Tips for member authors

• All members are invited to submit posts. But bear in mind …
• We Media is curated, not an open platform for anything. Andrew Nachison, the editor, reviews and selects submissions for publication.
• That’s me – I’m writing these guidelines too.
• I’m curious, surprise me. I’m looking for experts and their analysis of current affairs, culture, policy – whatever you know about. I’m also looking for personal essays, eye-witness reporting, opinion and interviews with interesting people who have interesting things to say. Your story might be about some of the things that fall among my obsessions, including digital media, the web, journalism, nature, freedom, creativity, social justice and culture. I could go on – I’m also interested in technology, innovation, travel, family, love, literature, parenting, coming of age, growing old, business, work, history, the future, conflict, war and peace, education, baseball, movies, art, music, design, science, urban life, rural life.
• Or write about something more personal and meaningful to you. Anything. It’s your story. Surprise me with whatever you love and know best.
• Write for a global audience. If your story is about something distinctly local, provide some background, context or clues about the geography for someone who lives far away. While you may be an expert, your readers may be new to your topic. Explain why it matters.
• Spell out, link and explain acronyms, professional terms, place names or local references that may be unfamiliar to people who live elsewhere.
• If you quote or cite information from another source, give full credit to the source and include a link to it.
• Be sure to double-check your facts, links and spelling. Check again! You are responsible for errors in your story.
• Use original photos taken by you or images with a Creative Commons Zero license. Include a link if it’s something you sourced online.
• For any photos or images in your post, including those created by you, include a caption with the name of the image creator (even if it’s you), confirm and note that the image is “Used with Permission.” If you sourced the image online, include the copyright status, which should be Creative Commons Zero. If you’re uncertain about whether it’s ok to use an image, don’t use it.
• Length: This is a place for longform essays and analysis, but that doesn’t mean everything has to be long. I’m interested in a mix of shorter (under 500 words) and longer posts (over 800 words).
• I’m interested in stories that move me. I’m not interested press releases, marketing, product or business pitches, SEO garbage, mysterious or pointless links or anything gross. Please don’t submit junk.
• You’ll retain copyright to your post. But by submitting it to We Media, you grant We Media a non-exclusive license to publish the post, as well as edit or delete it. Don’t forget, all members, contributors (and their posts) are subject to We Media’s terms of use.

Sorry, I can’t promise to publish every submission, provide payment or offer feedback.

Ready to submit a story? Use this form.