February/March 2013 Archives - Outdoor Writers Association of America

Remembering Tony Dawson

OWAA staff — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 21:44:00 +0000

BY GLENN SAPIR
Tony Dawson, 65, of Anchorage, Alaska, passed away in November 2012 due to complications following serious cancer surgery.
My friend, valued contributor and member of OWAA, deserves tribute, and so I wanted to pass along this remembrance.
I met Tony and his then-wife Kathy at the 1982 OWAA conference. They were a young couple in their 30s and 20s, respectively, who had already amassed an impressive portfolio of Alaskan wildlife photography. As an editor at Field & Stream at the time, I was impressed by their brown and black bear photography especially, which in many cases was shot at very close distances. Their pictures captured the animals and their habitat in remarkable light, life and color. Their own Super Cub airplane on skis allowed them to travel across the state and get to where the fun and the photos were.
The OWAA conference became an annual event for the two; the financial sacrifice that I now better appreciate, having made the reverse trip to Alaska this past September. As is the case with many OWAA members, outdoor communication was an important secondary source of income for Tony. He was a veterinarian, and, from what I gather, a darn good one. Any medical discussions we ever held, regarding animals or people, demonstrated his knowledge of the field.
Appreciating Tony’s excellent verbal skills, I took a chance on assigning him an article for Field & Stream. With some trepidation, a feeling that accompanied the opening of any envelope containing the manuscript from an author with whom I’d never worked, I pulled out the resulting article and read it. With each passing paragraph, my smile widened. I had found a writer that showed talent and promise.
Kathy often reminded me that her mother regretted the words I told Tony by phone after reading his article: “Put away the doctor bag. You’re a writer.”
To a great extent, Tony did devote more time to writing, becoming a frequent contributor to Field & Stream and other publications, including Audubon. In fact, when the oil tanker Valdez ran aground in Alaska, triggering one of the worst environmental disasters on record, Tony and Kathy became star contributors to Audubon.
Tony and Kathy later divorced, as their goals in life differed. My communication with both, to my regret, fell off considerably, though Tony and I did stay in touch, especially in the last year of his life. Kathy remarried and Tony got back into veterinary work. He also landed a job as a naturalist for one of the cruise lines, offering lectures and tours at various anchorages while continuing his photography and writing career.
He was an avid hunter and continued to do that often, sometimes with his nephew Tony Bynum of Montana. Bynum, named after his uncle, is an accomplished outdoor photographer and writer himself, surely inspired by the accomplishments of his uncle. Bynum’s comments in correspondence reminded me that his uncle was from Walla Walla, Wash., where Dawson had been married and fathered two sons, David and Kelly. He divorced before moving to Alaska, where he met Kathy.
Tony became incommunicado in the last few months of his life, when he traveled to California for serious surgery for his cancer. He chose not to reach out to family and friends at that time, or during his unsuccessful recovery. The prognosis, however, was grim, and the inevitable word was relayed to me by Bynum from Tony Dawson’s sons. The end had come. We’d lost another friend and OWAA member.

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Supporter Spotlight

OWAA staff — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 21:39:55 +0000

Sponsorships offered for students, educators attending 2013 SCIF Wilderness Leadership School

Nestled in the beautiful Bridger-Teton National Forest near Jackson, Wyo., the Safari Club International Foundation’s American Wilderness Leadership School provides the perfect atmosphere for educational programs. Established in 1976 with the vision of providing educators with a useful hands-on experience that they can bring home to their classrooms, AWLS has provided an accredited wildlife management program for 5,473 teachers who reach more than a million students annually and a challenging experience for 1,338 students.
The school offers six teacher sessions and one student session for ages 16-18. The 2013 student session is July 1-7. The 2013 educator workshops are June 12-19 and 22-29; July 12-19 and 22-29; and Aug. 1-8. A registration fee of $900 covers meals, lodging, and round-trip ground transportation to and from the Jackson airport.
Student sponsorships are available; see application for details on how to apply. Funds for educator tuition are also available.
The AWLS’s seven-day student program presents a base knowledge of wildlife ecology and conservation learning that becomes a central point around which leadership training is provided. This program offers recreational activities that include an overnight camping trip in the mountains, a whitewater raft trip on the Snake River, and more.
The educator program covers wildlife conservation and management in the United States, land management issues, endangered species and outdoor ethics, Wyoming ecosystems, the economic contribution of sportsmen in conservation, as well as instructional materials and resources to use in outdoor education programs. Attendees will learn about shooting sports and obtain National Archery in the Schools instructor certification. Field trips include the Bureau of Land Management, Wyoming Game & Fish agencies, Grand Teton National Park, and National Elk Refuge, and a visit to natural gas fields to explore energy and conservation issues.
Educator attendees will also enjoy a whitewater rafting trip on the Snake River and learn about stream ecology. ◊
Student application: http://tinyurl.com/bmnqkun
Educator application: http://tinyurl.com/c4663n5

