5 Points to Consider before Submitting an Article
INTRODUCTION
Some young people so want their articles to be published on platforms great and small that they rush to submit such articles without taking care to put some things in place which will improve their chances of acceptance.
In running a writing group on Facebook and assessing submissions to The Record newspaper’s online platform, I’ve noticed some mistakes young people make in this regard which I want to extrapolate to the submissions they make to bigger and paying platforms.
Below are five such things they will do well to bear in mind.
5 Points to Consider before Submitting an Article
1. Is your piece in the niche of the platform?
Different publications or platforms have different goals and visions. Some are for literary writing (some of these are general, while others focus on specific genres of literary writing like poetry or fiction). Some publications are for parenting or motherhood advice, some for Christian devotionals ….
Go through editions or the website of the publication and understand what they offer to see if you write along those lines. Don’t just scour the Internet and dump your pieces indiscriminately in hopes that one of the receivers will bite. You may be setting yourself up for an avalanche of rejections.
2. Has your writing conformed to the style of the platform?
Publications work with style
guides which their contributors are expected to follow. Editors are too busy to go through every piece they receive to harmonise them with their style guides. Look at previous articles from the website, check for their style guide and apply the rules. For example, do they use block or indented paragraphs? What word processor, font families and font sizes do they require? (Some may have a default setup to which your work is converted upon uploading, some receive the work from you in specific formats for upload.)
How do they use italics and boldface lettering? What about the writing of names, use of punctuation marks and abbreviations? What range of word count or page numbers do they demand?
3. Is your piece offering something worthwhile?
We have discussed this under, “What’s the Purpose of the Article You’re Writing?” Some people write pieces that are hard to classify and use. Do you write just for the sake of writing or is your writing offering something of value to the reader? A little research (not hard at all in this digital age) will help you locate material you can use to enrich your writing.
And why drop a piece without specifying if it’s fiction or nonfiction? Also, if the meaning of your piece is not easily discernible, offer some clues in an intro or postscript to guide the reader in interpreting it. Deliberately mystifying your content just to provoke curiosity or argument without adding value to the reader is not the path to respectability.
Be sure that the reader gets something, don’t just tease and engage in self-promotion. It’s irritating to present a vacant piece and ask people to wait for Part 2. Each part of a series should be enriching and contribute to the overall satisfaction of the reader with the series.
4. Is your language error-free?
Spelling errors and grammatical mistakes are a turn-off. Sometimes, it’s not that the language of the writer is so bad but a lack of thoroughness is at play. Keep improving your language to learn new words and proper grammar, but also go over your work repeatedly for errors.
Word processors autocorrect spellings they’re unfamiliar with, thereby introducing errors into your work. Copying from one device to another with incompatible word processing soft ware can join words in a manner that riddles your work with errors.
But proofreading over and over can help you correct these avoidable errors while you polish your language to outgrow the limitations it imposes on your writing.
5. Are you willing to follow through with corrections?
The publications you submit your writing to may suggest changes to make before they accept your work. Some of them may seem so minor but so time-consuming that you may be tempted to give up and look for less stringent platforms. But it is the so-called little things that you want to sidestep, like the proper use of the comma and other punctuation marks, that separate good writers from the bad.
So, except you have a fundamental difference of opinion with the publishers on your content or message, be prepared to tackle everything they point out, however little. That is how you learn. That is also how you develop the discipline to do a fine job even when you are not supervised.
CONCLUSION
Writing is a rewarding but painstaking activity. If you do it well, you will get the rewards sooner or later. A little diligence and preparation can help you go far and not be stuck in mediocrity.
Pay close attention to what is changed when your work is edited and do better next time. You will become some editors’ delight when they see your progress and heartily work with you to push you further on your road to success.
This piece speaks to me, most times I am impulsive and fail to include thoroughness in my work. I will do better.
I trust you. Have a great weekend!
Thanks for your helpful instruction. It is not at all blogs that we find this, I was looking for something like that and found it here.I think this is one of the most significant information for me.
Glory to God!
As a writer, this piece of writing tip shows how important it is to put some Important factors into consideration before writing.
Self corrections, choice of language and check for errors is very important because all these shows that as a writer we have the reader in mind.
