Photography, Nature
Formatting Your Six Word Photo Story
Your Photo, Story, Subtitle & Tags for Submissions
Forgotten leaves capture beauty of branches.
I have received many submissions since I launched this publication — thank you, writers! I have written this article to clarify formatting and to give our writers some tips! Like the details in the branches of the tree, sometimes we miss them when we’re not embracing the moment or paying attention.
Please visit the submission guidelines for any updates before you submit a story.
1. Writing your Six Word Photo Story
Write your six word story (see above story, “Forgotten leaves capture beauty of branches”) and format it the same way by highlighting the six words and clicking on the small “T.”
Your story must connect to your photo in some way.
Then put the 3 dots right after your six-word story — see above 3 dots below the six-word story. When you place your cursor on a new line and the “plus” symbol appears, you can do this by clicking on the X symbol on the far left and then click on the two dashes on the far right. See samples below.
2. Title and Subtitle
The Title and Subtitle of your story should look like one of the samples below.
Subtitle Sample #1: If responding to a monthly challenge prompt, type in the name of the challenge as the subtitle. Then highlight your subtitle and click on the small “T” to format.
Subtitle Sample #2: If it’s a freestyle story that is not related to a monthly challenge, type in “Freestyle” after your subtitle. Then highlight your subtitle and click on the small “T” to format.
3. Your Photo
Your photo must appear ABOVE the title of your story.
- Place your cursor ABOVE THE TITLE after you’ve created the title, and press enter to create a blank space above the title to insert your photo.
- Then click on the camera to insert your own photo (that you have taken yourself.) No stock photos from Unsplash, etc. are allowed in this publication.
- You must type your name credit beneath your self-taken photo —ie. “Photo by author.” See the photo credit sample beneath the featured photo in this article.
4. Six Words Only!
As a rule, please stick to six words for your story.
However, IF you have a backstory, write it directly below the 3 dots. It can be 1–2 minutes long and must connect to the photo and six word story. If it’s over 2 minutes, it will not be accepted.
5. Tags:
If the story is related to a Monthly Challenge prompt, tag it Monthly Challenge.
If the story is a freestyle story (unrelated to a monthly challenge), tag it Freestyle.
If tagged properly, then your story will appear on the main page AND either the Monthly Challenge tab OR the Freestyle tab — depending on story type.
Optional: You may also tag your story in Photography and/or Six Word Photo Story.
6. If You Have a Backstory
After your 1–2 minute backstory, put the 3 dots right after it — see the bottom of this article.
7. Proofread Your Story
Once your story is formatted, tagged correctly, proofread by you, and ready to submit to this publication, do this: Click on the 3 dots to the left of your profile picture in the top right-hand corner, then click on “add to publication,” select “Six Word Photo Story Challenge”, click “select and continue” and then click “submit.” Review your draft and submit it to publication.
You can also check out any of the stories under the Freestyle and Monthly Challenges tabs as examples of formatting style.
Publication Turnaround
Your story will be reviewed and take between 1–2 days to be published. If your story requires any edits or does not meet formatting requirements, or follow submission guidelines, this will delay the publication of your story or it may not be accepted.
If you would like to apply to be a writer and submit to the Six Word Photo Story publication, please read and follow the submission guidelines before you submit a story!
