Submission Guidelines- Teatime History

Updated January 2024

I started Teatime History in June 2021, as I wanted to offer readers on this platform a trusted source of history.

I observed many wild claims and conspiracy theories published on Medium which give readers a wrong idea about what history is all about.

Today, we are opening the publication for new submissions for writers interested in genuine history telling. This means there are guidelines you should follow to be published in Teatime History.

We want your opinions, research, analysis, listicles, or whatever form you want to present your content backed by evidence. Historians always have a healthy debate on topics they disagree on. We want your perspective on the issue.

We avoid a strong ideological stance while respecting the author’s interpretation of events. Historical nuances are essential for the stories we publish. Ideological biases have resulted in people losing faith in history and have given birth to conspiracy theorists, and grifters profiting off misinformation.

Here, at Teatime History, we are committed to objectivity.

For example, discussing controversial theories on who destroyed the Library of Alexandria is welcome. However, conspiracy theories about Pharaohs descending from aliens and alleged sexual rumors about semi-legendary rulers are not.

Keeping the above in mind, we welcome your contribution.

Submission rules and guidelines

• You must be a Medium member and a part of the Medium Partner Program.
• All submissions must comply with Medium’s Ad-Free Policy, Content Guidelines, Curation Guidelines, and Rules. Please review them before you submit a draft.
• Drafts must be a minimum 4-minute read. From our experience, long-form content performs the best in this publication so don’t hesitate to send quality stories even if they are over 10 minutes (2500 words) read.
• Unpublished drafts only.
• Sources must be cited at the end of the story. The credibility of sources matters. Alt-history and fictional works are not allowed.
• Submissions must be proofread and properly formatted.
• All images must be copyright-free, and the source of the image must be mentioned.
• Having a featured image with a caption is mandatory. All images used in the story must have captions.
• You must select “History” as one of your tags for topics. The other four are your choice.
• AI-generated content is not allowed. All content must be human-generated. Our readers want to hear your perspective.
• Before selecting a topic, search if it has been recently covered in the publication. If so, your story should build on it or present a new perspective.
• You are free to remove the story after you have submitted it if you’ve changed your mind. But once it is published, you are not allowed to remove it from the publication.
• True crime stories are not allowed.
• Stories on Natural History, the history of animals, the earth, dinosaurs, and other pre-historic creatures are welcome.
• Do you like visiting historical places? Feel free to share your travel history stories.

Guidelines for success

We want your articles to have maximum views. So here are a few insights on what works in this publication.

• A good headline. Though, this is stating the obvious but needs to be mentioned.
• Topics on prehistory, ancient, and medieval history perform the best.
• Engagement with fellow writers. Make sure to read the stories of your fellow writers in the pub and give them a boost.
• The selection of suitable images helps. Check out open image sources such as Wikimedia Commons, copyright-free museums, and other educational sites.

Medium Boost Program

Teatime History is now a part of Medium’s Boost Program. This means we are one of the 100-odd publications that can nominate your stories for further distribution.

Your stories can now get additional views. You’ll be able to attract more viewers and earn extra through the Medium Partner Program.

How do we nominate stories for Boost?

Your story must meet the criterion listed by Medium.

However, since this is a publication focused on history, we expect the story to focus on historical nuances. The reader should feel like they’ve gained knowledge and enjoyed the reading experience, therefore, be sure to cite reliable sources.

The odds of getting a boost go up when you combine engaging storytelling with solid evidence. Here are a few boosted stories that can give you an idea of what the curators are looking for and what we will nominate.

We welcome you to join us. Comment below the article with your username and a sample of history writing (it doesn’t necessarily have to be on Medium) if you want to write for Teatime History. Please note we aren’t adding writers who aren’t inclined towards history or those who use AI to write their stories.

Hence, submitting a prior writing sample is a must.

Prateek Dasgupta, M.S., Editor.

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