I was duly blessed and enriched, reading your post about article, term-paper, etc writing. Thank you and God bless.
Good evening ma
Thank you so much for the wonderful piece, it’s really an eye opener. I have a question ma. In the second paragraph of the third point, you mentioned that “Deliberately mystifying your content to provoke curiosity or argument is not the path to respectability”….. Does it mean that the use of suspense in a piece is not a good idea?….. Once again thank you ma
Hi! What I discussed is not the proper use of suspense. I use suspense in my short story series. Read “Will You Marry Me?” and “I Still Love Tonye.” If you read the sentence you picked out in the context it was used, you’ll see that it’s talking of a writer not offering anything but baiting the reader to keep reading. In a suspenseful story, many questions are answered and clues given along the way. So, while moving ahead to find the remaining answers, the reader is fed sumptuously with every episode. Cheers!
The fourth point is of more interest to me, that is, Proofreading over and over again, this can be tiring but clearly it is worth it. Nice write up ma
Thank you ma for the wonderful write up. As a writer one should know the style of writing an article. Most times people just rush to write a story and summit without checking the necessary corrections in the story.
This is a rare insight of writing guides,as it has opened my mind to helpful guides to be used while creating articles for a positive outcome.
Thanks for letting it out,I will definitely keep to these rues/guidelines and as well recommend it to those who needs to see it.
This post is very good. As a writer, one ought to understand the editorial principles and style guide of any media one is writing for. Apart from that, one must be an editor: “A critic, a fault finder, a literary surgeon.” In one’s writing. If one adheres to the five tenents mentioned in the post, one’s writing can pass through the gates of any publication. Thanks, ma.
Thank you ma for this wonderful piece, it’s an eye-opener to why some of our articles have been rejected. This will help us make necessary corrections.
Writing an article is something I am still trying out. These points were very useful to me. At least once I start, maybe after this semester, I will use these guides for my article.
Good evening ma. I’m really delighted, regarding this information you’ve shared. You previously talked about how to start an article. You’ve made it easier by exposing to us, the do’s and dont’s of article writing, one of which I highlighted is “write with the intention of adding value to the readers.” Thanks so much Ma.
My best part of the tips is taking corrections, nothing boosts than
“Okay thanks, i will improve/work on it or that.”
The fifth point has my attention. No one is perfect. This is why it is possible to follow the writing rules, from number one to four and still have corrections in your article. What makes the difference however, is one’s willingness to be corrected for his/her own good.
It is a very good guide and it’s really going to be helpful to me,with this information i will be able to guide myself very well in my little writing,thank you ma’am.
This is really good ma! And the points are all helpful in writing a good story- looking closely at the aspect of making it error free, checking punctuations and all that- the importannce cannot be overemphasized because it determines how far the piece will go.
Thank you ma for this insight .
Thank you ma for the insight. I think mastering the art takes time and more practising is needed.
Oh wow! I really appreciate you for this piece of information. Most times we just write an article and rush to submit without proofreading our work to make necessary corrections and when being corrected, we lose interest.. Value added, Ma.
I am a victim of writing without checking my punctuation mark, capital letters and abbreviation. The blog nailed it and I have also learnt to know the platform that I want to post my articles on, whether it’s in their field or not.
A lot of correction is set to be made on reading this, one which is checking for errors in language. Thanks for this ma’am
Thank you ma for this wonderful write up….Proof reading most times is the hardest for people because it takes a lot of patience to do that. In general,the points listed are all helpful.
God bless you ma.
Thanks ma, for this information.
From now onward, I will try my best to check my punctuation marks and abbreviations.
I’m seeing that writing goes beyond putting down words in a piece of paper and then presenting it to the people to read. A good writing must involve a conscious effort from the writer to make a meaningful article.
Thank you ma for this wonderful piece.
I find it helpful and eye opening. I do feel its waste of time in editing a work before printing it out. am glad I read this.
thank u ma for dis eye opener, writing especially without following style rules will make the writing irrelevant even when the article is informative and educative.
Thank you so much ma for educating me on article writing because I normally find it hard in writing articles for magazines
Writing is indeed a painstaking activity
Most of the articles I’ve written were for my grades and I just did what i had to without considering all these
Now i know better
Thank you ma
Students most especially don’t calm down while writing an article, I am not an exception. We should calm down to make sure it is error- free and also writing in line with the style of any platform we will be writing for. Thanks ma.
