Editorial policy

A clear set of editorial guidelines will help everyone stay focussed, on time, on task and on message. It also promotes transparency and accountability within your community, and will help handle controversial submissions. Your policy should outline:

Format - ie. what language or dialect, what style if appropriate, and what types of pieces, for example news items.

Exclusions & Style – eg. what content if any is deemed to be unacceptable, such as politically offensive speech,
gender-biased language.

Editing - What rights you reserve regarding editing. Make sure people have clear expectations to avoid losing a key contributor. Most publications will reserve the right to edit all submissions for length and clarity.

Acknowledgement – Will you give by-lines to writers? Some collectives have a political position against doing so (eg. Saheli Women’s Resource Centre) but others deem it necessary. It is always good to encourage people by giving credit, but what are the implications of that?

Writers Guidelines - If you publish frequently and rely on submissions, consider offering a broader document with updated information about the focus of your current publishing efforts, sometimes called “Writers Guidelines”.

See Carbusters website for an example of how one campaigning organisation accepts material.

Style Guide - Larger, ongoing productions, especially when there are a number of people working on them, might justify having a Style Guide. This needs to be included in Writer’s Guidelines also.