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OWAA announces search for new director

OWAA staff — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 21:30:38 +0000

BY MARK TAYLOR
I make my mother-in-law a little jumpy. “There are no flies on you,” she likes to say as she watches me stay in pretty much constant motion.
Yet there is one place where I am able to pretty much shut it down: when I am sitting 15 feet up a tree.
For some reason, when I am bowhunting whitetails I can be content just sitting for hours. If you are a deer hunter you get this, knowing that the woods are alive even when deer aren’t moving.
In recent years I’ve started cheating a little bit. I carry my smartphone. It’s there for emergencies — such as the time I had to call a landowner to have him pull my stuck truck out of the mud with his tractor! — but also so I can keep tabs on emails and the like.
When the phone buzzes with an incoming call, I almost never answer it.
But when it buzzed at 5 p.m. on a Friday in late November, I knew it was a call I’d have to take.
The caller ID said the call was from OWAA Executive Director Robin Giner.
Robin and I are in touch often, but usually by email. She doesn’t call unless it’s important.
Even though answering would alert any wary whitetails within earshot, I took the call.
Robin filled me in on a couple administrative issues, then got to the biggie: She had decided to leave OWAA.
I was surprised, but not shocked.
People move on.
Just a little less than three years prior, the members of OWAA’s executive committee got a similar pronouncement from then-director Kevin Rhoades.
Kevin’s departure had opened the door for Robin, who had been working as OWAA’s conference planner and membership services director.
Losing a key member of the team is rarely easy, and it can be especially daunting when the team is only three strong at full complement.
Although Robin was offering her resignation well in advance of her planned departure date, I knew there was no way OWAA would have a new executive director in place by the time she left. The process of filling the position would take at least a couple of months, time during which staffers Ashley Schroeder and Jessica Pollett would have to absorb more duties.
Members of the board and committees also would need to commit even more volunteer hours to their duties.
While it can be tempting to focus on challenges that a leadership transition can create, the key is to focus on the opportunities.
The OWAA executive director has some firmly established duties, some even mandated by our organization’s bylaws. But there is some flexibility.
As the board undertakes the hiring mission, we have the advantage of not only looking for a candidate whose skill set matches the job’s requirements, but we can tailor the job to match special skills that the next OWAA executive director possesses.
What are those key skills?
Clearly, the executive director must be able to handle necessary administrative duties. I think it can be easy to take for granted all the work that goes into managing OWAA’s vast and varied programs and offerings.
Recruiting and retention, as well as fundraising, will remain critical. The executive director must be an active ambassador for the organization.
With clear goals established by OWAA’s strategic plan, the executive director’s performance is measurable.
As we move through this transition, I am confident we will find a new leader who not only will meet those specific goals, but will possess the kind of enthusiasm about outdoors communication that will further contribute to making OWAA stronger. ◊
— OWAA President Mark Taylor,
mtaylor@owaa.org

