Write Something for #yesphx Stories

Have an interesting story, a commentary, or lessons learned from a startup success or failure? Discover a productivity routine or grow a side project into a business? Love hustling, innovation, and Phoenix?

#yesphx wants you to share your story on our collaborative publication.

But first…

As much as we’d love to see your writing placed in front of our ambitious audience consisting of thousands of hungry entrepreneurs, designers, creatives, and dreamers working hard to make a difference in the world, we make no guarantees that every submission will be published.

Step 1: Become a contributor

Fill out this TypeForm. Vincent Orleck will receive your inquiry and be in touch. You can also find him on the #yesphx Slack channel and Facebook group.

Write for #yesphx

Step 2: Submit a post for review

Once you’re an approved contributor, you need to submit a post for review. Before clicking “Publish” when you’re in the editing mode on Medium:

1. Click the three gray dots to make the dropdown menu appear.
2. Select Add to publication, which will bring up the #yesphx option (after you’ve already been accepted as a contributor).
3. Select #yesphx to submit for review, then Add draft.

The review process will happen every Monday and Thursday. If approved, your post will appear on the #yesphx Medium publication on the closest review day after your submission. If you have questions or your story is more time sensitive, feel free to contact someone.

What content and style are we looking for?

Let’s also talk about what elements we have seen that make a successful article in the publication. Below are the writing style guidelines for #yesphx on Medium, meant to help you write a well-crafted story that our readership will find interesting and helpful.

When writing for #yesphx:

• Keep it local. While your story doesn’t have to be purely local news, thought leadership articles should have a local tie-in by featuring the personal story of local community folks, case studies with local businesses, etc. This is about Greater Phoenix, after all.
• Err on the side of brevity. Your post will be rejected if there’s too much “fluff” or unnecessary verbosity. We don’t want to waste our readers’ time, yet at the same time we want to tell a story in its most impactful form.
• Submit your post with a legal header image. Please don’t submit a post without a suggested image, or with an image you don’t own the rights to. Feel free to use an HD photo repository like Unsplash.
• Try to always include takeaways. A list of takeaways gives the reader a clear path to change themselves, to take action and improve their lives or the lives of others. Give the reader a chance to take action. We’re talking about entrepreneurship here, not romantic fiction.
• Examples, examples, examples. #yesphx is all about doing. The best way to learn entrepreneurship is to learn from people who have done the things (success and failure are equally good to write about). Use examples. If you don’t have any from your own life, do some research, find someone who has, and talk with them.
• Cite your data, studies, research, and sweeping claims with a hyperlink to the source. No need to put anything in parentheses. Just add the link to the keyword or verb of the borrowed sentence.
• No republished stories or articles. Submit original Medium articles only.
• No self-promotion, press releases, or feature-dumping. Your intent will be clear in your writing — are you submitting to help the readers of #yesphx become better entrepreneurs and creatives, or are you seeking to sell more of your products or services? Don’t be that guy.
• Target 500–3,500 words. 500 words tends to be a cute, single-lesson experience while a 3,500-word post is a monumental life lesson with deep takeaways. Both, and anything in between, are great.
• How-tos are beautiful. Part of this publication’s purpose is to help people become better entrepreneurs and creators. A “how-to” post accomplishes that goal perfectly. That said, the goal is a balanced mix of theoretical and practical, so feel free to submit non-how-to posts, too.
• When referencing people, remember to tag them in Medium. Names in green (or red in the case of #yesphx) are good. If they don’t have a Medium account, add a link to their Twitter or LinkedIn profile.

This style guide is subject to change at any time and will likely evolve. We hope that this will help you write in a way that resonates with our readers and the Medium community at large. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts, ideas, and stories with the #yesphx community. We look forward to reading — and learning from — you.

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