[Editors] MIT Editors' Club Minutes, September 2009

[Elizabeth Thomson]

MIT EDITORS' CLUB

*Meeting Notes from September 10, 2009*

I love this club----bring together bright people (15 folks attended  
this meeting) who are also interested in communications, and you're  
bound to learn a lot (and have fun!). Among the topics bandied about:

*Favorite Books*

What are the "bibles" of your particular field, or the books you'd  
strongly recommend that newcomers read? Similarly, what web sites do  
you use often as good resources? Here are some suggestions from this  
meeting:

--On Writing Well by William Zinsser. Obviously, we're all interested  
in writing. This book is my first choice for that discipline in  
general, and several people at this meeting strongly agreed. Liz  
Karagianis of Resource Development noted that when she taught  
journalism at BU, On Writing Well was the textbook for a course.  
Rosanne Smith, also of Resource Development, noted that this year is  
the book's 25th anniversary. See http://www.amazon.com/Writing-Well-25th-Anniversary-Nonfiction/dp/0060006641

--The OneLook Dictionary, http://www.onelook.com/. Robyn Fizz of  
Information Services & Technology uses this site all the time.

--A Field Guide for Science Writers, edited by Deborah Blum, Mary  
Knudson, and Robin Marantz Henig. This is the official guide of the  
National Association of Science Writers. It includes a section on  
writing about science for universities and other perhaps  
"nontraditional" outlets. See http://www.nasw.org/bookstore/field.htm

--Designs for Fund-Raising, by Harold J. Seymour. This is the book  
that my new colleagues in Resource Development recommended to me when  
I asked about resources for learning more about this department.  
Although written in the 60's, it is still the classic for the field. I  
haven't finished it yet, but so far it's quite good. See http://www.amazon.com/Designs-Fund-Raising-Principles-Patterns-Techniques/dp/0930807200

--The Foundation Center. Janet Wasserstein of Resource Development  
says this web site is a great resource for books about foundations and  
centers. See http://foundationcenter.org/


*LinkedIn*

This social networking site for professionals was the focus of a  
lengthy discussion.

For example, Maggie Bruzelius of the Alumni Association reports that  
the Association's page on LinkedIn has been quite rewarding. Some  
9,000 alums are now subscribed to the page, through which they're  
posting jobs, giving advice on working in foreign countries, and more.

Why is LinkedIn useful? Although the site is primarily a great way of  
networking, Maggie said, it also has other benefits. For example,  
through your LinkedIn page you can join any number of clubs or groups.  
These in turn host often interesting discussions on related topics,  
which you are reminded of by e-mail. For example, one of the groups I  
subscribe to involves science writing. Yesterday it alerted me to a  
discussion about pay rates for freelance science writers.

Last Saturday the Boston Globe ran a story by Scott Kirsner about  
LinkedIn and how to use it most effectively. Among Kirsner's tips: in  
your "summary" field, include common misspellings of your name (that  
way more people can find--and link to--you).

*Next Meetings*

The next few meetings of MIT Editors' Club will be as follows. All  
meetings are from 12-1, but note that they'll be held in DIFFERENT  
LOCATIONS.

Wednesday, Oct. 7, E19-341s
THANKS to Terry Hill and colleagues at the MIT Energy Initiative for  
arranging.

Tuesday, Nov. 17, 1-114
THANKS to Carol Sardo of the Deshpande Center for Technological  
Innovation.

Monday, Dec. 14, N42-286
THANKS to Robyn Fizz of Information Services and Technology.


Cheers,

Elizabeth

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Elizabeth A. Thomson
Associate Director of Communications
MIT Resource Development
Office of Communications
600 Memorial Dr., W98-300
617-258-5563, thomson at mit.edu
<giving.mit.edu>
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