Brendiver's World

Final submission date looms

This will be really confusing for anyone not on the post workshop phase from the week long programme in the Philippines.

The "budding photojournalists" should be submitting their draft copy to me for review and comment by 15th May before they send it to the editor of Sport Diver for his decision as to which one will get published.

The below e-mail thread is some guidance from Mark Evans from Sport Diver magazine on how he likes text and pictures sent to him:

Keep writing...

Brendan

Hi Brendan,

Yes, get them to submit a mix of topside and UW, around 20 images. Best bet is them on CD, and the text emailing.

Send to address below:

Cheers

Mark


Mark Evans
Editor
Sport Diver

The Mill
Bearwalden Business Park
Wendens Ambo
Essex
CB11 4GB

Tel: 01799 544243 (direct line)
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.sportdiver.co.uk



On 8/5/08 09:14, "[email protected]" <[email protected]> wrote:

Hi Mark

Bob, one of the "budding photojournalists" from the Philippines trip has asked a good question:

Besides querying Mark's address to mail the CD-ROM with the article and  images, I have an additional question. How many images do we submit with the  article? Do we submit a bunch and let the editor pick the ones to use for the  publication?

I was going to reply how I would submit 20-25, mix of above and below water, horizontal and vertical formatted shots, all with captions. This is what I would do for DIVER, thought I should check with you first though before telling everyone something that is duff info.

I presume you also prefer the text to be e-mailed with photographs on a disc? Bob's in the USA so he needs to plan ahead for the post.

I'll ensure your answer goes out to everyone so their is no unfair advantage.

So you are aware, the articles will all be submitted to me for a final draft review by the 15th. I'll send them back to the authors for them to be sent to you with any alterations by the 30th May for the final selection.

Quite a few have dropped out due to illness and "I've discovered that this takes time - which I don't have," so you won't have to read so many articles now.   

I, we, you, they?

David has sent me an interesting question in respect of the 'Sport Diver competition' he is in, the one where one of the post workshop articles from Puerto Galera will be selected for publication by the editor, Mark Evans:

"Brendan When writing articles for diving magazines, are personal accounts unacceptable? I am reading my latest draft and there are definitely a lot of "I"s and "me"s in the article. The book about Travel Writing says that this is a common mistake by beginner travel writers. Apparently only celebrities can get away with this! What do you think? thx DK"

I guess the first thing to say from my perspective is that there are no rules; there are only techniques and practices that work for the target medium. When I say ‘works,’ what I mean is, did the article get published? This really is the bottom line, no matter what you as a reader thinks of it; if an editor decided it was good enough to publish, either with or without editing, then it ‘worked.’

But when you analyse what ‘works’ in different magazines four distinct categories of how to place yourself in the narrative emerge. And if I can emphasise, these are not my rules - they are just my thoughts, and perhaps they are best explained through the use of examples:

I…

In the March 2008’s Scuba Diving, Gil Griffin has an article published called, “Curacao’s Mini Splendored Things.” The predominant style she has used to place herself in the narrative is to refer to the majority of experiences through her own eyes in the present tense, although this would also have worked in the past.

“Even as I gear up…”

“Now that I’m attuned…”

“As I put my right index finger on a spot near the anemone, I wait… I listen very closely to its tiny claws…”

We…

In the October 2007’s Sport Diver, Brooke Morton’s “The Island That Never Sleeps – catch the rush of Puerto Rico,” uses the phrase, “we…” a lot.

“We jump in for a drift dive…”

“We see two hawksbill turtles in 150 foot visibility…”

“Once we arrive at Captain’s Point…”

Note how it’s also described in the present tense – is this an American preference?

 

You…

In the same edition of Sport Diver, Tom Morrisey, their editor at large, has an article called “Pick Your Paradise.”

“…you can see the mountains…”

“Cruising between walls that plummet to perhaps 100 feet below you want to explore each nook and cranny, but the twisting path draws you forward.”

I find this style of writing, where, “you will find…” interspersed with factual anecdotes to describe the environment the closest thing to a press release that you will find in the pages of a magazine. Often referred to as ‘advertorial,’ it’s written in such a way that the author could well have put together the whole piece without leaving their desk (and I am in no way suggesting Tom did). With this technique there’s no sense of ‘being there’ from the author’s perspective.

They…

Good quotes can often mean the difference between an article being viewed as the same old lame, I did, we did, you will see… or a living, multi-dimensional piece of work. Most editors want articles that people the landscape with characters and opinions and the good thing about this technique, you can express opinion without it ever being attributed to you.

I, We, you, they…

Where the article has a mix of all of the above styles. I don’t think there is a problem with either one of these being the lead, with other styles being secondary, but when they are all present in equal measure, your article is likely to be a confusing read and would probably not get accepted – too much work for the editor to repair it to meet their needs.

There’s no one style that I think is best, I have my own preferences, but ultimately it’s not my preference that matters is it? There’s only one person I need to please, to make sure my copy is in their preferred style, and that’s the editor.

David, I hope this answers your question?

Keep writing...

Brendan

   

In what format do you require my photographs to be submitted? Question sent to Mark Evans, editor of Sport Diver

Following an e-mail discussion, David has sent the below to Mark Evans at Sport Diver in respect of the "competition" for the article covering Peurto Galera's diving.

Hi Mark

my name is David and I was one of the participants at the diving photojournalism workshop which Brendan did last March (at Puerto Galera).

I was wondering how would you like the pictures to be sent to you when we finish our articles.  Email or CD?

Also, do you have any specific technical requirements e.g. max file size for each picture etc.

There's going to be six or seven of us sending you stuff, so I will forward your reply to everyone else to save you time.

(in case someone else has already emailed you about this already, please ignore this email).

regards

David

Update to follow

Keep writing......

Brendan

   

Sport Diver article - required format

Bob has asked a good question about the format the article for Sport Diver should be in.

Just about every editor I have come across wants it presented as simply as possible, single spaced, no indents, no fancy bullets or numbering and in a font they can read when they first open the document. If it's in some weird font and size likely to make their eyes hurt, you instantly increase your chances of it being rejected. They will do all of the fancy stuff to make it look good on their pages.

I'd go for Ariel 11 - easy on the eyes.

And don't worry too much if you haven't done a box out for land based activities, the photojournalist workshop and marine park box outs are the essentials.

As far as a photograph of me is concerned, I'd rather not be in the article. I may discuss this with Mark at a later date - all to do with my "real job."

As mentioned before - the due date is 15th May for the article with box outs and fact file to land in my in box.

Mark needs all entries by the end of May. I'll turn around all of your feedback within 48 hours of receiving it to give you plenty of time to get it sent to me again for a final once over, check for any glaring issues, and then it will be forwarded to Mark. He will decide which article will be published - I will not try and influence him in any way.

Keep writing

Brendan