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10
tips on writing for dot-coms
By Brett Pauly
Interested in writing for online
publications? Here are some ideas to get you started:
(1) Know what you’re getting into
– namely fewer opportunities and less pay. Since the dot-bomb in spring of 2000,
editorial budgets have been tight. At some outfits, $50 for text and art is the going
rate. Some dot-coms use less freelance material than either newspapers or magazines
because they partner with existing publications, trading publicity for text. If either of
these issues troubles you, don’t approach a dot-com; if not, go to No. 2.
(2) Your attitude should be to have fun
and write tight. Conventional wisdom suggests that most dot-com patrons surf the Internet
at work and, therefore, want bite-sized stories they can skim. A masterpiece is 1,200
words. (Once you establish rapport with an editor, you can look brilliant by suggesting
that a longer piece be broken over two takes, with NEXT PAGE/PREVIOUS PAGE tags.)
(3) Barter. Dot-coms are like the
Klondike. If the freelance remuneration isn’t to your liking, bargain in
compensation, such as direct links to your Web site and Web articles or promotions of your
books. Even a tagline linked to your e-mail address can spawn freelancing options.
(4) Understand the publicity potential.
“Branding” – a hot term in the dot-com world – should not be
underrated. So you’re not making $400 per story; if you strive for frequent
publication, the exposure pays dividends. A Web site has no regional distribution
parameters, so your byline can appear on computers worldwide. Should you score a regular
column and the Web site generates traffic, your name – and mug shot – will be
branded accordingly.
(5) Sidebars – briefs that fit
inside a story page – are a nice touch. Be they “if you’re going”-type
details on guide services, accommodations and travel arrangements or a subject’s bio,
these tidbits break up the text.
(6) Include art in your package, but
send jpegs. The editorial offices of dot-coms strive to be paperless, so anticipate this
by including art attachments. Check with the editor for size parameters and other
requirements. A scanner is useful if you don’t shoot with a digital camera, but
neither is required. Many photo processors will develop 35-mm film as a photo disk, which
can be copied to your computer and the images e-mailed.
(7) Dot-coms can ill afford first
rights to articles. So, plan on double dipping – pitching previously published
material. Of course, let the editor know you’re doing this, but it’s often what
editors prefer. Some may candidly suggest that you get compensation for the piece from
magazines and newspapers first, then sell the same story for re-publishing to dot-coms,
which frequently don’t ask for any rights. Be aware: your story may reside on the
site for the life of the dot-com venture. If this fact bothers you, let the editor know
– ahead of time – that you want the story removed from archives at some future
time. However, think hard about this option, because you may want to keep your story in
cyberspace, especially if it links to your other works, Web site or e-mail.
(8) Expect the Yankees to win another
pennant this century.
(9) Skip to No. 10.
(10) Shake well and repeat.
Brett Pauly is the senior editor of ESPNOutdoors.com and has been
an OWAA member since 1996. This piece first appeared in the Northwest Outdoor Writers
Association NOWA Newsletter.
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Electrical
pollution may be killing you!
By Dan Small
Sound like science fiction or a
grocery-store-tabloid headline? I would have thought so a year ago, but now I am convinced
that “dirty” electricity is among the most significant of pollutants, as well as
the most overlooked, covered up and insidious.
Electricity is termed “dirty”
or polluted when its normal, 60-cycle sine wave carries with it various high frequencies,
which are known to damage sensitive electronics and can harm plants, animals and people.
Electricity becomes polluted when it passes through anything electronic, which chops up
the sine wave and dumps high frequencies into the current as it moves downstream. These
high frequencies (radio frequencies, or RF) can cause or complicate neurological, cardiac,
respiratory, ophthalmologic, dermatological problems and conditions ranging from
headaches, fatigue and attention-deficit disorder (ADD) to pneumonia, psychosis and
strokes. Modern generators produce clean power, but the power that reaches us is very
polluted, due to the array of electronic devices used in home and industry.
For every electron that leaves a
substation, one returns. Because electricity polluted with RF spreads out in what is
called the skin effect, the utility wiring system causes up to 70 percent of the return
current to flow across the earth’s surface. This ground current enters buildings on
water pipes, gas mains and phone lines, increasing the RF exposure already present in your
electrical service. Metal structures, such as wiring, lamp cords, heating units and even
bedsprings broadcast these harmful frequencies nonstop, whether or not any appliances are
operating.
Many people are concerned about
exposure to electro-magnetic fields but are unaware that it is specifically the RF in
those fields that causes health damage. In schools and homes where RF levels are lowered,
chronic disorders ranging from ADD and chronic fatigue syndrome to diabetes have abated.
Last year, my wife developed mysterious
symptoms, including cardiac arrhythmia and spikes in blood pressure and heart rate.
