Spring 2012 Archives - Outdoor Writers Association of America

Kayaking and whitewater adventures

OWAA staff — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 22:14:16 +0000

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BY CHRISTOPHER BATIN
For most of us, boating is a means of transportation to fulfill the requirements of the job, whether it is scuba diving, fishing, hunting, or canoeing remote streams or rivers.
In Alaska, boating at its basic level means kayaking and that’s the best way to enjoy the secret hideaways Alaska has to offer this coming September. But don’t expect to paddle aimlessly around a lake or saltwater bay.
Kayaking among the icebergs is one of those experiences. The terminus of a tidewater glacier is where tons of ice breaks off and drifts with the current before getting temporarily stranded on an outgoing tide. This is as challenging as it gets, kayaking on an incoming tide through a maze of ice that can stretch for several miles. Attentiveness and safety are the first two prerequisites here, as chunks can melt off the iceberg and the subsequent waves capsize a kayak, while others drift with the current, posing a danger should they unexpectedly roll. There is the hiss of escaping air, like the air hose at a service station, as the melting ice releases air bubbles. Just multiply the sound by 20 to imagine the decibel level. In essence, you are breathing air that can be hundreds if not thousands of years old. In my opinion, there is no finer boating adventure in Alaska than kayaking among icebergs.
There are many areas to do this, from Glacier Bay out of Gustavus, to Whittier, Seward, and Valdez in south-central Alaska. Numerous services provide all the kayaks, foul-weather gear, guides and transportation to and from these areas. Weather plays a big part in how much ice is available. Nevertheless, the kayaking trips, usually enjoyed in either single or tandem kayaks, allow for wildlife viewing and close-up examinations of marine tide pools.
The tandem kayak is the best choice for a member and spouse, as one can paddle while the other rests. It’s important that one of the occupants be strong enough to paddle for both people, even though many of the adventures don’t take much physical strength. There are no heavy currents to fight in most waters, and the rudders help you easily steer around ice obstacles. If a husband and wife are looking for a memorable day trip that symbolizes the uniqueness of Alaska, this is one of my top recommendations. I have taken my family and friends kayaking numerous times and it has always been a highlight of their Alaska trip.
If you’re looking for the best whitewater rafting trip in Alaska, Six Mile Creek, just south of Anchorage, offers Class IV and V adventure in narrow canyons, while the Lion’s Head run on the Matanuska River north of Anchorage offers a more panoramic and scenic adventure that isn’t to be missed in late August and early September. These are two of my favorite guided whitewater adventures. For something tamer, the rafting trips out of Denali are a good choice. If there has been a period of rain and high water, the rapids become formidable, but you always can choose how much whitewater fun you can handle before you go. Again, look to the pre- and post-conference trip selections at www.owaa.org/2012conference/pre-and-post-conference-trips.
Either way, your Alaska adventure will be complete with at least one of these kayaking or rafting adventures under your belt. You won’t be disappointed.
—Chris Batin is the 2012 OWAA conference local chair. He is available to answer member questions about scheduled fishing and hunting trips, tours or to help members with custom trips. Contact him at chrisbatin@alaskaangler.com.
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Through the years

