Freed From the Tyranny of Editors

Got a CAD tip to help others? Got a gripe? Get a blog and tell the world about it. Blogs are now the easiest way to distribute information. Anyone can start a blog and publish just about anything they want. Used to be that if you wanted to be published in a magazine or book, you had to get past the gatekeepers, also known as editors. Editors are a tyrannical lot. Their rule over what gets into the publication and what does not is absolute and final. A lot of material submitted to editors never sees the light of day.

I remember the thrill I got to have my first article published about ten years ago. Kathleen Maher, then editor of CADENCE magazine, called me about an article I had pitched to her. Actually, when she called me back she couldn't remember what the article was about. I couldn't believe I had her on the phone. As my heart raced with excitement, I described to her how users of finite element analysis make common mistakes that can be avoided. She thought they could use it. So for a couple of weeks I wrote and rewrote the article. When it finally appeared, I asked for several copies for family and friends. I had the article framed. It was a huge deal. I've written many articles since then but I'll always remember that one.

Nowadays, getting your first article in print may be even more difficult. There are fewer print publications for CAD than when I started. Luckily for would-be authors, along came the Internet and blogs. It seems like every one has a blog. In fact, the fastest growing list on TenLinks.com is our list of blogs. (see CAD blogs on TenLinks.com)

How to get started? I asked Ralph Grabowski of WorldCAD Access, one of the most experienced CAD bloggers. His reply was Google's Blogger (www.blogger.com), which is free, or if you want a more corporate  style, go TypePad (www.typepad.com)

And if you do create one on which pearls of wisdom about CAD, CAM and CAE will appear, do let me know. We may feature your post in TenLinks Daily and on our websites. Consider me tyrannical editor no more!