As no one is perfect, as a writer, you should be open to corrections, suggestions or opinions. Great work!
Thank you ma for this interesting post, My question is how can one identify the writing style of any platform.
The information is available on each platform.
Good lessons!
I learnt that there are certain steps one has to take before an article, you have to know your audience and what they are expecting from you.
Nice piece.
Its not all about writing, its about having (an) audience. And to get and/or keep them, we must write what is appealing. Thank u ma’am for the insight. Write better, I will…?
This is very insightful. Writing can be a painstaking activity indeed but in order to make our articles worth reading we must endeavour to follow all laid down rules and regulations to make our work appeal to the readers. Thanks ma’am for this.
“Is your piece offering something worthwhile?”stood out for me amongst other points. Thank you Ma for sharing these wonderful tips.
Thanks for the enlightenment Ma. number 3 which is very common in our society. Some writers fall victim of it,they tease without giving out the main point of their article and bait readers to keep waiting. Which is not encouraging at all because the more readers kept reading the less interest they lose.
Thank you so much ma for this wonderful information. I have seen how necessary it is to consider important points before submitting my article
Writing can be tiring sometimes but with these laid out rules, it would become much easier. Thank you ma for this. It was very helpful
Thanks for your helpful instruction, it is not all blogs that we can find this.I was looking for something like that and found bit here. I think this is one of the most significant information to me.
As a writer, never give up till you get better
Thanks ma,
To avoid making your readers loose interest in our write-up ,we should go through our works to avoid spelling and grammatical errors.
I for one am very guilty for the errors mentioned. With the corrections stated I’m confident of improvement. Thank you very much ma
The point that strikes me more is the part where you said that the article has to be worthwhile. That means, my article has to have a purpose for it to be published. Who are my target audience? What would they learn from my work? Thank you ma!
I learnt a lot from this, the use of punctuation marks separates a good writer from the bad, our writing should be discernible by our leaders.
Always have a style of writing(Uniqueness pays).
When writing article make sure the purpose or the main aim of writing the text is stated properly and adapt to correction when corrected,because no one knows it all
This article is very encouraging and educative too, even though I have not written an article before I now have a little Clue of what to focus on while writing an article especially that number one which implies us knowing the piece in the niche of the platform we are writing about.
Thank you ma for this great idea.
Some people may have written article, wonderful one’s but they didn’t use the required platforms, with this write up, one can easily take correction. Thank you Ma.
Thank you ma, this is really wonderful no wonder some of my writing has been rejected, I can now correct my mistakes
Wow! Thank you ma for this piece.
Sometimes I do some descriptive writing not for the sake of passing out any value, but for its artistic appreciation. I learnt as well that improper use of punctuation marks can mar a good idea.
Writing is surely not an easy task especially when it’s meant for a formal audience, I must admit that the most difficult aspect of it is acknowledging corrections especially when you think you have been careful enough in your draft… This tips are therefore handy for young writers
Anyone can actually be a writer, but it takes only a person who has been trained to patiently go through his/her work before submitting it to the publication
I didn’t know that I have to specify if my article is fictional or non fictional before I can actually submit an article, but after reading your article maam it opened my eyes to understand that I have to be specific before I can go ahead to submit my article
I must say, this article is just like a word spoken at the right time to me.
Am really motivated to put in my all to learn more from you ma. Am really motivated.
Take note of what is charged when your work is edited in other to do better next time
Two wrong spelling from a sentence you copied! Do better next time.
This article makes me feel guilty. Most times I write just for the sake of writing not knowing that there are procedures and steps to follow before submitting.
So many writers write without proofreading and really, when I come across them it discourages me from reading further, it’s not really easy but diligently one can write a wonderful article.
These are very essential points to consider, I had no idea one have to specify if the article is fictional or non-fictional, I have noted that now . Thank you.
This piece is very educative and can guild one who want to write an article. With all this steps one can write a perfect article. In any article, you need o show if its fictional or not. After writing, one need to go through the work thoroughly before publishing.
Get background information of a platform before submitting an article and always be ready to accept correction. Thank you ma for this.