OWAA staff — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 21:54:34 +0000

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This is the first of a two-part series. This piece focuses on a sampling of OWAA’s history from 1927 to 1962, taken from “Sixty-Five Years of OWAA: A Historical Summary of the Outdoor Writers Association of America,” edited by Don G. Cullimore and Edwin W. Hanson.
This does not, and cannot, attempt to be comprehensive in the sense of a full review … The source material is too vast and too formidable.
The decision: To search for and select that combination of representative events, interesting highlights and key “turning points” … Much of importance would be necessarily omitted or abridged. Various trivialities would be included as indicative of the trend of the times. It would not be a Pollyanna production reflecting only sweetness and light; it would recognize that problems and points of dissension existed, and within those problems and dissensions the character of the organization was molded and, on occasion, revised.
The date was April 9, 1927, and the site was Chicago.
Despite the aura in which it was written — that of the natural resources-minded Izaak Walton League — OWAA’s Bill of Organization contained no reference to conservation. It sought to establish professional status, to upgrade the quality of writers and their writing and to create recognition of OWAA as the standard-bearer of the oudoor writing field. Subsequent events would further emphasize OWAA’s conservation committment.
With a dateline of April 5, 1940, Outdoors Unlimited made its first appearance; a newsletter on a single sheet of heavy, legal-size paper. Its originator, and editor … was J. Hammond Brown.
The 1941 business meeting was again held in conjuction with the North American Wildlife Conference.
Outdoors Unlimited noted that OWAA “was given a distinct part in the conference,” conducting “three big open forums, on conservation, on education and on publicity …” OWAA was moving more firmly into recognition.
Despite the war, a substantial number of members were signed up in 1942. In October the newsletter reported that membership totaled 400.
On Aug. 14, 1945, Japan surrendered. The war was over. On Aug. 24, the Board of Directors along with a few other members, met at Dayton, Ohio, where Brown proposed the first step toward regeneration. He would resign as president, to accept an executive director post in which he would concentrate on OWAA’s activities in furthering conservation. Col. L.B. Rock, publisher of the Dayton (Ohio) Journal-Herald, would be named the president … his chief task being that of obtaining financing.
In October 1947, Brown’s President’s Message pleaded for aid in obtaining 30 or 40 or 50 associate members at $25 each.
The following January (1948), the newsletter summarized OWAA’s year-end status:
“We are flat broke, in fact a bit in debt….”
The Board of Directors approved two postwar objectives. One was the achievement of a financing problem that would eliminate the constant shoestring scrimping. This had failed.
The other objective: Structural reorganization … This was achieved and embodied in a document titled: “Constitution and Bylaws of the Outdoor Writers Assocation of America, corrected and including amendments up to Jan. 1, 1948.”
In September 1948, the newsletter reported, OWAA had just signed up its one-thousandth member — the record!
With the regeneration documented by the new constitutional provisions, the contents of Outdoors Unlimited reflected the heavy emphasis being placed on the conservation scene. Mike Hudoba (Sports Afield’s Washington correspondent) became OWAA’s secretary in 1948, and was in a position to monitor congressional developments and administrative directives in the capital, and to work closely with Brown in both newsletter production and legislative maneuvering.
OU grew in size and scope as an expanded membership provided funds.
In preparing this historical summary, an analysis of the content of Outdoors Unlimited from 1947 through 1949 [revealed] no comments on skills, marketing potential and problems, etc.; nor to the campaign for expanded coverage in daily and weekly newspapers, which had been cited as a key objective immediately after the end of World War II.
The resurged interest in these professional phases … was due at least in part to a series of early 1950s letters to OU.
Outdoors Unlimited was the prime medium for informing, and inspiring, such writers; and Brown, as a veteran Baltimore newspaperman, was sharply aware of the necessity for (and techniques of) employing news in influencing legislative and administrative circles in the nearby nation’s capital.
The problem in organizing this impact was financial. OWAA dues were minimal. The increasing cost requirements of the newsletter — being steadily expanded as issues surged to the fore — outstripped the available funds. Efforts at securing other financial sources proved ineffectual …
Ergo: Two targets could be hit with one shot — a basic membership expansion that would both increase political impact, through force of numbers and the volume of their crusading voices, and bolster the financial income through dues.
It would be simple to summarize in retrospect that Brown became so obsessed with the vision of a large, powerful force for conservation that he lost his perspective as to the fundamental nature of OWAA and its basic concept as a writers’ organization of professional status and interests.
Two things must be taking into consideration: The contingency of the times, in which the immediate postwar land-and-water exploitation/dam construction upsurge threatened to overrun the conservation-defender outposts, and the membership of the then small and largely professional OWAA voiced no substantial challenge to the direction in which he was leading the organization.
It may be well conceded that Brown was of a domineering character in leadership, but it also must be acknowledged that he was meticulous in obtaining on-the-record approval of policy steps taken in that capacity. If enthusiasm for what he saw as signifcant conservation accomplishements blinded him as to the denouement, a similar myopia must be assigned to his colleagues within the organization.
His enthusiasm appeared to have been contagious. The published membership supplements showed that many who later were critical of results of the wide-open-door acceptance of applicants, were themselves the sponsors of non-writing questionables whose qualifications lay in sportsman activities and a sympathetic attitutde toward conservation.
In the 1949-54 period following the open door constitutional revision, incoming new members included many who would be future leaders in OWAA. These members, as well as many others, were listed with unmistakable outdoor writing qualifications.
Brown died Aug. 13, 1955, at the age of 78. In the years following Brown’s death, OWAA’s course was centered on maintaining the organizational framework while groping cautiously, and somewhat uncertainly toward, future changes.
At the Aberdeen, Wash., OWAA convention in June 1957, the proposed new constitution and bylaws were submitted … Late revisions to meet objections were made at a board meeting prior to the annual business session, and it appeared there existed a general agreement on the document’s adoption without major dissension. The long-simmering stew could quietly recede and grow cold, or so it was thought.
A surprise last-minute amendement was proposed … and carried. The “grandfather clause” altered the active member section … conferring permanent active membership on everyone regardless of the extent of their writing then, or any time in the future. Additionally, it eliminated the professional requirement for active status.
Murray Crowder was a relative newcomer to OWAA. His first President’s message, following election at Aberdeen, read:
“Most of you are aware of the fact that by adoption of the new constitution we ceased being a policy making, lobbying or conservation group …”
This was sufficiently startling by its exclusionary references to a basic conservation commitment; something quite beyond the intent of those who agreed with the emphasis on professionalism in membership; on abstaining from lobbying and on restraint in passing resolutions. But Crowder, still burning from what he considered the underhanded sneak attach that created the grandfather clause … said:
“ … Our job, as I see it, is to give members each side of any controversial issue or question. What disposition he makes of such material, or which side he takes, is up to him and his editor or publisher.”
This provoked rejoinders … [who] protested that Crowder’s statement went far beyond their concept of the objectives of the new constituiton, and questioned the survival of an organization unless there existed an idealistic fundamental base.
Subsequently, in December, Crowder’s President’s Message acknowledged the severity of the reaction.
Crowder’s President’s Message, April 1958, said:
“Word has spread … that the new OWAA is against conservation. Now how dumb and asinine can some people be? Are we, as writers about the outdoors, dumb enough to cut our
own throats? I memerly stated that we as a group should not attempt to set policies or dictate to our members what they, or their editors, should or should not print.”
At the 1958 meeting in the Florida Keys, the Constitution adopted at Aberdeen underwent extensive amendment. Although the grandfather clause adoption of the previous year remained a sore spot with many members, no effort was made to overturn it. … [T]he decision was to avoid any further inflammation of the schism within the organization.
Meanwhile, a group of members moved quietly to reestablish OWAA’s primary commitment to conservation objectives — an effort to affirm basic principles. It took the form of an award to an OWAA member selected as having been of outstanding service in the field of conservation.
The following year the Jade Award and the Circle of Chiefs — the recipients — were formally established.
The three years following the 1958 meeting found OWAA groping for solutions to problems that, as viewed in retrospect, were inherent in a volunteer and underfinanced organization that lacked a strong central base for communcation and cohesive controls.
As president in fiscal year, 1958-59, Ries Tuttle brought to the office years of experience on the board, and a conviction that there needed to be a period of relative calm, without internal flare-ups; plus a start toward developing a services program to attract and hold the professional type of membership to which OWAA was now recommitted.
In February 1962, President Ed Keenan reported:
“The Professional and Trade Association Counsel of Chicago has been designated … to make the survey and each member of OWAA has been mailed one of the survey forms. …[T]he response of our members was far and away beyond what had been expected … ”
OWAA was approaching a new opening in the road, with apparent enthusiasm.
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Bookshelf

