2. It’s a good idea, if you have a lot of authors and want your report to have a unified voice, to provide a similar structure for each chapter. In this way, the same types of information are presented in a similar pattern. It will save a lot of editorial time, and more importantly, it will make your report easy to read and follow. For example, in the report, Ocean Sciences at the New Millennium, each chapter starts with a couple of introductory paragraphs explaining why it is important to study that particular science. Next is the heading, “What are the Big Problems?” Then comes “What Makes Progress Possible Now?,” and, finally, “What is Required for Progress?” Not all reports lend themselves to consistent subheadings, but many do. Doing things this way sometimes provides page constraints to authors. They know what sort of information is needed, and so the rest of the interesting, but irrelevant material, is left out.

3. If you have a total page limit to the report—and you do because printing is expensive—then it would be a good thing to sketch out the potential chapters and page lengths (including graphics) as early as possible, but certainly before you get to the workshop.

4. The timing of the report depends on YOU. Be realistic in working up a time line for the report. When can people get materials to you? When are you traveling, writing proposals, sitting on university committees? Do you have a real deadline, and not some fuzzy “it would be nice to have” deadline. That makes a difference. If you need the final printed copies on a drop-dead deadline, factor in three weeks for the printing process, more if you can afford it.

5. Geo Prose has a lot of experience gathering and organizing text and graphics from contributors. If you, the committee chair, need assistance with this task, Geo Prose will be more than happy to step in.

6. Geo Prose will act as editor and reviewer, and will recommend changes in report structure, if necessary, and provide input on content (what’s missing, audience), logic, sentence structure, and, yes, where commas are needed.

7. The nuts and bolts of submitting text and graphics to Geo Prose are in the Contributor's Guidelines (32 K pdf).