Technical Writing and Publication Ethics  

A discussion of what one must and must not do in peer-reviewed publishing.

Fang, Shu-Cherng. North Carolina State University (2002). Articles>Publishing>Ethics

Tenure and Promotion: Should You Publish in Electronic Journals?  

The rapid growth of information and communication technology since the early 1990s has greatly influenced the accessibility of information on a global level and also has played a critical role in restructuring the mechanisms by which specialized academic knowledge is validated, distributed, and made available to consumers. The primary mechanism for validation and distribution of academic knowledge is that of peer-reviewed publication, and it is this mechanism and its intersection with Internet-based electronic publishing that constitute the focus of this study of attitudes toward scholarship presented in electronic formats.

Sweeney, Aldrin E. Journal of Electronic Publishing (2000). Academic>Publishing>Assessment

The Cultural Metamorphosis of the Internet. Hypertext and Publishing in the 'Digital Culture' (Notes Regarding Communicative Convergence)  

Focuses on the cultural significance of hypertext and online publishing possibilities for culture, education, research and communication.

Graupera Sanz, Marta. Tower of Babel. Articles>Publishing>Cyberculture>Hypertext

Thinking in Pixels: An Editing System for Electronic Texts    

On-line publication alters the relationship between editor and writer, creating a potentially more collaborative and fluid text. This article explores implications of increased publication options and examines conceptual distinctions among Fixed-Format, Electronic, and Meta-media Editors. We propose a keyboard editing/commenting technique that will work across platforms and software programs and in every mode of electronic communication including simple e-mail. This ASCII based system uses only four symbols in various combinations to convey all of the print editor's marks and also allows the editor or reader to insert comments in the immediate context. The result is increased efficiency and flexibility for writer and editor or teacher and student.

Kuhlenschmidt, Sally, Charmaine Mosby, Sally Kuhlenschmidt and Charmaine Mosby. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2001). Articles>Publishing>Online>Methods

This Is Print

Everyone who has worked with color proofs knows that proofing systems are fundamentally flawed. A color proofer represents the output of the offset press.

PrintMedia (2004). Design>Publishing>Prepress

Three Types of Personalization

Last month, I said the definition of “personalization” has now broadened to include three non-traditional but growing applications: decentralized customization, one-off personalization, and functional VDP. This month, I will discuss an example of each.

Tolliver-Nigro, Heidi. On Demand Journal (2004). Articles>Publishing>Personalization

Time Well Spent: The Magazine Publishing Industry's Online Niche    

This article compares the uses of the print and online versions of the same magazine by its readership. Combining surveys of the readership and commercial data from the publisher and web designer, the study examines how one magazine has developed an online publication for its readers. Group Leisure is a niche magazine which has been in print for over a decade and online for two years. This article analyses the usage of the magazine in terms of age, gender and modal occupation of its readers and examines how their understanding of spending and saving time on the magazine underpins their perceptions of its value. The results and conclusions of this research have relevance to the publishing industry and to the study of online journalism.

Ingham, Deena and Alexis Weedon. Convergence (2008). Articles>Publishing>Online>Assessment

Tips for Writers and Publishers: Making the Most of Acquisitions Programs  

The production of books that suit a publisher’s guidelines and find their appropriate market requires a perfect match of publisher and author. This panel discussion will explore the dynamics of authors and publishing professionals working to achieve that match. Acqui-sitions professionals and a technical book writer and editor will pro-vide information about what publishers expect from manuscripts and how they work with authors, suggest how writers can find the right publishers for their books, and describe how one successful techni-cal book acquisitions program was built. The discussion should be of interest to technical writers and editors hoping to publish and to publishing professionals in the trade or college book market.

Sakson, Donna M., Ted Buchholz, Eric Stroo and Jennifer M. Ginn. STC Proceedings (1993). Presentations>Writing>Publishing

Towards a General Theory of the Digital Library

Debate about the digital library is clouded by emotion and self-interest. Emotion plays its part because the digital library is seen by some as a threat to the book, and a threat to the book is an attack on culture itself. Self-interest enters the fray because in the instability provoked by the digital library there will be winners and losers, whether in business, or the professions. Depending on your point of view the digital library can be the end of libraries as we know them, or the salvation of libraries as we know them.

Collier, Mel. ISRDP in Digital Libraries (1997). Articles>Publishing>Online>Emotions

Turning A Company Newsletter into a Pleasure Trip  

Advocates that given a chance, a tech-pubs team should adopt their company's newsletter. The questions that arise about this advocacy are: why should they do it? Will the benefits outweigh the additional workload? How should they balance their regular project-based activity with the voluntary responsibility? This paper answers these questions; charting out procedures and laying down guidelines to publish a successful newsletter, issue after issue.

Dandu, Vijayalakshmi and Shivani Seshadri. STC Proceedings (2005). Articles>Business Communication>Publishing>Newsletters

The Twenty Commandments for Submitting Articles

The acceptance rate for many freelance writers is between 25% and 40%. In my own experience though, I’ve had an almost 75% acceptance rate. But, it hasn’t happened overnight. From trial and error, I’ve picked up a few tricks that seem to make all the difference.

