VOCJ54

54th Edition

This page was adopted from Kathrin Lang's 53rd Edition page.

The VOC publishes a work of literary genius every spring: The Annual VOC Journal. Share your passion for the outdoors and for the VOC - help put together the 54th edition of the VOCJ!

We're using an interactive Wiki page this year, just like last year. This page is intended to help with the organization of the Journal to get it printed in time. See below for how you can contribute, deadlines, an article list with a trip report list (to avoid having multiple articles on the same trip), FAQs, and a style guide.

How can you contribute?

1. Submit an article.

• About what? Write an article about a trip you did with the VOC (see the trip list below to 'sign up' for a particular trip article)! Or, write about a trip you did on your own, or it maybe not even about a particular trip. Write outdoor philosophies or ethics or just expressions of love for the mountains. Write an instruction guide for how to make some piece of gear you made at home this year, or if you're really into the history of some outdoor sport, write an article about it. Everything vaguely about non-motorized outdoor sports is welcome!
• When? Firm final deadline for all articles is February 5th. (later submissions need a good reason and have to be approved by the journal editor)
• How? Send files (or ideally a zip file) to journal@ubc-voc.com. Include:
  • the article, with a title and your name. Text (.txt or .rtf) or word (.doc or .docx) file formats are good. No pdfs, please.
  • photos, if you have them. Name them as name-of-article_pic1.jpg, name-of-article_pic2.jpg, etc, where name-of-article is the name of your article. Include picture caption info: where, photographer, subjects.

More detailed submission guidelines can be found here; see below for the style guide.

2. Submit a photo to the photo contest. We'll have a photo contest set up shortly (early-mid January). Winning photos from each of 5 categories will be displayed in full colour in the journal. More info coming soon...

3. Help with proofing, editing, and layout.

• Edit articles for spelling, grammar, consistency. We'll need at least 2 edits per article! (early February)
• Edit photos: check resolution, convert colour to black and white if needed, etc.
• We'll likely use InDesign to create the journal. Do you (a) have InDesign and want to share it? or (b) want to help with the layout? No experience needed, just a willingness to work and learn.

If interested, contact Kelly at journal@ubc-voc.com

And remember: submitting an article to the VOCJ or assisting with editing/layout counts as a workhike!

Timeline

• December 20th, 2010: suggested deadline for all article of trips that happened between April and mid-December. Not a firm deadline.
• February 1st, 2011: deadline for advertisers to submit their artwork. Invoices will be sent once the journal is submitted to the printer.
• February 5th, 2011 : firm final deadline for all articles to be submitted. Exceptions to this deadline must be approved by the journal editor.
• TBA: journal submitted to printer.
• TBA: proof received, checked, and approved to be printed.
• TBA: journals printed and received.

Articles

Trip Agenda Articles

This is a list of all trips from the trip agenda. If you want to write about a trip, or if you wrote the trip report and want to change it into an article, put your name beside it to claim it. Then add it to the appropriate chapter in the Table of Contents below.

Other Articles

If you want to write about something other than a VOC trip from the trip agenda, list it here! Include your name and a brief description and/or title. Then add it to the appropriate chapter in the Table of Contents below.

Table of Contents

President’s Message

VOC Executive 2011 - 12

Photo Contest 2012

Miscellaneous

List all miscellaneous articles, illustrations, how-to guides, and more, here. If a theme emerges, we'll create a new chapter. If no theme emerges, they will be cleverly scattered throughout the journal to make it interesting.

e-mail

Questions, suggestions, and submissions can be sent to journal@ubc-voc.com

FAQs

* When should I submit my article?
If it's ready now, by all means, submit it now. Otherwise you have until February 5^th, 2012, but the earlier you submit, the better. Any articles submitted later than the deadline will not make it into the journal.
* How many articles can I submit?
Well, try to submit one, at least. Submit as many articles as you'd like, but if you send in more than two, be prepared to have some of your articles cut, since we'd like everyone to have an opportunity to have an article printed.
* How do I submit articles and photos?
Send them to Kelly Paton (journal@ubc-voc.com) as attachments. Be sure to include your full name somewhere, either in the body of the e-mail or in the article itself, especially if you have a cryptic username like jizzmonkey69.
* How does a VOCJ article differ from a trip report?
A trip report is a good start to a VOCJ article, but a VOCJ article needn't be a trip report. Rather than just copying and pasting your TR into a file and submitting it, edit it to make sure that the article is coherent and has a clear beginning and conclusion (and a middle too).
* Does my story have to be an epic?
Not at all. A good journal article will inform or entertain—perhaps both—and although epics are natural fodder for entertaining stories, trip stories where everything goes smoothly can be just as fresh and edifying. Conversely, an epic, poorly written up, does not a good article make.
* What will you do to my article once I submit it?
The editor will fact-check proper names and edit the article for spelling (per Canadian Oxford Dictionary), grammar, style (per Chicago Manual), usage, and clarity. She may also suggest structural changes (moving paragraphs around) for better flow and cuts for length and conciseness. If necessary the editor will also eliminate libel and other inappropriate content.
* How will the editing process work?
The copy editors will edit your article electronically and will only send it back to you if major changes need to be made. Submitting it means you accept that it will be edited for spelling, grammar, and coherence.
* Will you crop my photos?
The designer may have to crop your photos to fit, yes. If you want to insist that your image not be cropped, submit it with your desired crop and specify in the body of the e-mail to which the image is attached that you don't want it cropped. We'll do our best to accommodate your wishes. Note that all photos submitted will more likely than not be resized.
* What resolution do the photos have to be?
Photos that accompany an article should be at least 300 dpi at 4.5 inches (11.5 cm) wide. Stand-alone photos for the colour sections should be at least 300 dpi at about 6 inches (15.25 cm) wide. However, when you submit your photos, simply submit them in as high a resolution as possible and let the designer worry about converting them. You can lose photo quality if you convert them improperly or save them in an inappropriate format.
* Can I submit photos with nudity or use swear words in my article?
Expecting the journal to be devoid of nudity would be a bit delusional. However, the journal will be going out to some respectable types, so the decorum should be kept somewhat high. Decorum is kind of relative, though, so in short: tasteful nudity only. And make sure that all parties in the photo (nude or not) have given you permission to reproduce their image in a publication that will be archived for posterior. Er, posterity. As for swear words, some epics are definitely expletive-worthy, and the editor's not out to censor anyone. But, as with any (ahem) literary device, if you abuse expletives they'll lose their impact. Use only what you need to get your point across.

VOCJ 54 Style sheet

This is just for reference. If you're a kind soul you'll try to follow it, but if you don't, it's fine. The copy editors will fix inconsistencies in editing. But if you try to dispute an editorial decision that's specified on this style sheet, the style sheet will win.

• use Canadian spelling (per Canadian Oxford Dictionary)
• use series comma
• use active voice whenever possible
• avoid using "this" and "that" as pronouns rather than demonstrative adjectives
• don't use emoticons and gratuitous exclamation points. If you do they will be unceremoniously eliminated
• give full names in the first mentions of any people in your article
• give full names for the first mentions of any potentially unfamiliar acronyms
• use single spaces after all punctuation
• use metric units; or at least give a metric conversion to any imperial units you use
• spell out numbers from one to one hundred and all higher round numbers consisting of two words or fewer (e.g., "fourteen thousand"); use numerals for everything else, and use a comma in figures with four or more digits. (e.g., 2,568). Exception: use numerals when using decimals, metric units (e.g., 400 m, 30 km), and percentages (e.g., 28 per cent—note that "per cent" is spelled out as two words)
• it's "gaiters," kids—not "gators." Unless you're actually talking about alligators.