Project 3: The Elements of Electronic Publication

Scenario

Our goal is to produce a rough draft of a book, The Elements of Electronic Publication. Such a guide should introduce college-level writers and teachers to the subject of electronic publication, as well as the basic information that they need to succeed in the highly competitive world of electronic publication. Each student, working either individually or in a group, will write and test a pre-selected portion of this book. I will be preparing the project's prospectus and table of conents for submission to a publisher. This is a real project and if completed successfully will mean that participating authors will receive credit for publication and payment for services, to be negotiated through a contract, if one is secured.

Purpose

You should write your section of this book with the utmost care, addressing it to an audience of somewhat inexperienced publishers of electronic work. This audience knows something about writing for the Web, about reading online publications, and about the challenges of electronic publication, but they are not experts. You will have to become the expert on your topic and communicate that expertise precisely and clearly, in a consistent tone, and in a highly readable way. The purpose of the guide is to serve as a useful handbook for those making their first venture into electronic publication.

Components of the Project

1. Selecting Your Topic. Review the "Working Table of Contents" to see what portion of the project you would like to write and produce, then communicate your interest and level of expertise in the subject to me in an e-mail message. Rank your choices from 1 (highest) to 5 (lowest). You should also indicate to me whether you would like to work on your portion of the text individually or with others. (Specify whom you would like to work with if you choose this route.) Due before class on Thursday, March 22.
2. Research Your Topic. The purpose of your research is not to discover everything there is to know about your subject, but to discover what it is absolutely essential to know about your subject so that you can communicate that information to the audience. Your research should collect recent and highly regarded information about your subject in both print and electronic sources, as well as feedback from peers following in-class interviews. In the end, you will need to include with your section/text a list of ten valuable resources, consisting of 5 printed and 5 electronic resources. A working list of your 10 resources, with brief (1-2 sentence) annotations is due to me electronically by the end of class on Tuesday, March 27. I will help you refine your list, and you may be asked to do follow-up work to make it a definitive one.
3. Draft 1. A first full draft, consisting of your section of the book and a one-page synopsis/fact sheet, is due on Tuesday, April 10, in printed format, for in-class, peer review. This draft may be anywhere from 5-10 pages, depending upon the complexity of your subject. The format for the one-page synopsis/fact sheet will be discussed in class.
4. Draft 2. A second full draft is due on Thursday, April 19, in both electronic and printed format. The draft should include polished versions of your section, plus a one-page synopsis/fact sheet.
5. Final Draft. The final draft of your project, including polished versions of your assigned section and the one-page synopsis/fact sheet is due on or before Wednesday, May 2.

Stipulations

Because of the nature of this assignment, you have to complete each step successfully before moving to the next one. No late work will be accepted for credit under any circumstances without my prior written consent. That includes timely submission of all drafts.

Grading
This project counts as 20% of the course grade. The final written document will be evaluated as a prospective contribution to The Elements of Electronic Publication, provided all intermediate steps (drafts, peer review, etc.) have been completed satisfactorily.

• March 22: Topic Proposal due
• March 27: Resource list and annotations due.
• April 10: Draft 1 due for peer review
• April 19: Draft 2 due (in electronic and printed format)
• May 2: Final Draft due (in electronic and printed format)