Editorial calendar: [Publication], [Quarter and year]

Replace the blue placeholders with your own words and delete the grey notes as you go. Plan the current month in detail and the next two in outline.

Plan at a glance

Publication and channels

[Blog, newsletter, magazine section, social channels]

Editor

[The one person who decides what goes on the calendar]

Cadence

[How often each channel publishes, with the day and time]

Readers

[Who the pieces are for, in one line]

Last reviewed

[YYYY-MM-DD]

Pick a cadence you can keep. Time one full piece from first draft to publishing, multiply by the pieces you plan each month and compare the total with the hours you have. If it doesn't fit, choose the slower schedule.

Goals

Two or three results, each with a number and a date. Every row in the month tables names the goal it serves.

  1. [Result, with a number and a date]

  2. [Result, with a number and a date]

  3. [Result, with a number and a date]

See a goal you can measure

Weak: Build awareness of the spring workshops.

Strong: Fill 40 seats at the tomato workshop by March 13.

The strong goal tells you by March 1 whether the plan is working.

Themes

Month

Theme

Why this month

[Month 1]

[One focus]

[What readers need or ask about then]

[Month 2]

[One focus]

[What readers need or ask about then]

[Month 3]

[One focus]

[What readers need or ask about then]

Key dates

Launches, events, holidays, the start of a season in your trade: dates that can't move. Give each one a lead time, such as promoting a March event from mid-February.

Date

What happens

What we publish

Promote from

[Date]

[Event or deadline]

[Pieces that support it]

[Date]

[Date]

[Event or deadline]

[Pieces that support it]

[Date]

[Date]

[Event or deadline]

[Pieces that support it]

[Date]

[Month 1] in detail

Every column, for every piece. Work back from each publish date to the draft deadline. In each Status cell, note who has the piece and the next decision. When a piece moves, change the date and say why.

Publish date

Working title

Format and channel

Writer

Draft due

Status

Goal

[Day, date]

[Working title]

[Format, channel]

[Name]

[Date]

[Status]

[Goal no.]

[Day, date]

[Working title]

[Format, channel]

[Name]

[Date]

[Status]

[Goal no.]

[Day, date]

[Working title]

[Format, channel]

[Name]

[Date]

[Status]

[Goal no.]

[Day, date]

[Working title]

[Format, channel]

[Name]

[Date]

[Status]

[Goal no.]

[Day, date]

[Working title]

[Format, channel]

[Name]

[Date]

[Status]

[Goal no.]

See a filled-in row

Thu., Mar. 11 · Twelve tomatoes for a short mountain season · List post, blog · Dev · Mar. 2 · Drafting · 3

An invented example. The goal number points to goal 3 above.

Planning a newsletter, a magazine or a freelance pipeline? Use these columns instead

  • Newsletter: Send, Issue, Lead item, Also in this issue, The ask

  • Blog with search goals: Publish date, Working title, Target phrase, Type, Writer, Status

  • Magazine: Issue, Theme, Story, Writer, Files, Close, On sale

  • Social posts: Date, Channel, Post, Image, Promotes

  • Freelance pipeline: Outlet, Story, Editor, Pitched, Due, Fee, Status

[Month 2] in outline

Dates and working titles, with writers where you know them.

Publish date

Working title

Format and channel

Writer

Draft due

Status

Goal

[Day, date]

[Working title]

[Format, channel]

[Name]

[Date]

[Status]

[Goal no.]

[Day, date]

[Working title]

[Format, channel]

[Name]

[Date]

[Status]

[Goal no.]

[Day, date]

[Working title]

[Format, channel]

[Name]

[Date]

[Status]

[Goal no.]

[Month 3] in outline

Publish date

Working title

Format and channel

Writer

Draft due

Status

Goal

[Day, date]

[Working title]

[Format, channel]

[Name]

[Date]

[Status]

[Goal no.]

[Day, date]

[Working title]

[Format, channel]

[Name]

[Date]

[Status]

[Goal no.]

[Day, date]

[Working title]

[Format, channel]

[Name]

[Date]

[Status]

[Goal no.]

Ideas backlog

Ideas without a date yet. An idea moves into a month table when it has a writer and an angle.

Idea

Reader and their question

Format

[The idea, as a working title]

[Who it's for, and what they'd ask]

[Format]

[The idea, as a working title]

[Who it's for, and what they'd ask]

[Format]

[The idea, as a working title]

[Who it's for, and what they'd ask]

[Format]

Statuses

Edit these to match how your team works, so everyone means the same thing by each status. Decide whether In edit includes the copy edit.

Idea

On the backlog, with no date or writer yet

Assigned

Has a writer, a publish date and a draft deadline

Drafting

The writer is working on it

In edit

The editor has the draft and owes notes

Scheduled

Final, approved and set to publish

Published

Live; add the link

Held

Paused; say why, and until when

People

Editor

[Name, how to reach them]

Writers

[Names, and what each one usually writes]

Approver

[Name, and how long approval takes]

Images and design

[Name, and the lead time they need]

Weekly review

  • Every piece due this week has a writer and a draft date

  • Every row names a goal, and every goal has at least one piece this month

  • Statuses are current, and every piece that moved says why

  • Two finished pieces are in reserve

  • Promotion is scheduled for every key date in the next six weeks

  • The next month has dates and working titles

  • New ideas are in the backlog with a reader and a question