Writing and Editing
ILLUMINATION and SYNERGY Need More Volunteer Editors
Supporting writers can produce intangible benefits for editors.
Gaining Editorial Skills by Volunteering for Publications
Writers and editors work together. Even though each role is different, they are closely related. So, a writer needs to be an editor and vice versa. Every writer should possess at least fundamental self-editing skills.
While writing is considered an art form, editing is usually considered a business activity. However, both roles require skills in art and business domains. High-level editing requires an understanding of the audience and how to enhance the content for readers.
Editors usually come from a writing background. Some editors undertake formal courses, some gain skills with experimentation and self-teaching, and some learn through volunteering.
Medium is a self-publishing platform. All levels of writers share their stories on various topics. The platform does not provide an editing service. However, some publications provide detailed or partial editing services.
As part of the ecosystem, publications play an important role. They help writers and readers interact. Some readers only follow stories in publications. While some publications are generic, covering many topics, some publish only niche content.
Using publications can provide several benefits for writers. Publications allow writers to showcase their stories to an established reader community. Publications enable writers to collaborate. They are great tools to create visibility, increase reading times, and collaborate with other writers.
In this post, I want to introduce the role of an editor for the publications that I serve as an owner-editor.
In addition, I cover selection criteria and invite members who might be interested in volunteering for editorial duties to apply to my several publications that operate under the umbrella of Illumination Integrated Publications.
About Publications
ILLUMINATION Integrated Publications support different levels of writers, from the absolute beginners to the most accomplished ones delighting our readers. Our publications are inclusive and diverse, supporting 19,000+ contributors.
ILLUMINATION ILLUMINATION-Curated ILLUMINATION’ S MIRROR ILLUMINATION Book Chapters Technology Hits SYNERGY Readers Hope Illumination on YouTube Illumination Gaming ILLUMINATION’s Blog
I start with a brief background about a group of publications. ILLUMINATION Integrated Publications consist of several publications supporting more than thousands of writers on Medium. Three of them publish generic stories, and the other three publish specific content.
The largest of all is ILLUMINATION. This publication supports all levels of writers. ILLUMINATION’S MIRROR is a backup publication to support prolific writers who post multiple stories a day, whereas ILLUMINATION-Curated only accepts content from experienced writers.
This publication hosts mainly curated and outstanding stories that deserve the status of being chosen for further distribution by Medium.
SYNERGY is designed to support only freelancers who write about writing, editing, blogging, and other related content. The purpose of SYNERGY is to bring writers, editors, and bloggers in one place — you do not have to specifically write an article about blogging here — we strongly encourage articles that link to the work of others to foster a spirit of cross-pollination as opposed to competition.
Technology Hits covers stories related to information technology, entrepreneurship, tech news, emerging technologies, technical leadership, and futuristic topics. It also accepts science-fiction and other technology-related art stories, such as digital art.
ILLUMINATION Book Chapters serve published and indie authors. These authors can publish their books in story format. Apart from erotica, all genres are accepted. You can find sample book chapters in this collection.
Currently, around 95 editors support these publications, yet I cannot have more than 30 editors assigned to any single publication. However, the workload is consistently increasing, and occasionally, some editors cannot commit for various reasons; hence we always need more volunteers.
If you are a writer and meet the criteria, joining these publications as an editor can prove valuable. As an editor, you can publish your own articles in the publication. In addition to improving your editorial and administrative skills, you can also build your network using our significant writer and reader base.
Editing skills can enhance your writing capabilities. Other skills, such as deepening your relationship with writers and readers, can be invaluable to your writing career. Collaborating with other editors and writers, you can build references and testimonials.
Editorial Duties
The key role of volunteer editors is to publish articles submitted to the publication queue. However, there are a few key duties before hitting the publish button.
Our publications don’t perform full-fledged editing. So, the editorial role in our publications does not require advanced editing practice such as line editing. Even though some editors engage in this practice for specific cases of articles that were of great interest to them and/or to their proteges, it is not a requirement from our volunteer editors.
The most important activity for our publications is to review the article and ensure it complies with platform rules and policies. The purpose is to identify harmful materials and prevent them from getting published. There are a few red flags, such as defaming content, porn, child abuse, fake news, plagiarism, and so on.
If the story meets these essential requirements, we conduct a quick check for language and formatting. We follow Medium curation guidelines for formatting. For example, unless it is a unique story, we don’t allow all-caps headings. However, we don’t censor content and don’t reject it due to style issues.
A critical point is the use of copyrighted content and photos. So, we usually check content using various plagiarism tools. Some of our editors are specialized in plagiarism detection.
A majority of our writers submit original material, but we always witness a few who use copyrighted materials knowingly or unknowingly. We don’t publish plagiarized content.
Copyright for photos is essential too. To help our writers, we created a photo-handling policy. According to our policy, all images must be cited and linked to the original source. In addition, self-owned photos also need to be cited, as explained in the policy.
Editing is a time-intensive process. Our publications don’t generate income. Therefore, we don’t expect our editors to perform line editing.
However, if we identify typos or a few awkward sentences, we fix them. If there are too many errors, we ask the writer to self-edit and resubmit. It is not rejection but returning the draft for improvement. So, content quality is the writer’s responsibility. We provide them with guidelines such as self-editing checklists.
We aim to publish submissions within 24 hours if the stories don’t have fundamental issues. Our editors leave private messages for writers to amend their stories. If writers don’t respond within 48 hours, we return the story.
More information about our publication and guidelines are kept in this collection: Starter Kit for Writers of ILLUMINATION Integrated Publications: One-stop-shop for beginners.
Criteria for Volunteer Editors
The following list includes requirements.
1 — Medium Partner Program Membership or at least a paid member.
2 — Advanced writing and reading skills in English
3 — Published ten stories in ILLUMINATION Integrated Publications
4 — Joining the publication’s Slack workspace
5 — Empathy, compassion, and tolerance for beginners
6 — Using language tools such as Grammarly
7 — Using plagiarism detection software
8 — Reviewing and publishing several stories per day
9 — Featuring valuable stories
10 — Mentoring new writers and providing editorial guidance upon request
11 — Being a team player
Final Words
Editing can be an excellent skill for writers. I mentioned the benefits. I also introduced the process and criteria for the role.
Volunteering can help writers to build editorial skills. Networking is essential for freelance writers so volunteer editors can enhance their networks.
If these value propositions resonate with you, please leave a comment on this story showing your interest. ILLUMINATION Integrated Publications need volunteers to support writers on Medium.
We usually prioritize writers of our publications for editorial positions. However, we also consider writers contributing to other publications in exceptional circumstances. In this case, we check prior experience.
I look forward to meeting and collaborating with you.
Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.
Besides increasing the hormonal intelligence of my readers and writing about neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, GABA, and acetylcholine, one of my goals as a writer is to raise awareness about the causes and risk factors of prevalent diseases that can lead to suffering and death for a large portion of the population.
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Metabolic Syndrome, Type II Diabetes, Fatty Liver Disease, Heart Disease, Strokes, Obesity, Liver Cancer, Autoimmune Disorders, Homocysteine, Lungs Health, Pancreas Health, Kidneys Health, NCDs, Infectious Diseases, Brain Health, Dementia, Depression, Brain Atrophy, Neonatal Disorders, Skin Health, Dental Health, Bone Health, Leaky Gut, Leaky Brain, Brain Fog, Chronic Inflammation, Insulin Resistance, Elevated Cortisol, Leptin Resistance, Anabolic Resistance, Cholesterol, High Triglycerides, Metabolic Disorders, Gastrointestinal Disorders, and Major Diseases.
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