Article Deal Breakers
When writing (or reviewing) articles, there are certain things that editors will see as deal breakers . These are the things that are not easily edited out, and fixing these issues is more time consuming, as if ends up being a re-write rather than an edit. We encourage you to take note of the following issues, and keep them in mind as you are writing and reviewing possible articles for Power to Change.
- The article doesn’t actually say anything. If it’s a musing, a story, a work of fiction, a commentary or an observation that draws no conclusion or sheds no light, then pass.
- Topic is not something we publish. If it’s not a topic we cover, toss the article. Even if it is an excellent piece, we will have nowhere to put it.
- The author is simply incorrect. This happens more with evangelical pieces, but if the article goes against P2C’s statement of faith, or if there’s a theological issue, that’s unfixable. Also you have to be careful of wild interpretations of Scripture, sometimes an author will see something that simply is not there.
- Incompatible with our Statement of Faith. Obviously, anything that is blatantly unchristian would be unacceptable, but watch out for things that sound like they’re talking about our faith but are actually talking about a different faith. Also be careful of articles that subtly suggest a non-christian lifestyle. (ie relationships articles that casually mention “when he stays over….” )
- The article names names. If the author is telling someone else’s story as part of their own, we need the other person’s permission. IE, if Jane Smith sends an article about her alcoholic father we can’t publish it under her name unless her Dad is ok with the it (and we have his approval in writing). Remind your authors to be respectful – once the story goes online it’s there forever. Encourage them to be gentle when telling a family’s stories and always clear the anecdote with that family member or friend.
- Tone. Is it too casual? Is the author talking down to the audience? Is the tone too colloquial? IE does it sound like something you’d overhear friends discussing rather than something that has been crafted? Alternately, is the tone overly formal? Does it sounds like it belongs in a textbook?
- Bad sentence structure. If the sentence structure is weak throughout it’s probably not worth trying to salvage. If the author has excellent information it might be worth having them write with a ghost writer, or interviewing them and writing the article yourself.
- Length. This can entail the article being either way too long or way too short. If the article is close to the required length you can work with it, but if it’s way too short the author doesn’t really have anything to say and if it’s way too long the author can’t decide what they’re trying to say.
