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How to Create a Reference Sheet
Greetings, fellow GNRHS Members! The following section contains an
"Author's Guidelines for Preparing Material for the GNRHS" or more
simply, what you need to know to create a Reference Sheet.
The GNRHS wants YOU! That's right, the Society needs writers and researchers
willing to accurately research GN-related topics. Please take a moment to read
through the following. We hope you will consider becoming a Reference Sheet
author!
A Note from the Editors of the GNRHS "GOAT"
The GNRHS membership relies principally on the quarterly
publication of the "GOAT", which derives its name from an employee's
periodical of the same name published and circulated by the Great Northern
Railway when it was alive and well. As you may have already inferred, the GOAT
consists of a quarterly magazine averaging 6 or 8 pages containing items of
interest to the membership such as Convention plans and reports, Great Northern
Exchange (Wanted/For Sale items), and general membership information. This cover
is accompanied by Reference Sheets which are, in essence, booklets of
information on a variety of specific subjects. Most are carefully researched
documentations of some facet of GN history: locomotives, a particular type of
railcar, servicing equipment, structures, historical lore, biographical
sketches, employees memories, etc.
Reference Sheets are usually the result of someone's curiosity or keen interest
in some facet of Great Northern history or particular knowledge of a geographic
area, a structure, or a curious piece of equipment. Therefore, we are always
looking for such individuals who may know of some historical chapter and who are
willing to contribute their input to the Society in the interest of preserving
the information for posterity. Is there an old GN bridge, building, branch line,
dilapidated freight car, coach, or locomotive, or some small commerce operation
served by the GN in your back yard or home town that everyone locally knows
about but none of the rest of the world ever heard of?
If you have any such knowledge or interests, please contact the editors and
we'll help you get started. Research is mostly up to the individual who usually
knows something about his/her topic, and assistance with the text preparation
can be arranged. The "Author's Guidelines" are offered herein to help
you along after you have chosen your subject. It's enjoyable work - a hobby in
itself - and it brings your efforts to several thousand members around the
world.
Give it a try! Who knows -- you may become famous!
Author's Guidelines/Preparing Material for the GNRHS
~~~ For What You Are About To Do, The GNRHS Is Truly Thankful ~~~
Selecting a Topic.
Anyone who has an interest in preparing an article for a Reference Sheet in the
GNRHS "GOAT" should first contact the Text Editor with a brief summary
of what is intended for submission. The Text Editor will check to see that the
topic has not been published previously, indicate whether the topic has
potential as a Reference Sheet, and then approve submission of the material.
Research.
On approval, the author should proceed in earnest with preparation of the
article. The author must be the final authority on the subject, footnoting
reference sources and indicating where the material comes from (a bibliography,
or the like). Photos, drawings, charts, maps, etc. must be captioned and
credited accurately. The editors cannot perform such research or check the data
submitted, so the author must be as accurate as possible in quoting technical or
historical information. If access is needed to the GNRHS Authorization For
Expenditure (AFE) files for research, the Text Editor will provide, on request,
an authorization letter which the author may use to request access to the AFE
Files through the GNRHS Archives curator.
Scheduling.
Research and preparation of an article is usually time consuming, so included
with the proposal should be some indication of how long the author estimates the
project will take. The material normally won't be scheduled for publication
until the completed draft is sent to the Text Editor, but it will be considered
and factored into the Editors' long range plan early on.
Manuscript Format.
Articles should, if possible, be prepared on an IBM format computer. We use
Microsoft WORD 6.0 for text processing. MS-WORD can convert text from most of
the other leading word processor software, especially if saved as a text (.txt)
file, and we usually can scan a typed manuscript into computer format. Data
prepared in spreadsheets or databases should be saved as .txt to ensure
conversion. We can, if need be, have a computer input prepared from a
handwritten manuscript, but the process is very time consuming and will likely
cause some delay to the project. The first draft submitted should contain
full-sized photocopies (no originals) of all photos, charts, diagrams, etc.
intended for use, or if not available at the time, an indication of what is
intended to be submitted. Captions for the illustrations should be submitted as
a separate file. Original material will be sent to the layout editor shortly
before deadline and will be returned to the author promptly thereafter,
minimizing the chance for misplacement. Drafts must indicate where the author
would like the illustrative material to appear in the text.
Review.
Once the text is prepared, the Text Editor reviews it for basics: punctuation,
spelling, grammar, and readability. The text is reviewed, corrected if
necessary, and returned to the author with the corrections and proposed
revisions indicated. The author has the opportunity to accept, correct, or
refute the revisions, and the process is repeated until the final draft is
acceptable to both the author and the editor. The author may be asked to sign a
formal concurrence of the final draft prior to its publication, with the
understanding that some minor changes may be necessary by the Layout Editor in
order to fit the text into the space available in the Reference Sheet.
Publication.
When the article (complete with text, photos, drawings, etc.) is finalized, it
is sent to the Layout Editor for preparation into publishing software and
subsequent printing of the GOAT.
Deadlines.
Our publisher's deadline is thirty days before publication for the GOAT and its
Reference Sheets. Therefore, in order to get an article ready, the Layout Editor
must have all the material (text, photos, diagrams, drawings, captions, etc.) in
hand at least a month before that for processing into our publishing software.
This requires that the review process between the Text Editor and the author be
completed in a timely manner, or nearly three months prior the publication date.
If an author sees that the material is not coming together on schedule for
whatever reason, the editors must be so advised so that alternate plans can be
made if needed.
Publishing Rights.
Generally, all material submitted to the GNRHS becomes the property of the
Society and, once accepted for publication, may not be reprinted elsewhere
without written permission of the Editor and the President. Original photos,
diagrams, drawings, maps, charts, etc. are returned to the author after
publication. All material published must be properly credited for publication
and/or copyright approval. Since the GNRHS is a non-profit, volunteer
organization, authors and contributors are not compensated for their work.
However, authors may, at their request, be reimbursed for photocopying of items
selected for use in the Reference Sheet.
Miscellaneous.
Caution: Keep a copy of everything sent through the mail. Keep a back-up
disk of any computer file when mailing a diskette, and keep either the original
or a photocopy of any typed or printed material mailed or shipped. Thus both the
author and the editor are protected if the diskette gets magnetized or the
paperwork gets lost in the postal system. Preferably, a diskette sent to the
editor should contain only the pertinent file and nothing else, unless
arrangements are made for the return of the disk.
Typing: Please do not double-space sentences as this creates margin
errors when converting to PageMaker publishing format. Use single spaces between
sentences.
Photos: Original material (photos, drawings, etc.) should not be sent to
the Text Editor until the Reference Sheet is substantially completed. Full-sized
photocopies of such material should be included in the draft for initial
planning purposes.
Internationality: Authors are reminded that we have readers world wide.
Use of idioms, abbreviations, etc. which may seem clear to you may not be
understood by all. Be careful to explain such uses; your Text Editor will try to
point out these areas during the review process.
Text Editor:
David L. Durfee
9989 Dishman Road NW
Bremerton, WA 98312
(360) 692-4664
Layout Editor:
Bruce Barsness
2678 Rice Creek Terrace
New Brighton, MN 55112
(651) 639-0697
Rev. 2 (7/04)
 
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