Newsletter of the Society for Technical Communication, San Francisco Chapter
February/March 2010

ActiveVOICE Article Submission Policies

The ActiveVOICE welcomes articles from technical communicators. Having a published article is a good addition to your portfolio. This document describes the guidelines for submitting an article to this newsletter. If you have any questions, you can email the editor at newsletter@stc-sf.org.

Publication Information

The ActiveVOICE is published six times a year in February, April, June, August, October, and December by the Society for Technical Communication, San Francisco Chapter, PO Box 2706, San Francisco, CA 94126, www.stc-sf.org. The editor is Marie McElravy (newsletter@stc-sf.org).

Submission Guidelines

Submit all articles via email to the newsletter editor (newsletter@stc-sf.org) in either of the following ways:

Microsoft Word format as an attachment.
Plain ASCII text in the message body or as an attachment.

If your article contains copyrighted materials, you are responsible for obtaining permission for the ActiveVOICE to publish the copyrighted materials.

Please include the following with your article:

Your name. Please spell it exactly as you want it published.
The title of the article. If you get to choose the title, make it descriptive and inviting. When readers are looking at the front page of the online newsletter, the title is the only basis they have for deciding whether to click on the link to your article.

NOTE: For recurring monthly articles, such as reviews of meetings, you do not get to choose the tile.
Headings. Please include headings so that it is easy for busy readers to scan your article (just as you do when reading technical publications). Heading are especially important when people are reading online. If your article does not have headings, the editor may add them.
A brief bio (no more than 50 to 75 words). This bio is a chance for you to say a little bit about yourself that you want to share with the world. The bio can include your email address and Web site.

Articles Published

The ActiveVOICE publishes the following kinds of articles:

Reviews of previous meetings. Each edition contains reviews of previous meetings. The typical length is 750 to 2,000 words. Take as many words as are needed for adequate coverage -- but do keep in mind how very few people have the patience to make it all the way through War and Peace or Moby Dick.
Columns by STC officials. To keep our audience informed of what is happening with the STC, the newsletter accepts articles from STC officers at the chapter, regional, and international levels.
Publicity for STC events and other professional organizations. The newsletter accepts publicity articles for conferences, seminars, and other events sponsored by the STC, an STC chapter, an STC SIG, and closely related non-profit organizations.
Articles related to technical communication. The newsletter accepts software reviews, book reviews, information about industry trends, tips on how to use popular software packages, and other such articles. To be accepted for publication, the primary purpose of the article must be to inform and educate, rather than to market a particular product or service. If you have an idea for an article, please contact the newsletter editor at newsletter@stc-sf.org.

Editorial Discretion

The Society for Technical Communication, San Francisco Chapter reserves the right to edit all submitted articles for length and appropriateness. The chapter is the sole arbiter of whether to accept an article for publication and when to publish it, either in whole or in part.

Copyright

Articles published in the ActiveVOICE are copyrighted by the author. By submitting an article to the San Francisco Chapter STC for publication in the ActiveVOICE, the author grants the chapter one-time print rights to articles appearing in this publication and permission to place the article on the chapter's Web site for an indefinite period of time. Contact the author for permission to reprint the article or publish quotes that do not fall under the provisions of fair use.