Politically Speaking Submission Guidelines
A step-by-step guide to writing your article for Politically Speaking
Politically Speaking receives between 10 and 20 articles a day, each of which is carefully edited by a small team of volunteers. After you submit an article, please allow 24–48 hours for your work to be reviewed and evaluated/published/rejected. Most articles are published the same day they are submitted, but the extra time allows for unforeseen circumstances.
Here is a guide you can follow to make writing an article for this publication easy and facilitate a quick edit and publication.
Before you can write for Politically Speaking, you must be added to the publication as a writer. To request this, add a comment to this article with your Medium username (@Somebodywritingaboutsomething) and tag me, Scott Tarlo (@scott-tarlo).
Before you begin writing your article
Check through recent articles to find those on the subject you want to write about. Read the articles you find so you can plan to write something different, draw different conclusions or utilize a strikingly different writing style.
Clap (up to 50 times), highlight passages, and comment on articles you read. This will encourage others to engage similarly with your work.
Note: If your article has been published previously elsewhere anywhere on Medium, please do not submit it to Politically Speaking. (Medium does not like duplicate content.)
To write your article
Follow these guidelines:
Write a title and subtitle
Write the title in title case and apply the “big T” format. Write the subtitle in sentence case and apply the “little T” format. (See “Medium Titles, Subtitles and Kickers” and the “AP Style — Capitalize My Title.” Note that there are no periods at the end of sentences in titles or subtitles, though question marks and exclamation points are allowed if appropriate.)
Add an image
It is quick and easy to use images from a free image-hosting site like Unsplash, Pixabay, or Wikimedia Commons or from social media or YouTube. If you use an image from another source, check the copyright to ensure that commercial use is allowed (or if you modify an image, that commercial use and modification are allowed). For the caption:
- For an Unsplash image: When you insert the image the caption is included.
- For an image from another source: Include the name of the creator (if available), the name of the site, and a hyperlink to the original image landing page with image information. On free-image hosting sites, you may be able to copy crediting information.
- If you modify an image, add “Modified by author.”
- If you create the image, use “Image by author.” If you create an image using any AI system, use “This image was created with the assistance of [name of the AI system].
- If you purchased or otherwise legally acquired an image, include text that makes it obvious you have done so.
(See “How and Why to Cite Stock Photos in Your Medium Stories.”)
Include verifiable and verified facts
Unless you are a recognized expert, verify your facts by citing reliable sources. (Please note that a reliable source is not a popular person repeating unverified facts.)
Include your experience
We do not publish straight news, so do include your relevant experiences, thoughts, feelings, opinions, analyses, speculations, interpretations, predictions and conclusions.
If you disagree with someone
If you disagree with someone’s opinions or conclusions, clearly state what you disagree with, explain why and state your own position. (This will be more effective than attacking people, and in any case, we will not publish anything illegal, inflammatory or disrespectful.)
Do not plagiarize
Write your own article. Medium defines plagiarism as “copying entire articles, paragraphs, or sentences” or “paraphrasing” or doing “slight re-writes.” (See “Plagiarism Guidelines.”)
Use specific dates
Do not use words like “today,” “yesterday” or “last week.” Use specific dates or time periods since people may read your article long after it is published.
What about article length?
- If your article is more than a 3-minute read, consider whether subheads or Medium’s section separator can be used to separate portions of it. If you use subheads, format them the same way subtitles are formatted (see “Write a title and subtitle,” above).
- If it is more than a 7-minute read, consider shortening it.
- If it is more than a 10-minute read, do most definitely shorten it. We do not publish lengthy articles.
Add topics
Add one of these topics: Politics or Society — but not both. Also add up-to-four other topics of your own choosing. (Note that topics tell your article where it can be found in Medium and in this publication, so they are important.)
Get more help if needed
- See “Using the Story Editor.”
- Also see “Medium Block Quotes and Pull Quotes”
- And “Medium Topics Eligible for Curation”
After you write your article
Do the following:
Read what you’ve written
Read your work and fix whatever needs fixing.
Use a grammar checker
Grammarly is recommended. Incorporate only the suggestions by your grammar checker that make your work grammatical or contribute to clarity and impact. (We reject articles with a number of grammatical errors.)
Want to communicate with your editor?
Leave a private note. (Highlight applicable text and then click the icon with the lock to open a private note. Begin your note with “Note to the editor.”)
To submit your article
Leave your article in draft mode. (We cannot publish an already published article.) Use Medium’s “Add to publication” option. (See “Add a draft or post to publication.”)
To work with an editor
When you receive a comment that editing has begun, wait until you receive another comment indicating that editing is complete, and only then begin responding to the comments. (Two people cannot work on the same article at the same time.)
When you receive a comment indicating that editing is complete, open the article and respond to all comments (but note that this is your article, so any changes other than for correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling are suggestions, which you are free to accept or reject).
When you have responded to all comments, reply to one of them to indicate you have completed your review.
