At the Reserve Officers Association's staff Christmas party in 2008, I was honored as the Walker Williams Employee of the Quarter—even though I was not an ROA employee. I was a contractor, editing the association's magazine, The Officer, as a turnkey operation. My receiving the award is evidence of how seamlessly I work with my clients, stepping up as a part of the team, devoted to the organization's mission and business practices.

That's on top of the quality product, operational efficiency, and cost-effectiveness I strive to achieve. As an editorial project manager, whether it's a one-time publication or an ongoing contract, I gather up a team of top talents, set up an efficient process with an eye toward continual process improvement, and earnestly seek cost-savings without jeopardizing quality. The end result is a product even the most cash-strapped organization can be proud to call its own.

Specifically for ROA, I accomplished the following as a turnkey contractor with the title of Editor:

• Managed all content from planning to printing the 10-issues-per-year, four-color magazine, including assigning and editing all articles and graphic designs;
• Managed a worldwide team of freelance writers, editors, photographers, and designers;
• Wrote major feature articles, laid out department pages, and served as chief photographer;
• Liaised with ROA's elected leaders and headquarters staff, as well as the advertising agency and the printer;
• Redesigned the magazine from a grip-and-grin member publication to a professional journal on national security issues recognized as a leader in the defense arena; And yet...
• Cut the magazine's production costs by almost 30 percent through efficient use of resources, streamlining the production process, transitioning to virtual proofing, embracing new shipping technology, and contracting with a new printer.

I have managed editorial projects for state and federal agencies, academic institutions, associations, and commercial enterprises. This page describes a couple of examples, along with links to a few issues of The Officer magazine under my editorial leadership and management. If you would like examples of specific challenges that I successfully wrestled to a big win, e-mail me at eric@ericminton.com.