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Next Program Meeting: Thursday, September 18
Next Networking Event: Thursday, December 11
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Grammar Points and Practices
Grammar geeks, word nerds, and style sticklers unite! It’s an SD/PEN meeting made just for us. Who else would eagerly anticipate an evening of grammar talk and testing (voluntary, of course)?
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Bobbie Felix, a Grammar Lab instructor for UCSD Extension’s Copyediting Certificate Program, will be on hand to make all your grammar dreams come true. Not only will she be bringing a satchel full of her own grammar musts, but she’ll also be taking requests in advance from those who plan to attend her presentation. (Please fill out your “Grammar Wish List” when it arrives by email. You’ll be able to send Bobbie specific grammar questions you’d like answered or particular topics you would like covered that evening.) Mark your calendars for Thursday, September 18, and come enjoy what will surely be an educational event.
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Meeting Details
Thursday, September 18, 2014
6:30 – 9:00 p.m.
San Diego Room
County Health Services Complex
3851 Rosecrans St.
San Diego 92110
Google Map
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Working With and Around Photographs
By Catherine A. Barr
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At the July 17 meeting, panelists Kimberly Lamke Calderon, Roberta Niederjohn, and Sharon Penny described and presented examples of good photographs—and some not-so-good photographs.
Why should editors understand the basics of good photography? The primary reasons are:
- Employers want editors who can multitask (write, design, photograph, and use social media, for example).
- Readers are becoming more visually oriented.
- When freelancing, you can offer more skills to clients.
The elements of a good photo include the following:
Composition: Follow the “rule of thirds,” recognizing that a visual composition is more interesting when the subject is placed in one-third of the composition than when the subject is centered. And, having more open space in a composition allows room for text.
Lighting: Be aware what is and is not lit, and try to avoid taking photos outside between the hours of 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. to avoid unflattering overhead sunlight.
Other elements are color, action (peak action can be a frozen moment in time), motion, humor, emotion (which is often used in documentaries), awe, and that it tells a story.
As important as what to include in photos is what to avoid: background distractions (these can sometimes be eliminated with photo software) and out-of-focus subjects.
Usually, no photo is better than a poor one!
Knowing what makes a good photograph and what to avoid is only half the battle—there are also elements to strive for when taking photographs: look for natural frames for your subject (trees and buildings, for example), use a variety of shots and angles (wide, medium, tight, from above, and from below, for example), and always take more photos than you think you’ll need. Since most photography is digital now, the expense of taking more shots is down to the photographer’s time.
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The best shots are often the simplest.
When taking photographs for publication, be sure to obtain written permission from your subjects. In general, you need to obtain releases if there are fewer than six people in a picture, if the subject is sensitive, or if it will be used to sell a product or service. (Always check with the publication you’re working for!)
Now grab a camera and start shooting—and then come to January’s meeting to learn what to do with other types of graphics!
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“Conversations and networking made the night. I enjoyed it very much and I will be back.”
“Nice event! Thanks for putting it together.”
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On Thursday, June 5, SD/PEN hosted its first Networking Event of 2014 at The San Diego Woman’s Club. Nearly 20 members of the San Diego editorial community gathered for a night of networking featuring food and fun.
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The evening started with a fun icebreaker game. Guests got a paper with a bingo-type table of descriptions on it, and had to identify other attendees and get the signatures of those who met those descriptions. Players were seeking positive responses to statements such as: “Is a leftie,” “Is a native Californian,” and “Has gotten work through the SD/PEN online directory.”
After collecting all the signatures needed to complete their game sheets, participants were entered into a drawing for the door prize—a $25 Visa gift card. The lucky winner was Donna Cheverton. The winners of two additional drawings for small gift bags were Catherine Barr and Diane Slagle.
While games were available on the tables that guests gathered around, food and conversation took priority. This was networking at its best.
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Our second Networking Event of 2014 will be held Thursday, December 11, at the San Diego County Health Services Complex. It will also be SD/PEN’s Holiday Party and you know what that means—the annual grand prize drawing! Mark your calendars now. You won’t want to miss the fun!
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Calendar These Important Dates
All program meetings, field trips, and networking events begin at 6:30 p.m.
