2009 events and training resources for communicators –
Something for everyone: business owners, staffers and freelancers
Communication Central presents practical programs of value to communicators at all levels, both in-house and freelance, employee and employer, including an annual conference with speakers and participants from around and outside the USA and monthly workshops for local audiences. Our "train station" logo represents our concept of the Communication Central business as a central source for training and related resources. Co-owners Ruth E. Thaler-Carter and Kat Nagel are successful freelance writers, editors and presenters on a wide range of topics, as well as active members of professional associations in the communications field.
Ongoing programs
In addition to our annual workshop and conference every fall, Communication Central also presents monthly workshops on various topics. New this year is a workshop series with weekly sessions on related topics, to make the learning experience more effective for participants. Currently planned offerings are listed below (please note that this is an initial schedule and is subject to change).
Programs are held at the Renaissance, 2500 East Avenue, Rochester, NY, unless otherwise noted. Consult www.communication-central.com for program details and new information or call (585) 248-0318. If you have a topic in mind that you would like us to address, please let us know!
Cost unless special program: $30/person for participants in previous Communication Central events or programs and members of the EFA, STC, AWC, Writers & Books, and some other professional associations (only one discount per person); $40, others. Contact Communication Central to see if your professional organization is eligible for the discounted rate.
Payment may be made by check or via PayPal. Click here for a PDF version of the registration form and here for a Word version. If planning to pay at the door, please send the registration form beforehand to Communication Central, 2500 East Avenue, Suite 7K, Rochester, NY 14610, or fax to (585) 248-3638, to ensure sufficient handouts and refreshments.
Monthly workshops (subject to change):
o May 2009, 6:30-9 p.m.: To be announced.
Weekly series - new! (may be subject to change; more sessions may be added):
* Websites for Freelancers Series, presented by Kat Nagel
Coming up this summer; dates to be announced. To be held at the MasterWork Consulting office, 217 Barrington Street in the Park Avenue neighborhood. Free parking onstreet.
(Program details at: http://www.masterworkconsulting.com/2009/01/2009workshops/).
o Session 1: 101: First Things First - Getting Started on the Web
o Session 2: 102: Design Basics - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
o Session 3: 103: Better Late than Never - Begin Your Blog Today!
Note: Limited to eight (8) attendees; must bring own laptop computers
o Session 4: 104: Website Credibility - Building Trust in Your Site and Your Business
o Session 5: 105: Search Engines and Beyond - Online Marketing for a Successful Business
Signing up
To attend these programs, you may make advance payment by check to:
Communication Central, 2500 East Avenue, Suite 7K, Rochester, NY 14610
or by PayPal to:
conference@communication-central.com
Payment also may be made at the door by check or cash. To pay at the door, please fax registration form to 585-248-3638 in advance. Please register in advance so we can provide sufficient handouts and refreshments.
For information, call 585-248-0318.
2009 Build Your Communications Business conference
Plans are underway for our fourth annual Build Your Communications Business conference in Rochester, NY, currently scheduled for September 25-26, 2009, at the East Avenue Inn. This year's focus will be on marketing your communications business. Watch this space for details on speakers and sessions.
For further information about upcoming programs or the co-owners of Communication Central, call 585-248-0318 or go to:
www.communication-central.com
• 2008 conference highlights •
Our 3rd annual “Build Your Communications Business” conference, “Look Professional in Print, Online and in Person,” held September 26-27, 2008, in Rochester, NY, was a great experience! Participants got great information from Jack Lyon of the Editorium (www.editorium.com) in the pre-conference workshop on Sept. 26, and conference keynote address on the morning of Sept. 27, as well as from Judy Shenouda of Shenouda Associates Inc., Rochester, NY, with new ideas for effective branding and promotions; Merry Bruns of ScienceSites Communications, Washington, DC, discussing effective Web content; and Rich Adin of Freelance Editorial Services/wordsnSync, Poughkeepsie, NY, with more tips on making a higher income from editorial work.