OWAA staff — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 21:45:22 +0000

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Walking with Whitetails DVD

By Richard P. Smith
Smith Publications; $19.99 plus S&H.
One of the best ways to learn about whitetailed deer is to follow them around to see where they go and what they do, but that’s impossible. Right? Wrong. Veteran photojournalist Richard P. Smith from Marquette, Mich., has been walking with whitetails, both bucks and does of all ages, for years. And now you can share in learning some of the unique things he’s seen and learned about these normally shy animals.

Boundary Waters Canoe Camping third edition

By Cliff Jacobson
FalconGuides, www.falcon.com; 194 pages; $18.95.
This completely revised and expanded edition contains everything you need to know to canoe and camp in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area and Quetico Provincial Park. There are more than 100 stunning full-color photos, new product ideas and revised appendices.
Cliff Jacobson is one of North America’s most respected outdoor writers and wilderness canoe guides. He is the author of more than a dozen top-selling books on camping and canoeing. In 2003 the American Canoe Association presented Jacobson with the Legends of Paddling Award and inducted him into the ACA hall of Fame.

Birding Trails – Texas: Prairies, Pineywoods, Panhandle

By Jim Foster
Sandhill Crane Press, books@wildadvpress.com, 866-400-2012, softcover, 400 pp., $28.95.
Currently, there are more than 48 million birders in the country of which 20 million travel an average of 14 days each year to pursue their birding passion.
Texas is one of the top five birding states in the U.S. with at least 400 different species. In this book, there are more than 200 full-color photos of the key species of birds and more than 50 trail maps and a birder’s check list for each region.

