P3D More Editor Stuff!

["Andrea Blair" <asblair@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

>>>Dr. T writes: Maybe the problem is that there are too many Stereo 
Editors and not enough stereo writers!<<<

I seriously doubt that is the case! There is usually a shortage of both.

>>>Dr. T writes: Do we like Stereo World the way it is (mostly 
historical, non-technical articles) or do we want to change it? I feel 
that contemporary photographers are not represented well.<<<

Is the idea behind NSA to represent contemporary photography or history 
or both? Perhaps an NSA representative can clarify what the mission 
statement of the NSA of today is? If it is still history-oriented, then 
Stereo World is achieving its goal to represent the organization in the 
best way.

>>>Bob Leonard writes: "Stereo World" will publish articles on 
contemporary photography, if people submit them.<<<  

>>>Dr. T writes: I really cannot view this as a competition of the type 
"if you want Stereo World to carry more articles of type A then please 
submit more articles of type A".  So, we have a contest between 
collectors and historians from one side and active photographers in the 
other. Apparently, historians have more free time and submit more 
articles and that's why the material in Stereo World appears to be more 
"history" oriented.  It just does not make good sense. The question I 
asked is what is the Editor's role in all this? The Editor has the power 
to select the material published and shape the contents of the 
publication.<<<

Huh? What basis do you have for making that statement? Why would you 
think historians have more time than stereographers? The historians I 
know usually have just as little time as I do to do "extra" things like 
write articles. Perhaps you see mainly historical articles because 
that's what's submitted more frequently. The only way you we can resolve 
this is if the SW Editor will make a statement on what is the 
submissions are and how he picks the articles to go in each issue. Yes, 
the Editor does have the power to shape a publication, but he/she 
usually has guidelines or goals. Perhaps SW publication dedicates 75% of 
its space to history and 25% to contemporary photography. I don't know.

>>>Bob Leonard writes: Which brings me to "Stereoscopy". As the new 
editor, I am looking for articles.<<< 

>>>Dr. T writes: Now you are putting us a dilemma here... Where should 
we submit our photography-oriented articles?  Stereo World, to make it 
become more contemporary, or Stereoscopy? And here is my problem: 
Suppose I write a good stereo article.  Where do I submit it?  Some 
people say, send it to all stereo publications.  But then, someone like 
me, who is subscribed to all stereo publications, will get 
shortchanged.<<<

Why do you feel shortchanged? If an article gets published in Magazine A 
and I only receive Magazine B, am I getting ripped off?! What a luxury 
it must be to be able to afford subscriptions to every stereo magazine 
and be a member of every stereo organization! Over the years I have seen 
the same photographic subjects covered in the same publication and 
different publications. I get something new out of each article every 
time (unless it's a subject I'm not interested in). Plus, there are 
always new people joining the various organizations who have not seen 
the articles of past. It is inevitable that topics will be repeated at 
some point. As for submitting your own articles, talk to the editors to 
see if they are looking for a particular subject. There may be an 
upcoming issue that they need your topic for. Otherwise, submit it to 
all the publications. There are plenty of people who do not get every 
stereo publication. My suggestion would be to not submit to all the 
magazines at once. Maybe one a year. Then your article appears in 
different places at different times. By the way, my apologies ahead of 
time for those who feel "shortchanged," but my article that was printed 
in the PSA Journal January 97 will be appearing in Stereoscopy soon. 
Maybe one day you will see it in Stereo World! 

>>>Dr. T writes: Here is some advice from my very limited experience as 
the Editor of a very small publication: Ask specific people to write 
specific articles. Look around and see who specializes in what and ask 
them to write about it.  For example, you don't have to look further, 
with Andrea next to you.<<<

Good advice and thanks for the complement!! {:>)

>>>Make them commit to it. Then put the deadline and pressure until you 
get them.  If you just sit back and relax, I don't think you will get 
much.  Someone called it "babysitting"... I call it "reality".<<<

If you have to do all that, it's still babysitting! As an editor myself, 
I know it's like pulling teeth to get submission sometimes, but I also 
have to consider that almost everyone in the organizations I belong to 
has a full time job and a family and usually other interests as well. 
They are probably as pressed for time as I am. I do give gentle 
reminders (and sometimes smart aleck remarks!), but I try to never 
"pressure" anyone. I feel that just discourages the person from 
submitting anything again, and maybe from even making suggestions. Just 
my HO.

>>>Dr. T writes: Maybe the problem is that we have too many stereo 
organizations and too many publications and not enough members or 
volunteers to write articles!<<<

Maybe we should ALL write an article and pass it around to each 
organization (large and small) on a rotation basis. Then we would all 
have articles out the yin yang and our problem would be solved! {:>) 
Ah…if life were only that easy! And maybe if some us spent more time 
writing quality articles and less time writing to P3D there would be 
more articles to go around! (Uh Oh, I guess that means I now have to 
crank out an article to justify this posting!!! {:>)   ) 

>>>Chuck Field writes:
It would be nice if we could find a capable editor with LOT'S of extra 
time on his or her hands.<<<

Time? Extra time?! What's that?  {:>)

If you have hung in there and made it this far, I would like to say that 
I have enjoyed every photography publication I have received (granted 
some more than others). I have also cancelled some of my subscriptions 
because I am not getting what I'm looking for. Just like the P3D list, 
if a topic doesn't interest me, I just skip over it. No biggie. I don't 
expect every magazine to cater to only my interests. That would take an 
incredibly inflated ego to actually even consider the idea!

I also consider publications that come with memberships to organizations 
(like clubs, PSA, etc.) to be an added bonus. A freebie. And I never 
complain about anything that's free (Well, almost never. Well, 
sometimes…). Anyway, it's not like you paid for the publication only, 
like, say, "Popular Photography," and you weren't happy with it.

My suggestion to editors is to consider putting a survey in their 
publication once a year. This gives people a chance to express what they 
would like to see and to critique the publication. A follow-up article 
reporting the results of the survey could also include a request for 
articles for the most popular topics.

Respectfully yours,

Andrea S. Blair
Asblair@xxxxxxxxxxx


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End of PHOTO-3D Digest 2713
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