Information

Layout of Your Tantalizing Tale

Once you are writing with the magazine on a regular basis please send in a draft that is formatted as well as you are able.

This article — about the layout of your story — is a part of the submission guidelines. If you want to write for Tantalizing Tales please read the updated guidelines first.

How to send in a correctly formatted draft:

The post you are reading has the correct format and check out this story to see exactly what a final tale will look like once it has been published. Keep the page open while you read through the layout requirements below.

1. Header: An image will always head your story. We would rather you supply one, although we can if you need. We like the photo before the title. Read the above post if you are unsure how to do this.
2. Image Size: The image should be 3 by 2 or square — and horizontally between approx. 800 and 1500. Try not to make it larger, otherwise it takes a long time to load. You can resize your image in apps such as paint or Canva.
3. Image Copyright: Please make sure to include a copyright caption with a link — Check how I have done this in the photo above. Resources like Pexels, Pixabay, Unsplash are good for sourcing pictures. Also, Creative Commons — licensed images (please research and adhere to the licence of the images you use). Original imagery is also great — but you still need to credit it as “Author’s own”.
4. Alt Text — If you click on the photo in your draft story on the laptop, it will give you the option to add alt text information. This is a description of the photo that will be read out if a partially sighted or blind person is reading the story via audio. Fill that in.
5. Title and a Sub Title: We do need you to provide these. Highlight the title then click on the “large T” to create it in the correct format. The subtitle should try to draw people in and is created by clicking on the “small T”. If you are writing a series please read this from Marie A. Rebelle about how to format your titles.
6. Kicker — At Tantalizing Tales we sometimes use what is known as a kicker at the start of the narrative. You can add your own or we may do it for you. It states the collection or category of your post. It comes before the Title and is created by using the small “T” from the writing tool.
7. Call to Action: When you have written the body of your story you’re welcome to add one embedded link, either to your work on Medium or your personal site, at the bottom of your tale. And/or write a couple of lines about yourself with some inline text links, if you want to.
8. We may choose to share the love and add an embed to another story or list, by a different writer at the bottom of yours.
9. Tags: Click on the three dots next to your logo in the top right corner (on laptop) you will find a drop-down menu with other options. One you may want to fill in will be topics/tags. Add up to five words or phrases that will be used as keywords to signpost people to the type of story you have written. For example, general tags such as Fiction but also more descriptive phrases such as Party, Time Travel, BDSM. If your story is erotic, please include 2 erotic tags such as erotic fiction or kink.
10. More Settings: If you want to alter the description that will appear on searches, then go through to this setting and find the SEO Description.

NB — If you are not experienced with the layout in Medium we still want to receive your work and can sort the format of your post for you.

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