The Mindful Carnivore: A Vegetarian’s Hunt for Sustenance

By Tovar Cerulli
Pegasus Books, 212-504-2924, hardcover and e-book, 304 pp., $26.95.
A vegan-turned-hunter explores our nutritional relationships with the larger-than-human world. Tracing the evolution of his dietary philosophy — from a fateful encounter with a brook trout to a rekindled relationship with the only hunter in his family — Cerulli’s tale blends personal narrative with historical perspective.
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Reading Russell Annabell: The cure for the modern outdoor story

OWAA staff — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 21:34:49 +0000

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BY MATT MILLER
When the modern sporting press has me down, I have a tried and true antidote: Read some Russell Annabel.
Recently, I paged through a popular national hunting magazine, and noticed an article that promised to share an author’s greatest hunting day. Ever.
I can perhaps be forgiven for not expecting what came next: The adventure began with our outdoor writing hero rising from bed and strolling to his laptop, where he dutifully checked his game cameras remotely to see which deer feeder he should choose.
As Dave Barry says, I swear I am not making this up.
The rest of the article details his intense excitement when his laptop revealed a huge trophy buck had visited his feeder earlier in the morning. The writer gushed and effused as to how this made his hunt more exciting. It ended with a plug for all serious deer hunters to have computer programs that sync with their game cameras.
Has it really come to this?
The joy of owning an overflowing library is that I can journey back in time, can be transported to that time when outdoor writing meant adventure and dreams.
I tossed the magazine aside and pulled a book of Russell Annabel stories off the shelf. As you prepare for the OWAA conference in Alaska, you might want to do the same.
Annabel wrote hundreds of outdoor stories from the 1940s through his death in 1979, mostly for Sports Afield. He told stories of adventure and mayhem, many involving his friend, Tex Cobb, as they hunted, fished, prospected and explored remote regions of Alaska and Mexico.
Annabel’s world was one populated by a mind-boggling assortment of crazed moose, man-eating bears and vengeful wolves. The animals he encountered often exhibited human traits, including excessive pride, intentional rudeness and just plain old nastiness. A rock slide awaited around every bend; a blizzard occurred at least once a week. Add up the various adventures and you might reasonably conclude that Annabel lived to be 250 years old.
And here I imagine many friends chiding my Annabel recommendation, particularly those of you with whom I have enjoyed discussions on Hemingway, Jim Harrison or other literary writers.
I’ll be honest: Annabel’s writing often is more pulp fiction that non-fiction. He clearly fails by any current standard of political or ecological correctness. Then again, it’s always a mistake to use the present to judge the past.
His stories have no value as how-to pieces, unless you happen to find yourself trapped under a log during a blizzard, your rifle ten feet away, as a rabid and hungry wolverine stalks you. In which case, working knowledge of Annabel would come in pretty handy.
No doubt, much of Annabel’s canon lies in the realm of fiction, or at least hyperbole.
Here’s the thing: The guy could tell a story. Reading of his adventures as a kid made me want to grab my BB gun and head outside. Reading him today still recalls nostalgia. And I still keep turning the pages.
His prose may indeed be purple at times, but it’s also descriptive. You can picture the Mexican canyon, you can feel the cold, feel the fear as the grizzly charges.
Reading a few stories by old Rusty drives home that point: Stories still matter.
That should be obvious to anyone in the outdoor communication business. Evidence suggests it’s not.
Too many magazine stories are really ad copy, filled with product placements seasoned with regrettable sentimentality. Annabel’s charging grizzlies may indeed live in the realm of tall tale. But claiming that shooting a deer over an automated corn feeder is some form of adventure — an adventure which mentions 25 products, each of which performs flawlessly — is a much uglier brand of lying.
“Stories” extolling computer-controlled game monitors, high-fenced shooting galleries and 900-yard “hunting” rifles are not attracting young hunters. The numbers don’t lie. Good stories — told or written, including the timeless tall tale — remain the foundation of outdoor sport. But still the advertising copy too often fills the pages.
Environmental organizations aren’t much better. Environmentalists speak in jargon, or ramble endlessly about Beltway politics, or engage in fear mongering. None of this is particularly useful or interesting to the general public.
I recently attended a meeting in which a very intelligent environmental staffer said, “This movement doesn’t need writers, it needs promoters.”
Wrong. The movement, too, needs stories.
In my job with The Nature Conservancy, I’ve eschewed meetings and jargon in favor of getting in the field and collecting stories: The Colombian rancher who said the beautiful wide-open spaces and flocks of birds filling the sky sustained him through decades of unspeakable violence. The Idaho rancher who lassoed badgers for sport — and who also is putting more water in the river so salmon can spawn. The young man who began his career chopping fins off living sharks, who now is a dedicated marine conservationist.
These stories resonate with our members. In a field dominated by policy talk and jargon, people respond when they read stories.
OWAA is still a refuge for storytellers, a fact so apparent to me as I think about some of my recent reading: intelligent books by Joel Vance, Kevin Rhoades, E. Donnall Thomas Jr. and Eric Jay Dolin; honest and compelling magazine articles by the likes of Kirk Deeter and Tim Gallagher; and humorous newspaper tales by friends Mark Freeman and Brett Prettyman.
Stories still matter. And while the stories may look different than when Annabel was writing, his colorful stories of Alaska still provide a decent working blueprint for good storytelling. And they beat the hell out of deer hunting via bait-by-laptop.
—OWAA board member Matt Miller is director of communications for The Nature Conservancy in Idaho. He is currently writing about Pacific island marine issues as part of a conservation fellowship. He is also editor of Backcountry Journal, a blogger at Idaho Nature Notes and Cool Green Science, and a freelance writer.
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Macro photography: The devil’s in the details

