One from the Editor: Things to Consider Before You Post

Hello, everyone. I apologize for my relative silence for the last week or so. I’ve been meaning to write this post for a while now, but I simply haven’t had the time. I also checked in with Henry about this just to make sure, and he’s cool with it, so I’m going to go ahead here while I’ve got a few minutes.

I’m all for you submitting content. We wouldn’t have a website without it, or without you. However, with that being said, I feel there’s a need to discuss a couple of things which I’ve noticed over the last few weeks. There’s been a surge in article submissions that are either cross-posts from personal blogs or posts intended to be interviews but which contain only a few lines of text.

Regarding interviews: Henry’s already set up a list of interview questions for you to use as a guide. It’s your way of introducing yourself if you’re new. I have no problem approving these posts, but if you’re going to post an interview, please make sure it’s actually an interview. A quick paragraph-long bio does not constitute an interview, and any posts submitted in this manner will be deleted. Please adhere to the interview format which Henry has established. Also, while this isn’t a requirement, attach a photo of your book, or an author photo, even. I generally try to find photos for each post, but it’s much easier if you’ve already provided them.

Regarding cross-posts: Please don’t do this. If you have something that’s generally informative, such as an update on a particular publishing service, or if you want to provide insight into your own experiences, that’s fine. If you’re literally copying and pasting something from your personal blog discussing your next writing project and submitting it as a feature story, it will be deleted. That’s what your blog is for. Now, if you want to reword it, add something to it, and tailor it to the SPR crowd (with a little less self-promotion), that’s acceptable. But please, before you post, think about whether you’re contributing something for the good of the SPR community, or for the good of yourself. If it’s the latter, don’t post.

I hope I’m not being too Draconian about this, but it’s been a chore weeding out what’s acceptable and what isn’t, and I fear I’ve stepped on a few toes in the process. This wasn’t my intention, and I apologize to anyone whose posts may have been deleted.

Now, with all that said, please contribute! I’d love to see more original articles from you.

Regards,