Frequently Asked Questions:
Project Editing
What is a project editor?
What is the difference between a
committee technical editor and the IEEE project
editor?
What does a project editor
do?
What are some of the elements of a
draft that the project editor reviews?
How do I request that my draft be
project edited?
When is the best time to submit my
draft standard for review?
Is there a suggested guide for use
when writing the draft standard?
What is an errata sheet?
Why should I use a template?
What if I have additional questions
about project editing?
What is a project
editor?
The project editor is a member of the IEEE
standards staff. He or she serves as the editorial
liaison to various standards-developing committees
in the IEEE, offering guidance to working groups on
all editorial matters ranging from formatting to
basic copyright issues.
The project editor prepares approved standards
for publication. The project editor also reviews
draft standards or projects before the draft is
approved as an official standard by the IEEE
Standards Board. Draft standards are identified by
the prefix "P", which is the project symbol.
What is the difference between a
committee technical editor and the IEEE project
editor?
The technical editor is a member of the committee
or working group. While separate committee members
may write a portion of the draft standard, the
technical editor's job is to review the standard
globally and ensure technical consistency and
accuracy.
The project editor is a member of the IEEE
standards staff and does not necessarily have a
technical background. The project editor and the
technical editor work together closely before and
after the document is approved to achieve a sound
standard.
While the project editor can provide comments or
suggestions to the committee based on technical
items in the standard, he or she cannot make
technical changes. Project editors make
grammatical, structural, and stylistic changes that
do not modify the meaning or the technical
integrity of the document.
What does a project editor
do?
A project editor does many things both before and
after standards approval.
Before a draft standard is approved, the project
editor will review the PAR to ensure that the
title, scope, and purpose are consistent within a
family of standards and that they are grammatically
correct. He or she reviews multiple drafts during
development of a standard to provide global and
specific editorial comments. He or she will also
work to ensure consistency in families of standards
produced by a standards committee.
After a standards project is approved, the
project editor prepares the final text for
publication and dissemination. He or she edits the
entire draft for grammatical consistency and will
point out any egregious omissions or errors. The
project editor works with the working group chair
and/or the technical editor to create a
professionally produced standard.
What are some of the elements of a
draft that the project editor reviews?
The following key items are reviewed and checked by
the project editor prior to IEEE Standards Board
review. This work aids in the early discovery and
correction of points that may otherwise lead to the
rejection of the document by the IEEE Standards
Board during the approval process.
- a)
- Draft number and date identification on every
page
- b)
- Proper copyright statements
- c)
- Clauses structured correctly
- d)
- References current and handled properly (only
consensus-approved documents can be
references)
- e)
- Appropriate standards verbs (shall, should,
or may) used predominantly and correctly
throughout the draft
- f)
- Permissions obtained from copyright holders
for reprinted material outside of IEEE
- g)
- Trademark names or patent issues
resolved
- h)
- Units used consistently, with metric units
appearing first
- i)
- Inclusion of an introduction
How do I request that my draft be
project edited?
Contact or send your draft project to Michelle Turner at
the IEEE
Standards Department address . She will assign
your document to a project editor. Please be sure
to include a cover letter that discusses the
project, along with a deadline to obtain comments
from the project editor.
When is the best time to submit my
draft standard for review?
Submit your draft to coincide with the balloting
process at the sponsor/main committee level. This
way, you may be able to avoid additional
recirculations of your draft by incorporating the
technical comments provided by the balloting
members and the technical and editorial comments
provided by the project editor in the same draft.
Is there a suggested guide for use
when writing the draft standard?
Yes. Use the most updated IEEE Standards Style
Manual and IEEE Standards
Companion as resources when developing
the standard. The Style Manual describes the
optional and required contents of a standard, and
provides a brief example of format. The
Companion provides helpful tips in
developing the draft.
What is an errata
sheet?
An errata sheet is issued when there have been
editorial mistakes made to the published standard
(i.e., the published standard differs from the
draft that was approved by the IEEE-SA Standards
Board). This differs from a corrigendum, in that a
corrigendum is a document that contains only
substantive corrections to an existing IEEE
standard (i.e., technical changes need to be made
to a published standard).An errata does not need to
be balloted; whereas, a corrigendum does. If you
need help deciding if you require an errata sheet
or a corrigendum, please contact the editorial
staff.
Why should I use a
template?
The sponsor of an IEEE Standards project is
responsible for providing the IEEE-SA Standards
Board with a complete, technically accurate draft
of the proposed standard that meets the
requirements of this manual for content, style, and
legibility.Using a template can help ensure that
the style of the draft does not differ from IEEE's
style, since all the styles are already built into
the template. The use of templates can also speed
publication since minimal formatting will have to
be done by the Project Editor. For more
information, please consult the
IEEE Standards Style Manual.
What if I have additional
questions about project editing?
For further information, contact Michelle Turner,
Associate Project Editor .
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