the beginning. When you assign a project, always try to give your writers a tentative due date. The date will allow at least four or five days for them to work (unless it is a rush job) and at least a day or two for you to review and edit their work before uploading the finished product for the client.

2. Ask for confirmation of the project assignment. This is real life. Writers can have technical difficulties like power outages, Internet glitches and vacations (not difficult for them). With that in mind, a confirmation lets you know whether they can handle the project or not. If they can’t, it’s better to know in 24 hours so you can reassign than four days later when you’ll have to pay someone else extra to get it done on time.

3. Send a reminder halfway through the project. Things slip our minds at times, especially when we get busy. A reminder can jog their memory and also give you a chance to get an update on their progress. With Basecamp, milestones are automatic reminders that can be delivered to your writers.

4. Give credit where credit is due. When projects are delivered on time, be sure to give your writers a pat on the back. As an entrepreneur, you are used to motivating yourself, but it is also nice to hear from others that their hard work is being noticed. When clients give you positive feedback on their finished products, pass it on to the writers.

Managing writers is not an easy task but it also doesn’t have to create havoc. From the beginning, let your writers know your expectations so there are no surprises later on. Keep the lines of communication open so any problems can be dealt with in a timely manner to avoid missed deadlines.

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