We are citizen journalists. We do not accept sponsored content or articles from companies wishing to enhance their SEO scores or similar, and we do not accept AI-generated content!
Before writing an article for the Bylines Network, please make contact with us to discuss your article idea in advance so that we can take steps to avoid duplication or disappointment.
If you’re joining us from America for the first time, email america@bylinesnetwork.co.uk. If you live in an areas not currently covered by the Bylines Network, email info@bylinesnetwork.co.uk.
For everyone else, please notify the editor-in-chief of ‘our closest Bylines via the relevant email – editor@ followed by the URL of your Bylines (editor@bylines.cymru, editor@bylines.scot, editor@yorkshirebylines.co.uk etc).
Guidelines for writers
Articles should be submitted via the same email address on Microsoft Word® document or suitable alternative. They should normally be under 1,000 words, though we accept longer reads if the content merits it. No article should be shorter than 400 words.
Aim for:
- An attention-grabbing short headline that says what your article is about – try to make titles exciting and relevant to the content, and include keywords that people might use to search for it on social media.
- A lede / standfirst at the top of the article which will appear above the image. This should be no more than 140 characters long, including any spaces, and once again should incorporate keywords.
- A strong opening paragraph to hook the reader, which includes those keywords.
- Logical sequencing throughout, including within and between paragraphs – start, middle, end – take the reader on a journey (but not a magical mystery tour!).
- Reasonable paragraph length – avoid long paragraphs over 100 words (these can feel overwhelming to read on a mobile phone), but don’t write entirely in single-sentence paragraphs either (the occasional one for emphasis is fine!).
- A subheading every 200 words or so to guide the reader and search engines – remember those keywords again.
- A clear ending – don’t just tail off …
- Ideally at least one ‘quotable’ sentence to use on social media – this can be the opening or closing sentence, or something in the middle – in the digital age we need something that packs a punch in under 280 characters.
Editorial process
Our editors will work with you to ensure the final piece is well written and meets our high standards of accuracy. You retain the copyright and have final say on the content. However, the headline, lede and subheadings the final decision on wording will sit with the editor-in-chief (though we welcome your suggestions as you will know best what works for the article). If you later wish to republish your article elsewhere, please liaise with the editor-in-chief.
Please supply supporting evidence (usually via a hyperlink to this evidence online) where appropriate. We welcome the occasional analysis and opinion piece, as long as it conforms to these guidelines.
The Bylines Network encourages a range of writing styles and your voice is unique. Within that we aim for a high standard of writing and readability. Pitch your article to an audience that is interested and engaged, though don’t assume any pre-existing knowledge or expertise. Your article should be accessible to a wide range of readers. Please avoid using AI to research, write or tidy up your work – it undermines our co-creational process (your work should be your own, and our editors can help with the rest).
We are regulated by IMPRESS. Please see their Standards Code here.
Profile
Finally, if accepted, we will create your author profile on the relevant Bylines site. For this we will need a short biog of up to 100 words to tell our readers a little bit about you, and a profile pic or preferred avatar. We can also link to social media sites of yours that you would like to show (Bluesky, LinkedIn, X, TikTok, a blog site, Wikipedia etc) so please include these too.