OWAA staff — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 21:26:37 +0000

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BY COLLEEN MINIUK-SPERRY
Whether you are photographing brilliant wildflowers, bizarre-looking insects, or valuable outdoor products, macro photography opens the door to an enchanting world of minute
details often overlooked in a broader scene. This close-up style offers shutterbugs the opportunity to add a story-telling perspective to their portfolio and articles. Here’s how to make a big impact by recording small wonders with your camera:
Equip yourself properly. A macro (or micro) lens allows photographers to magnify and get closer to their subjects than with other lenses. Though some manufacturers claim their equipment has macro-like capabilities, true macro lenses enable 1:1 or 1:2 magnification ratios. These ratios indicate that the photographer can render the subject at life-size (1:1) or half size (1:2) in the final frame. Some specialty glass can magnify subjects up to a 5:1 magnification ratio, or five times larger than life-size! Those without an official macro lens can still capture fine detail with a telephoto lens or by using close-up filters, extension tubes, or bellows on a variety of different focal length lenses.
Identify a simple subject. If you don’t know what you’re trying to capture with your image, your viewers certainly won’t either, since often they are not standing next to you when you snap the shutter. Start by asking yourself, “What is catching my eye with this scene? What am I trying to show my viewers in this frame? Why do I enjoy this subject?” Pay attention to your answers, as this evaluative process assists in defining a strong starting point for composing your photograph.
Compose with harmony. Get close to a clean, healthy-looking specimen and fill the entire frame with the detail you’d like to emphasize, such as the center of the flower or a finger ready to pull the gun trigger. To create a sense of balance, arrange the key elements off-center at the intersection points of the imaginary tic-tac-toe grid described in the Rule of Thirds.
Behold the background. Set your aperture to a wide setting such as f/2.8 or f/4 to blur the background. Then check to ensure there are no bright or odd-shaped objects distracting your viewer’s eye away from your primary subject. If you cannot find a clean background, place a natural-looking green, brown, blue, or black shirt, bed sheet, or poster board at least one foot behind your subject to serve as an artificial backdrop.
Create dynamic lines with the “Dutch tilt.” Best applied when the horizon is not visible, this popular cinematography technique enables photographers to turn static vertical and horizontal lines into more visually appealing angles by intentionally slanting the camera a few degrees to the right or left while composing an image.
Stay focused on the right parts. Ensure your primary subject is sharp. This means that only the tip of a perfectly tied fly, the pistol or stamen of a wildflower, or a lizard’s eye closest to the camera may be in focus with your close-focusing range and the shallow depth of field inherent to a macro lens. Hand-holding your camera while employing the auto-focus mode will assist in reacting more quickly to moving subjects. For slow or non-moving subjects, however, minute adjustments to a focusing rail while using the manual focus mode will make it easier to find precise focus.
See the light. The contrast between highlights and shadows aids in creating the illusion of shape in two-dimensional photographs. For optimal shaping light, position your camera to record side or back light on your center of interest. Subjects illuminated with front and top light often look flat because the camera can’t “see” the critical difference in tones.
Tame harsh contrast. Under a cloudless day, natural mid-day light may appear too direct and too bright for your camera to record a well-balanced exposure. Using a reflector or artificial flash can help reduce this stark contrast by adding light to the shadows. Or, holding a diffuser over your small scene will produce muted, more even illumination, mimicking the quality of light experienced during an overcast day.
Make friends with the wind. When photographing outdoor subjects, the slightest breeze can make you want to pack up your gear and head home. Successfully record images on a blustery day by using the fastest shutter speed you can, increasing your ISO speed setting as needed to enable shorter exposure times. Then set your camera to continuous shoot mode, and wait for a lull in the wind. Create a wind block by draping a sheet over an extra tripod and place over your shooting view to reduce the movement of your subject. You can also stabilize a flower bud or plant with a Wimberley Plamp during the exposure. Alternatively, consider slowing your shutter speed to 1/30th of a second or less to convey the sense of motion and record a more impressionistic look.
— Colleen Miniuk-Sperry is an award-winning and internationally-published outdoor photographer and writer. In addition to articles for various publications, working on three books, and teaching photography workshops, she is also working on pre-visualizing winning lottery numbers. Contact her at cms@cms-photo.com.
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Get those e-books sold