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A fond farewell

OWAA staff — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 21:09:25 +0000

BY ROBIN GINER
From the time I was young, raised by my parents on a homestead in rural northern Wisconsin, my life has been influenced by the lessons and values of what is now called the voluntary simplicity movement. Taking the slow way through life. Simplifying whenever and wherever possible, in order to have the time and energy to enjoy those things that may seem insignificant in passing but turn out to define your life in the end.
But every once in a while something happens that makes you take a step back and reassess your priorities. Sometimes the events that change your perspective are life-altering experiences. Other times, they’re simple realizations and changes in thought processes. I’ve experienced both of these.
The first was a head-on collision with an 18-wheeler when I was in my mid-20s. At the time, I was working 60-plus hours a week as a staff accountant for a multi-national conglomerate, and unconsciously letting my life slip through my fingers in exchange for stress and a paycheck. As I headed to work early one morning, my truck hit a patch of black ice on a hill and sent me careening across a four-lane highway into the front end of an oncoming semi. I will forever recall that split-second before I hit the front end of that truck going 45 miles an hour, thinking “So this is what it’s like to die.”
I didn’t die that day. I quit my job instead, moved to Montana a few months later and started living my life.
I’ve experienced some changes in thought processes lately, and had some rather profound realizations as I would lie awake through the night, worrying about things I couldn’t control or change. I’ve watched my health and happiness deteriorate, and often wondered, “Is there more to life?” I just turned 40 and I’m nowhere near done living yet. So instead, I’m quitting my job. I’ve been offered an opportunity to return to my agricultural roots, to focus on my longterm goals, and to once again start living my life.
For a significant part of the past 13 years I’ve been attached to OWAA in some way — either through direct employment, or through friendships that I’ve maintained across the miles. I wouldn’t exchange one day of those years for anything. I’ve learned many lessons, both good and bad, and forged relationships that I hope will stand the test of time.
It is with both sadness and exhilaration that I bid adieu to an organization that introduced me to the world of nonprofits, put a gun and a fly rod in my hands for the first time, offered me experiences I would never have found anywhere else in this world, and provided me with a vehicle in which to realize what it is truly important in life. I stepped down as executive director of OWAA, effective Dec. 31, 2012, to pursue a more simple life — which will certainly not be an easier one. But it will be an experience that is motivated by creating a life and not simply making a living.
I’m grateful to OWAA, the board, and most definitely those members who have taken me under their wing over the years. I hope to see you again along the trail. ◊
Warmest wishes,
Robin Giner

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It's about suicide, guns not so much

OWAA staff — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 20:32:09 +0000

BY PAUL QUINNETT, PH.D.
Members are encouraged to write about issues and topics. Views expressed do not represent the opinion or endorsement of OWAA, its staff, officers, directors or members. Opposing views are encouraged, as OWAA desires to create a forum for the exchange of ideas. Send commentary to editor@owaa.org.
Mass murderers never ask themselves, “And after I kill all these innocent people, how will I escape?”
Rather, that “escape” is often a pre-planned suicide — whether delivered by one’s own hand or by a police sharpshooter.
Reducing access to firearms will surely save lives, but such measures fail to address the source code in all these terrible tragedies: the disordered brain of an utterly hopeless, mentally ill and suicidal person whose reasons for releasing hell on others die with him.
The vast majority of the mentally ill are not violent, but those who become suicidal represent a special threat to themselves, and sometimes others. The so-called suicide “contagion effect” travels like a virus from one suicidal mind to another suicidal mind via the media, and most mass murders follow another event previously publicized where a “like me” suicidal, rage-filled young man kills others and then himself.
Only through the detection, assessment and treatment of his emergent suicidal planning, and through frustration of his attempt to acquire the firearms for mass murder that his rage requires, can we hope to find a compassionate and sustainable solution.
Persistent suicidal thoughts and feelings are markers for personal psychological pain, pain which is at once exquisite and unbearable. If we are thinking about killing ourselves or others, something is terribly wrong and what’s wrong needs immediate attention and balm.
Psychological pain is one term that covers distress, despair, depression, rage, anxiety, isolation or hopelessness. More than 90 percent of suicide deaths are by people suffering from serious mental illnesses or substance abuse problems, the majority of which remain untreated, but all of which can cause unremitting psychological pain.
According to a 2008 federal survey, in one year the adult American psychological pain index was as follows:

8.3 million of us seriously considered suicide
2.2 million of us made a plan to kill ourselves
1 million of us made an actual suicide attempt

