What is a day diary?
A day diary is part itinerary: what you did and when you did it; and part journal: what is going through your head and heart. It’s important you write your day diary throughout the day, putting down your activities, thoughts and feelings as they occur, and without censure or second guessing. Day diaries typically range from 3-10 pages.

What constitutes a good day diary?
Honesty. A lack of self consciousness. Details. Writing in your natural voice and sharing your unique perspective through internal musings, random observations, and reflections. In addition, because the theme of this book is working women, your day diary should specifically describe your job duties so that readers get a real sense of what it’s like to be a brain surgeon, a waitress, an at-home mom... Your day diary should also include everything you do on-the-job, even if it isn’t exactly work-related (Spider Solitaire, anyone?)

What is my commitment as a day diarist?
You will need to create a day diary that covers the 24-hour period from 12:00 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, March 27, 2007. Only day diaries created on that date will be considered for inclusion in the book. In addition, your commitment involves answering a brief “Collective Glimpses” survey the day after you create your day diary. Your survey answers will be anonymous and will be aggregated to highlight the statistical similarities and differences among our total pool of day diarists. .

Is there an official form I should use to create my day diary?
No. Write your day diary in the manner you are most comfortable. Some contributors write on the computer; others use a notebook or journal (or napkin, or back of an envelope, or ATM receipt…). The main thing is to record your activities, thoughts, feelings, and observations throughout the day.

How do I confirm my participation?
To be an "official" day diarist for the book project, you will need to complete our Confirmation Form, which you can submit electronically on our website  or by snailmail. All Confirmation Forms must be returned no later than March 1, 2007. Shortly before the day diary date, we will send all confirmed participants a brief Instruction Packet. Included in this second packet is an Agreement to Contribute that you will need to sign in order for us to consider your day diary or excerpts for the book

Why do I have to sign the Agreement To Contribute?
In order for us to use your day diary or excerpts from it in print, or in promoting the book, you must legally give us the rights to do so. Your signature on the Agreement to Contribute (which accompanies the Instruction Packet) achieves this transaction. No day diary can be considered for publication unless it is accompanied by a signed Agreement to Contribute. If you have any specific questions about the Agreement, contact bindi@thisdayinthelife.com.

Who is included as a day diarist in the book project?
We are inviting 500-600 day diarists to participate in the book project (including you!), reaching across experiential, cultural, geographic, and socioeconomic boundaries. We need to limit the number of contributors simply because of time constraints.

How will you use the day diaries in the book?
All submitted entries by confirmed day diarists will be considered for inclusion in the book, either in full or in part. We will select approximately 30 complete day diaries to feature. In addition, we will include credited excerpts from about 200 of the remaining day diaries. While we try to include as many voices as possible, page parameters prevent us from including material from every day diary in the book.

Will my name accompany my day diary or any excerpts used in the book?
Yes. One of the goals of the book project is to encourage openness, as well as a greater understanding of women with perspectives, backgrounds, and life experiences different from our own. To that end, we feel it is important to recognize each day diarist by name. In most cases, we also identify day diarists by age, city and state, job description, or other relevant information provided on the Confirmation Form.

What happens if my day diary is selected as one of the featured entries?
We will call you to let you know we are planning to feature your complete day diary in the book. (Note: no decisions are final until the book is actually off to the printer. Last-minute changes are very common.) The next step is to set up a phone interview with you so that we can write a short bio to precede your day diary. We do not notify excerpted day diarists, but we will post a list on our website of all the contributors with entries in the book shortly before publication.

Will the day diaries be edited?
While we reserve the right to edit the day diaries for space, clarity, and other considerations, our goal is to preserve the integrity of each day diarist's unique writing voice and intent. As a rule, we correct spelling but we do not edit grammar, syntax, or word choice.

Will any day diarists be paid for their participation?
No. None of the day diarists receive monetary payment (either in the form of a flat fee or in royalties) for the use of their complete day diary or any excerpts from it.

Can I post my day diary entry on my blog or website, or have it published in a magazine or other printed material?
No. All day diary contributions submitted to the This Day in the Life must be written exclusively for the book project and not be posted or published elsewhere before the release of the book in spring 2008.

Once the book is released, contributors will have permission to post or reprint excerpts of up to 500 words from their published day diary contribution. We request that any written piece that includes excerpts from your day diary include the following permissions statement:

If you would like to direct your readers to more information about the book, please include our website address: www.thisdayinthelife.com or provide a link from your website to ours. We will also be happy to provide a .jpg of the cover image when it is available. If you have any further questions about reprinting your day diary, please email us at info@thisdayinthelife.com.

What if I know other women who want to be involved?
The National Day Diary Project, co-sponsored by This Day and Lady Speed Stick 24/7, invites all women to post and share their day diaries at www.my247life.com. There is no limit to the number of participants who can post to the website, and women can submit day diaries for any 24-hour period. Of the day diaries created on Tuesday, March 27, one will be featured in the next This Day in the Life book. So spread the word—and help create a day diary phenomenon!

To contact us, email info@thisdayinthelife.com or call 802.295.5526 (EST). Thank you!