Klariti. Articles>Publishing>Writing

Typologia: Studies in Type Design and Type Making

Describes from start to finish the designing of a type and the details of making that type--beginning with the designer's mental attitude and ending with the printed sheet, illustrating each step as graphically as possible.

Goudy, Frederic. Type Art (1940). Books>Publishing>Typography

Users' Guide to the Promotional Literature

The group 'No Free Lunch' is composed of health professionals trying to avoid the excesses of pharmaceutical marketers. This is their guide to interpreting pharmaceutical promotional materials. Other sections of this website are also of interest.

Lack of Evidence Based Medicine Working Group, The. nofreelunch.org (1999). Resources>Publishing>Biomedical>Rhetoric

Variable Data Printing Among Y'All

Since starting this column back in June, I've had an overwhelming response from ODJ readers wanting to talk about their own variable data printing operations. This month, I begin sharing some readers' experiences and applications.

Tolliver-Nigro, Heidi. On Demand Journal (2004). Articles>Publishing>Personalization

Weblogs as a Bridging Genre    

Weblogs (blogs)--frequently modified web pages in which dated entries are listed in reverse chronological sequence--are the latest genre of Internet communication to attain widespread popularity, yet their characteristics have not been systematically described. This paper presents the results of a quantitative content analysis of 203 randomly-selected weblogs, comparing the empirically observable features of the corpus with popular claims about the nature of weblogs, and finding them to differ in a number of respects. Notably, blog authors, journalists and scholars alike exaggerate the extent to which blogs are interlinked, interactive, and oriented towards external events, and underestimate the importance of blogs as individualistic, intimate forms of self-expression. Based on the profile generated by the empirical analysis, we consider the likely antecedents of the blog genre, situate it with respect to the dominant forms of digital communication on the Internet today, and suggest possible developments of the use of weblogs over time in responsgenres.

Herring, Susan C., Scheidt, Lois Ann, Wright, Elijah, and Bonus, Sabrina. Information, Technology and People (2005). Articles>Publishing>Online>Blogging

What are eBooks Good For?

The internet and e-book technology gives you the power of independence-the power to create your own e-books and sell them online.

Van Buren, Chris and Jeff Cogswell. Design, Typography and Graphics (2004). Articles>Publishing>Online>eBooks

What Editors Want

Talent matters. And not everybody has it. I have never and will never tell a writer that it's time to give up.

Keiger, Dale. ManuscriptEditing.com (2001). Careers>Writing>Publishing

What Happened to Usability Interface

User Interface has been on sabbatical, but I am happy to announce that we have returned. Starting with this issue, the newsletter is online and ends our traditional newsletter format.

Dick, David J. Usability Interface (2006). Articles>Publishing>Online>Usability

What Shall We Do With the Publications?

Publications pages are often among the most popular pages on web sites, particularly government sites. But this handy convention has turned into a problem.

McAlpine, Rachel. Quality Web Content (2004). Articles>Web Design>Publishing>Online

What the Blazes Is a Blog?  

'Blogs,' or Web logs, are the newest form of one-way and interactive online communication to hit the Internet. Most people would agree that a 'blog' is a regularly updated set of Web pages with a chronological set of thoughts and links. Starting around 1999, the blog movement has gained so much momentum that hundreds of thousands of Web logs and many different styles of blog now exist.

Archee, Raymond K. Intercom (2003). Articles>Web Design>Publishing>Blogging

Where Is Publishing Headed?  

As technology transforms the delivery of information, changes loom for the business called publishing.

French, Rob. Adobe Magazine (1996). Articles>Publishing

White Paper on Electronic Journal Usage Statistics  

Electronic journals represent a significant and growing part of the academic library's offerings. As demand for e-journals increases, librarians are faced with a new set of decisions related to acquisitions and services. Must libraries retain both print and electronic copies? Is the price of the electronic copy justified by its use? Do usage patterns show that some journals will be as heavily used -- or more so -- in 20 years as when they are published? Answers to these and other questions require statistics on usage, and in the electronic realm, such statistics must come from the publishers.

Luther, Judy. Journal of Electronic Publishing (2001). Articles>Publishing>Online

Who is the Author?  

Who should be listed as the authors of an article for a journal or conference proceedings? The basic requirement for authorship is that an author should be able to take public responsibility for the content of the paper. People who may have contributed intellectually to the work but whose contributions do not justify authorship may be acknowledged in the appropriate section of the paper.

Burgan, Murrie W. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Publishing>Writing

Why Should STC Publish a Journal?  

The Society for Technical Communication has good reason to be proud of its two major publications, Intercom and this journal. Both have garnered significant awards from the annual APEX competitions, and both serve important purposes. But why do we publish both a journal and a magazine? How did they develop? Why should the STC publish a journal at all?

Hayhoe, George F. Technical Communication Online (2007). Articles>TC>Publishing

"Why Would You Want to Do That?" Online Publication for Graduate Student Scholars, Ethos, and the Middle Ground

Explores the intersection between peer-reviewed print journals and online publications, and then examines two hybrid publications, one outside the discipline of professional communication and one inside, to determine whether a middle ground is attainable, and whether it can provide the same enculturating experience without hampering the development of professional ethos.

Search, Matthew. Orange Journal, The (2005). Articles>Publishing>Online