How to Get Published

by Debbie Kerr, The Quill Editor

This isn't any old article about getting a book published; this is even more important, it's about getting published in The Quill. Employers recognize the names of people in The Quill; in fact, I went for an interview and the person interviewing me recognized my name and another person that I mentioned. I don't think it is a coincidence that the person receives the newsletter and both people's names appear regularly in The Quill.

I Know, I Know

Many of you are just fountains of information, but you just assume that everyone knows what you know. I have been writing documentation for about half my life, and I still continue to learn something new all the time. I am also suprised when someone else asks me how to do something. Like you, I just assume that everything I know, everyone else knows too. Since one of the benefits of the STC is networking and sharing information, writing an article for The Quill is a perfect opportunity to share my experiences.

Win-Win Situation

Since we are writers with a wide range of experience in a wide range of fields, the opportunities for learning are endless. In fact, being a technical communicator is a winning situation for everyone. You win because you get to help someone else learn complicated concepts and procedures. You win again because you also got to learn the same information. With this winning combination, why would you want to limit this experience to just a work setting?

Possible Topics

Each month I want to include reviews of things related to technical communication, like useful web sites or books. If you have attended a great course or workshop that you think someone else might find useful, then write a review of it.

If you are one of those people who are unable to get to our general meetings because they are too far away, why not "telecommute" by sending me questions that you would like to see addressed in the newsletter. If you are working in a small community, why not share that experience with your fellow communicators who work in larger cities?

Use your imagination. If you think of something that is important to you, then chances are it is important to someone else too.

Submission Deadlines for Topics and Articles

The schedule of submission deadlines for articles is in the About The Quill page of the newsletter. The published dates are when I want your written articles. I would actually like your story ideas a week before the submission deadline. This helps me to plan the newsletter. If I find out that no one has written an article about a topic that I need covered, then I need time to find a different source for that article. By e-mailing me a general description of your topic, it also ensures that no two writers end up submitting articles about the same topics.

What to Submit

When you decide that you want to get published:

• Submit your story idea to me by e-mail (2 to 3 weeks before the submission deadline)
• Write your article in an e-mail or Notepad. Word is also an option, because you may need it to create something complicated. The only reason I am not totally fond of Word is that it can create more work for me. Word documents contain a lot of extra coding that needs to be removed when the text is inserted into HTML. For smaller files, I can use the Textism Web site to strip out the excess Word coding, but once files reach a certain size, I have to manually remove the code.
• Provide a biography of yourself that is about three or four sentences long. We are trying something new this year and we want each article to contain the writer's biography.
• Provide a headshot of yourself so that people can get a sense of your appearance. This is voluntary. I don't want people to shy away from writing articles because they don't want to submit a picture. If you do submit a picture, ensure that it is clear and that you are looking slightly off centre. When the pictures are turned into "caricatures", it is harder to make them complementary if they are too small, blurry or straight on.
• identify if I can include your e-mail address in the article. Your e-mail address enables readers to contact you with additional questions or may even want to contact you to tell you that you did a great job.
• Supply a picture if it complements your article.

Conclusion

As always, I encourage you to ask questions and send comments. If you are nervous about submitting your first article, don't be. Someone is always willing to help. I'm always asking for help, because that's the best way for me to learn.

If membership has its advantages, why not make one of your advantages getting published and sharing your knowledge with others?

About Debbie Kerr

In the 20 years that Debbie has been writing documentation, she has worked in a variety of industries: government, retail, software, and insurance. She is currently employed at The Economical Insurance Group in Kitchener writing design specifications.

Debbie has been a member of the STC since 1994 and has held several council positions over the last three years.