Design-it-Yourself Graphic Workshop

PART 1: STEP-BY-STEP DESIGN

STEP 9

Compose the

Content

Good content may survive a poor design,

but the best design cannot overcome poor

content.

Even if you intend to generate

most of your material internally, developing

a set of writer’s guidelines is a good way to

start the process. Typically offered to

contributors by magazine and book

publishers, guidelines answer all of the

questions a writer with little or no

knowledge of your publication might ask.

Even if you intend to solicit an article only

periodically from someone within your

organization, composing guidelines can

help you flesh out ideas you might not

otherwise consider.

Some of the common issues guidelines

address are:

T

he subject/theme of the publication

A statement of editorial style

Who to contact

The action it is hoped the reader will take

The type of information featured

Subjects and angles that attract readers

The appropriate writing style

How much is paid

What rights are purchased

How submissions are made

Specific articles being pursued

Recent articles published

At this stage, especially if you will be

working with lots of writers and/or

complex topics, you might also identify a

style book or manual to follow. A style

manual sets forth a set of rules regarding

the usage of words—punctuation,

abbreviations, distinctive treatments,

documentation, and so on. Some also

deal with related topics such as book

layout and general printing and produc-

tion. When an issue such as the correct

way to use parentheses arises, everyone

involved can turn to the same source for

answers. An excellent example is The

Chicago Manual of Style, 14th Edition

(The University of Chicago Press, 1993).

Plan and execute, gather

reactions, revise the plan, and execute

again—that is the formula for succeed-

ing at virtually anything. The trick is to

document the plan exactly so you know

where and how to make the sweeping

changes and subtle adjustments that

reactions dictate. The best way to start

developing newsletter content is to plan

the content mix. What types of materials

will you be producing and how much

real estate will you devote to each area of

interest?

9.1

9.2

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