The recurring comment about Jack's workshop was "This one tip/answer/method alone made it worth coming to this program!" There are few more satisfying reactions to providing colleagues with a service such as this workshop - that's why we at Communication Central do this.
No matter what kind of work you do, you probably use Microsoft Word to do it. This year's workshop was an unprecedented opportunity to make the most of Word using tools created by Jack for his company, the Editorium, which creates and maintains the programs that colleagues need—“specialized programs that a large company wouldn’t touch and that the Editorium created “because we needed them for our own work.” Along with a strong emphasis on working efficiently, the session reinforced the value of Editorium time-saving tools and approaches for those who do serious, substantive editing.
Jack Lyon's impressive new book debuted at Communication Central conference -
even Jack hadn't seen it in print until he arrived at the conference.
The Editorium’s most popular programs include:
• Editor’s ToolKit Plus—comprehensive editing suite of the tools to take a publication from raw manuscript to finished files ready for typesetting).
• Editor’s ToolKit—powerful tools for editing in Microsoft Word.
• FileCleaner—cleans up common typographical problems in electronic manuscripts.
• NoteStripper—strips embedded, automatically numbered notes as numbered text to the end of a document (while retaining italics and other formatting), or converts text notes into embedded, automatically-numbered ones; can strip notes inline with typesetting codes for various typesetting programs; can strip notes to and from the ends of sections and ends of documents; provides a variety of other tools to make working with notes a snap.
• QuarkConverter—converts edited Word documents into XPressTag files that can be imported into QuarkXPress while retaining style names and character formatting; fixes hyphenation and other typographical problems; provides cross-platform character conversion from PC to Mac or Mac to PC; converts Word index entries into QuarkXPress index entries.
At the conference itself, Jack Lyon's opening keynote remarks provided inspiration about the value and rewards of figuring out what you want to do, who you really are, and how to go about making your life reflect those realizations.
An unexpected treat - Jack Lyon entertains the crowd (left) before providing insights into the economics of book publishing (right).
Judy Shenouda, Rich Adin and Merry Bruns provide tips and techniques.
More conference presentation highlights to come!
Who we are
Communication Central is a business and training venture of freelance writer/editor and presenter Ruth E. "I can write about anything! (TM) Thaler-Carter and tech writer/editor Kat Nagel. Our goal is to develop and offer programs for aspiring and current freelance writers, editors and others in the communications field who seek advice and assistance in launching and enhancing their businesses and skills. We are available for presentations to professional organizations and onsite editorial services at local businesses.
Kat Nagel (left); Ruth E. Thaler-Carter (right).
Nagel and Thaler-Carter draw much of their inspiration and knowledge from their involvement in professional organizations, as well as their professional experience. Because they both have gained insights and opportunities through these activities, they believe strongly in networking and "giving back" to colleagues. They are both active in the Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA; www.the-efa.org), with Thaler-Carter presenting workshops and serving as editor of EFA's national newsletter and as Rochester chapter coordinator. Nagel is active in the Society for Technical Communication (STC; www.stc-rochester.org), serving as chapter webmaster and newsletter editor, and in chapter conference program planning; both have spoken at STC-Rochester's annual conference. Thaler-Carter also is active in theAssociation for Women in Communications (AWC; www.awc-rochester-org), currently as Rochester chapter newsletter editor and VP/Communications, and previously as a member of the Columbia and St. Louis, MO; DC; and Baltimore chapters. Nagel serves as webmaster for the Rochester, NY, chapter. Thaler-Carter is also an active member of and frequent presenter for the Society for National Association Publications (www.snaponline.org) and webmaster for the Greater St. Louis Association of Black Journalists (www.gslabj.org), and has been actively involved with a number of other professional organizations over the years in St. Louis, DC and Baltimore.
Our networking service
To fulfill our goal of serving as a central "station" for information about the communications world, we give organizations and colleagues the opportunity to list upcoming events of interest to colleagues. For current listings and information about submitting your event announcements, just go to our Events Calendar. We also offer registration discounts for association members to attend most of our events and programs.