September 18, 2014—Program Meeting: Grammar Points and Practices
November 20, 2014—Program Meeting/Field Trip: Clearstory Creative Digital Publishers
December 11, 2014—Networking Event/Holiday Party
January 15, 2015—Program Meeting: Working With and Around Graphics
Join the SD/PEN LinkedIn Group
Want to discuss your editorial concerns, quandaries, and successes between SD/PEN events? Join the conversation in the SD/PEN LinkedIn group to connect, network, and get advice from more than 200 group members.
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1964 – 2014
By Shirley Clukey and Melanie Astaire Witt
What you may have already heard is that Jamie Winkelman was a long-standing member of SD/PEN and a top-notch editor, that she served on SD/PEN’s Steering Committee when she lived in California (before moving to Montana), and that she designed our website and served as its webmaster for eight years. You may have also heard that Jamie was diagnosed with and had been being treated for leukemia for the last five years.
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But what you may not have known about was “The Rocket,” Jamie’s persona that kept her saying “yes” to more chemotherapy and radiation than she cared to remember, two successful bone marrow transplants, and a series of clinical trials implementing the latest and greatest medical technology to get rid of what she called “this pesky disease.” You might have also heard that back in October 2013, she was given 60 days to live, but that she was still with us the first of July 2014—and that she would have wanted you to know then that she had finally beat the leukemia. The Rocket, after all, was the first person in the world to do a clinical trial that used her own genetically modified cells to combat her cancer, and for that she’ll surely be written up in medical journals. When you hear of CAR-T cell therapy curing cancer, think of Jamie.
If you really want to know who Jamie was, though, read about The Rocket in her “Travel by Rocket” blog at http://travelbyrocket.com. In August 2011, just after completing chemotherapy, Jamie bought a motorcycle and hit the road again. After her first ride, she wrote, “I could still be sitting at home, thinking about the bike I might get someday. But I learned the hard way. Someday is today. Make a move.”
And move she did. From California byways to Maine highways, from the magic of Hawaii to “cooking Thai” in Chiang Mai, from the Golden Triangle to the Jade Screen Hotel up 60,000 stone steps on Peak Yuping in China, from the tip of Labrador to the terraced rice paddies of Vietnam, from The Andalusian Cooking School in Spain to a cloud forest in Costa Rica, The Rocket ate up adventure. (Read the published story of her amazing trip to China at
http://www.cntraveler.com/daily-traveler/2012/02/china-hotel-jamie-winkelman-jade-screen-hotel.)
One of her most inspirational posts came in August 2012 while she was in Sin Ho, Vietnam. During her late dinner at the town’s only hotel, the power went out. After finishing her meal, she went outside where the entire visible countryside was dark. When she looked up, however, she was awed by the lights in the sky. She wrote, “I never felt so small. Billions of stars lit up the night... I shifted my eyes back to the dark horizon and thought of the residents of Sin Ho, my neighbors for the night. They lacked the freedom and amenities that I enjoyed, but they had season tickets with front-row seats to the best show on the planet. I’ll never look at a star again without thinking of that magical night.”
Just two months later, Jamie’s leukemia was back. As she continued the good fight and prepared for a bone marrow transplant that she called “the trip of a lifetime,” she wrote about what she would not give up. The list included her free spirit and sense of adventure, her sense of humor, her sunny disposition, her kick-ass attitude, being a girl, woo-hoo-ing (really, really loud), and discovering the next destination.
The Rocket titled her last post “The Power of a Passport.” In it, she talked about how her new passport would be waiting for her when she got out of the hospital, and closed by saying “All I need is a destination… but that has never been a challenge.”
On July 4, 2014, the woman filled with the irrepressible optimism that she would triumph over the leukemia—and she did—passed away from the side effects of the treatments. Her husband, Stuie, wrote, “The Rocket has passed on to her next great adventure.”
We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time
~Excerpt from T. S. Eliot’s “Little Gidding”
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We are pleased to welcome the following people who joined SD/PEN in May and June!
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Anne M. Casey
anne.casey@cox.net
Bryna Kranzler
Bryna Kranzler Writing & Editing
www.brynakranzler.com
xsnerg@gmail.com
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Douglas Edward Harrison
douglas.e.harrison@gmail.com
Lonna Ramirez
Lonna Ramirez, Writer
lonnaar@gmail.com
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Indexing Basics: Learn From an Expert
By Gerrie Marie Gomez
Just like editing, indexing is an essential part of manuscripts, websites, and textbooks. When Catherine Barr of Under the Oaks Indexing presented her Indexing Basics program at the May 15 meeting, SD/PEN members were in for a few surprises. Although it initially appeared that many of the indexing resource books Catherine shared with us were the same books we use in editing, we quickly found any similarities between the two occupations ended there.
