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Editor's Guide

Welcome to the Note Editor's Guide!

A Digest Note proffers a thesis that advances a novel analysis on an issue related to law and technology. It contributes something new and interesting to the field. While a Note may include economic, cultural, or other types of arguments, it must revolve around the law.

Your Tasks 1. Check that the Note Contributor's idea is novel. 2. Provide grammatical and substantive suggestions to the Contributor's outline and drafts. 3. Verify both the technical and substantive accuracy of citations.

  1. Submit the final draft to the Submissions Editor.

Getting Started

Try to meet with the Contributor at least once in person or over the phone to discuss your game plan for writing and editing the Note. The Contributor should explain his or her vision, where the most help will be needed, scheduling constraints, etc. You and the Contributor will work closely from submission through final edits.

Requirements

You will help the Contributor meet the requirements expected of a Digest Note. In short, you should

  • help make sure the Contributor's idea is not preempted by a quick internet search
  • ensure the Contributor is keeping within the word-limit.
  • discuss with the Contributor if more space is needed.
  • review for substantive and grammatical errors.
  • ensure accurate citations.

Editing Process in a Nutshell {#nutshell}

The process can be broken down into the following steps.

  1. Outline/Rough Draft
  2. First Draft
  3. Second Draft
  4. Submission

Outline/Rough Draft {#outline}

After proposing a writing topic, the Contributor will email an outline for you to review. While the outline should be more than the initial proposal---reflecting some research---it need not be a complete draft.

Aim to provide substantive feedback on the outline before the Contributor starts writing. In particular, make sure

  • the topic reflects more than just summarizing cases or other's opinions.
  • the content can fit within the word-limit.
  • organization of the Note is coherent.
  • sources are valid and not overturned.

You should be available to field the Contributor's questions throughout the process but especially in the beginning. There may be multiple iterations of the outline. Focus on the substance and aim to minimize the number of major substantive edits you and the Contributor will have to make on the drafts.

First Draft {#first}

The Contributor will email you the first draft in a Microsoft Word Document format. You will have one week to review the Note. You should

  • provide local substantive suggestions in the margins (through comments)
  • provide general substantive suggestions at the end of the piece
  • correct grammatical errors in-text (through track-change feature in Microsoft Word) or through the comment feature
  • verify citations

Name the marked-up draft document in the following manner.

contributor_name draft_version date_emailed_initialsedits.doc
Examples: Fishwick First Draft 2017-06-30_svedits.doc

Afterwards, email the marked-up draft to the Contributor and CC the [Submissions Editor] and [email protected].

Second Draft {#second}

In between the first and second drafts, you should be available to the Contributor for any substantive or grammatical questions. The editing process for the second draft should adhere to the same guidelines as that for the first draft. By the time the second draft is formally submitted, the Note should be organized and coherent.

The Contributor should email the second draft to you and CC [Submissions Editor] and [email protected]. Forward the email to these parties if the Contributor fails to include them.

Once you receives the second draft, your next step is dependent on what changes need to be made to the Note. If all the necessary changes are grammatical and there are only very minor substantive changes, direct the Contributor to make those changes and email back the final version of the Note.

If major substantive changes need to be made to the Note at this point, you should email the [Submissions Editor] and [email protected] a copy of the Note and a description of these proposed major changes. The Digest Masthead will look at the Note and determine whether these major changes can be made in time for publication or if publication of the Note’s publication needs to be delayed.

Submission {#submission}

Once you and the Contributor agree on the final draft, email it to

You will be notified when your Note is published. Be sure to look it over for any mistakes.