[Nfb-editors] [NFB-editors] How to?

[Wunder, Gary]

Hello, Darian. I was once the editor of the Blind Missourian, and I now watch as the current editor tries to come up with material. Often she encourages people to make submissions, and they all agree they will. When the deadline is at hand, she asks once again, but normally what she gets is minimal compared with what she has been promised.

I don't think that doing the job of producing a statewide newsletter has to be a job done only by one person, but my experience suggests that it is a job done mostly by one person. You do have to chase articles. You do have to write member biographies if you want them. Since your reputation belongs to you, you can't let it depend on what others say they will do or what you hope they will do or what you know they are perfectly capable of doing and should do.

My friend Tom Stevens was once the editor of our newsletter. He asked for articles, begged for articles, and, when he found that he was short of them, decided he was going to keep his promise about a quarterly newsletter and produced one. It's lead article was on the hazards of smoking. This was about a decade after the Surgeon General's report and the topic was quite controversial. Smokers didn't want to hear in their NFB newsletter about their vice of choice. They legitimately asked why we were spending money raised to help the blind with material unrelated to the struggle. Tom was unrepentant. "I asked you for material, you promised it to me, and you didn't deliver. I did the best I could. If you don't like what you see, please know that I will gladly replace it with what you write, but, until then, I'm going to keep our schedule."

Through this list you have tremendous resources that Tom Stevens never had in looking to fill our newsletter. We publicly say that anything we write is free for using in other Federation publications. Put out your newsletter. If people complain that it is lacking in original content, say something like Tom Stevens said. Try not to let your reputation, your integrity, and your ability to keep a promise be determined by others. Give folks a newsletter, and let them make it different if they want to make a contribution. Have fun at your writing, your reading, your preparation, and your good feeling when you realize that something you have edited hits the streets.



-----Original Message-----
From: Nfb-editors [mailto:nfb-editors-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Darian Smith
Sent: Monday, January 20, 2014 8:52 PM
To: Correspondence Committee Mailing List
Subject: [Nfb-editors] How to?

Hello  All,

 As affiliate newsletter editors, how much of the work that you do is done only by you?   Are there situations where you call upon others to help you put together the newsletter? do you have committees?  that help you do the work? how do you end  up  Collecting the submissions you get? how much chasing do you do to make sure you get articles for   folks?
 I'm  giving a go at putting together my affiliate's newsletter and these pointers are very helpful.
   Thanks,
  Darian    
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