Publishing Essays Online

The publication of the papers read before the Club on the Club Web site (www.chilit.org) has been a great success, with ninety percent of the authors submitting their work in the past season. We have also had several members contribute their older papers in electronic format so that those, too, may be published online. We welcome even more participation in the future.

Some frequently asked questions that have arisen are:

· How do I get my paper to the Webmaster? Email is best; address the email to chicago.literary.club@gmail.com with the paper as an attachment. You may also reply to any of the weekly email meeting notices, again with the paper as an attachment. If that is not convenient, a CD (compact disk) or even a floppy disk will work. Be aware that disks are less convenient and will not be returned.

· What format should I use? Any common word-processing format will work, the most common being Microsoft Word. This is likely the program you used to type the essay initially, so no additional work is needed. Adobe Acrobat files (.pdf) are also acceptable. Call or email the Webmaster if you have questions or problems.

· Do you “clean up” the papers before posting them? No. The paper will be posted just as you send it, so please edit out any grammar and spelling errors. You should also remove any personal information, such as address, telephone, or email address. Please submit the whole paper in one complete file including the title page and any appendices.

· My older papers exist only on paper. How can I get them posted online? The simplest means is to have them scanned. Some large offices have bulk scanners; these are also available at Kinko’s and other office services firms for a nominal fee. They will scan your document to an Adobe Acrobat file and give you a CD copy that can be used for posting your paper online.

· The listing of “Papers Online” sorts the paper by subject and gives a short description. Who sorts them, and how does my essay get listed? Each author is encouraged to select the one subject heading (Biography, History, Poetry, Chicago History, etc.) that best matches their work, and then to compose a brief, bibliographic-style description of five to no more than ten words that will give potential readers an idea of the contents. If the author does not offer the subject and description, the Webmaster will attempt to list the paper in the best category and choose a description.

· I tried to find a paper online, but when I clicked on it, I got a different paper (photo, bio, document) on my screen. What happened? You have encountered what is referred to as a “broken link”. There are literally hundreds of links on our Web page, and sometimes a link is mis-routed to the wrong reference, creating the broken link. Please report these (email is best) to the Webmaster so that it can be fixed. Please also be patient—it is a tedious, time-consuming chore to get the broken link removed so that the corrected link can be inserted.

· Is there a deadline to get my paper posted online? No. There are no deadlines. We can accommodate the posting of papers as they are available and ready.

· Where are the papers posted? The essays from the current season are listed in the Scheme of Exercises as received. They are also listed (as are papers of any vintage) both under the author’s name in the Roll of Members and under the heading “Papers Online.”

· Can I post papers that I did not read at the Literary Club? No. We only post papers written by our members and presented to the Club at a regular meeting.

Webmaster

chicago.literary.club@gmail.com