OWAA staff — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 21:20:35 +0000

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BY KEVIN RHOADES

This is the final installment of a three-part series about e-books. The first, “Make money on the e-book gravy train,” appeared in the December issue of Outdoors Unlimited; the second, “E-books can be much more than a pdf file,” was published in January.
Now that you’ve created e-book files to upload to Amazon.com’s Author Central, Barnes & Noble’s PubIt and Apple’s iBookstore, the next step is to create author accounts and upload content to all three booksellers. It’s crucial that you provide comprehensive promotional details and the book file itself; preferred formats include mobi or prc files for Amazon.com’s Kindle; epub for Barnes & Noble’s Nook; and epub for Apple’s iPad and other devices.
Creating an author account on Amazon.com is simple and straightforward. Doing so on B&N is a bit more cumbersome, and on Apple’s iTunes Connect the process is challenging unless you own a Macintosh computer. Of the three booksellers, Amazon.com’s application process is the most expedited. Apple’s e-book creation tools are expected to overtake the textbook market, but for now, Amazon.com has the largest and most diverse buying audience and by far the finest advertising campaign to publicize you and your book.
Initiating your account with each bookseller entails completing contact and tax information including your checking account’s routing and account numbers. Do so — and promote your e-book well — and the dollars will automatically accumulate in your checking each month.
Assemble your billboard by typing or copying your book’s author and promo information into the correct fields. Include the book’s description, author biography and photos, the cover photo, a sample chapter or two, and editorial and customer reviews. Usually, the book’s cover and sample chapters appear automatically when the book’s file is uploaded, but you may have to do it yourself.
“Editorial reviews” are one- or two-line promotional blurbs that the author places there himself; copy author recommendations and endorsements from your book’s back cover or press release here, attributing the endorser. The more blurbs that entice prospective customers to buy the book, the better. “Customer reviews” are written by those who have read your book. Nudge colleagues, reviewers and patrons to post customer reviews. The more, the better. Shoot for a minimum of 10, and keep asking.
Increase viewer interest by adding multimedia to your billboard. Amazon.com has the capacity for you to add video, blog and Twitter feeds. If your book is as good as you think, take advantage of the full gamut of possibilities so viewers can decide to pony-up the cash.
While working through booksellers’ menus, you’ll see opt-in and opt-out check boxes that might puzzle you. One choice is whether to choose digital rights management. Do you want people to borrow or share your intellectual property? Research this beforehand so you don’t have to choose on the fly.
Another choice: Do you want to opt-in to Amazon.com’s KDP Select Program, making your e-book exclusive to one bookseller? The enticement is a chance to earn a pile of cash whether or not your book sells a single copy. Amazon.com pledged 6 million to the program in 2012, but your share is calculated by the number of qualified borrows. The catch: exclusivity. Agree to the terms and you cannot sell your e-book on your website or anywhere else.
Apple has its enticements, too, via its new, fantastic e-book creation tool iBooks Author, which, if used to create your e-book, limits where you can sell books created with their application. This restriction takes away much of the luster of what could be a game-changing tool. Let’s hope Apple changes its mind.
Tricky choices aside, there’s little doubt that the e-book explosion is upon us. The time is right. The cost is low. No printing to pay for. No more book stacks in the garage taking away space reserved for decoys and fishing garb. No bubble mailers to purchase. No stamps to buy. No more standing in line at the post office.
With your good book and excellent online promotion, much of which is free and nowadays can be done from a dark cubby hole from behind a computer in a spider-infested basement — you’ll count the e-dollars stacking up in your checking account at the end of each month.
—Kevin Rhoades, www.KevinRhoades.com, specializes in producing quality print books, e-books and websites for outdoor communicators. His first book, “Stalker of the Wild – Days in the Life of Wildlife Filmmaker Bob Landis,” was dually published last year as a print- and e-book by www.FiveValleysPress.com.
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A key ingredient of professionalism

