It only takes a little time, a pen, some paper or access to a PC or laptop. We have created this page to help you craft your submission and understand the process of submitting your completed article to Gayther.
QUICK LINKS
STRUCTURE
- As a guide, your article should ideally be no more than 500 words
- It is estimated that the average person can read 200 words per minute. A 500-word article would take just under three minutes to read. The majority of people assess an article or scan read within the first 15 seconds or less to decide whether or not to continue, so capturing their interest is equally important
- Your article can not contain offensive, defamatory or abusive content or language
- Cannot be libellous; you should avoid slanderous or unsubstantiated facts about well-known or public figures or individuals
- You should use well-known and reliable sources for any facts and figures (remember to quote any sources/references used)
- I left university and was homeless (b)
- Divorced and penniless (m)
Once you have listed all of your bullet points, group them by beginning (b), middle (m) and end (e). You can do this by adding the letter alongside each of the points listed.
Often when creating an article, the hardest part is creating a catchy title. The title has to capture the essence of your story and, at the same time, generate interest and intrigue. I will typically create a draft title and edit it throughout the article drafting process.
The title should ideally be meaningful but not too wordy. To ensure your article gets scored and an optimal listing within search engines, it is essential to create it in a specific way. Using Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) compliant titles are crucial. Ideal SEO titles should be descriptive, be more than 40 characters and ideally less than 60 characters. It advisable that you avoid stop words such as a, and, but, so, on, or, the, was, with and that. SEO’s also use a focus or keyword, effectively a single word that describes your article. For example, if your article was about a recent trip to Australia, Australia is your keyword. You must also include the keyword within your title.
An example of an SEO headline would be ‘Gay man’s guide to travelling around Australia’.
- Capture the essence of your story
- Ideally, the title should be more than 40 and less than 60 characters
- Should create intrigue and capture the interest of the reader
- It should not be misleading
- Capture the essence of your story
- Ideally, the title should be more than 40 and less than 60 characters
- Should create intrigue and capture the interest of the reader
- It should not be misleading
When starting an article, you first need to decide on the length of the article. If you plan to write a story with around 500 words, you should aim to keep the beginning to approximately 166 words (1/3 of the total article word count).
The purpose of the beginning is to outline the aim of what the article will achieve. The beginning or opening sets the scene and the tone and direction the article will take.
The beginning should be the ‘why’, why was the article was created, and why the reader should continue reading. For example, suppose you were setting the scene for a coming-out story. In that case, you might say something like ‘You are dead to me, words you never want to hear from your family when coming out, discover the techniques I used and how I coped with the rejection. I will also share the practical strategy I adopted, which worked and resulted in the excellent relationship that I now have with my family.’
TIPS FOR THE BEGINNING- Set the scene, what the article is about, and why is it essential that the reader continues reading the article
- Describe the problem or situation you had to overcome or outline the issue relating to the solution outlined throughout the article
- Keep the pace, try not to be too wordy, be too sweeping or use complicated language
- Set the tone (upbeat, serious, fun, sad etc.)
- Most importantly – keep the reader’s interest
Using the same structure as the beginning, you should aim to keep the middle section to 166 words (1/3 of the article). You have explained the purpose and set the scene; now you are into the heart of the story, the key message or point you plan to make.
If this were a story about someone’s life, it is the turning point, if about social injustice, the options or solutions. The middle is the key element within the article, explaining the journey, what is or will be changing. Without the right middle section, your story will lack substance.
TIPS FOR THE MIDDLE- Make your point but try to make it fact-based
- If you use data or quotes, ensure you have included a source of who said it
- If using data, spend less time explaining the data and more time about what it means
- In the middle, you have spiked that reader’s interest so keep it interesting
- Passion is good; arrogance is not
- Write like you are speaking to one person
Using the same structure as the beginning and middle, you should aim to keep the ending to 166 words (1/3 of the article). You have set the scene, given the reader all the facts, where to next?
In the ending, you want to summarise the point/position of the article and issue a call to action.
FOR EXAMPLE
That is why members of the LGBTQ+ community are so diverse and fun. Ultimately, we all must continue supporting and loving one another.
In a life story, the ending might summarise the key lessons learnt, what you are doing or are planning next and of course, making the final summary or overall conclusion.
TIPS FOR THE ENDING- Summarise and replay your key lessons, points, issues etc.
- End on a positive note or offer a solution; for example, it is never too late for the world to change
- What are you hoping the reading will take away from your article, if important that you restate it
- Share your thoughts and opinions, but try to be unbiased or offer an alternative viewpoint
Raise awareness about you, the writer
Your biography should summarise your life, experiences, and anything you feel is important to share. Your bio will help the reader by providing them with some context about you, the person who wrote the article.
TIPS FOR YOUR BIOGRAPHY- Think of an elevator speech – you have 1 minute to tell people about yourself
- Share the essence of the real you; how would others describe you?
- Consider including links to your social media pages; it will allow your readers to learn more about you and potentially increase the number of followers you have
- If you wish to include a photograph, do not forget to show off your beautiful smile
You can include pictures. photographs or illustrations with your article; however, you need to ensure you have the appropriate copyright and licensing permissions to share. For example, if it is a photograph you have taken, then you own the copyright; however, if you use a picture from the internet, it is typically owned and copyrighted by a site, individual or service. Suppose you use one of your photographs, and it includes friends, family or strangers. In that case, you need to ensure that any person featured is happy for their image to be used.
Websites such as Pixabay (https://pixabay.com) offer royalty-free and attribution free images free of charge.
Excellent, you have written your fantastic article, and you now want to submit it
1 – Log on to your Gayther Care account; if you don’t have an account, click here to register
2 – Under your Gayther account, select ‘Gayther Account‘ and ‘Share with Gayther.’
3 – Fill out all of the required fields
4 – Select the most appropriate category and press the submit button
Once you have submitted your article, it will go into a pending queue, waiting for the article to be reviewed by a Gayther representative. If successful, Gayther reserves the right to make amendments and adjustments to your article before publishing to ensure that it complies with our minimum standards and terms and conditions.
You will be notified when your article is ready to be published.
Unfortunately, some articles may be too similar to other articles on the site or fail to meet our minimum standards. Unpublished works do not mean that the article was not of a high standard, just likely it is more around timing. We appreciate that you want to share your stories and sincerely hope you will try again.
No – all of the articles are provided free of charge. By sharing our story, you will be raising awareness about yourself (social media etc.) and at the same time helping to change someone’s views, opinions or even life.
Yes – you can share a link, post to social media and tell your friends and family. We want the world to read your article.
As long as possible – we aim to keep articles on the site for at least two years or more
Yes – if you have a fantastic story but want to remain anonymous, you can.
Naturally, we would want our readers to learn more about you, but we also respect your privacy.
The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) have been designed to complement and expand on the Gayther terms and conditions, which you will be required to abide by when creating an account and submitting an article.
If you have any further questions, please contact us
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