Project Management

Volumes have been written about managerial theory. I've read a couple of those books, but the most valuable things I've learned about management have come to me on the job. First, taking on a wide variety of tasks has helped me learn how to best invest in the long-term welfare of an organization or project while also planning for its short-term success. Second, it's important to document processes and communicate clearly. Doing so requires attention to detail and an awareness of the big picture; it keeps me on track, sets expectations, helps the people I'm working with, and helps lay a foundation for future projects. Third, it's important to be kind and firm when need be. Managing a team of people and working with different departments (with frequently competing interests and deadlines) taught me how to be both bold and diplomatic in my communication. Each management position I’ve held has reinforced those lessons and developed my skills in managing both people and projects.

The Wax Bullet War

As a project manager, I oversaw a team of twelve students. Collectively, we were responsible for all tasks related to the publication of The Wax Bullet War, including editing, design, marketing, publicity, and sales. My responsibility was to manage workflow in accordance with the production schedule, assign projects to team members, and communicate with the author. I took over this project as copyediting was being completed and as it was entering the design and marketing phases. In addition to those big-picture tasks, I did a lot of work on marketing and publicity for the title; you can see some of that work here.

I also wrote weekly updates about the publishing process behind The Wax Bullet War for Ooligan's Start to Finish blog. You can read my posts here.

Sean Davis, author of The Wax Bullet War, wrote a guest post for the Ooligan Press Blog in which he discusses what it was like to work with Ooligan Press and my team. You can read his post here.

The PSU Vanguard interviewed me for an article they wrote about the book, which you can read here.