In 2010, acute and severe psychological pain contributed to 38,364 completed suicides. That’s 105 Americans a day. Imagine what Congress and the president would do if a commercial airplane loaded with 100+ Americans crashed not once a year, not once a month, not once a week, but every single day, day after day after day?
While broad mental health reform is needed, bringing a laser focus to the prevention of suicide is the top priority. As former Surgeon General of the United States, Dr. David Satcher, said, “Suicide is our most preventable death.” Then, so too, is related violence toward others.
Rather than arming our teachers, we should ask: What actionable public health knowledge do we have to reduce violence toward self and others?
Answer: we have a lot of actionable knowledge. Published this past September, the “2012 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention” represents our best scientific thinking on how to prevent suicidal self-directed violence. The plan includes achievable goals, objectives and action steps.
Will it help?
Yes!
Need proof?
In 2003 our own U.S. Air Force published a multi-year study in the prestigious British Medical Journal, clearly demonstrating that a robust, mandatory, suicide prevention/mental health promotion program dramatically reduced violence of all kinds. Findings:

33 percent drop in suicides
18 percent drop in homicides
54 percent drop in serious family violence
30 percent drop in moderate family violence.
18 percent drop in accidental deaths (some of which were likely disguised suicides)

Several large-means restriction efforts to prevent suicide have proven successful in other countries; and in the Air Force study, reductions in other-directed violence were a happy and unexpected byproduct.
So let’s focus on what will work. Let’s implement our new National Strategy for Suicide Prevention 2012 now to produce wide, generalized harm-reduction effects throughout our nation. Remember that calm, happy, mentally healthy people – including millions of American gun owners – do not kill themselves or others.
As the gun debate unfolds, let’s not get lost in the bushes of how many bullets a Bushmaster holds, but view it through this lens:

Almost all mass murderers die by suicide.
Suicide is preventable.
Prevent suicide and you prevent violence.

An estimated 39,000 Americans will die by suicide in 2013. Since each 1 percent rise in unemployment drives up the suicide rate by 1 percent, America’s psychological pain index stands at an all-time high. Thanks to improved safety engineering and fewer motor vehicle accident fatalities, suicide deaths now exceed those due to car crashes.
So, let’s recalibrate and resource safetyfocused interventions that will not only lower our nation’s psychological pain index, but lead to broad reductions in self- and other-directed violence, including the risk of mass murders.
When our national grief work is done, let us memorialize our collective loss by taking bold, science-based positive actions. We have a plan. America, it is time! ◊
A clinical psychologist, Paul Quinnett, of Cheney, Wa., has been a member of OWAA since 1983. He is a suicide prevention expert and leads the QPR Institute. Contact him at pquinnett@mindspring.com.