OWAA staff — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 21:10:53 +0000

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BY GLENN SAPIR
Following are some of the comments offered by Glenn Sapir, as part of at three-person panel that presented a session on professionalism at the 2011 OWAA Conference.
In researching the word “professionalism,” I haven’t bothered to read a Merriam Webster. In regard to this topic, I’d pay more attention to what a Merriam’s gobbler would have to say. Talking turkey boils down to basic communication, and in my opinion, professionalism boils down to basics as well. Professionalism is born out of codes of common courtesy and conduct and requires considerate communication among all parties involved. Your professional standards are a reflection of whom you are, how you treat others and how you approach a task — any task. Professionalism, in my opinion, has less to do with how well you write or edit as it does with the demeanor with which you fulfill your assignment and your responsibilities. And if you do your job conscientiously, in a timely manner, thoroughly and as well as you can, you have reached a high level of professionalism.
I would like to emphasize one aspect of professionalism, and in my opinion, it is a reflection of someone’s codes of courtesy and conduct and their manner and manners of communicating.
That aspect comes under the heading of a single word — acknowledgement — and lack of acknowledgement is a pet peeve of mine.
In this electronic age, acknowledging receipt of a query, a request, an article submission or any other communication is ridiculously simple.
Examples:
“Attached is my manuscript assigned for the October issue, due on July 28. Thank you for the assignment. If you determine that any aspect of the article needs to be improved, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
“Thank you for this opportunity.
“Robert Writer”
How long will it then take to press “Reply,” and type “Thanks”? Or if you really have time, “Thanks for the submission, a week ahead of deadline. I look forward to reviewing it.”
“Eddie Editor” and press “Send.”
Maybe a younger generation is so used to using electronic communication that it has total faith in its delivery, so that Eddie Editor doesn’t feel he needs to acknowledge. And Robert Writer might believe that if the submission did not go through, he would have gotten an “Undeliverable” message from his email server.
But that’s not good enough. I want to know that my communication went through, was opened and accepted.
If Eddie Editor reads the manuscript, finds an area of deficiency and sends an email asking for more information in a certain part of the manuscript and that he’d like that revision by Aug. 1, shouldn’t he expect a reply of acknowledgement? Should Eddie Editor be wondering whether Robert Writer got his email? No, a professional will acknowledge receipt of the request and assure the editor he will address the request and that he will get the submission back to him by the deadline.
Without acknowledgement, doubt may needlessly creep into your mind. Lack of acknowledgement can even set the stage for disaster. Acknowledging correspondence is quick, simple, important — and, yes, professional.
In any assignment I send out via email, I outline the assignment, including scope, deadline, word length, et cetera, and ask that the writer acknowledge receipt of my email and confirm his or her interest and availability in fulfilling the terms of the assignment. I don’t leave anything to chance. Each member knows what to expect from the other, and they know that meeting those expectations will bring a satisfactory result.
That, I believe, is an important part of a professional relationship.
—Glenn Sapir is director of editorial services for the National Shooting Sports Foundation. He is also an outdoor columnist for The Journal News. A member since 1975, Sapir is from Putnam Valley, N.Y. Contact him at gsapir@earthlink.net.
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Shape our future, celebrate our past

OWAA staff — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 21:06:40 +0000

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BY ROBIN GINER
Welcome to our commemorative issue of Outdoors Unlimited celebrating OWA’s 85th anniversary. We hope you’ll enjoy the stories and memories shared by some of our association’s long-time members. There are also ties to OWAA’s future in this issue, including a summary of the 2012-15 Strategic Plan on page 25. In November, the Strategic Planning Committee met in Missoula, Mont., to draft this plan, which was voted on and approved by the Board of Directors during the winter board meeting. The plan is filled with attainable goals that will help cement OWAA’s place as the premier organization for outdoor communicators for another 85 years.
On pages 20-23, you’ll find the biographies, mug shots and answers provided by this year’s slate of candidates for the Board of Directors election, along with a few bylaws initiatives that require your input. Some of the candidates’ names have been on the ballot before, others are new to the process — but all are worthy of your time and attention, and most importantly, your action by way of your vote. As in past years, the voting is only open to Active, Senior Active and Life members, and you’ll be asked to cast your vote between April 1 and May 1. But this year’s process will be a bit different…
Over the past decade, my math skills tell me that on average only 27 percent of eligible members participate in voting. So, with the blessing of the current board, we’re going to try something different: online voting. For those few members that we don’t have emails for, you’ll receive a ballot in the mail. For the rest, you’ll receive an email on April 1 with a link to the online ballot. This is, in part, a cost-savings strategy, as mailing the ballots gets more expensive every year. But it is, most importantly, a strategy to get more members to participate in the process and elect their fellow colleagues who will help guide the organization for the next three years. Exercise your right and vote for your top three candidates when the email hits your inbox.
Research tells me, through data collected by the American Society of Association Executives, that more individuals return their ballots via online voting than with traditional paper ballots. A 2009 study conducted by the consultant group The Kushner Companies reports that on average, ballots returns increased by at least 10 percent at 100 associations surveyed when they switched from paper balloting to electronic. Another article found on ASAE’s website suggests that voter participation rates could easily double with the online format. Although the process is a little different from years past, I hope you’ll take a couple minutes to review the candidates’ profiles and cast your vote when the time comes.
While many things have changed over the 85 years since OWAA began, one thing remains the same: OWAA remains the largest and most prestigious organization for those of us privileged enough to call the outdoors our office.
— OWAA Executive Director Robin Giner, rginer@owaa.org
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Update in store for Outdoors Unlimited

