Improvement comes from many sources

Improvement, I am told, is based upon an awareness of flaws. When I began editing the Macon, Georgia, Chapter's newsletter, Sharptalk, I was well aware that I had editorial weaknesses and that the publication would be flawed. I had never edited anything, nor had I ever enrolled in a journalism course. I found, however, that I was woefully ignorant of the things I needed to know, as well as of the areas in which I considered myself weak. In short, although I was aware that I had flaws, I didn't have a clear appreciation of what they were.

Thus, when I learned that a bulletin editors' class was to be included in the Dixie COTS held in December of 1995, I made my plans to attend. Enrolling in this class was the first step toward improving my bulletin.

It was a pleasant surprise, indeed, when I learned that my good friend, Dick Teeters, was to be the instructor. I discovered that Dick is not only an excellent editor; he is also a splendid teacher. The most valuable thing that I learned from his class was that the surest way to improve a bulletin is to enter it in the PROBE newsletter contest. "By following the judges' suggestions," he told us, "I improved enough in one year to win first place in the Society contest."

Dick was kind enough to agree to critique a copy of Sharptalk. (Before he agreed to do so, he asked, "Do you mind criticism?" I lied and told him that I was thick-skinned. "Criticism," I told him, "never bothers me.") Dick's helpful critique of my efforts pointed out the bulletin's flaws and included suggestions for remedying them.

Somewhat later I received the results of the district bulletin contest and I was surprised to learn that Sharptalk had scored enough points to be ranked second in the Dixie District. Although well behind the district's first place bulletin (Augusta, Georgia's fine publication The Garden City Chorus Bulletin, edited by Bob Green), it had scored enough points to be entered in the PROBE International Bulletin Editors' Contest.

The judges' comments were consistent with Dick Teeter's observations, and their critiques, like his, contained helpful suggestions for improvement. The bulletin's most pronounced flaws were in the area of layout and reproduction, but there were ample opportunities for improvement in the other areas (content and grammar and style), as well.

I was not surprised to learn that the bulletin's greatest weakness was its appearance. I learned long ago that evaluating appearances is not one of my strong points. Early in our marriage, my wife discovered that I could never be trusted to select furnishings, paint colors, wall paper, or anything else requiring good taste. Throughout our marriage, she has made it a point to look at my choice of clothes before allowing me to step outside the house. Even my son, from the time he was a pre-teenager, has found my choices of clothes highly amusing.

I had been fully confident, however, that Sharptalk's content was a strength. After all, members of my chapter willingly wrote articles (which they understood from the beginning that I would edit) and enthusiastically read each issue. I was certain beyond any doubt that in the area of grammar and style the publication was error free. To my surprise, I found that in these areas my work was also flawed. Had I taken the time to read two very helpful publications, "Bulletin Editors Manual," edited by Herb Bayles, and the "PROBE Style Manual," compiled by Craig Rigg, my scores would have been much better. The "Bulletin Editors Manual" contains a wealth of information including examples of PROBE Contest score sheets, sources of articles, helpful pointers, handling of photographs, and much more.

Similarly, the style manual is an excellent source, even for people who are well grounded in grammar. As a matter of fact, my wife, a retired English teacher and newspaper advisor, had suggested that I purchase a Society style manual when I first began editing Sharptalk. Every area of publication, she pointed out, has its unique rules. (Here, as in the case of clothes, household furniture, and decorations, her judgment proved to be far better than mine. I bought it after I entered the contest.)

Even if I had used these two fine publications, however, Sharptalk, would have been loaded with flaws, and without the the judges' comments and suggestions, its improvement would have been limited. This is particularly true in the case of layout and reproduction, an area to which I had given little thought, until I studied the comments of judges Don Heist, Stan "Stash" Sperl, and Richard Stuart.

The issues that I had submitted for judging were not attractive. As Richard Stuart tactfully noted in his comments, there were "quite a few things" that I could do to improve its appearance. (There were, as a matter of fact, a great many things that I needed to do.) At every point from the masthead through the miscellaneous items, the bulletin was shoddy -- in part because I am not artistically talented, but more importantly, because nobody had pointed out the flaws and suggested remedies.

Similarly, in the area of content, improvement occurred because the judges noted shortcomings and made suggestions. On looking back, I wonder why it never occurred to me to include the kinds of articles which Buddy Myers, Mel Stone, and Lowell Shank noted as essential to a good bulletin. I had omitted, among other things, editorials, calendars of events, and biographical profiles of members.

As I've already mentioned, my biggest surprise was that I had made some obvious errors in the grammar and style area. Throughout my working life, I had been required to write reports, letters, and directives as a part of my job. When my bulletins came back to me, however, I realized that I had made a number of errors which I would not have made had I proofed my work more carefully. I had put commas where I shouldn't have put them and omitted them where they were needed. I had capitalized incorrectly, and I had misspelled words I knew how to spell.

In addition, I have had another source of help: my wife, Elizabeth. As I noted above, she is a retired English teacher and newspaper advisor, and she willingly agreed to proof read every issue after I received the results of my first contest entries. She has caught many a misspelled word and grammar fault that I overlooked, and she has also made many helpful suggestions.

Grant Carson, in his request that I write this article, suggested that I answer the question, "How does an editor improve his bulletin enough to win the Dick Girvin award?" In my case it was done by taking a class from - and imposing upon - Dick Teeters, by entering the PROBE Bulletin Editors Contest and noting carefully what the judges said in their critiques, by purchasing and using the "PROBE Style Manual" and the "Bulletin Editors Manual" published by the Society, and by having a bright and perceptive English teacher/newspaper advisor for a wife.