Competition is Good

by Debbie Kerr, President

In conjunction with the Toronto Chapter STC, we are having a competition. Usually in a competition there is a winner and a loser, but in our publications competition there are no losers. Everyone gets valuable feedback about what they are doing right and areas where they can make their work even better. On top of the feedback, there are awards you can win: Best of Show, Distinguished Technical Communication, Excellence, and Merit.

Rules For Entries

There are three media that is being judged: Online Communication (for example, help files), Technical Publications (for example, manuals, quick reference guides, magazine), and Technical Art (for example, illustrations, photographs, and manual/book covers). To see a complete list of categories that fall into these media, and to find out the rules about those entries, please go to: http://www.stc.org/PDF_Files/General_Information_Competition_Rules.pdf

Process

Once you have determined that your entry meets the requirements, contact Milan to let him know that you want to participate in the competition. By communicating with Milan before sending an entry, he can walk you through the process. This enables him to get to know you and it simplifies the administrative part of the process.

If you are associated with the Southwestern Ontario Chapter STC, please indicate this on your entry. To determine if you are part of this region, contact Debbie Kerr.

Submission Deadline

The deadline for submitting your entry is November 14, 2008.

Judges

A team of three people judges each entry. This has many benefits. For you, it means that you receive very thorough feedback, because it is from three people's perspective. For those judging, you get to see a wide range of entries and get to network with fellow technical communicators.

Please contact Milan if you want to judge. If you have a team of three people who would like to judge together please supply him with the list of those people. If you are an individual who would like to judge, but you do not have a team, Milan would be glad to hear from you, and he will put you on a team with two other judges.

Other Details

Information about the competition can be found under Competition at http://www.stctoronto.org.