Thisis really educative.henceforth I will followw this steps while writing an article.Thank you ma
This is really what writers need to be able to write their article very well . it’s really good ma it’s very educative it will help many especially me.
Very thorough.thanks for this I will try to follow this tips to build my career as a writer.
I find the habit of people dumping their post everywhere on Facebook, on pages which are meant for information,you’d see a post about something else. We need to learn to make sure our writing align with set down rules
This have made me to understand how to write a readable work. Before i thought is using a big grammar and vocabulary but i have know, using small and simple English will makes my writing readable .Thank you ma, for this insight.
Thank you ma, for this wonderful post. Before i thought article is what someone will just wake-up and start writing but i have understand submitting a written article it needs to carefully read and correct any grammatical mistakes,incorrect spelling of words and using simple words.
I learnt that to be good in writing,hardwork and consistency is important
The third point made a lot of sense to me .thanks for these post
Wow thank you ma. Some of the point here were never noticed by me, most times I just write. It really an eye opener for writers.
Patience I an important virtue in writing. Any rushed work won’t come out well.
U hv to check for mistakes and grammatical error before sending.
Thank you ma for this. I hope to become a good writer.
I don’t like writing, because am afraid of rejection. Thank you ma for this write up. I promise to start putting something together, so as to improve by corrections.
This is why it is possible to follow the writing rules, from number one to four and still have corrections in your article. What makes the difference however, is one’s willingness to be corrected for his/her own good…. it’s not really easy but diligently one can write a wonderful article……
You’ve made it easier by exposing to us, the do’s and dont’s of article writing, one of which I highlighted is “write with the intention of adding value to the readers… Am really motivated…..
Thank you ma for this wonderful article,I write all time without knowing that there are procedures to follow before submitting an article
Thank you ma’am for this short and concise write up. All the times I’ve written something, I just wrote as the spirit leads, without specifying if it’s a fiction or not. But I’ve come understand that one needs to specify what genre of literature one is writing on.
Oh wow! I have not written an article for a very long time now but this post is motivating me to. Thank you so much Ma.
Anyone can write anything but it takes a trained personality to write an article or a story, reasons because he or she will able to abide by the strict rules of writing.
No 5….. Teachability….. Very needed. Thank you ma
Indeed writing has alot especially in this competitive era one has to do anything possible to gain a step ahead the article worthwhile stories meaning it should not be your regular type of story,it should be hitting.tank u ma.
this is wonderful ma , your work is a great inspiration and have motivated me . this will help me in been a great writer . I so much appreciate this. God bless you
thanks alot ma , this article is a source inspiration and motivates me. Atleast, I have picked up lots of corrections from here , from the lessons I got here I can make my write ups and novels better . God bless you ma
Wow! i think i recognize what belittles my write-ups. thanks a lot ma
Actually , I’m enlightened. I sometimes feel unconcerned in going through my article or even knowing my audience before posting. With this, I will work on myself.thanks.
Thanks ma, For this wonderful write up. Writing is a painstaking activity and one needs to put many things into consideration before going into writing .I believe with this write up one will definitely know the styles and elements to put into use.
In writing, you must be patient in going through your work to avoid errors. Thank you very much ma
Articles is mostly a creative writing, which involves deeper and critical brainstorming. And in most cases,very difficult to start off. But with the above listed guidelines,one can master the art of article writing.
Waw,I didn’t know these before. Thank you for opening my eyes to them.
I appreciate the help, ma. I’ll work with your advices and improve in my writing and my approaches to publishing platforms. Thank you.
Actually, I’m enlightened. I sometimes feel unconcerned in checking through my atircles before submitting them but with this points I will work on myself. Thanks
This is true Ma. Most writers are always in a hurry to post their pieces that they pay little or no attention to the correctness of their pieces. Writers must understand that ensuring that their pieces are error free and in line with the style of the platform they are sharing them with, is more important than running off to share. This is because, an error no matter how small, has the power to distort the intended message. Let us all please be more careful when we write.
This is very true. Sometimes writers do not patiently take their time to write their piece, thereby confusing their readers and causing them to lose interest in reading it.
Constant practise is what every writer needs.
