avatarRavyne Hawke

Summary

Promptly Written has updated its submission guidelines, detailing how to submit stories, emphasizing the importance of following prompts, and setting out specific rules and expectations for writers.

Abstract

The "Promptly Written" publication has revised its submission guidelines to streamline the process for new and existing contributors. Writers are encouraged to engage with monthly themes and weekly prompts, although unprompted work is also accepted. The guidelines outline a series of steps for writers to follow, including following the publication and editor, subscribing to newsletters, and enabling private notes for communication. Submission rules are strict, requiring adherence to Medium's Terms of Service, proper image citation, and the use of specific tags. The publication now accepts AI-generated content, provided it is clearly disclosed. Writers are limited to three submissions per day and are expected to adhere to quality standards, including grammar and punctuation checks. The editor emphasizes a zero-tolerance policy for hate speech and will not publish conspiracy theories in nonfiction formats. The publication welcomes a range of content, including poetry, fiction, articles, and essays, and has specific guidelines for erotica. The editor, based in the Central Time Zone, publishes submissions Tuesday through Saturday, with a two-day buffer for delays. Writers are encouraged to use past and present prompts and to mention the editor in their stories for proper credit and visibility.

Opinions

  • The editor values organization and clarity, as evidenced by the detailed submission process and the emphasis on following specific guidelines.
  • There is a strong preference for content that aligns with the publication's themes and prompts, suggesting a curated approach to content selection.
  • The acceptance of AI-generated content, with transparent disclosure, indicates an openness to evolving forms of storytelling while maintaining ethical standards.
  • The editor's stance on hate speech and conspiracy theories reflects a commitment to creating a respectful and factual community.
  • The editor's willingness to perform minor edits and provide feedback through private notes shows a supportive approach to working with writers.
  • The guidelines convey an expectation for writers to be proactive in their use of tags, understanding of image copyright, and engagement with the publication's community.
  • The editor's explicit mention of days off and potential publishing delays sets clear expectations for communication and turnaround times.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES | PROMPTLY WRITTEN

New PW Submission Guidelines — Updated

How to submit your stories to Promptly Written

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Greetings travelers and welcome to Promptly Written. This is a one-stop-shop for all things Promptilicious! The Promptly Written pub has had some upgrades. The atmosphere is more laid back, if not a bit on the glitzy side. So pull up a stool to the bar and check out the menu.

NOTE: If you previously wrote for Promptly Written, you will have to ask to be added as a writer again.

Did You Say Prompts? Yes!

Want a prompt? Need a prompt? Each month, I offer a Monthly Theme with Writing Sparks to get those juices flowing. I also offer weekly prompts to tempt your muses.

While I prefer you submit work based on my prompts, I also accept work from prompts of other publications, as well as unprompted work.

THE NITTY GRITTY

  1. FOLLOW PROMPTLY WRITTEN — this should be obvious. Why join a publication if you are not following it?
  2. FOLLOW THE EDITOR — this will make it easier for you to stay in contact with me.
  3. SUBSCRIBE TO MY POSTS — this will ensure that you receive every prompt, newsletter, and anything else I publish on PW in an email. You will notice a ‘letter button’ beside the ‘follow button’ by my name on all my posts. To subscribe to me by email, simply click that ‘letter button’.
  4. SIGN UP FOR THE NEWSLETTER — All interactions between me and writers will come via a newsletter. This includes weekly updates and news in the form of a newsletter, as well as any important information regarding PW or Medium. If you do not sign up for the newsletter, don’t complain if you are left out of the loop.
  5. TURN ON YOUR PRIVATE NOTES. To do this, go into Settings, Account, and click ON to allow Private Notes. This is how I communicate with you pre-publication. You can also leave me PNs when you submit drafts if you need assistance. I acknowledge that PNs are not a part of the Mobile APP yet, however, you can read my PNs to you. If you need to communicate directly concerning a PN left on your work, you can always email me at the address below.
  6. If you have any issues or questions about anything dealing with Promptly Written, feel free to contact me — Email: [email protected]

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

New-To-Medium and PW Writers

  1. You must adhere to Medium’s Terms of Service and Medium Rules. Read them. Memorize them. Do not violate them.
  2. I’ve put up a better explanation on how to submit stories to a publication. You can view it here — Submitting Drafts and Citing Images
  3. I have adopted the guidelines that Dr Mehmet Yildiz uses on his own publications for Photos and Copyright issues. Please read them carefully and act appropriately.
  4. Please use a Title in title case, a Subtitle in subtitle case (it should come after the Title and before the Image), and add a properly cited Image (it should come below the Subtitle). Titles should be catchy, but not click-bait (that is against Medium’s rules). Subtitles should be a short descriptive addition to your Title. Choose an Image that enhances your piece. Many readers prefer the visual of an image while reading your stories. You may use Kickers in your title section.
  5. Please review the articles at Medium Help for the following:

6. To All Bi/Multilingual Writers — Yes you can write in your native language if you also translate it into English within the same story.

