December 4, 2003: Issue 72
SIM STYLE: The way you do the things you do
I know many of us went into this profession to avoid numbers, but if you’ll indulge me for a moment, I’d like to highlight a few.
• SIM copy editors read 49,000+ magazine pages in one year.
• SIM editors, designers, and CEs route stories 25,000+ times in one year.
• More than 100 times every day, someone in SIM initials a routing slip (or forgets to!).
With this constant current of copy circulating through SIM’s arteries, our established routing procedures keep our collective pulse steady and our blood pressure down. But when someone skips a beat—even if it seems insignificant at the time—the resulting chain of events can slow, or even bring to a halt, the whole system.
So for the next few issues, the SIM Style section of Style on the Go will focus on routing procedures. Ever wondered why or how we do what we do when it comes to routing slips, story folders, tracking documents, and the CE in box? Send your questions my way, and I’ll make sure they get addressed in an upcoming issue.
THIS WEEK: Routing slips
• A routing slip is not complete without the “Due to Art” and “Due to Service Bureau” dates filled in.
Why it matters: When looking through a stack of stories in the in box, CEs prioritize their work in part by these dates. Every week, on average, two magazines hit their art dates and two more close. The simple act of filling in these dates helps ensure your magazine’s deadlines are met.
• A routing slip is also not complete without all lines under “File Info” filled in. This info should be updated as file names change.
Why it matters: Anyone should be able to locate a file on the server at any time with this information. Incomplete or outdated file info forces users to spend time searching through story folders.
For more information, see Issue 73, 74.
GRAMMAR: Although sounds better, though
Except when context specifically calls for the word “though,” (“as though,” “even though,” or as a synonym for “however”), “although” and “though” are interchangeable. “Although” often sounds better, even in conversational writing, but you can’t go wrong with either.
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