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StarIQ Writers' Guidelines
Prior to Article Submission
Please contact StarIQ before submitting an article. Email
Jeff Jawer and Rick Levine
to discuss your idea.
In addition, please
read several articles on the site
with topics similar to yours to get an idea of StarIQ style
before you begin to write. You should
also read these guidelines in their entirety and read and adhere to the
capitalization and punctuation guidelines on the
writers' style sheet.
Topics
We are looking for daily content articles (800 words or fewer) on
health, sports, business, politics, relationships, celebrities,
gardening and spirituality. We will also accept articles outside of
these topics, but please discuss your idea with the managing editor
prior to submission.
Article Length and Other Requirements
StarIQ articles are no longer than 800 words, with an additional 200
words allowed for notes (links) to explain astrological terms (1000
total). Very short articles of 100-400 words are also desirable.
Longer pieces can be divided into two or more articles to be published
separately (run serially).
Articles must include a title, a
short "about the author" paragraph and a one or two-sentence summary.
Articles should be sent via email as an attachment (preferably Microsoft
Word) rather than pasting the copy directly into the email. Contact us
if you have any difficulty with this.
The StarIQ.com Audience
At this point
in StarIQ's development, all articles are written for the
general (no astrology knowledge) or
student (some astrology knowledge, but
not professional) levels. We will add more complex articles as we grow,
but right now at least 90 percent of the articles we will accept will be
general level.
General level
articles are about some world event, person or thing with astrological
insight behind it. Student articles are about astrology itself. In
general level articles, there should be no astrology jargon without
explanation within the article or by link. There should be no more than
two to three astrology concepts.
What is StarIQ Looking For in an Article?
The ideal
StarIQ article is about "the real world with astrology behind it." It
should use astrology to give us new and fresh insight into a popular
concept, event or person—particularly one that's in the news right now.
It should tell the story of the person or thing using astrology to flesh
out the details, rather than being an article about astrology using the
person or thing as an example.
Articles should explore two to three astrological concepts in some
depth, rather than dissect a whole chart. Think simple, but meaningful!
We expect
articles be well organized, with a logical, easy-to-follow "flow." Your
article should have a "path" from the beginning to the end, clearly
marked by subheads so the reader does not get lost. State your
theme/main idea right away, elaborate on your points, and end with a
strong conclusion. Follow the guidelines for writing for the Internet,
listed below, and use the information provided via the links.
What Should a StarIQ Writer Avoid?
We do not
accept straight
Sun sign articles, although the
Sun can certainly be mentioned in your work.
We also do not
accept "laundry list" articles where every
aspect of a chart is analyzed. We prefer
articles that take the two or three "juiciest," most interesting parts
of a chart and elaborate on those in more depth.
We believe that
astrology is an empowering tool, and therefore do not accept articles
that portray it in a bad light or that are too deterministic. This does
not mean that we are only looking for "sweetness and light," but
challenging placements or
aspects should be dealt with
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