Where the hours actually go
You did not hire an editor to keep editing. You hired one to stop, and yet every episode you still export the files, retype the same instructions, and answer three questions over email before the edit even starts. The recording is delegated. The handoff is not.
The fix is not a better editor. It is a repeatable handoff the editor can run without you in the room. Three artifacts carry it: a checklist you fill per episode, a folder structure that never changes, and an intake brief you write one time. Build them once and the explaining stops.
The three artifacts, and what each one removes
Three standing artifacts carry a clean handoff: a checklist you fill each episode, a folder convention the editor learns once, and an intake brief you write a single time. Each one removes a category of back-and-forth. The table shows what each is and how often you touch it.
| Artifact | What it is | How often you touch it |
|---|---|---|
| Handoff checklist | A per-episode form: episode number, guest, raw files, cuts, names to spell, sponsor read, deadline | Once per episode |
| Folder convention | A fixed folder and file-naming pattern the editor learns once and expects every time | Set once, followed every episode |
| Intake brief | The standing spec: show sound, loudness target, intro and outro, deliverable formats, turnaround, revisions | Written once, updated rarely |
The per-episode handoff checklist
This is the only artifact you fill in every week. It travels with the raw audio and answers every question the editor would otherwise email you. Keep it to one page. If a field does not change the edit, cut it.
| Field | What to enter | What it controls |
|---|---|---|
| Episode number and title | EP14, working title | The name of every file and the deliverable |
| Guest name and links | Exact spelling, company, URLs to reference | Show notes, chapter titles, on-screen lower-thirds |
| Raw file list | Which tracks are host, guest, and backup | Which files to sync, and which to ignore |
| Cuts and timestamps | 00:00 to 02:10 chit-chat, 41:30 dog barking | The tight cut you want without a listen-through from you |
| Names and terms to spell | Product names, acronyms, place names said aloud | Correct show notes and captions |
| Sponsor read and placement | Ad file or script, and where it drops | Mid-roll insertion at the right beat |
| Deadline and destination | Due date, and the folder the edit lands in | Turnaround, and where you find the result |
The folder-naming convention
A naming convention is the cheapest artifact and the one editors thank you for most. When every episode lands in the same shape, the editor stops hunting for files and you stop re-uploading the one you forgot. Pick a pattern, write it in the intake brief, and never deviate.
- The episode folder: 2026-05-14_EP14_rivera. The leading date keeps folders in air order and the last name keeps them readable.
- Inside, four fixed subfolders numbered to hold their order: 01_RAW, 02_ASSETS, 03_BRIEF, 04_EDITED.
- Raw tracks name the person: EP14_raw_host.wav, EP14_raw_rivera.wav, EP14_raw_backup.wav.
- Assets stay current by name: EP14_intro.wav, EP14_outro.wav, EP14_sponsor.wav. No more which-file-is-live email.
- The finished files land in 04_EDITED: EP14_master.wav for the archive, EP14_final.mp3 for release.
The convention does not care what the editor cuts in. Whether they work in Descript, Audacity, or a full DAW, the folders and file names stay identical. A new editor inherits the same structure the last one used, with no relearning. If you are still choosing that tool yourself, the beginner editing software guide covers the trade-offs.
The editor intake brief (write it once)
The intake brief is the standing spec for how your show should sound and ship. You write it one time, send it when you hire, and update it only when something real changes. It is what lets you say cut it tight without re-explaining what tight means.
- Show identity: name, host, and the two-line description of who listens and what they expect to hear.
- Sound target: the loudness you master to. Apple recommends around -16 LUFS integrated with true peak under -1 dBFS. Pick one number and hold every episode to it.
- Edit style: how aggressively to cut filler, whether to remove ums, how much cross-talk to keep, how long a pause can run before it is trimmed.
- Intro and outro: which files, where they live, and whether music beds under the first and last thirty seconds.
- Sponsor handling: mid-roll placement rules, and whether reads are baked in or kept on a separate track for dynamic insertion.
- Deliverables: the exact formats and names you expect back, for example a WAV master and a 192 kbps MP3, plus a chapter list and corrected show notes.
- Logistics: turnaround in business days, how many revision rounds are included, and how you send feedback.
Most hosts keep this brief in a doc and the checklist in email, and the two drift apart. Pod Green Room stores the standing brief in the same podcast CRM as your episodes and pulls the per-episode fields onto each one. The editor reads one record instead of reassembling three.
What stays with you
Delegating post-production is not delegating taste. You still choose what the episode is about, which moments matter, and whether the final cut is right. The editor executes the spec you set, and the final approval stays with you every episode.
Expect the first two handoffs to be rough. The editor will still ask questions, and each question is a missing field in your checklist or a gap in the brief. Add the answer to the artifact instead of the email. By the third episode the questions stop, and the handoff runs on paper.
When the handoff outgrows the folder
The three artifacts work until the show scales. Once several episodes are moving at once, the checklist, the folder, and the brief live in three tools, and the status of any one episode is a question you have to go ask. A shared folder holds files, not state.
Pod Green Room attaches the handoff to the episode itself, next to the guest tracking. The checklist, the guest details, and the delivery deadline sit in one place your editor can see, and the pipeline shows which episode is recorded, which is editing, and which is ready, without a status email.