Editorially speaking …

PSA Journal, Sept, 2004 by Diane Trout Harwood

Deadline--I have learned so much about how this event affects the process. In the past few months, I have come to see how getting news in and processed in a timely manner helps with the next steps of editing and laying out pages for each Journal issue. Also I have become familiar with the tedium of the necessary steps to keep listings accurate and reports complete, all of which are quite time-consuming. The contacts for the services, activities, and divisions who write regularly scheduled material know all too well that the first of the month is the deadline for the issue two months in advance (October 1st for December, as an example). Most honor that deadline which has helped me greatly. I, myself, have seen how delays are not helpful to the others working in the process of publishing the Journal each month.

As a reminder, feature articles are accepted at any time. After all are briefly reviewed, they are acknowledged with a letter and/or the request to sign an Author's Agreement (also requested are a photo of the author, permission to print contact information, and images, if not already sent). All of these elements need to be provided before publication of the article; if the elements are not provided, delays can cause missed deadlines for consideration for publication in upcoming Journal issues. However, acknowledgement of the receipt of a submitted article should not be considered a guarantee for publication, and feature articles may be in the queue until they may be used for a balanced issue or returned if not able to use. Just remember if an article is submitted, we need all of the elements so that other steps in the process are satisfied on time.

The word "deadline" has a much more intense definition for me now that I have seen how the publishing process is really affected by missed ones. I really need your help so get those scheduled news items and updates in on the first of the month! I am depending on you.

editor@psa-photo.org