Expensive medical tests found nothing wrong. We finally discovered that RF was the cause
of her symptoms. Research led her to David Stetzer, an electrical consultant who
specializes in power quality. His tests showed we had exceptionally dirty power. Due to
her extreme exposure, Shivani became a walking RF meter. She experienced symptoms if she
went near a television, telephone, computer, even the water pipes in our house. Under
Stetzer’s guidance, we installed RF filters; shielded phone lines; replaced wiring
components, rheostats and fluorescent lights and reduced our use of electrical appliances.
Shivani now uses a speaker phone and battery-powered laptop, avoids high-field parts of
the house and yard and rides in the back seat of the car. She remains electrically
sensitive, but to the extent that she can avoid RF, she functions normally.
People’s reactions to the chronic
stress of RF vary widely. Most never make the connection between their symptoms and dirty
electricity until they spend time in an electrically clean environment and notice that
certain health problems disappear.
As modern communicators, we rely on
electricity to live and work. A clean electrical environment should be as important to us
as clean air and water.
An OWAA member since 1981, Dan
Small lives in Belgium, Wis. This piece is adapted from an article researched and written
by his wife, Shivani Arjuna, a holistic health practitioner and wellness consultant.
E-mail Small for references or the full story. For more information, go to www.electricalpollution.com.
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Find
drivers quickly
If you ever receive error messages
saying that a driver file (.dll file, which stands for Dynamic Link Library) you need to
operate a program is missing from your computer, this site should help. www.dll-files.com has thousands of
drivers in its database. Simply go to the home page, click on download dll-file and an
alphabetical list of dll files will appear. Click on the file you want and download it to
your computer.
If you know the filename of the driver,
include it when you type in the site’s URL (Web site address), and the file you're
looking for will appear immediately. Just type in the following:
www.dll-files.com/dllindes/dll-files.shtml?driver file name.
Although the service is free, users may
donate $2 to keep the service up and running – a small price to pay for a quick and
easy way to find driver files!
Laurie Lee Dovey, www.webimages.net
Megapixels
& print sizes
Here are some general guidelines on the
size print or magazine photo a digital camera will produce based on the megapixels of a
camera. This varies somewhat, but below is a reasonably good guideline.
Megapixels
Print Size
1 megapixel
3x5 inch prints (not enough)
2 megapixels
5x7 inch prints (not enough)
3 megapixesl
8x10 inch prints (newspaper, almost magazine quality)
5 megapixels
11x14-11x17 inch prints (about equal to film, base level for
professional photographers)
6 megapixels
13x19 inch prints (enough for anyone, “better” than film)
Bob Knopf, www.americaoutdoors.com
Do you need
Adobe Photoshop?
Adobe's Photoshop
has long been considered the premier photo editing software program. At about $700, it
ought to be.
What
most photographers don't know is that Adobe's Photoshop Elements 2.0 offers much of the
functionality of the "real" Photoshop for under $100. You can download a
fully functional version of it from Adobe's Web site and try it out for a month.
A
couple years ago at OWAA's conference, I took all three of Chase Swift's excellent
Photoshop seminars. On my laptop, in addition to the full version of Photoshop, I ran
Photoshop Elements (v1.0). I duplicated each lesson in both programs, and to my amazement,
I found only one function that wasn't available in Elements. Even then, I discovered a
simple "work-around." Now, with version 2.0 out, Elements is even more powerful.
Perhaps
someday I'll discover something lacking in Elements, but for right now, I'm happy to keep
the extra $600 in my pocket. I'd guess the same is true for you. I even worked with
all the photos for one of my most recent books (Magic on the Rocks),
which required highly technical transformation, in the old version of Elements.
Stay
tuned for more on the subject. Coming in the September Tech-E-Letter: Why you may need the
full version of Adobe Photoshop!
Michael Furtman, www.michaelfurtman.com
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Theodore
Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership’s (TRCP)
mission is to ensure that America's lands, both public and private, will always provide
clean water, healthy habitat, bountiful fish and wildlife populations and opportunities to
fish, hunt and enjoy the outdoors. TRCP is a nonprofit focusing on issues affecting
hunting and angling and is powered by 80,000 individual hunters and anglers and over 1,200
affiliate clubs and organizations. Membership is free. TRCP provides information on
current conservation issues via an e-mail newsletter and occasional mailings and
encourages members to follow these debates and get involved by contacting their
congressional representatives, state representatives, other elected officials and public
land managers to show their support for policies that protect and expand hunting and
fishing opportunities across the country.
Katie McKalip
Writers
conferences and workshops
Want to hone your writing skills and
meet like-minded folks? This free, online directory from ShawGuides lists 768
sponsors of 1,446 upcoming writers conferences, workshops and craft improvement sessions
worldwide. Currently featured are such tempting
retreats as the Anam Cara Poetry Workshop, a one-week event to be held this October in
County Cork, Ireland, and Write on the Sound Writer’s Conference, held on Puget Sound
in Edmonds, Wash.