7. 💥💥Please only submit DRAFTS to PW💥💥 Do not publish on your page and then submit to PW. Submit to PW and I will publish the piece on my end.

8. PW now accepts AI generated Art and Stories. HOWEVER, the writer must clearly state that the Art and Stories are generated by AI. If you fail to do so and Medium discovers this, they will take down your stories and likely suspend your account. Read their stance on this here:

9. You may submit up to (3) three pieces per day.

IMPORTANT FYI

  1. Polish your stories. Check for spelling, grammar, and punctuation. [If you can use Chrome as your browser, the free version of Grammarly works as an extension and will underline in red any suggested changes.] If you need assistance with your stories, please contact me via the email address above.
  2. Make sure your images are properly captioned; this includes videos where appropriate.
  3. Make sure you are using the appropriate PWs Reader Interest tags (I reserve the right to change one of your tags if you have not used an appropriate one — this is to keep the website in an orderly fashion). If you get in the habit of making one of those four tags your first tag, this will become second nature to you and I won’t have to beg you to remember. Yes, that is how important this is.
  4. PWs Reader Interest tags are:
  • Poetry for poetry
  • Fiction for fiction
  • Articles for articles and opinions/rants
  • Essay for personal essays, short form, or creative non-fiction

More Guidelines

  1. I will not tolerate hate speech in this publication. This includes political, religious, racial, and cultural discrimination. I will reject any pieces of writing that violate this and will remove anyone who violates this in comments — this includes being rude to the Editor. Play nice and be kind.
  2. Promptly Written does not publish any nonfiction (essays or articles) on Conspiracy Theories. Any nonfiction stories that are submitted with conspiracy theories in them will automatically be rejected. However, you may work a conspiracy theory into a piece of fiction, but it must clearly be fiction.
  3. Erotica is acceptable here. I reserve the right to reject any Erotica that is too graphic or denigrating. Erotica does not equate Hard-Core Porn.
  4. I operate in the United States in the Central Time Zone. Submissions will be published during the hours of 12:00 am-8:00 am, Tues — Saturday. Sunday and Monday are my days off from all online activity. Please use this converter to figure out what hours these are in your own time zone. If there is to be a delay in publishing and I am able, I will leave you a private note to let you know when your work is scheduled to be published.
  5. All submissions will be published as soon as possible. However, there will be times when you may have to wait 24–72 hours. Please be patient. No owners of publications get paid. This is a labor of love. We all have our own lives to live outside of Medium, and I am not an exception to that. If you cannot wait to have your work published here, feel free to publish it elsewhere.
  6. You can find all of the current prompts under PROMPTILICIOUSNESS. Feel free to browse the prompts past and present. You do not have to just use a prompt from the current week. Browse them all and find the ones that interest you. There is no timeline on when to use a prompt and the prompts never expire.
  7. When tagging your stories, Do NOT use the PWprompt tag. That is for PW prompts only. You may use prompt or writing prompts
  8. If you are publishing your piece in PW, please remember to Mention (tag) me (@RavyneHawke) in the BODY of your story (at the end)
  9. If you are publishing your piece anywhere besides PW, always remember to Mention (tag) me (@RavyneHawke) in the BODY of your story (at the end) so I can find your work. Do not tag me under the Reader Interest tag section for a publication. I will NOT find your work that way.
  10. If you are writing from one of the prompts on PW or any other publication, please leave a link to the prompt in the BODY of your story. Preferably at the end.

HOW TO BECOME A WRITER FOR PROMPTLY WRITTEN

  1. Leave a comment below stating that you understand and agree to the guidelines.
  2. Ask to be added as a writer.
  3. Provide your Medium ID

My Editing Style

While editing your work, I will make slight changes where necessary — things like punctuation, misspellings, and minor structure issues. If a piece needs extensive editing, I will leave a Private Note and reject the piece for you to edit. You may always resubmit the piece once editing has been done. I rarely edit poetry. I feel that a poet’s style should always be taken into consideration. I will only edit misspellings in poems. I do not edit spellings of words that are native to your country of origin (for instance, American English vs UK English). However, if it is not an internationally known word, please explain it at the end of your story.

That’s all the guidelines I have at this moment. I reserve the right to make changes to said guidelines in the future as needed. I look forward to tempting your muses with delicious prompts and publishing your stories.

Ravyne Hawke, EIC

Submission Guidelines
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