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Diversity and OWAA

OWAA staff — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 20:07:12 +0000

BY GLENN SAPIR
Creating diversity within OWAA is a classic chicken-and-egg situation. Outdoor communicators grow out of outdoor participants, in general. Outdoor participants must be mentored or lured into participation, often by parents, friends, or, perhaps outdoor communicators, especially those with whom they can relate.
It is frustrating to try to fit diversity into that equation. Where do minority outdoor participants and communicators come from? Do they exist now?
At the National Shooting Sports Foundation, our research department has reached out to other experts in outdoor research regarding minority participation in outdoor recreation. Studies and statistics are scarce.
So, I can at best offer gut feelings based on my experience.
Cultural traditions are hard to overcome, and there may be a lack of outdoor recreation, especially hunting and, to a lesser extent, fishing, in many peoples’ backgrounds.
I am Jewish. Some may refer to the Old Testament and point out that it says people aren’t supposed to kill for pleasure. Also, an important part of an observant Jew’s religious and secular life is obeying the Jewish dietary laws. In part, that means animals must be slaughtered in a prescribed fashion to be kosher, and killing them with bullet, shot or arrow is not allowed. Throughout the medieval and more modern times, Jewish people were less tied to the land and were more likely to earn their livelihood as merchants, bankers and other traders, losing a connection with killing for their food.
Even without a reliable collection of statistics, I would venture a guess that the percentage of Jewish people who hunt and fish is far less than the percentage of the general white population in America.
Now, let’s look beyond minorities within our white population, which itself is quickly approaching minority status in the United States. Is sport hunting historically part of the Asian or Hispanic culture? The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources hired personnel who spoke Asian languages to administer hunter education courses and to emphasize the existence and need to follow hunting and fishing regulations. For cultures that have long subsisted on fish, livestock and wildlife, a minimum size or bag limit is incomprehensible.
I’ve seen little evidence of active sport fishing or hunting participation in Latin American countries, except for among the very wealthy, or where it exists as part of the economy in order to draw in tourists.
Blacks have been stereotyped as anglers who sat on the bank with cane poles and baitfished. They were not the target of lure manufactures, for example. Most non-white ethnic groups have had to fight their way up the socioeconomic ladder, with limited discretionary income for equipment and travel for outdoor recreation.
I have sat in meetings where people of these ethnic backgrounds are referred to as the fruit at the top of the tree, meaning that they would be the hardest to pick and put into the basket — in this case, the basket of hunters and anglers.
I have been sensitive to the lack of diversity in our own organization, but when looking about during a dinner at an OWAA conference, it is quickly obvious that neither I nor anyone else has done much to diversify the composition of our membership. And I still don’t have any magic solution to do so, but I do have some suggestions:
Encourage our membership to find subjects of ethnic minorities for their articles and broadcasts and show these minority participants in magazine cover photographs and photos that run with articles. My kudos to the Missouri Department of Conservation, for being one of the first to feature minority sportsmen on the covers of their publications. This is a way to create role models.
Use our Excellence in Craft contests to create a category for published writing and photography where minorities must be the subjects. Blatant? You bet. But it could help as much as anything I can think of to get our members to write about and photograph these subjects, thus creating more exposure and role models.
Have panels at conference sessions that intentionally include members of minorities, allowing them, again, to become subjects of our coverage. n Identify existing minority outdoor communicators and make a special effort to recruit them into OWAA membership.
n Be mindful of all significant religious and/or ethnic celebrations and observations when planning organizational events.
Though I am not advocating special consideration in the evaluation of scholarship applications submitted by minority students, I am advocating a special effort to promote our scholarship program to colleges and universities with a particularly significant minority student body. I would also make a special effort to promote our student membership availability at these institutions.
Consider holding Becoming an Outdoor Communicator seminars at colleges with a significant minority component.
When I proposed what became the Norm Strung Youth Writing Awards competition, my hope was to get young people writing about the outdoors in communication with their peers. Such support of the writing competition needs to be directed at more communities through our HQ staff and our members. ◊
An OWAA member since 1975, Glenn Sapir is from Putnam, N.Y. He is the director of editorial services for the national Shooting Sports Foundation. Contact him at gsapir@ earthlink.net.

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Get out of your box

OWAA staff — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 18:49:59 +0000

Stuck in a writing rut? Follow these tips to find new markets for your work

BY PETER SCHROEDER
We all have our special markets for our articles and photos. Yours may center on hunting, fishing or hiking publications. I focus on boating magazines. I write about cruising under sail, sailing regattas, boat designs, motor yachts, dinghies, rowing shells, canoes, and anything else that floats on water. I’ve written for all the major North American boating publications as well as those in Europe, Asia, and Australia-New Zealand. For years I did well, but I was stuck in a box.
So I got to thinking about developing new markets. But where? How could I use my boating skills to approach a different type of publication? I started by reflecting on the issues that boaters face. How to stow equipment and supplies when space is limited? How to secure items that may be tossed about when underway? What emergency equipment might be needed? How to navigate?

TIP ONE: Take your skill set out of the context of your existing markets and investigate where else your knowledge might apply.

I soon recognized that these same issues confront people who operate motor homes, campers, and RVs. So I went online to look for publications dedicated to these markets. Up popped RV Life, where coincidentally I knew the editor. After explaining the crossover parallels between cruising yachts and RVs in my query letter, the editor assigned me an article to write about exploring Idaho’s Panhandle by RV. The subsequent article, “Exploring Idaho’s Northern Exposure,” was well received and led to another piece, “Seeing London’s Olympics by RV.” Since RVs are essentially cruising yachts on wheels, the articles practically wrote themselves. (Both pieces were award winners in the OWAA and NOWA EIC contests.)