This is a write-up worth reading everyday because it contains messages needed by writers and journalists.
Through this blog, I now know that
As a writer one needs to know the publications one writes and to
To make sure the reader gets something educative and not for personal gain.
I find it difficult to make my language error free but with this educative write up I know I can do better.
Thank you Ma for this knowledge!!!
This is really an eye opener for me ma, initially when I write, I just write for writing sake, but with these guidelines, I will spice up my writing techniques and my articles would make sense…
Thank you ma
Thank you ma, this is really an eye opener…. Writing doesn’t just entails knowing how to use a pen. I love the part where you stated that we have to go through our work over and over again to check for errors.
Thank you ma for enlighten us on writing an article, seriously is not about writing but making your work readable to your readers and accepting correction to your work.
Thanks for this post ma.
I’ve really been enlightened.
And with this knowledge I should be able to right better articles.
write
Patience and dedication to do a good work, would lead a good writer through these guidelines that has been provided. As an understandable error free work, are what readers are looking forward to.
Well, this article is important to those who are inspiring to write. Going back to your work to see if there are any grammatical errors is really important but most writers tend to write and publish without much editing
aspiring to write
Thank you ma, This would go a long way. People are ignorant of the fact that punctuation and spellings really matters in any work, not just articles and can mislead the readers as well
This is very true ma , writing is one thing then being painstaking while writing is another,these two has to be together for your article to get an effective response
Thank you ma!
People shouldn’t be in a rush to write and share or post because if thats the case then everyone is a writer.
Rather it takes a good writer to cross check his work check spellings, errors, make some corrections where necessary and also have a way of captivating the readers mind.
The use of punctuation marks is very important in writing.
Most people do not know the omission of a punctuation mark in a sentence can sometimes change what the sentence means. In writing most of us usually get zero in mechanical accuracy.
Thank you so much for this lovely write up.
This is a nice piece. Everyone can be a writer but very few can know the basis on how to be a good and better writer. These tips makes it easier to learn.
A very sound advice for those of us in the pen-world especially. Editors and gate keepers in the media are pressed for time. Time to verify and perfect write-ups is not available. These are just the perfect tips one has to follow to write hard hitting write ups ?.
Wow!awesome steps,I really enjoyed these writing because I realised that there are still some quality hidden secrets that makes a writing attractive and readable and sometimes I wonder why my attempts are so different from that of others and I really appreciate these writings, I learnt the important of clearlity,punctuation ,styles and consistency in grammar
Thank you ma. This piece of writing will help my article to be error free
Personally this is a great piece for every intending writer, I feel it should be published beyond the shores of the blog in order for others to gain from it
Most times after writing I get irritated by reading it over and over because of this i fail to evaluate my work thoroughly. And have learnt that for an article to be considered worthy it must be error – free and must be educative. Thanks.
Thank you ma
But I really don’t know how to achieve number 2
Not difficult at all. Consult the Style Guide of the publication. For therecordunn.com, it’s the footer of the blog. Read the guidelines carefully and apply them in your writing.
Thanks Ma, what struck me mostly is the part where you said “Be sure that the readers gets something, don’t tease and engage in self promotion”. While writing, we should not only think about our writing and ourselves, we should always consider our readers. We should always make sure that the language or grammer in which we use while writing should be simple for the readers to read and learn something.
This write-up made me to understand how to write because sometimes I will feel like writing and I will be that it is not going to be good or maybe it will not make sense but from this write-up I now understand how to prepare and present my own article.
You must know your targeted audience in order to know how to prepare your write up
I was enlightened on how to arrange my work, story or article in a way that is acceptable or suitable to any platform for publication
The fifth point is very important to me. Sometimes I feel like I’ve written the most beautiful article ever. It could hurt a little when someone wants to make adjustments to my “wonderful piece”. Yielding to correction is very vital. I really love this, thank you ma for all you do.
To be honest ma’am I’ve not written anything before aside from assignments and exams. Considering what I’ve read from here I think I need to tap into that part of myself
Have not really thought of writing an article buh with these guidelines I think I can stay writing one. Thanks ma for these points I appreciate.
