|
December, 2005 |
How to Get Book Reviews Published in Technical Communication
Do you enjoy reading book reviews? Do you like the challenge of trying
new kinds of writing projects that are different from your regular work?
Would you like to have a new piece of professional writing for your portfolio?
If you can answer yes to any of these questions, I highly encourage you to consider writing a book review for Technical Communication - Journal of the Society for Technical Communication. Don't be intimidated by Technical Communication because of the scholarly article section; the book reviews section has fairly short reviews written by technical communicators with a very diverse range of experience in the field.
The process of getting started writing reviews for Technical Communication is not nearly as hard as you might think it to be. I've covered the major steps below based on my own rewarding experience in the last nine months of completing two book reviews. Getting StartedSend Avon Murphy, the Book Review Editor, an email message expressing your interest. Request that Mr. Murphy send you a "book reviewer's profile form" and a current list of all of the books available for reviewing.
Send the profile form back to Mr. Murphy. The profile form helps Mr. Murphy get a better idea of your background, areas of expertise, and categories of books you are most interested in reviewing. Be aware that since the journal is only published four times a year, they are usually one or two issues ahead already with reviews that have not yet been published. Book SelectionReview the book list and narrow it down to only two or three books you are most interested in reviewing, even though you will only get to review one for your first assignment. Reply to Mr. Murphy with your choices. Try to rank them by priority and give solid reasons for selecting your choices.
Mr. Murphy will decide which book to assign, set a submission deadline, and a word limit (400-500 words). He will also arrange to have the publisher send you a copy of the book and give you some idea of when you can expect to receive the book.
Send Mr. Murphy a message after receiving the book, so he knows things are still on schedule. If you don't receive the book around the time when expected, make sure to send a message to Mr. Murphy so he can contact the publisher. Style GuidelinesIn general, follow the same information as listed in "Guidelines for Authors" in Technical Communication. Note that some formatting requirements in those guidelines differ from those for the book review section of the journal.
Submitting Your ReviewMeet the submission deadline. If there is going to be a problem with finishing by the deadline, tell Mr. Murphy well in advance. Submit your draft as an attachment to an email message. Microsoft Word format is preferred; if you use another word processor, a Rich Text Format (RTF) file is also acceptable. Be prepared to check over the edited review, answer any questions, and revise as requested. Mr. Murphy does all final proofreading.
This article originally appeared in the October 2005 issue of Sound Off, the newsletter of the STC-Puget Sound Chapter.
|
|||
|
How to Get Book Reviews Published in Technical Communication |
||||
|
To be removed from this distribution list, please send us an e-mail with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line.
|
||||