OWAA staff — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 21:01:22 +0000

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If it weren’t for the last minute, nothing would get done.
Or maybe you’re more familiar with the “If it weren’t for deadlines … ” variation.
Either way, we’re never short on things to do here at headquarters. Lots of projects and deadlines. And despite having a never-ending to-do list, for better or worse it’s also easy to fall into a routine.
But, starting with this issue of Outdoors Unlimited, my schedule is going to get shaken up and I think it’s worth telling you about it.
Outdoors Unlimited has undergone several changes the past few years. This latest change — which we hope will be a more permanent solution — embodies feedback from all of those incarnations.
Outdoors Unlimited will now be published six times per year as a full-color magazine that will be delivered directly to your mailbox.
A PDF version of those issues will still be provided for those folks who prefer reading OU that way. We’ll also keep posting frequent updates to OU Online, including Outdoor Alerts and other timely content.
Why this change again?
I was fortunate to be able to take part in the recent strategic planning meeting. (After all, my vehicle fits six people and they needed help shuttling folks around during that blustry weekend.)
The committee put together a detailed plan that includes a several big technology-based projects. Technology is a constant, albeit changing, aspect of all our lives. To ensure the future of OWAA, it’s important to keep OWAA and its members and supporters up-to-date with the latest tech trends.
I’m very excited about these new benefits we’ll be able to offer in the near future.
On that note, aside from putting together OU, I’m in charge of maintaining OWAA’s website and social media presence. Also, some of the new technology-related tasks outlined by the committee will fall on my shoulders. This requires a need to balance my time to best benefit members.
This past year, I’ve been tracking analytics for our website, which we overhauled last spring. I can tell how many people read the online-only issues of OU and see what Outdoor Market listings are viewed.
I want to spend more time seeking out money-making opportunities for the Market. I will also be gearing up to start working on some of those new projects. (How cool would it
be to easily access our membership Directory from your smartphone?)
With the new tasks and the need to provide timely information — not just once a month or on a quarterly basis — changes have been made to what I’ll be doing here at headquarters.
Needless to say, I’m looking forward for what the next couple years have in store for me, you and OWAA
— OWAA Publications and Communications Director Ashley Schroeder, aschroeder@owaa.org.

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Investing in OWAA’s future

OWAA staff — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 20:44:01 +0000

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BY MIKE WALKER
In case you haven’t yet heard, OWAA turns 85 next month. I hope you will consider adding to the investment of OWAA, to ensure the organization’s success in the next 85 years.
Your monetary gift will do more than just help OWAA’s bottom line. Your support bolsters fellowships and programs for members, helps mentor the next generation of outdoor communicators, and more. Your support helps OWAA help you.
Leave it to Lisa Densmore to come up with a great idea: “$85 for 85 years.” And the kick-off date is the 85th day of 2012: March 25.
I worked with Benedictine College in Kansas on a similar campaign and the priests never announced the campaign until they had 25 percent committed. I’m afraid we don’t have that luxury and need to get moving a little faster. That’s why we need to have March 25 as a kick-off day.
Every member would give $85, one dollar for each year of OWAA’s 85th anniversary.
There will be four giving categories because we recognize that not all members can afford $85.
These categories are:

Scribe: $8.50 (to $84.99)
Columnist: $85.00 (to $849.99)
Author: $850.00 (to $8,499.99)
Pulitzer: $8,500 +

We’re working out the details, but we want to show our appreciation to those who invest in OWAA. Donors can expect gifts like camouflage OWAA logo gear and exclusive opportunities at upcoming conferences. All donations at the Pulitzer level include a life membership to OWAA. Donors will be listed in Outdoors Unlimited and at www.owaa.org on a special Web page that will track the campaign’s progress.
Please contribute what you can, whether it’s $85 or $850. Every little bit can make a difference. If you can add to the investment, we are grateful. And remember, your contribution is tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
It doesn’t take much to build a fund that can go a long way to making the difference for OWAA. Please join others and me in making OWAA a strong association.
— OWAA President Mike Walker, mike@walkeragency.com
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