• Benefits of writing a ANR publication
• I want to write a publication. What's possible?
• What can't Communication Services produce?
• Have a good idea for a publication? Then follow these few steps.
• What do peer reviewers look for?
• Large publication proposal for CAB
• If my publication needs color photographs
• If my publication needs illustrations
• Who is my Associate Editor?
• What about translating a publication?
• I'd like a video or slide set produced.

One of the most effective ways to reach your clientele is through lasting educational materials such as publications, videotapes, slide sets and other electronic products. Once completed, these products can communicate information to your clients and others throughout the state. They also provide you with evidence of your professional development in your merit and promotion package. There is a third benefit to writing manuscripts or scripts that become sold products -- money for your program.

ANR Communication Services is the Division's communications resource. Once an educational material written by a Division author passes peer review, Communication Services will produce or publish it, market it, and distribute it. A pilot program is underway at Communication Services that returns 25 percent of the revenue generated by sales of certain educational materials to the programs. The hope is that by writing publications or scripts you will not only inform your clientele, but also bring money back to your program to fund additional educational materials.

Educational materials produced by Communication Services address the needs of statewide or regional ANR clientele, a lay and/or professional user audience. As much as possible, these materials should relate research-based information to practical techniques or concepts that people can use over a period of time.

Two types of publications are produced: those that are printed and those that are available in electronic form. The printed publications are leaflets and special publications. Leaflets are single-subject, how-to or informational publications, running from 8 to 100 printed pages. The leaflet is a major means by which the Division communicates practical information to its user audience. Leaflets are intended to promote economic well-being, improve environmental quality, or accomplish other specific educational objectives. Special publications are book-length projects written for a lay and/or professional user audience that relate comprehensive, research-based information to practical techniques that the reader can use. They normally include information on all current practices in a given subject area, and are of lasting practical value.

The 7000, 8000, and 9000 publications are primarily distributed in electronic form. Adobe Acrobat (TM) versions of the publications (PDF files) are available for download from the Communication Services online catalog and related program or departmental home pages, and hard copies are distributed by many UCCE county offices. Download of 7000 and 8000 publications is free of charge, and there is a charge to download 9000 publications. 7000s are produced quickly, allowing authors to respond quickly to topical issues and expand on specific questions. They are succinct, focused, and are limited to 1,200 words, with only tables and department or program logos as graphics. 8000 publications are longer and graphically more flexible than 7000s. They generally run to 8 or more completed pages (5,000+ words), allowing authors more room and flexibility in addressing topics that are more general than those covered in 7000s. Their content is similar to that of leaflets in that they are practical, single-subject how-to or informational publications. The 9000 publications, our newest series, are considerably longer or more complex than the 8000 series, and online customers pay to download them.

The Communications Advisory Board has specified that one-time or limited-use materials such as newsletters and meeting handouts as well as public relations or promotional materials should not be produced by Communication Services. Additionally, textbooks intended for academic audiences, conference proceedings, and primary reports of research results generally are not considered appropriate as ANR Communication Services publications, although the Board may grant exceptions.

1. Evaluate your idea with the appropriate workgroup or program-coordinating body and the Associate Editor (AE) responsible for the publication's subject matter area. Discuss the specifics of your idea, the likely need for the publication, what form the publication should take, and whether you might have any funds for production.
   
2. Before preparing your manuscript, get a copy of Guidelines for Authors from Communication Services. These guidelines provide information about how to format your manuscript, how to prepare photographs and tables, and other details that will make the production easier and quicker and result in a better finished publication.
   
3. Submit three to five copies of the finished manuscript and a caption list of artwork to the AE for peer review (ask the AE how many copies will be needed). He or she will read the manuscript to see if it is ready to be reviewed, select reviewers, and send the manuscript to them. When the reviewers return the manuscript, the AE will forward their comments, where appropriate, to you. Once you have responded to reviewers' comments and, in some cases, revised the manuscript, the AE will decide whether the finished manuscript is acceptable as an ANR publication and send the manuscript, its accompanying artwork, the reviewers' comments, and an MF-21 submittal form to Communication Services.
   
