Uploaded to NPRHA site:	6/13/2004
Date Created:	6/10/2004
Keywords:	Mainstreeter Publishing Guidelines
Contributor:	Gary Tarbox

Table of Contents

Provide resources required and general direction to the Managing Editor; periodically, accumulate and document changes made to the process; approve an annual budget including provisions for the limited use of color, a standard page count with provisions for discretionary increases, and an expense account budget for the function, including the Annual Calendar;

Managing Editor

Provides general oversight of entire process of producing the NPRHA Mainstreeter and Calendar; manages the publication function within the budget approved by the BOD; reports progress to BOD quarterly; receives and processes progress reports and requests from Issue Editors; assures compliance with objectives; reaches agreement with Issue Editors on schedule of themes, by issue; monitors backlog of articles to ensure timely publication of worthy material; acts as a repository for material not submitted for any particular issue; solicits new material for themes not yet assigned to an Issue Editor; and provides oversight of the Annual Calendar Committee.

Senior Technical Advisor

Provides guidance to Managing Editor, both spontaneously and when requested; assists with establishing standards for electronic transmission of copy and photos between parties involved.

Issue Editor

Forms a ‘team’ comprised of self, reviewers, and contributors to accumulate written and photographic material required to fill each issue; communicates with contributing authors to assure promptness of submission; arranges for submission of high-resolution electronic files of photographs whenever possible; returns all contributors’ original hard copy and photographs promptly; keeps Managing Editor advised periodically of status of issue content and progress toward completion; utilizes electronic communications wherever practicable.

Technical Advisor

Provides technical advice to Issue Editors on both content and publication matters; through the Issue Editor, provides or arrange for support for Contributors on technical or historical matters.

Layout

Once the content for an issue has been compiled by the Issue Editor and approved by the Managing Editor, completes the necessary steps to assure an attractive publication and make the best use of available space; completes this step as expeditiously as possible; returns finished product to the Issue Editor and Managing Editor for their review and approval; schedules and approves photos scans; reviews final printer’s proofs for technical accuracy.

Scanning/Printing/Mailing

Once the Managing Editor and Layout has approved an issue for publication, completes the steps required to assure timely receipt by the NPRHA membership; provides information and feedback to others in the process to enhance quality and improve efficiency.

Annual Calendar Committee

Seeks appropriate photographs and captions for publication; coordinates calendar publication schedule with the Managing Editor; reviews daily captions and searches for new entries; reviews material on back covers, inside and out, with appropriate parties for updated information.

Membership Chair

Maintains current status records of NPRHA membership and forwards address lists, amended as appropriate, to the Mailer; receives undeliverable issues, researches the reasons for the failure, takes appropriate steps to determine the current address, and re-mails an issue to that address, if feasible.

Commercial Distribution

Mails or delivers an adequate supply to those hobby shops and other establishments which have agreed to sell The Mainstreeter; maintains an awareness of the ‘fair market value’ of The Mainstreeter, and makes recommendations to the Managing Editor for a change in the ‘cover price’ when appropriate.

Contributors

Wherever possible, contributors should be encouraged to submit their work for review electronically – where this is not practical they should be encouraged to use ‘expedited’ mail delivery; photographers should be encouraged to have their photos scanned, at the requested resolution, onto hard discs, thereby facilitating the mailing process and minimizing the amount of electronic conversion required by the production team.

Editorial Review Board

A group of NPRHA members, who have operating, writing or publishing experience and agree to review articles submitted for publication. They should be contacted in advance to assure their availability, and should agree to return articles by a date agreed to between themselves and the Issue Editor. The articles should be reviewed primarily for accuracy of content and, if time permits, suggestions made to the author, through the Issue Editor, for any substantive changes to the content. It has been suggested that manuscripts be sent to one or two individuals, in each case. The names of the reviewers should not be published in the issue.