TIP TWO: Any outdoor pursuit involves travel, so write about the area’s unique food, drink and accommodations.

Another market opened when I reflected that when cruising afloat, I would frequently pull into marinas hungry for a good meal and bottle of wine. Since boat owners tend to be high net-wealth individuals, they typically seek out fine dining and good wines. Putting these ideas together, my wife, Risa Wyatt, and I have written about cruising to destinations that offer local foods, wines and beers in the San Juan Islands. The article appears in the September/October 2012 issue of BoatUS magazine. We’re currently working on a similar article about the island wineries in the Canadian Gulf Islands.

TIP THREE: Break out of the geography box, and apply your expertise to foreign markets.

During my early years as a freelance boating writer, I stuck mainly to events in the U.S. But soon I realized that I had confined myself to another box. American boaters face the same issues as sailors and yachtsmen all over the world. That’s when I began my international travels to cover nautical themes. After writing many years about regattas in the US, I covered similar races in Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Antigua, and Europe. Having written about cruising destinations in the U.S., I wrote similar articles about Tahiti, Fiji, Australia, Turkey, Denmark, Sweden and elsewhere. My feature article about sailing in Palau in Micronesia appeared in the October 2012 issue of Yachting magazine.
Now I’m looking to identify other areas where I have unknowingly boxed myself in, and how to break out of these confinements as well. ◊
A member since 1994, Peter Schroeder currently serves on the OWAA Board of Directors. He is a freelance writer and photographer. Schroeder specializes in recreational boating, cruising under sail, scuba diving, snow skiing and worldwide adventure travel. Contact him at ptrschrdr@ aol.com.

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After further review

OWAA staff — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 18:28:42 +0000

BY W.H. “CHIP” GROSS
As outdoor writers, seldom do we pen hard-hitting, investigative-type stories. Rather, what most of us write are “feel-good” pieces: how-to, where-to, personality profile, nostalgia, humor, etc. These are the kinds of stories I prefer to write, and I’m guessing you do, too.
That said, there is something I do with my magazine articles that probably not too many other writers do. If time permits, I send a draft of the story to the person who was my main source of information and ask him to check it for accuracy and any pertinent information that may need added.
For example, I recently received a magazine assignment to write a 1,000-word story about camping at a certain national park. I hadn’t visited that particular park in quite a while, so I first did some research homework — both online and off — then reviewed my notes and photos from my last trip to the park. After that, I wrote the initial draft of the story.
I then contacted the media-relations person at the park and asked if she would like to review the story before I sent it to my editor. She was more than willing, and what I received in return a few days later was a half dozen edits that not only increased the accuracy of my story, but updated it as well.
I also do this with personality profiles. After interviewing a person and writing the story, I email the person a draft and ask him to please check his quotes for accuracy and context. Again, the people I interview are more than willing to help. In fact, I’ve never had anyone turn me down.
No one wants to be misquoted, particularly government types. Biologists are especially appreciative of the opportunity to check their quotes and the other technical information contained in a story. It helps put them at ease as to what to expect when the story finally appears in print or online.
All of this takes time, of course, so I like to get started on a magazine assignment as soon as I receive it. That gives me plenty of extra time to send the story out for review, receive a reply, and incorporate the suggested changes. The end result is always winwin. The person who was the information source for the story wins because he or she knows they won’t be misquoted; and I, as the writer, win because I’m producing a better product. Ultimately, the magazine’s readers win, too.
When the story is finally published, I always try to remember to send a copy to my sources. It’s a simple thank-you gesture, showing them that their time and effort really did result in a finished story. I’ve found that little extra touch goes a long way in fostering goodwill. People remember how they were treated by you as a writer, and if you ever have to return to them for information help in the future, they’ll be more than happy to work with you again. ◊
Freelance writer and photographer W. H. “Chip” Gross (www.chipgross.com) has been an OWAA member since 1986. He served a three-year term on the board of directors from 2004 to 2007, and is a member of the magazine and photography sections. He’s also been the winner of many EIC awards through the years.