4. CS will assign your publication to a project editor who will work directly with you throughout the publication process. You may meet with this editor, a designer, and the marketing coordinator about your publication's look and potential market. Your AE will be able to give you updates as your publication goes through production, or you may contact the CS project editor. When your publication is complete, you will receive five free copies and notification as to when revenue sharing will begin. If you are going to produce the publication yourself with outside funding, CS will do a quick "conceptual okay," sometimes suggesting revisions to the publication, such as incorporation of the current copyright and nondiscrimination statements.

The ANR peer review process is designed to ensure accuracy, peer acceptance, and usefulness of materials. Reviewers evaluate the technical accuracy of the material and comment on the need for the product by ANR clientele and the usefulness of the medium for the audience. The review process -- which can take from 4 to 12 weeks, depending on the length of the material -- is similar to those conducted by scientific journals. Anonymous reviews are supervised by an Associate Editor with expertise in the subject matter area. The end result for authors is a peer-reviewed project that can be used as evidence of professional development in a merit and promotion package.

The Communications Advisory Board approves funding for production of large publications longer than 225 manuscript pages. An author must submit the following information to the appropriate Associate Editor: title of publication, brief description of content, co-authors and their titles, what collaboration or involvement program groups or individuals have had in the project, estimate of length, number of photos, need for color photos, its market potential, need by clientele for the information, and when the manuscript will be submitted to the AE. The AE will review this proposal and submit it with a recommendation to the Communications Advisory Board. The Board will evaluate the proposal and the AE's recommendation and then approve or deny funding for the project. Any approval at this point is still contingent upon a successful peer review .

Black and white photographs are adequate for most publications. However, if you believe it is necessary that your photographs be in color to communicate information to the reader, you should explain this in a cover letter that accompanies your submission. Photographs can be provided by Communication Services photographers. Please read Communication Services Guidelines for Authors for details on requesting or preparing photographs.

Line drawings can be provided by Communication Services staff or by freelance illustrators, depending on the complexity of illustration and on our departmental work load. If a freelance illustrator is used, the cost will be incorporated into the per-copy sales price of the completed publication. Please read Communication Services for Guidelines for Authors details on preparing illustrations.

Click here for Associate Editor names and contact information .

The process of translating an ANR publication or other material is made up of two stages: an evaluation of the translation request and a review of the translation. For the first evaluation, the author submits a Translation Request Form with the material he or she wishes translated to Myriam Grajales-Hall, ANR Associate Editor for Spanish Language Materials. The information on this form helps ANR Associate Editors determine whether the material should be translated, and if so, whether the requested project is in the most appropriate format for reaching the target audience. In the second evaluation stage, the completed translation is assessed for appropriate word choice and language level.

The Translation Request Form (MF-125) can be downloaded from the Communication Services website or requested from Communication Services' editorial office (530-757-8304) or from Myriam Grajales-Hall (909-787-4397).

Without exception, producing a video tape or slide set is an expensive and time-consuming endeavor. It begins when you notify your Associate Editor -- by letter, e-mail or phone call -- that you are planning to do a particular visual or audiovisual project. This notification ensures that someone with programmatic expertise who is associated with Communication Services knows about the proposed project before any work has begun. Then complete a copy of Communication Services Instructional Program Development Plan, which helps you identify the goals of the visual project, target its audience, and look at ways to complement it. You can download the Instructional Program Development Plan from the Communication Services website or request a copy from Mike Poe (530-757-3382) mlpoe@ucdavis.edu.

Your next step will be to work with a Communication Services producer/director on the script. The script, with descriptions of images, is then peer reviewed. Once reviews have been returned, your Associate Editor will work with you to ensure that reviewers' comments and suggestions are incorporated. Once the Associate Editor decides on programmatic acceptance of the script, the script and an MF-21V submittal form are sent to Communication Services, where an ANR number is assigned and production work begins. The Associate Editor views the rough cut of the video or slide set and, if necessary, works with you to see that that final comments and suggestions are incorporated before the Communication Services producer/director completes the project.

For information on how to submit an audiovisual script, contact Mike Poe (mlpoe@ucdavis.edu).