Journeyworks Publishing is made up of dedicated professionals who have worked in health promotion, education and health care publishing for many years. We are committed to developing quality health promotion materials that meet the needs of our customers. Our mission is very simple: If asked to describe Journeyworks Publishing, customers will say, "They are friendly, flexible and inexpensive. They are creators of some of the most original and effective health promotion materials available." Young people will say, "Their materials aren't preachy or heavy handed-they actually produce pamphlets we want to read!" Adults will say, "I like their clear and practical presentation of information. Their materials are informative and easy to read." Our employees will say, "Lots of teamwork, fun, high expectations and shared rewards make this a great place to work." Competitors will say, "They are smart and quick. We get some of our best ideas from Journeyworks - after the fact. I'd love to work there but they never have any turnover." Our vendors will say, "They are honest and straightforward and pay us on time." Our founders will say, "We are proud of our work and our staff. Starting Journeyworks was the smartest thing we ever did."  | » | We will do everything we can to make our products accurate; easy to read; sensitive to issues of culture, gender and age; always interesting; and, whenever appropriate, fun. | | | » | We recognize that most of our customers are public and non-profit groups and we will strive to keep our prices low and treat all of our customers fairly. | | | » | Our customer service will be friendly and professional. Our staff will work hard to solve problems and make sure your needs are met. | | | » | We will ship orders quickly. Almost all orders go out within 1 or 2 business days, and if you need something faster, please let us know. | | | » | We will have every title in stock, and on those rare occasions when we don't, we will do our best to get you materials in time to meet your deadlines - even if it means us having to absorb extra shipping costs. | | | » | We will accept returns at any time for any reason. If you are not happy, we are not happy. | | | » | We will listen to your ideas for new products and take seriously any comments or concerns you may have about our current titles. We will regularly review and revise our products to keep them as current as possible. | | | » | We will remember that we are working together with you to improve the health and lives of individuals of all ages - and that everyone who works to improve the health and lives of others deserves to be appreciated and honored. |
| Development Decisions |
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We use many criteria when deciding which materials to develop, including: - customer requests
- needs of new programs/grants
- professional and peer reviewer suggestions
We try to address issues that may not be covered by other publishers. We seek creative approaches to reaching the audience. Many of our ideas for new materials come from health educators and other professionals working in the field.
See our Anatomy of a Pamphlet PDF for a one-page visual guide to what makes an effective pamphlet.
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| Research, Writing and Review |
| All of our materials are researched and written by professional health education writers and editors. In addition, we use experts and professionals who work in the field as consultants and reviewers. Our pamphlets are generally reviewed by two or more professionals working in health-related fields. Our professional reviewers help ensure the accuracy of the material as well as the appropriateness of presentation. When giving health-related advice, citing statistics, or suggesting specific courses of action, we rely on well-respected resources, such as published materials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). |
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| Audience Reviews |
| All pamphlets are reviewed by the intended audience. We ask our reviewers to tell us if the information is presented in an appropriate way. We specifically look for issues of age, gender, and ethnicity. We try to make our materials inclusive of diverse groups. We listen to our reviewers' suggestions and then revise and rewrite until we have something that they feel will be useful. |
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| Readability |
| All of our materials are designed for clarity and ease of reading. For our materials that are geared toward a low-literacy audience, we use a set of criteria based on the SAM guidelines. All of our materials are also evaluated by two standardized reading level tests - FRY and Flesch-Kincaid. The majority of our materials rate below an eighth-grade reading level; most rate between fourth and sixth grade. |
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| Fact-Checking |
| All of our materials are fact-checked before they are published. Each piece of factual information is confirmed through well-respected resources. |
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| Graphic Design |
| It is not just the information in a pamphlet that is important - a good presentation can really help the reader take in and retain the information. Our layouts include: - sans serif fonts for blocks of text
- bold headlines that break up the material
- 11-point (or larger) type with plenty of leading
- plenty of white space
- bulleted points to convey information clearly and succinctly
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| Illustrations |
| Our art choices are designed to engage the reader. We determine the style of art for each pamphlet using several criteria, including the audience, the topic and the goal of the pamphlet. For example, many people respond well to humor and we may enhance a health promotion message with humorous illustrations. Or we may use realistic drawings of people to help the intended audience relate to the subject. Where appropriate, we use illustrations that reinforce or explain key points. |
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| Revisions and Updates |
| We regularly fact-check and update our materials. Plus, we are always happy to consider making changes suggested or requested by customers. We strive to keep our materials relevant and on the cutting edge. If you have any questions about the development of our materials, please feel free to contact us by email at jworks@journeyworks.com or by phone at 1-800-775-1998. |
Journeyworks Publishing is located in Santa Cruz, California, home to redwood trees, the Giant Dipper roller coaster, the famed surfing spot Steamer Lane, more state parks and beaches than any other county in California, and the University of California at Santa Cruz. The unofficial town slogan is "Keep Santa Cruz Weird" and many residents do their best to live up to it. Our offices are downtown at 763 Chestnut Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95060. We are near the corner where Center, Cedar and Chestnut streets intersect. Santa Cruz is an easy town to get lost in, so if you ever want to visit, call us first for directions.
| | » | Our first titles were the Tips for Caregivers pamphlets, later combined and adapted into the best selling "Caring for a Person with Memory Loss and Confusion" booklet.
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| | » | "Caring for a Person with Memory Loss and Confusion: An Easy Guide for Caregivers” is our best selling title of all time, followed by "50 Things You Need to Know About STIs" and "How Tobacco Affects Your Body".
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Our staff's favorite titles include: "25 Ways to Support Walking and Bicycling in Our Community", “Building Your Self Esteem", "9 Ways to Be a Good Friend", "25 Easy Ways to Get Your Fruits and Vegetables", and (because some of us are) "100 Great Things About Growing Older". Then there's the unique “Drunk and Embarrassed”. |
| | » | One of our longtime staff members is part of the popular Brazilian band, SambaDá. |
| | » | Our pamphlets “Why Animals Don’t Smoke” and “Secondhand Smoke and Your Pets” are dedicated to our staff pets (none of whom smoke): Benny, Jasper and Rio. |
| | » | The epicenter of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake was just a few miles from Santa Cruz. Although many buildings were destroyed, downtown Santa Cruz came back more vibrant than ever. |
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American Idol star James Durbin is a local Santa Cruzan. His mom worked for Journeyworks in the 90's when James was just a kid. |
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Journeyworks' "Wash Your Hands" poster was seen on NBC Nightly News report about H1N1. |
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Collectively, our staff can speak Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, and "Pirate" …at least well enough to get ourselves in trouble. |
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On the popular television show "Glee", Kurt's dad held up four pamphlets and said to him: "I want you to read these." One of them was Journeyworks' "10 Good Reasons to Use a Condom". |
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In the 2015 movie "Creed," part of the Rocky series, Sylvester Stallone's character sits in a doctor's office in front of a rack if pamphlets, one of which is Journeyworks' "What Is Abstinence?"
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Journeyworks' title "Too Much Sitting" is not applicable to our Budget and Financial Manager -- who runs an average of 50 miles every week! Yearly that's the distance from our coastal California headquarters to New York City.
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In addition to their backgrounds in health, education and publishing, our staff have had an eclectic mix of interesting former jobs including: professional dancer, professional musician, children's librarian, histology assistant, road-stripe painter and carney. |
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Our favorite customer quote: "These go like hot dogs at a ball game," uttered by Jim at the Mid-Mississippi Alzheimer's Association to describe our Tips for Caregivers pamphlets. |
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