NEWSLETTER
September 2004
|
Publishing
SIG
NEWSLETTER September 2004 |
In this issue:
- PubSIG members trade aces and disgraces
- Summaries available from ACE Conference sessions
- Other PubSIG business
- Website update
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It was great to see so many PubSIG members--old and young (make that "old and new")--at the ACE Conference in Lake Tahoe. Those PubSIG members who couldn't make it to the conference, you were missed but not forgotten. We made a special effort to take notes to share with you. And that's what much of this newsletter, my first as chair of the PubSIG, is about. So read on!
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PubSIG members trade aces and disgraces
The highlight of the PubSIG business meeting June 21 in Lake Tahoe? Members of the SIG held a sort of "editors' swap meet" in which we shared advice, success stories, failure stories, horror stories, recommended reading, nods of agreement, sighs of sympathy, and "been there too" peals of laughter with other like-minded folk. Evidently the joys and frustrations of publishing--and a love for the language--span the SIG and, hence, the nation and globe. This was a great way for those present to get to know, and to learn from, one another.
Outgoing (in every sense of the word) PubSIG chair Diane Bowen graciously took notes, which we've posted on our PubSIG website at www.aceweb.org/sigs/publishing/index.html. To see what happens when Word Geeks Congregate, check out "Trading Aces and Disgraces" under "Notes from SIG Business Meetings."
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Summaries available from ACE Conference sessions
For those of you who couldn't attend the ACE Conference in Lake Tahoe or who did attend but had a scheduling conflict, we have posted on our PubSIG website the summaries from some of the sessions of interest to PubSIG members. In a few cases, PubSIG members took notes at a session; in other cases, the presenter or coordinator from a session shared their handouts.
Here's what we've got so far:
- "Web Pages Need Editing, Too" presented by Dave McAllister, John Snyder, Judy Rude, and Anne Henderson (notes by Jim Coats)
- "Fighting the Budget-cut Blues" presented by Elinor Ruark and Sandy Phillips (notes by Jim Coats)
- "On-demand Publishing: Perspectives from Across the Country" coordinated by Evie Engel (handout compiled by Evie)
- "Grammar Is For Lovers of the Language" presented by LaRae Donellan, Florita Montgomery, and Meg Ashman (handout from session)
- "What Do Readers Want (and how do they want it)?" presented by Meg Ashman and Kim Parker (PowerPoint presentation from session)
- "Serving Spanish Speakers Through National and Regional Collaboration" presented by Bill Watson (notes by Glenda Freeman)
You'll find these summaries on our PubSIG website at www.aceweb.org/sigs/publishing/index.html under "ACE Session Summaries of Interest to PubSIG."
Many thanks to the PubSIG members who took notes or shared handouts from their sessions.
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Other PubSIG business
In addition to trading aces and disgraces at our PubSIG business meeting in Tahoe, we said farewell and thank you to Diane Bowen, who figuratively passed the chair's gavel to me (Meg Ashman). And we introduced our incoming vice chair, Glenda Freeman, and vice chair-elect, Helen White. You'll be hearing from Glenda soon regarding C&A (Critique and Awards) business, and from Helen later regarding the Award of Excellence.
We also reviewed PubSIG activity of the past year and talked about ideas for new goals and activities for the upcoming year. One idea we might try this year is having periodic "conversation calls": A date/time and topic would be announced in advance, and any PubSIG member who wanted to participate--by contributing to the discussion or simply listening--would call in. More about this in a future newsletter.
At the conclusion of our business meeting, we announced that any PubSIG members who wanted to have dinner together on the one "dinner on your own" evening during the conference would meet following the famous (infamous?) ACE Development Fund auction. A group of about ten of us hoofed it to a Mongolian barbecue and got to know one another better while feasting al fresco beneath Heavenly Mountain. Perhaps we've started a new PubSIG tradition.
Notes from our business meeting in Tahoe are posted on the PubSIG website at www.aceweb.org/sigs/publishing/index.html under "Notes from SIG Business Meetings."
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Website update: Note new URL!
As I hope you can tell from the first three items in this newsletter, one way your PubSIG leaders try to make the PubSIG useful to its members is by posting helpful information on the PubSIG website. We hope you visit the site often and that you share ideas and contribute content to make it even more valuable.
In order to do so, you need to know that the Publishing SIG website has moved! Since its inception in 1998, Kim Parker and I have hosted the site at the University of Vermont. Recently, ACE headquarters has considered offering a hosting service for vagabond SIGs and the Publishing SIG is serving as a "guinea pig" to test the concept and develop documentation for other SIGs that may follow. It is a password protected "do it yourself" environment that still requires SIG volunteers such as Kim and me to review and update the content on the server regularly. Effectively immediately, the old address is no longer active and has been replaced by www.aceweb.org/sigs/publishing/index.html. Please make a point to visit the new site sometime soon and update your bookmark.
You also can get to the PubSIG website from the ACE hompage at www.aceweb.org. Just put your mouse on "Organization" and select "Special Interest Groups" from the drop-down menu, then select "Descriptions" and scroll down to "Publishing." Personally, I prefer going to the PubSIG website directly (using the URL in the paragraph above). But whatever way you choose, please visit the website and bookmark the URL so you can return often.
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Parting words
Your PubSIG leaders want to be responsive to your needs and interests. So let us know what your needs and interests are and how the PubSIG can best address them.
In the next newsletter, we'll discuss different ways for you to get involved. Until then, happy publishing.
--Meg Ashman, PubSIG Chair
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