Do you have a story to tell?

Are you a budding journalist eager to publish local news stories? 

Perhaps you are studying journalism at school or college and want to try out your skills and build up a portfolio of published articles? 

Or maybe you have nothing to do with journalism but are a local resident who is interested in a topic and is keen to share your knowledge with others? 

If you would like to write for North Mymms News, please use the contact form at the bottom left of any page to pitch your ideas and we can discuss.

What is required for a story pitch

Your story pitch will need to contain the following:

• a top line setting out what the story is about.
• a paragraph describing why the story is important.
• a second paragraph setting out the sources for the story.

The story idea will then be considered and, if accepted, we will be in touch to discuss the format and deadline for the article.  

Once the piece is submitted an editor might make changes before it is published. Those changes will be discussed with you first. 

If you are writing a news story try to keep the length to between 500 and 800 words. If the piece is an in-depth feature, up to 1,500 words are acceptable. 

But we are flexible. Article length can be discussed once the piece has been submitted. 

Important editorial considerations

There are a number of rules about submitting articles:

• It must be all your own work. It can be inspired and prompted by something you have seen elsewhere, but it must not be copied from other news outlets.
• You will need to source at least one image for the article. Ideally the pictures will be your own. You can submit images released under Creative Commons but you will need to include full attribution to the original source.
• What you submit needs to be accurate, fair, objective and impartial. It should not contain any offensive material. If in doubt, please read through these editorial guidelines.
• We do not accept public relations (PR) material promoting local businesses or political/religious campaigns.

Voluntary experience

North Mymms News is a non-commercial community site with no financial backers and is unable to pay for articles submitted and published. Those writing for the site do so on the basis of a volunteer author. 

Anything that is published on North Mymms News is released under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0.

Once the article is live you will be able to share it on your preferred social media platforms using the share buttons surrounding the text.

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