Throughout the evening, attendees learned a few of the ins and outs of indexing and the benefits of having a good index. We also learned that indexing is not as easy as it may first appear.
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Indexing Is Not Text Searching
Sometimes text search is inaccurately compared to indexing. Text search is just that—a search for a specific word. An index is not an alphabetized list of each noun mentioned in the reading. Indexing offers a wide range of thought-out collections of words. In fact, indexing is one of the most important parts of the back matter in any material, giving the reader a road map and determining the overall structure and content of either what is to be read or what was read.
Aside from books and websites, many documents benefit from having an index. Meeting minutes, periodicals, pamphlets, manuals, and catalogs are just a few.
Who Can and Should Index
Authors often think that they are the best people to write the indexes for their own work. As with the case of authors editing work they’ve written, this is usually not a good idea. Authors tend to be too close to their own words and unwilling to use other terms and phrases readers might find useful. Publishing houses may have their own indexing staff, but it is uncommon. Freelance indexers tend to specialize in fields of study and are hired by publishers and authors.
Types and Formatting of Indexes
The types of indexing are: first lines (used in poetry and music); locations (geographical and place names); names (proper nouns); subjects (topics, themes, generalizations, and specifics); and names and subjects (most common).
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A Good Index
Indexes comprise a variety of styles (capital letters vs. header letters); introductory notes (e.g., “fig = figures,” which would be listed at the beginning of the index); the three main parts of an entry (main entry [e.g., autos], sub entry [e.g., Chevy, Ford], and locator [page ranges]); cross-referencing (e.g., see also...); and double/triple posting.
Hands-On Indexing
Catherine’s overview next turned to an exercise allowing attendees to try out their newfound knowledge of indexing. She encouraged participants to use brightly colored pens and highlighters. The chance for these newbie “indexers” to try their hands at this craft was immediately eye opening! Bottom line: an index is only as good as the indexer.
The best thing learned? Indexing is NOT editing. Both indexers and editors agree to peacefully coexist in the world of words.
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Dear Members,
 Another dull day in paradise! That’s what I answer whenever anyone asks me how things are. We’re so lucky to live in beautiful San Diego with such phenomenal weather all year. And we’re so lucky to be members of such a great group of editors, writers, and other word lovers.
We’re a little more than halfway through 2014 and SD/PEN has already hosted a super all-day Editorial Bootcamp, four great Program Meetings, and our first of two annual Networking Events. We’ve had positive feedback on all the events, and we’re growing our membership. Our website is coming along, and LinkedIn and Facebook are showing increased activity. (Don’t forget to check out the photos and other posts on SD/PEN’s Facebook page.)
We’re now turning our planning sites toward all things 2015! Part of that entails formation of the 2015 Workshop Committee. If you have even a little time or energy to help on the committee, please volunteer. We’re also recruiting some new directors for the 2015 Board of Directors. If you have a talent that you think the Board could put to use (and I know all of you do), or you would like to learn a skill, please step up. Both volunteer opportunities are a great way to contribute to SD/PEN and to get to know other members. Your SD/PEN board service is noted in your online member directory listing and makes a great addition to your resume. If I’ve enticed you—or if you have any questions—please contact me at maw_witt@hotmail.com.
In the last newsletter I touched on the tenuousness of life after I reported the deaths of two nationally known editors. Little did I know then that this month I’d have the sad task of announcing the passing of Jamie Winkelman, an SD/PEN member and our webmaster for eight years. For those of you who were fortunate enough to know Jamie, you’ll enjoy reviewing the links in the memorial article. For those of you who weren’t as fortunate, the links offer great insight into what made Jamie “The Rocket.”
I apologize for the late arrival of the July Newsletter, now officially the July/August Newsletter. I was out of town for over a month attending to a family emergency. I hope you enjoy this edition, and know that we’ll be back on track for the September Newsletter.
I look forward to seeing you soon,
Melanie Astaire Witt
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Call for Submissions
Members, if you’ve come across a handy or entertaining website, newsletter, app, or other resource, or read a useful book that you’d be willing to review for us, please let us know and we’ll include it in the newsletter.
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