Thank you for all these wonderful tips ma
Putting them to practice will definitely improve my writing
Very educative , although I don’t like writing because am afraid of rejection because I don’t know where to put my punctuation mark .with these I give it a try I believe it comes out gud
I never considered any of these points when I wrote articles in secondary school
I was ignorant then but I know better now
I normally shy away from writing articles but your post has encouraged me to give it a try.
Thank you ma.
Grammatical errors or wrong spellings are sometimes caused by lack of effective cross-checking and not mostly the inadequacy of the writer to spell correctly or use proper grammar. No one is perfect at the same time above correction.
I am usually a victim of writing without purpose. I usually write just to fulfill assignments or whatever, but now I know better. I will try to do better next time
All my life, I have always written simply because I have to for my grades( I write for exam purposes or for essay tests) but now my span of knowledge has been broaden. I know more and I will work on my writing not just for exam purposes. Thank you ma for this educative article.
Well there is more to writing than I thought. However, how much impact would it have in the lives of your readers and writing in line should be considered.
We should make our work free from errors and long sentences.thank you ma’am for the tip.
For every piece I’ve written,it should offer value to my readers.
I would not write just to fulfill all righteousness.
I appreciate the third (3) point more, because it reminds me of a series I was featured in,there was huge engagement as we were able to make all the episodes a content filled one that made people to anticipate and crave for the part two of the series.
So I must say,This is a rare insight of writing guides,as it has opened my mind to helpful guides to be used while creating articles for a positive outcome.
Thanks for letting it out,I will definitely keep to these rues/guidelines and as well recommend it to those who needs to see it.
To make a good article entails following up a particular story and not deviating from the storyline, language and style; following corrections and making one’s write up worth while.
I was enlightened on how to arrange my work, story or article in a way that is acceptable or suitable to any platform for publication
In any writing, the audience should be your target, make use of words that’s are simple and accurate, make sure your article has a purpose also check spellings and grammatical errors before submitting an article
Don’t rush or be in a haste to submit your article, balance your goals and vision, know the style guide of the website you want to post your work, the purpose of your work should be specific/ defined, language error-free. Finally, proofread your work over and over.
Waw… What a great insight and knowledge. Thank you so much Ma for sharing.
After reading this, I believe writing an article will be simple for me and also help improvenmy writing skills.
Thank u ma
I learnt that proper use of punctuation marks while writing is necessary and a writer mist be straight to the point ,not deviating from what he or she is writing.
This post contains really vital information
I appreciate the tip, most of us dont have an idea on article writing and this goes along way in giving us the secrets behind writing an article that is worthwhile a very timely post.
You are right ma. Most times we are usually too fast to post our contents and in the process forget to reread and check again to ensure our writings are free of errors. It is necessary to recheck our writings before sharing.
It’s not in every platform that you can do copy and paste format. We are required to know background information of any platform before posting any article also we should be ready to be corrected anytime.
Thank you ma for this educating piece
This steps were very educative. It’s has given me the idea of how to organize an article in a way that it’s attract the reader’s mind. Thanks Ma.
The third point made a lot of sense to me thanks for these post Ma .
Patience is the most essential tool we need while writing, Patience with ourselves, our instructors, Publishers and our work. Nothing stays stagnant when paid attention to, so with determination and patience we are good to go
Wow..I never knew there are things to be considered before writing or submitting an article . Thank you for exposing more details to this, ma.
Thanks you Ma on your helpful tenets. It’s quite instructive per se and inclucative. Jisike
Thanks Ma on your helpful tenets. It’s quite instructive.
Thanks alot ma for this teaching on effective writing but I didn’t really understand what you mean by mystifying your write up. Please ma can you elaborate.
No, my dear! All you have to do is check the meaning of the word, “mystify.” How hard can that be?
As a writer, this piece teaches me that theree’s more to writing than just writing. I have other factors to consider.
Thank you ma,just like every art writing requires time and utmost carefulness.
With this information, my writing is going to be so much better. Dr. Edith Ohaja to the rescue once again.
This is very helpful ma! Writing can be a very tasking activity indeed but in order to make our articles worth reading we must endeavour to follow all laid down rules and regulations to make our work appeal to the readers.
Thank you ma. These are really great points to consider.
It’s really interesting how we tag all these tips as irrelevant. Thanks, Ma, for making me realize their usefulness.