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Not long ago, I presented to you the concept of a writing pipeline. The stages are:\n\n \tResearch\n \tIdeas\n \tDrafts\n \tFinal Edits\n \tShipped\n \tArchive (or Portfolio)\n\nA project enters the pipeline when it\u2019s an idea, germinating and growing in the idea folder. It\u2019s a more formal project when it hits the draft stage.\n\nEach stage of development takes time, and you\u2019ll see your writing life take off when you identify and schedule each stage.\n\nUse an editorial calendar, and you'll line up your projects\u2014and each stage of each project\u2014churning out content more reliably, meeting deadlines and reaching goals.\nHow Long Will It Take?\nWhen you first begin using an editorial calendar, however, it can be hard to know when to work on the various stages of a given project. It\u2019s difficult to map it out when you don\u2019t know how long things take and you\u2019re not sure what you need to do in each stage.\n\nTo figure it out, reverse engineer the process.\n\nStart with the end and work your way back.\nCase Study: Blog Post\nLet\u2019s say I want to publish a blog post at my website on January 19. And I\u2019m going to write about finding creative writing spaces to do our work. Or maybe it\u2019ll be about creatively finding writing spaces. Either way. that\u2019s what I\u2019ll use as my working title: \u201cCreative Writing Spaces."\nStart at the End\nThe first step will be to write down the working title\u2014\u201cCreative Writing Spaces\u201d\u2014and the end date, or pub date: January 19.\n\nOn the downloadable sheet, I include a space for notes, as well, in case you want to record an extra thought for later.\nThe Questions\nWhile moving through the Project Planning Worksheet, I\u2019ll ask:\n\n \t\u201cWhat\u2019s the stage before this?\u201d\n \t\u201cWhat needs to happen so it\u2019s ready for this stage?\u201d\n \t\u201cHow long will that take?\u201d\n\nThe answers to these three questions will point you to the next stage and deadline.\nDiscover the Stage Before Published\nIn this case, I\u2019ll start the questioning. I\u2019ll ask:\n\nWhat\u2019s the stage before this?\n\nThe answer? \u201cCreative Writing Spaces\u201d needs to be prepped in WordPress.\n\nWhat needs to happen so it\u2019s ready for this stage?\n\nI\u2019ll need the text and have to add some code and a photo. Add some tags.\n\nHow long will it take?\n\nAbout an hour. And let\u2019s say I\u2019ll prep it the day before.\n\nI'll write on my worksheet\u2014or I could write it directly on my editorial calendar and skip the worksheet\u2014Prepped: January 18.\n\nUnder "Notes," I could write down one hour or remind myself to refer to a blog post workflow. Anything to help me easily follow through.\nWhat's the Stage Before Prepped?\nAs I continue working through my Project Planning Worksheet I ask:\n\nWhat\u2019s the stage before this?\n\nThis article needs to have been edited and proofread and in its final version before it can be prepped.\n\nWhat needs to happen so it\u2019s ready for this stage?\n\nI need to have written the draft and allowed some time to edit and proofread.\n\nHow long will that take?\n\nLet\u2019s say I like to leave at least a day between the finished draft and final edits. That puts the work at January 16.\n\nI write on my worksheet\u2014or directly on my editorial calendar\u2014the finished article needs to be edited and proofread: January 16\nWhat's the Stage Before Edited and Proofread?\nWhat\u2019s the stage before this?\n\nThat became clear in my last answer: I need to have written it.\n\nWhat needs to happen so it\u2019s ready for this stage?\n\nI need to find time to write this article and do the work. I need to write.\n\nHow long will that take?\n\nEven though I\u2019m fairly efficient if I sit down and write nonstop, life doesn\u2019t give me very many chunks of writing time. So let\u2019s say I look at my calendar and, given my appointments and other tasks, I make a guess it'll take me a full week to write the article\u2014writing in little bursts during slivers of open time. I count back seven days and arrive at January 9.\n\nI write that down. Start writing draft: January 9.\nWhat's the Stage Before Draft?\nWhat\u2019s the stage before this?