My editorial guidelines for writing online

Writing standards I follow for myself and at The Research Nest

Photo by hannah grace on Unsplash

Updated: August 4, 2023

“Create content that reaches your audience’s audience.”

Note- The perspectives I share here evolve continually as I learn from my experiences as well as from others. These perspectives are neither absolute nor applicable in all cases, for all people, or in all contexts. I hope you can take these as additional information and devise your own strategies and guidelines, which you feel will work for you.

Choosing a topic to write on

How do I know what I want to write about? Here are a few things I consider to figure it out.

• Is there a useful experience that I want to share with others?
• Is there something I want to remember well by documenting it online?
• Is there anything I want to learn? Should I document my learning process so that it can help others following a similar path pick it up quickly.
• Is there something I want to tell the world?
• Is there something that I can explain really well?
• Is there something I want to write about because I really like to?

Most of the things I write fall into either of these categories. I believe that one should write, not for the sake of it, for the views, or any other benefits associated with content creation. At least, that should not be the primary reason. Write to put forward an idea, an experience, a memory, or learning. Write about the things you want to express to the world at large.

(P.S. This is in context when you write in your own free will)

Here is a short recommended read that can give you insights on improving your general writing style: Features of Narrative Writing

Protocol for quality check for articles

When I write and publish something, I understand that I am asking a part of my readers' time and attention. It is not to be taken lightly and I try to provide the best value for the same. At the same time, you would want to ensure that your article is accessible to the people who can find value in it. Here are a few things I check for and follow (most times):

• All articles must have compelling titles and subtitles. Always ensure to draft simple but engaging headlines. Here are some resources you can go through to understand the dynamics behind making viral headlines:
  - How To Write Catchy Headlines In 1 Minute And 7 Seconds
  - Why These 21 Headlines Went Viral (And How You Can Copy Their Success)?
• Use Grammarly plugin for grammar check. It is a pretty awesome tool.
• Use a plagiarism checker to find any unintended plagiarism and rectify the same.
• Understand Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and clever usage of keywords. (I will leave it for you to google and learn about it)
• Facts must be hyperlinked to their original sources in the article. It is a good habit to never state a fact without evidence, especially when you are talking about contemporary topics.
• Important keywords can be hyperlinked to their Wikipedia pages or other verified explainers. You always want to provide your readers with open doors when they want to explore more on something.
• Proper nouns can be hyperlinked to their official websites. In the case of people or organizations active on social media, you can hyperlink to their most active account (say, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.)
• Pay attention to article formatting, the use of headings, quotes, italic text, etc. Format for elegance and do not take it lightly. The way it is presented heavily influences how it is perceived.
• Always ensure images are inserted at relevant places of the articles and due credits to them are mentioned. Also, make sure you have a good cover photo for your article that fits within the standard social media dimensions.
• Prefer simplicity over complexity. You may want to write something everyone can easily understand. You can use tools like the Hemingway app to increase clarity and consistency in your lines.
• Duly attribute all contributors (if any) to the article. Have a section called “Editorial Note” if required, at the end of the article.

Generative AI Guidelines

AI is everywhere. That’s good news as well as bad news. Here are some guidelines I recommend to anyone using AI to write online.

• Don’t generate the full thing and copy/paste it. Anyone can do it. It’s a level playing field and you simply lose your identity in the noise. At TRN, we do not accept any such AI submissions.
• Use AI to improvise your writing, to get feedback and to articulate your thoughts better, as and when relevant. Content should be AI assisted, and not AI written.
• Use AI to be more efficient, to help with ideas, and to stop your writers block, but don’t spam, and abuse this power. Keep it balanced and keep your identity and style at the core of what you write.
• Never lose your voice to AI. You must be in full creative control of what you write and how you structure it.
• Duly give the AI attribution at the top or within the first two paragraphs with details on how AI was used in the article. Medium editors also recommend the same.
• Fact-check everything. Remember that AI is not 100% reliable.

For more details, check out TRN’s generative AI guidelines.

General guidelines for drafting social media content

• Social Media Content (SMC) includes short and crisp content posted on FB, Instagram, LinkedIn, WhatsApp Status, etc. along with a poster, article link, etc.
• Ideally, SMC must be short and divided into simple paragraphs summarizing and pitching to the reader why they should click on the post or care about it.
• SMC must include tagging of key people, organizations, and other proper nouns associated with what is being shared.
• Always include relevant hashtags at the end of the SMC.
• SMC can optimally have three paragraphs, the first para addressing to ‘What this is?’, the second para to, ‘Why are we doing this?’, the third para to, ‘Read on/ Find out more at <URL>’. All of this can be packaged into fine-tuned lines while keeping point 3 in mind.
• You can make better use of AI here, to generate the SMC.
• Have the creative freedom to draft as per the context. Drafting SMC may not be easy, but it is important, as that’s what makes a reader care about your post.
• Depending on the context, you may include quotes/facts in SMC that can be eye-catchy to the readers.

Want to write with The Research Nest? Check this article out.

Protocol for editing content at The Research Nest

At The Research Nest, quality >> quantity, any day. We take time to edit our articles and ensure that we do everything we can to get the best outcome published.

Here are some guidelines I recommend to all our editors to follow. Feel free to suggest new ideas and improvements to the same.

1. First and foremost, check for plagiarism using this tool. If the article is more than 1000 words, check for parts of the article until you cover the full article. If there is anything found that cannot be justified or is unclear, see if you can rephrase it differently. If not, revert back the draft to the writer and inform them to improvise the same.
2. Check for the cover photo and if the articles have enough images as required. Use google image search with the “free to use” filter, or websites like Pexels, Pixabay, and Unsplash (integrated with Medium editor) to get additional copyright-free images. You can also use AI tools like Midjourney and SDXL to generate the required images. Remember to duly give the required attribution.
3. Other informative images from public entities can be used by giving due credits to them (Say, for example, an image released by NASA).
4. Proofread the articles for any grammatical errors, or complexities. You can use the Grammarly plugin and the Hemingway app to quickly identify such places. See if you can simplify or remove any unwanted content. If more edits are required, you can inform the writer to do the same. Try to keep the language as straightforward and as simple as possible.
5. Add hyperlinks to keywords and proper nouns whenever possible, if the writer forgets the same. These hyperlinks can lead to official websites, Wikipedia pages, etc. Also, ensure that all critical facts in the article are hyperlinked to their official sources.
6. Once the article feels to adhere to all the above quality checks and you as a reader feel satisfied with it, you can inform the Editorial | The Research Nest that that article is ready to be published.
7. Give overall feedback to the writer covering what worked well, and what can be improvised next time.

Endnotes

Image Credits: MarketingProfs