Works in Progress is a free newspaper that’s been produced and consumed in Thurston County every month for almost 30 years. Periodically, some WIP folks look up from their tasks and discover that it’s time to bring in some new and different people to keep the publication going strong. Check out the ways people relate to WIP and contact us about taking a part. Send an email to olywip@gmail.com with the the area you’re interested in in the subject line. Or just get in touch with a question. See you on the web.
Delivering WIP. A paper ain’t nuthin if nobody gets hold of it to read! Every month a small cadre of devoted volunteers puts 2500+ copies of WIP in racks and boxes in Olympia, Lacey, Shelton and elsewhere. You can be part of that network—or you can step in as the coordinator, finding new locations and expending WIPs reach.
Editing and more. WIP publishes articles, opinions and analyses submitted by all sorts of writers. Needless to say, some of them need expert editing – so WIP depends on expert editors. As articles come in, they’re forwarded for editing, formatting, suggesting a headline and re-checking with the author. Editing is one of the great, under appreciated skills—and if you possess it, we’re waiting to hear from you! If you’re just a detail-oriented person who likes correcting others—you’d be right for our proofreading sessions once a month.
Writers. Ah, writers. Some people are natural writers—but everyone who has something to say is a writer if they have a good editor (see above under Editing). WIP looks for news and reflections unreported (or distorted) by the mainstream media. People writing about what’s important to them turns out to be important to others. We’re looking for your well-researched local news, accounts of personal experiences, reflections on life and politics… Or if your organization just wants to send us a press release, that’s good too. You could be a regular contributor, or just send in an article once in a while.
Creative Techies. Boy do we need some help here! Our website, FaceBook page and editing/layout expertise are very much “works in progress.” We’d like to migrate from our clunky email-based submission practices to something more streamlined, ditto our listserve, and we could use some pointers to enhance our knowledge of InDesign. As for our website and FB page—that whole ball of wax needs major remodeling. (Never mind our misuse of metaphors.)
Graphics. We’re off to a promising start to building a deeper team of artists, doodlers, illustrators, photographers and other image-oriented folks, so if you’re looking for a place to showcase your talents however idiosyncratic, we want to hear from you. Back in June we sent out a call for help with graphics and as a result, we have two new creative volunteers. Photographer Amy has been a photography hobbyist since abour 2011. She views the craft as a way to show each other what we see in the world, and hopes thus to evoke an emotional resonance. She dedicates the images she submits to her late uncle, an established photographer who saw the potential in her photos and encouraged her to continue. Graphic Artist Don is a ‘life-long Olympioid” and artist with political chops and a sense of humor who would be earning a living as an artist if the world rewarded talent the same way it rewards project management.
Operations. This is everything else that’s needed to make WIP’s wheels turn. Bookkeeping, nurturing our advertisers, coordinating the distribution network, filing reports, outreach to organizations who could be using WIP, seeking out stories, running the whole show, running a part of the show. Taking on one discrete task, or jumping in with both feet. Now’s the time.
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