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Submitting a biography to the California Biographies project is actually very simple.
First, everyone should review the Submission Guidelines.  Next, prepare the biography.
The preferred method is to create a text file (review the Text Editing section for help with text
files).  HTML documents, make a good second choice, and simply typing the biography as an
e-mail is the least desirable of the three.  Ultimately, it will be up to the individual County
Coordinator to decide how they want their biographies prepared.  Text and HTML documents
can both be posted directly to county pages, but HTML requires much more work to archive
and index. Last, submit your biography by sending it as e-mail or an e-mail attachment to the
County Coordinator.  The e-mail address of each County Coordinator is listed on the county's
Biographies Home Page or on the County Selection List.

Please be aware that by submitting a biography to the California Biographies Project you have given permission for representatives of the California Biographies project to
examine this file for the purpose of extracting the names of individuals for indexing
purposes.  Biographies may also be edited to append the name and e-mail address of the
submitter.

Submission Guidelines...

This is first and foremost; DO NOT post materials protected by copyright other than your
own!  Any posted biographies found to be protected by a copyright of someone other than the
submitter must be removed from all California and/or county Biography pages.  Books and
biography collections printed prior to 1922 are generally not protected by copyright and are
considered to be in the public domain.  Photo static re-prints or duplications of pre-1922
works are not protected by current copyright.  The short story here is: Make sure your source
books are pre-1922 originals, or re-prints or copies of pre-1922 originals.  Make sure all
original works are accompanied by your copyright notice, which is at the least the word
"copyright", your name, and the date.

Text Editing...

There are several different ways to create text documents.  most of us use some type of word
processor such as WordPerfect or Microsoft Word.  The Windows95 WordPad, Windows
3.1x Write, and the MS-DOS Text Editor can also be used.  The difference in the various
programs is going to be how the program handles the end of each line.  In order to be
formatted correctly for a web browser, each line must end with a "Carriage Return" (aka the
"Enter" key).  Most word processors use "word wrap" or "line wrap".  this means that when
you have typed to the right margin, the program will automatically move the cursor to the left
margin and down one line, but does not insert a carriage return.  This makes the program
easier to use, but it also makes a text document that  contains a single very long line of text.
Therefore, saving a text document using a word processor requires that you somehow include
carriage returns at the end of each line.  In Word, clicking on FILE|SAVE AS and then setting
the file type as "DOS Text with line breaks" accomplishes this.  WordPerfect has a similar
function available.

For best results, configure your page settings with a width of 65 (6.5") or less.  This can be
best accomplished by setting the page size to 8.5 X 11 and setting the Left Margin to 1.2" and
the Right Margin to 1.3".  These settings will create a biography that is easy to read and
doesn't over-run the right margin.  If you use a text editor, such as the MS-DOS Text Editor, or
Windows Notepad, you must manually insert a carriage return at the end of each line.
Notepad will allow you to set a page size and margins, but will still not automatically handle
the carriage returns.

When creating your biographies, remember to put a heading at the top of each one that
identifies your source book, author, and publication date.  You will also need to include your
own by-line at the bottom of each biography in the following format: Submitted by: Your
Name (your-email@isp.com).  Check out this sample biography.