Key Objectives

The objectives of the publishing team, as set forth below by the Board of Directors and are ranked as Must Haves or preferences of relatively High, Medium, and Low importance:

Must Have

Stay within approved budget
Adhere to Style Conventions throughout
Maintain high levels of factual accuracy
Mail issues on Publication dates:

Issue 1 on March 1
Issue 2 on June 1
Issue 3 Sept. 1
Issue 4 Dec. 1

High Importance

Maintain consistency of appearance between issues
Avoid ‘wearing out’ Issue Editors
Maintain high linguistic accuracy
Satisfy a wide variety of reader interests in each issue

Medium Importance

Utilize thematic issues, focusing on a topic or limited geographic area
Include a modeling article or prototype information in each issue
Design the magazine as an aid to increasing membership
Include locations of service facilities, e.g. water tower, ash pit, depot, on site drawings

Low Importance

Include color pictures and ‘highlights’ in each issue
Maximize the use of color for the front cover
Publish information listing future content
Include fold-outs where appropriate

Mainstreeter Content Items

Quarterly Mainstreeter Columns

1. Cover artwork (relating to main story, or general interest) with content headlines

2. President’s Column

3. Table of Contents, including author’s name & brief content description

4. Managing Editor’s Column

5. Articles with photos. Maps, diagrams, personal recollections

6. Modeling News (new items, layouts, projects, ‘wish list’, mfr. contact info)

7. Upcoming Articles, and requests for assistance

8. Company Store offerings

9. Membership info (how to join, dues, available services, local get-togethers)

10. Web Site info

11. Classified ads for members

12. Letters to Managing Editor/Errata/Feedback

Items as Required or Available:

· Annual membership tally

· Convention Info (before and after)

Historic photos

· Media Reviews & Recent Publications (books/magazines/radio/videos)

· NP-related news/announcements

Railroadiana

· Trivia/amazing facts

Mainstreeter Editorial Content Breakdown

Percentages shown are intended as guidelines, not requirements.

Coverage of Eras

1864-1899.............................. 10%
1900-1940.............................. 20%
1940-1960.............................. 30%
1960-1970.............................. 30%
1970+..................................... 10%

Equipment

The coverage goal for the following equipment subjects is 20%.

Locomotives
Passenger Cars

· Freight Cars

Other Rolling Stock

Facilities & Track

The coverage goal for the following facilities and track subjects is 15%.

Track and Related Equipment & Yards
Depots
Bridges & Tunnels
Repair and Other Facilities
Divisions and Sub-divisions
Affiliated Lines

Management

The coverage goal for the following management subjects is 5%.

Construction
Engineering
Finance
Operations, field
Operations, staff
Unions

NP History

The coverage goal for the following history subjects is 20%.

General NP history
Geographic
Individuals
Other Railroads and the NP
Technology and the NP

Operations

The coverage goal for the following operations subjects is 25%.

Excursions
Helpers
Interchanges with other railroads
Joint operations (e.g., Camas Prairie, Tacoma-Portland)
Locals
Mainline Freight
Mixed Trains
Passenger Trains
Unit Trains

Mainstreeter Format & Style Rules

The following is a listing of Mainstreeter Format and Style Rules that have been developed over the years. Some of the items have evolved over time and there may be some inconsistency between earlier and later issues. However, there has been an attempt to be consistent within each issue. Use the current edition of the Chicago Manual of Style to resolve any questions not covered specifically in this document.

All the text should be entered into a standard word processing program and sized as discussed below. The final text will go straight to the layout person on a CD. Layout will convert it to fit their version of Adobe PageMaker for final layout to your instructions. Thus, it is important to make sure that the text can be converted by layout.

Abbreviations

Names that are abbreviated should be spelled out for the first usage in articles, followed by the abbreviation in parentheses. Example: Buffalo Pass, Scalplock and Divide (BPS&D). Alternately, the abbreviation can be used very shortly after it was spelled out. Then either the name or the abbreviation can be used as required to be clear to a reader who is not familiar with the subject. This is especially important with railroads or names that are not well known. This procedure need not be followed with those abbreviations commonly found in the Mainstreeter, Such as NPRHA, NCL, NP, CB&Q. GN, SP&S, BN, MRL, and other relatively large modern railroads. Abbreviated railroad names are shown without periods - NP, GN, etc. States and countries should be abbreviated per the Chicago Manual of Style.

Abbreviate the North Coast Limited as NCL, without periods, e.g. do not use ‘

Organization Chart

Job Descriptions

Board of Directors