SEEN ON SCREEN
Submission Guidelines
We want to know what you’re watching
Do you have to see a movie on opening weekend?
Is everything primetime viewing for you?
Do you do theme nights revolving around what you’re watching like having afternoon tea while watching “Downton Abbey” or Indian food when watching, “Slumdog Millionaire?”
Here at Seen On Screen, we’re looking for articles, listicles, personal essays, memoirs, reviews, and anything revolving around T.V., movies, and content.
Please write a comment in this thread to be added as a writer.
is the editor-in-charge for adding you, please let her know. You need to have some stories up already if she doesn’t know you.
Submit your work with the expectation of a fast turnaround, 12–24 hours. Weekend submissions might take a bit longer. If a few minor edits need to be done, we’ll have a short back-and-forth.
Please submit stories that are currently unpublished on Medium. If we see claps on an essay or find it already published on your page, that means it is already published — self-published.
We do not publish series pieces.
You may tag one or two additional writers if your story pertains to them.
Please do that at the conclusion of the article, not at the top. Start with your words.
- Stand-alone pieces only.
- You must be a paying member of Medium to publish with us.
- It’s $5 per month. Thanks.
If you need help with submitting, leave a note in the comments.
When we receive your submission, one of us will highlight your title and leave a private note. Your headline area will have an asterisk to the right, with an editor introduction and notes. You must click on each asterisk to see the editor’s notes.
Look through the story for additional notes with asterisks. Fix small issues.
If your photo is mostly a big black rectangle with an image at the bottom, we may replace your photo. If your image is borrowed, screen-shotted, from Pinterest or FB, etc., you will need to do something different.
Also, images from IMDB are not allowed as they’re licensed to IMDB only.
Don’t interact with the editor when he or she begins writing notes on your piece. Give it a few hours. Otherwise, the editor’s notes can get deleted.
Only one person can edit at a time, including brief notes, so just go get coffee and pet the dog for a while after you see the editor has picked up your piece.
Your nonfiction masterpiece can be as short as two minutes or as long as twelve at the high end. The sweet spot is five minutes. Please aim for 4–6 minutes, for a well-developed essay or story.
Formatting Must-Dos
Photos must be up top, under a title in title case and a subtitle in sentence case. Don’t worry if you don’t know what that means. We’ll help you through that.
Title Looks Like This
The subtitle reads like a sentence but has no period at the end
Photo by Mauro Sbicego on Unsplash
The photo used is from Unsplash, but I suggest Pexels or any other free photo outlet, so you aren’t using the same photos thousands of others have used.
You must have a credit under your photo. That’s a must!
If you use your own photo, please label it “photo property of author.”
Click at the top of your photo, and add Alt Text. This is a brief description of the photo for people who need help with seeing what it is. Above, ‘orange cat with striking green eyes ‘is what I might use. Just something brief.
For your “topics” which used to be called “tags” on Medium, use any other topics you want before hitting the submit button. If you don’t use all five you’re allowed, I will choose for you. I’m good at that, but it’s best if you choose.
If you use a bunch of text features, which include bold, title case, quotation, italics, etc. throughout your work, I will probably ask you to take it down a notch.
Self-promotion and calls to action — don’t ask people to follow you. Don’t propose read for read. This isn’t that place. Read stories by authors, comment, and show appreciation because it’s part of our writer community, perhaps the most important thing on this site.
You can link two stories you’ve written previously at the bottom of your essays. Always a good idea! Rumor has it that the algo doesn’t like too many links, so two is enough.
And if you’ve submitted a story three minutes, one attached story is all you get. It’s not a good idea to put a short essay up the flagpole just to carry two other pieces alongside.
We prefer to say yes to everything submitted.
In an ideal world, your essay will be mostly error-free, will not rant about the nasty political party you hate, and will be interesting and relevant to readers. If it doesn’t work here, we’ll let you know. We prefer to say yes and help you get your essay in front of readers.
Read the Medium Rules
If you don’t know the Medium Rules, click the link and review them. Can’t hurt, right? I’m also surprised that many people have never bothered. Please review them. Short read, but important.
Thanks for submitting your work!
Don’t forget to follow the Medium Guidelines. I’ll link them tomorrow, in case anyone wants a review.
Also, Parasol Publications (we are one pub under the umbrella group of Parasol) has some great tips for your submissions. I’ll link a story here.
Guidelines for Submitting Essays to Parasol Publications Plus a Few Don’ts
Can’t wait to see your stories!
If you have a comment or question, just shoot us a note in the comments!