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Conservation writing: The outdoor media's dirty little secret

OWAA staff — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 18:17:24 +0000

BY BEAU BEASLEY
“Beau, we’re simply not going to run this conservation piece you’ve sent us. Furthermore, if the editor ever offers to run anything like this from you again, I’ve told him he’ll be fired.”
I’d written for a certain fly-fishing magazine several times during the past decade and had an excellent relationship with its staff, so the publisher’s words floored me. I liked the magazine. I knew its readers would eat up my article. I worked hard on this piece and did my homework. And yet it was clear that the publisher would not run my well-researched and balanced article now or ever. What went wrong?
I’d been working for months on a piece about menhaden, an imperiled baitfish. The menhaden issue was politically charged up and down the East Coast and especially in my home state of Virginia, where conservationists and recreational anglers believed an industrial fishing fleet was jeopardizing the future of the small but crucial menhaden. I had already sent the piece to another magazine I frequently write for, but when I received a proof, I found that the editor had deleted the name of the commercial fishing company every time I used it. In the end I pulled the piece myself rather than let it run watered down. Publication after publication subsequently turned the piece down, and I had to ask myself, “Why won’t anyone run this piece?”
Very few outdoor magazines actually want to run well-researched, evenhanded conservation articles. Why is this? I think there are several reasons. First, their readers don’t want to read them. So much of our culture has become politicized, and our politics are now highly polarized. As a result, we find that even something as innocuous as a baitfish becomes a political football, with stakeholders lining up on either side of the field to hurl epithets at one another. Our polarized politics mean that instead of sitting down to discuss an issue with folks we disagree with but to whom we ascribe the best motives, we automatically assume the worst about our opponents. They aren’t just wrong — they’re malicious, corrupt and self-serving. (Think I’m wrong? Try this: When you’re next surrounded by a group of conservationists, tell them that you’re not convinced that the projected benefits of “fighting” anthropogenic global warming justify its astronomical costs. Then sit back and watch what happens. You’ll soon find yourself all alone at the bar.) Needless to say, this kind of thinking makes dialogue and compromise nearly impossible.
Writers are not immune to this demonizing. On the contrary, we tend to feed it. It is, after all, much easier to write a red-meat advocacy piece to throw to a sympathetic readership than it is to do the yeoman’s work of researching not just the positions of all sides but the studies that undergird those positions. It’s harder work and it’s thankless, too. People prefer to read that which reinforces their biases and not that which forces them to question those biases. So readers don’t want to read questions, they want to read answers: This is right, that is wrong, this is good, that is bad. The reality, however, is that few things in life are that simple.
Second, outdoor magazines are businesses and must make money. They cannot afford to publish what they believe, rightly or wrongly, will antagonize their advertisers. And these days, as we’ve just seen, nearly everything offends someone.
Finally, serious research takes a great deal of time — and time is money. Writing a piece about a local Trout Unlimited club dropping a few trout in the water or planting some trees near a local creek is infinitely easier than digging deeper into a story about a manufacturer who may or may not be dumping something harmful into a local stream. Publishers are rarely in a position to remunerate an investigative writer with a figure that is commensurate to his labor. Publishers, too, are hesitant to run a piece that might land them in court. As a result, investigative journalists and the papers that love them are both dying breeds.
Despite one editor after another turning it down after six months of searching, “Where Have All the Menhaden Gone?” ran in the May/June issue 2009 of Fly Fish America. I’m pleased to say the article was extremely well received on both sides of the issue. The piece won the Mason-Dixon Outdoor Writers Association’s award for conservation writing, though I was sorry that the various editors who turned me down weren’t in the audience to watch me receive the award. As outdoor writers, we’re constantly torn between the desire to give the publisher what he or she wants so we get the paycheck we want, and the desire to tell a really compelling story that educates our readers and challenges their assumptions. It’s a fine line to walk, but if we don’t dig deeper and tell the great stories of our day, who will? ◊
A member since 2008, Beau Beasley an awardwinning conservation writer. He lives with his wife and children in Warrenton, Va. You can contact find out more about Beasley at www.beaubeasley.com.

