Writer’s Guide
Hello! our most deserving guest contributor You have arrived at Dumblittleman’s Writer’s Guide.
Our valued guest writers are expected to adhere to and respect our rules and regulations. Failure to adhere to the following criteria when submitting an article will result in the article being rejected for publication. Extreme or persistent conduct by a guest contributor will result in the contributor’s privilege to post on our site being permanently revoked.
📋 Each piece will be thoroughly reviewed by our Content Manager, Ms. Mariel, who will conduct weekly reviews of new contributions. You will get an automatic email indicating whether your article was approved or rejected.
TAKE NOTICE: Requests to have published pieces removed due to a failure to follow our writer’s guide will be denied. The decision of management is final and irrevocable.
Please note that each Guest Contributor’s bio will have 1 NO-FOLLOW link.
We like getting new contributions but are always saddened when an item is rejected due to non-compliance. As a result, we created the DLM Writer’s Guide to help you succeed.
1.0 Article Submission Requirements
Our staff prepared a thorough list of the most often cited reasons for approval and rejection.
The articles you submit MUST be the following:
1.1 Original
Submit a 100% unique article. To help you create a perfect unique article, try using Copyscape.com for plagiarism check. You can also run it through multiple plagiarism sites if you want.
We run all your submissions through Copyscape and a Google search.
We reject:
1.1.1. articles that have already been published elsewhere
1.1.2. published articles that have been “spun”
1.1.3. an article that was previously published but later unpublished for whatever reason
1.1.4. an article that’s been stolen from another author and is being passed off as your work
1.2. Helpful
DumbLittleMan is a self-help and motivational site so our articles should be helpful to our readers. From our experience, we receive the following categories of articles: a list of tips, a helpful list of information, or a story of one’s experiences that others may learn from too.
We reject:
1.2.1. articles that are written primarily to promote or pitch oneself, one’s brand, or one’s website
1.2.2. articles that are descriptive but not necessarily helpful
1.3. Polished
Have as few edits as possible. Ask a friend or an editor to go through an article for you. Correct grammatical mistakes, flow, and format.
We reject:
1.3.1. Articles that would otherwise be very interesting but need intensive editing
1.3.2. Articles that don’t have a clear flow or progression of ideas
1.4. Meet the Minimum Word Count
Our minimum word count is 900 words (excluding info to be put for Author’s bio and the title). It is ideal that you write a detailed article as we only publish quality posts. The preferred article word count will be 1000-2000 words.
2.0 Writing Tips
What writing style do we prefer? It’s actually universal but just in case a list helps…
2.1. No wall of text. Please.
When you use paragraphs and short ones at that, it helps break your content into easily digestible pieces for readers. Plus, the white spaces help.
2.2. Use headings or subheadings in a bulleted or numbered format
This makes your content highly skimmable for readers who don’t have a lot of time to read or for readers with short attention spans.
2.3. Use a casual, friendly, and personal tone
My idol Perrin Carrel said it best when he said, “I’d rather read a blog about plumbing supplies written by a funny plumber who comes across as genuine, friendly and trustworthy than a plumbing supplies blog written by a faceless, generic Fiverr writer. Wouldn’t you?”
2.4. Keep your writing simple
Compound sentences and compound-complex sentences do NOT impress us. In fact, readers find them hard to read. Instead:
2.4.1. Write like you’re talking to a kid
2.4.2. Revise towards simplicity
2.4.3. Use simple words and simple sentence structures
2.4.4. Write like yourself!
Again, keep it simple, casual, and engaging. (P.S. I lifted the first two bulleted tips from Perrin. Wink!)
2.5. Keep the introduction short
There’s no need to lead up to the meat of your article. Don’t beat around the bush to try to get your word count up.
A short introduction composed of 1 to 3 short paragraphs is plenty enough.
2.6. Make sure your write-up provides value
Before submitting, you may ask yourself the following questions:
2.7.1. Is my article helpful?
2.7.2. Who will it help?
2.7.3. How will it help others?
2.7. Be interesting!
Write an article YOU’D enjoy reading.
3.0 Things we do not allow in a guest contributor article
3.1 We don’t allow the following to be included in your article. Our content manager will either reject your article or publish it after removing the links and embedded images you included in your submitted article.
3.1.1 promotional links
3.1.2 homepage links
3.1.3 blog links
3.1.4 links to eCommerce pages
3.1.5 embedded images
3.1.6 links going to other websites
3.2 WE DON’T POST the following articles about:
3.2.1 sex
3.2.2 escort service
3.2.3 violence
3.2.4 gambling
3.2.5 CBD
3.2.6 vaping
3.2.7 guns and other weapons
3.2.8 topics that suggest any types of discrimination (racism, sexism, classism, ageism, homophobia, etc), prejudice, and stereotyping.
4.0 Attaching Photo to your article
The editor will not link your attached images to any websites or blog sites but will credit a photo using the DLM format.
4.1.1 Put the URL from which you have taken the photo
4.1.2 If you have registered the image you attached under your name please put your name below the attached image.
I’m quite sure I forgot a gazillion things so we’ll keep adding as we go along. Work in progress, guys!
If you have questions, write to us at [email protected]
