Information for Contributors to the Sierra-Cascades newsletter

We welcome contributions from individuals and committees of Sierra-Cascades and other Friends for the newsletter. Here is information that we hope is helpful. If you have questions or would like to submit something for consideration for the newsletter, please email newsletter@scymf.org.

Communication Committee’s vision for the newsletter:

  • We seek to build community through interviews, news items, essays, and other writings from committees, churches, individuals.

  • We seek to use language that informs, challenges, empowers. We will try to avoid unnecessarily complex words. We'll aim for simple and direct. 

  • We seek to provide an open path to full participation at the local and yearly meeting levels by giving context about Friends traditions and organizations.

  • We seek to help bring the yearning for equity, diversity, and social justice into reality in Sierra-Cascades. 

  • We do not seek to create a record of community and committee activities within the newsletter itself. Committee reports, minutes and advance documents will generally be linked to the Sierra-Cascades website instead. 

Queries for contributors:

We welcome submissions! These queries may be helpful as you write something up for the Sierra-Cascades newsletter. Keep in mind that re-writing and editing is a normal process in creating newsletters, books, etc. We edit just about everything sent to us, along the lines of these queries. Unless there are time pressures, we will send the edited piece back to you for your comments. 

  • Do some of my readers have less information about my topic? Would providing more context or an introduction help them understand?  

  • Have I considered the views or needs of readers who have a different perspective because of their experiences, generation, differences in privilege, etc.? Have I considered how to address their concerns, or at least acknowledge them? Or am I accidentally assuming all my readers are just like me?

  • Am I adding to a sense of a group of people “in the know”?  Is what I have written invitational, by explaining abbreviations such as “FWCC” and “FCNL”?  Am I using terms familiar only to Quakers, without explanation? Clearness committees, “the recording process,” etc.

  • Can I  engage more readers by including a good personal story that illustrates my point?

  • Would simpler words and shorter sentences be easier to read? Do I need to reflect on why I have chosen unnecessarily complex words or sentences?

  • Am I using short, declarative sentences with an active verb? Or are verbs in the passive voice draining energy out of the piece? (“It is commonly believed” is passive. “We believe” is active.)

  • Are the adverbs and adjectives in the sentences necessary? Do they add meaning? An example of a sentence submitted to us is “we will engage with this history through experiential exercises.” The word “experiential” is unnecessary because exercises are usually experiential. The phrase “engage with” is becoming over-used.

  • Has this been written by a committee? Generally, writing is more engaging if it’s written by one person who receives feedback from individuals on the committee. 

4/22/2023