What is a manuscript dashboard?
- A one-page status view for a single book project.
- Surfaces word count, current stage, open tasks, and next deadline.
- Answers "where is this book right now?" without opening the manuscript.
- Used by authors, editors, and small-press teams to coordinate.
- Replaces scattered status notes across email, docs, and spreadsheets.
A manuscript dashboard is a one-page status view of a book project. It surfaces the load-bearing facts — current word count, what stage the book is in (drafting, editing, pitching, launch), open tasks, and the next deadline — so anyone can see where the book stands at a glance without opening the manuscript itself.
Chapter i·Why it matters
A book passes through many stages and many hands. Without a single status view, "where is this book?" gets answered by digging through email threads, document comments, and memory. A manuscript dashboard collapses that into one screen, which matters most when a deadline is near or when more than one person touches the project.
Chapter ii·What to include
- Current word count against a target.
- The stage the book is in right now.
- Open tasks and who owns each.
- The next hard deadline.
- A link to the canonical manuscript file.
- Recent activity so progress is visible.
Chapter iii·Example
A small press tracks twelve titles, each with a one-page dashboard: this one is at 84k of 90k words, in line edits, with three open tasks and a cover deadline in nine days. The acquiring editor checks the dashboard instead of emailing the author for a status update.
Chapter iv·Related questions
WriteLoom gives every book a live dashboard — stage, word count, tasks, and deadlines in one view.
See the Write studio