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APPly yourself

OWAA staff — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 17:49:53 +0000

BY RISA WYATT
This is the first article of a two-part series about apps — what they are, how they work and how they can make you money. Part two by Natalie Bartley will talk about the creative process and challenges of creating an app, which will run in the April/May issue of OU.
What the heck is an app, anyway? Should you be creating one? Can it make you money?
The word app is short for “application.” It’s a software program that works on devices from smartphones (like an iPhone or an Android) to tablets (like an iPad or Nook) and sometimes even computers. An app can be anything — a book, a game, a how-to or a travel guide — and it can do almost everything. For example, I have apps that can track airline schedules or replay recordings of bird songs.
Why did I start creating apps? Like many of you, I found that my writing markets started dwindling about five years ago when newspapers and magazines cut back their freelance budgets, or worse, went out of business.
I decided to give apps a try. The app I created is Seattle Essential, a travel guide to the city covering attractions and restaurants. I’m also now working on travel guides to Napa and Sonoma wine country.
Just like the need for a publishing company to turn your manuscript into a printed book, you need someone to develop software to turn your words into an app. To create your app, one approach is to “rent a geek,” to hire a software designer to create the necessary program. That costs about $10,000 to $100,000.
Alternatively, you can deal with a mobile app publishing company such as Sutro Media (www.sutromedia.com), with which I work. Natalie Bartley, who is writing a follow-up article to this piece, also did her Boise’s Best Outdoor Adventures app with Sutro. The world’s largest platform for indie travel writers, Sutro has more than 350 apps with another 300 apps in the pipeline.
So, how much money can you make? According to Sutro, the average app author earns — net — about $650 a year. But don’t stop reading now.
I’ve done better than that. I’ve sold nearly 5,000 apps in less than two years and expect to make about $2,000 a year. In comparison, I earned zilch from the various Frommer’s guidebooks I have written. All the advances went to my research costs and I never saw a penny in royalties.
Here’s how the profits for an Apple app are divided with Sutro Media:

Apple gets 30 percent
Sutro gets 40 percent (software designers and editor)
Author gets 30 percent

My app sells for $1.99 — which means I get about 60 cents for each sale. Does this sound like chicken feed? My writer/photographer friend, Lee Foster, who has written several guidebooks as well as apps, has analyzed how the two compare. Basically, he earns about as much when he sells two apps at $1.99 each, compared to when his publisher sells one of his books for $14.95.
Creating a travel or how-to app is like writing a print book. The Sutro software uses a database format. You cut-and-paste details such as addresses and phone numbers. For each listing (such as an attraction, tour operator, or restaurant), you write a description, which runs about 150 words. Long copy doesn’t work on the small screen of a smartphone.
It takes me about 45 minutes to 1 hour and 15 minutes to complete each listing. Seattle has about 170 listings at this point, so it took me roughly 200 hours to complete — about 6-8 weeks of work.
Photos are a very important part of each listing. You can either shoot your own or get open source photos through a group such as the Flickr Creative Commons group (http://www.flickr.com/creativecommons/). And, with larger screens and vibrant display screens on iPad, videos are now crucial additions to app content. But you don’t have to be a film director like Francis Ford Coppola, you can just link to already-existing videos.
How do you make money? Here’s the secret of success and it’s quite simple: the amount you make is directly proportional to the popularity of your subject matter. For example, the travel guide app to Las Vegas. Las Vegas gets nearly 40 million visitors a year. The city has 150,000 hotel rooms occupied 85 percent of the time. Guests in those rooms want to know about the best restaurants and the latest shows.
So, if you’re in it for the money, rather than to get exposure or express yourself, why should you do an app?
Do it if you have:

App-titude: If you’re an expert about something …
App-eal: … and that something is very, very popular …
App-etite: … and you can (hopefully) cannibalize previous work you’ve done.

Then go ahead — APP-ly yourself! ◊
A member since 2004, Risa Wyatt has been a travel writer for more than 20 years covering adventure travel, food, and wine. In 2010, she created her travel app “Seattle Essential,” a guide to top attractions in the city. The app is now the number-one bestselling mobile guide to Seattle. Contact her at words@risawyatt.com.

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