QUESTION: WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU TAUGHT YOURSELF TO DO WITHOUT HELP FROM ANYONE ELSE?
ANSWER: a monthly newsletter
PART ONE:
I was on the yearbook staff when I was in high school--The Roundup of Rawlins High. I loved that extra-curricular activity! It made me feel pretty heady because it seemed like at that time it was a coveted spot to be. (Maybe not....maybe it was all in my head!) Still I remember being proud of my involvement. I wasn't a bit interested in the Newspaper. That seemed weak and kind of corny, at times. But, the yearbook....Now that was something!
I learned three things while participating in the yearbook publication that have been an invaluable addition to my life.
First, I learned how to sell a product to a complete stranger. The staff had to go out and sell advertising to keep the yearbook afloat. It was scary to approach the local businesses, to be sure, but it taught me to swallow my fear, look people in the eye and tell them what I was selling and why. I learned to concoct a spiel all on my own which fit me and what I was trying to do. Learning and practicing that gave me a distinct advantage over kids who were afraid to speak up, those who wouldn't make eye contact with the buyer, and the ones who seemed embarrassed that they were trying to sell a product even though it wasn't illegal, immoral, or unethical. And the merchants were usually willing to buy. But they made you work for the sale. The better you were, the bigger the ad they took out.
I truly see online selling--all the way from Girl Scout cookies, to team fund raisers, to school or scout unit improvements--as a detriment to young people. Where are they going to learn to interact with people, as well as all the subtleties that come with "selling" as they find themselves applying for a job, interviewing for a merit badge, or asking for a raise?
This was the groundwork for all the selling I did over the years both for school fund raisers or my employment in corporate America. And though I really do not like selling, I am a "cracker jack" salesperson!
Second, I learned how to write "copy", the interesting blurb to describe a photo or the text or message portion of an article, including the headline, sub-headlines, body copy, and any other information.
It was fun to be creative and "tell a story" in the captions rather than just make a statement about each photo. Sure, the people had to be identified, but the whole layout was more inviting to read when the headlines instantly caught the attention and the copy held it.
Third, I learned how to crop photos so only the interesting parts were captured rather than fill a whole lot of space by just slapping a series of photos onto the page. Size, shape, and a manageable number of items to feature all made such a difference. It was calculated to emphasize or downplay, according to the purpose.
PART TWO:
Now I am to the part where I began in earnest to implement the skills I learned on the yearbook staff.
From the time I was in grade school, I had assembled scrapbooks of some of my school work, greeting cards I had received, my Mutual (YW) Treasures of Truth book, The Nichols Family "Virginia Experience" scrapbook, and other collections. I tried to make the books attractive, but the early ones were like the old photos in the Huggins Family picture albums--just stacks of photos pasted into the book side by side. They were a little more attractive by the time I was a teenager, but truthfully, pretty much nothing but newspaper articles and other memorabilia pasted onto the pages. Not willy-nilly, but not wow! either.
When "SCRAPBOOKING" arrived, I really admired all that fancy creativity to display family events and photos. But that wasn't me. I don't have that artistic ability--or the patience to make a masterpiece of each page. I have always done my best when words are involved.
I dabbled in a Huggins Family Newsletter during the late 70's and early 80's when Grandpa and Grandma Huggins were still alive. But after they died and we no longer met as a Family Association, even that died out, too. I've done fake newspapers to present lesson material. And, I wrote a feature for the Arvada 5th Ward Flyer, "Getting to Know You" presenting a different family in our ward each month. I had a series of questions I would use to interview the families that made for interesting reading.
Fast forward to when I moved to Johnstown and Bishop Hull called me to be a Family History Specialist with an emphasis on writing my own personal history. What better forum than a family newsletter to share those little chapters I wrote about myself--and add some other features about the family's adventures, etc. along the way. Thus was the Nichols Family News launched in January 2003.
During the ten years I wrote that monthly newsletter, it went from one sheet on both sides in the beginning to five sheets on both sides by the time I had been writing it for three or four years. It included excerpts from my personal journals, thoughts (remember I am an Aphorism Addict) family recipes, memories of my parents, excerpts from my mom's journals, favorite Family Home Evening lessons, bits and pieces I shared which I picked up here and there in the course of reading ALL kinds of written material, interviews with other family members, my constantly evolving testimony, and Momma G's State of the Family address every January.
And, I couldn't have done a bit of it without Microsoft Seven! I had a plethora of fonts, layouts, word art, clip art, scanning ability, and lots of other options from which to choose that I learned to manipulate better and better over time.
In the meantime, I began being aware of some changes in published magazines' formats--even Church magazines which kind of came to the party a bit later. Instead of just columns of words, the paragraphs and articles were arranged so they were short blips instead of nothing but close-spaced text. Along with all that there were interesting little "spacers" whose format I also copied in compiling our own Nichols Family News.
Sometimes on Sundays I read those newsletters again, as opposed to reading what I normally do during the week. And what better reading material than a little Nichols Family history! It doesn't take long to become absorbed with the memories those articles evoke. I am sometimes almost astounded at the amount of work that went into that monthly endeavor. Now, I wonder how I ever found the time to publish that family rag. There is no time hanging around in my schedule for that now.
And, don't forget Brittany read every single issue of the Nichols Family News when she was preparing the Trivial Pursuit Game for my 70th surprise birthday party. (I didn't even know some of the answers! And, I wrote the book...) It's still fun to play when the Family gets together.
It's a good thing that my ten year commitment came to an end about the time we got Windows 10. Talk about a crippling and limiting program for desktop publishing! Such a wimpy number of fonts, options, and diversity of layout. What's worse, the user-ability isn't at all friendly. In short--IT STINKS! And I'm not the only one who HATES Windows 10.
But when I look at those ten 3-ring binders on the bottom shelf of the book case in the computer room, I feel a certain sense of pride that I learned how to publish the Nichols Family News all by myself.
Thank you very much!
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