|
FODDER: SO YOU HAVE YOUR STORIES What to do now?
PRAY
Praise the Lord for this story and for the writer. This is an answered prayer! This story is also equivalent to having someone go up in front of people and share for camp: We are using the sharer's real name. His or her story will be read over and over again because it is printed on paper that can be passed around, or posted online, where the page's text and link can be cut and pasted on email.
Pray also for understanding and wisdom, so that you may do the next few steps with God's hand and mind as your guide.
We sometimes use pen names at the request of the writer, but we always try to avoid this.
READ
Once you have your stories, reading them is the next thing you have to do. Common sense, right? Wrong! It's so easy to simply take anything people write for you because it was already very hard to get them to write.
But no. The least you can do for your readers is read what your writers wrote. If you could, read it while they are still in the room with you. That way, you can ask them questions if some points they made are not clear to you. If you do not have time at that moment, ask for the writer's phone number or email address. You need to know how to reach him or her in case you have questions. That brings us to the next task that you should do once you get a piece of writing is handed to you.
EDIT
This is why you should read their work. You have to edit their writings. Your reader took the time to read your newsletter. It is a tad discouraging and a lot funny if they read something that's badly edited.
For editors, this skill needs a lot of practice and the good news is that you only get better with practice. Read the article once to know what the story is about. Read it again for grammar and spelling. Then read it a third time, now for content. Remember that your name as an editor will not appear under the story's title. You have to balance your edits with the writer's own words.
For writers, it's important to remember that it's a good sign if you do not recognize your own story when you get it back after an editing. That means your editor took the time to read and make changes to your story. It's important to get back to your editor if you have any questions about your edited work. [ Wanna write? ]
For everyone, this is also a good time to think of your format. If your newsletter is online, you usually can have the story as long as you want. But sometimes, people will not have a lot of time to read articles online. But don't underestimate your reader -- 700 words is pretty long for print, but it's actually only medium length for an online story. |
FreeSpeak article as posted online:
In the last couple of years, I have been faced with many trials and tribulations concerning family, friends, and school. I'm sure everyone goes through the same thing, but for me, its been harder to deal with. My emotional capacity was to its maximum that I didn't know what to do anymore. My prayer time with Him was at a low, and I started turning in the wrong direction. I pretty much didn't know where my path was taking me. |
FreeSpeak article as published in print:
In the last couple of years, I have been faced with many trials and tribulations concerning family, friends, and school. I'm sure everyone goes through the same thing, but my emotional capacity was stretched to its maximum. My prayer time was at a low. I didn't know where my path was taking me.
|
If your newsletter is in print format, you will have a more challenging time editing the story as you will need to make it shorter to fill the set amount of space on a page. The Word has had some stories take up one entire page. But you must also think of the other stories that are worthy of publication. Which brings us to our next point.
DECIDE WHICH BELONGS WHERE
This is when you think of why you think certain stories deserve precious space in your print edition. This is also the second reason why The Word in Illinois has two versions: One print and another online.
We have two versions because there are many stories worth telling and online media allows us to tell all the stories we'd like for as long as we like. Not all stories in online are put in the print version. We've put stories from out of state in print just because the writers have been nice enough to take the time to gather information and write. That's primarily the reason why we put out of state stories in our print edition. Events in Illinois aren't yet that extensive, but we have managed to fill one legal-sized (8 x 14) page back to back for all four quarters of 2001. When things get really busy, we try to cover everything but reduce the whole event to simply pictures and summary lines. We are actually blessed that there's usually good sharings sent over email.
In Illinois, those who actually complete stories assigned to them will get published in the print edition. Poignant sharings, usually sent over email, also make the print edition.
As for the first reason why we have print and online editions? To serve everyone -- not everyone in YFC-Illinois has access to a computer.
DESIGN YOUR PAGE
As we can see, after we get the stories, everything basically falls into place -- and designing is the final step to creating your newsletter. Some editors could design and edit at the same time. We're not sure if this is a good habit, but it has saved us a lot of time.
The Word first issue in 1997 was constructed out of MS Word's newsletter template. More history.
 Feedback buttons placed at the end of articles make responding to an article more efficient. It also doesn't look too inrusive to the reader. |
You can definitely use MS Word's templates. And any WYSIWYG software versions for designing web sites will save you hundreds of hours with coding.
You will also definitely want to put your Web edition's URL address and email address on that print edition somewhere on the page. If you are willing to print a phone number of yours, do so.
The trick to designing is to make your reader read the story. They have to think that the story is actually short. The first thing that a reader looks at is the blocks of paragraphs that make up the whole story. They're more likely to read the story if the blocks appear shorter than longer. |
If the story is longer, you have no choice by to make the fonts bigger or space the paragraphs further apart so the reader will think, "Okay, I can read this whole thing in parts." You can also provide summaries if you think the sharing is too long. You can also break your story apart with horizontal lines, subtitles, voting booths, games, and most important of all optical illusions, pictures, art, and graphics.
CHOOSE NON-WORDS
Choosing pictures to go with your story is usually a concurrent thing -- while you're writing or editing, you might visualize a picture or drawing you saw somewhere. Ask your writers for photographs of camp or drawings to go with their story.
Also, you can definitely create your own graphics using any Adobe software (most common is -- gasp! -- Photoshop) or even the trusty old PC Paint program.
SEND COPIES TO COUPLE COORDINATORS
This is why you should have all the snail mail and e-mail addresses of your couple coordinators handy.
Email links to the completed pages to your couple coordinators. At the same time, type them out and snail mail them. Snail mail print editions to them as well. Leave messages in their home phones and if you know their cell phone numbers, call them to tell them that you're waiting for their feedback on the newsletter. Let them know when you need to know their comments by, and make sure you leave with them your cell or home number or your email address so they can reach you.
This is important -- they are your editors. Usually it will take some time for them to respond, so be sure to give your drafts to them way ahead of your deadline. Usually they are going to be happy with your work, but sometimes they will offer sound suggestions for improvement. Be sure to ask questions if some things are not clear to you.
We have just written about one type of story you can put in your newsletter: Sharings. You will want to include in your features:
1. Games
2. Articles (Real ones, like profiles, music suggestions or what does fasting mean?)
3. News items
4. If online: Voting booths
5. Other interactive things
6. YFC or even CFC Frequently Asked Questions
Again, be practical, but don't limit yourself.
SET UP: Know what you're doing. ... |
BEGINNINGS: The Communication team should. ... |
GIVE 'EM AWAY: Distribution and Circulation |
WRITERS: Wanna write? | |
|