Contributed by Laurie Lee Dovey, www.webimages.net
Up-to-date tech news
Discover
the latest gears and gadgets by subscribing to a free newsletter, Fast Forward, published by The Washington Post. The weekly e-letter includes software
reviews, current technology news and a question-and-answer column, “Ask the Tech
Guy.” Recent issues have focused on digital television, wireless networking and that
perennial OWAA member favorite, digital photography!
Katie McKalip
TOP
Clean up
your REAL desktop
Yes,
the Windows interface has a “desktop,” but that’s not the one I'm talking
about. If you’re like many writers and photographers, you have more than one
computer, perhaps an old relic you still use as well as a newer one. Both have monitors,
both have keyboards and mice, all of which take up a lot of room on your desk.
Wouldn’t
it be nice if you only needed one keyboard, mouse and monitor to operate ALL your
computers? Simply add a KVM (Keyboard-Video-Mouse) Switch, a device that will let you
toggle between computers, allowing each one to act independently, and is available at most
computer stores for between $50 and $150.
The
device acts like a hub, into which you plug the mice, video-out cable (monitor), and
keyboard cables from each computer. On the other end, you simply plug the outgoing cables
to a single monitor, keyboard and mouse. Fire up your computers, and then toggle between
them using keyboard strokes. On my Lynksys KVM switch, I just tap “Control” twice, and my old
Windows 98 machine appears on the screen. I keep that old beast up and running because I
have several old programs and devices that won’t run in Windows XP. The KVM switch
allows me to keep just the old computer and recycle the monitor and the rest.
The
result? A desktop that looks as if I have but one computer, but which allows me to use
two, as needed.
Michael Furtman, www.michaelfurtman.com
Bargain long
distance!
Looking for low-cost long
distance? Does 2.9 cents per minute, no monthly fees and no minimum usage sound good? Does
buying as little as $10 worth of long distance at a time with no paper bills sound even
better? If so, take a look at www.bigzoo.com.
Bigzoo requires you to
dial an access number and a card number before entering the long distance number, but
speed dial makes that a snap. And a long-distance access number lets you make calls from
anywhere in the country for just 3.9 cents per minute with no calling card surcharge or
monthly minimum. Additional features include speed dial and pin skip, which allows you to
make calls from specific phone numbers without having to enter your card number.
I've been using the
service for five years, and I love it. If you decide to join, tell them I sent you,
because they pay members a bonus for referrals.
Laurie
Lee Dovey, www.webimages.net
TOP
Dancingpelican.com
The engaging design and clear-cut
organization of www.dancingpelican.com
showcase the gorgeous photographs of Wendy Shattil and Robert Rozinski. Both have been OWAA members since
1993 and have partnered professionally since 1981, and their dedication to and love for
their craft is conveyed through their Web site. Their images are displayed logically, they
advertise themselves effectively and the “digital jigsaw puzzles” that they make
from their photographs are addictive—check them out for yourself! (Dancingpelican.com
was designed by Relevant
Arts.)
Katie McKalip
If you are interested in having your
Web site promoted here or linked in this space, or if you know of another OWAA member who
fits the bill, please send us
the link and tell us why your nomination deserves to be featured in a future issue of
the Tech-E-Letter.
Browse other OWAA member Web sites!
TOP
Advantage
Camouflage
A supporting member of
OWAA since 1996, Advantage
Camouflage maintains a sharp Web site, with straightforward organization and
pleasing graphics. But the real goldmine lies in the list of outdoor organizations, state
agencies and companies on the “links” page. The page should be bookmarked and saved as a
favorite, as these resources are invaluable!
Nominated by Laurie Lee Dovey, www.webimages.net
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Questions/Comments: Let the editor know
what you think of OWAA's Tech-E-Letter. Access our feedback
form.
Editorial Guidelines for OWAA's
Tech-E-Letter: OWAA welcomes your submissions of features (500 words or less), tips (150
words or less) and emerging news/links (50 words or less). E-mail your articles or story
ideas to Technology Committee Chair Betty Lou Fegely.
Technology Committee:
Betty Lou Fegely, John
L. Beath, J. Leslie Booth, Carolee Boyles, Mark Chesnut, Richard Day, Susan Day, Laurie Lee Dovey, Mike Fine, Michael
Furtman, William H. Geer, Richard Grost,
Adela Grace Jackson, Bob Knopf, Brady W. Kolden, Matt Lindler, Kevin Rhoades, Karen Lee Roop, Tammy Sapp, Dan Small, Jay Michael Strangis, Mike Walker.
OWAA Staff:
Executive Director, William H. Geer
Technology Newsletter Editor/Assistant Editor, Katie McKalip
Outdoors Unlimited Editor/OWAA Webmaster, Kevin Rhoades
Member Services Manager, Lisa Carter
Subscribe a friend to OWAA's E-Tech-Letter.
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