Writing and Photo Guidelines

The PriorityNOW Blog is an arm of the Illinois Baptist Women. We LOVE spotlighting our Illinois sisters by publishing their articles and stories and using their pictures in the blog posts. Whether you’re a writer, a photographer, a scribbler, or a chick who clicks, please read through our guidelines and submit articles and pictures. We can’t do this without you.

The Priority Now blog is a leadership development blog…incognito. WAIT!
Do not close this tab until you read all of this.
And do not think that you can’t write leadership development posts. You CAN!

For every bit of leadership that people see, there’s a lot of leadership below the surface that people don’t see (Leading Self). As a writer you can show people what leadership looks like and quietly lead them and invite them to join us in doing things that may be a different way than they’re used to.

Think the original Karate Kid movies of the 1980s. Daniel wanted to learn karate and thought he found someone to teach him, but instead he ended up painting a fence and waxing a car. Remember? In reality, he was learning the basic blocks and strikes of some pretty serious karate.

The Priority Now blog aims to teach…show…women how to lead themselves well and how to lead others, without putting Leadership Development in neon lights on the blog itself.

We want posts about…

• living out, and the struggle to live out, what God has called us to do.
• how you wrestled with ____  and how you were able to move forward.
• things you would share with your younger sister to help her navigate life easier.
• spiritual disciplines, life disciplines, leadership qualities, leadership practices.
• anything that feeds into helping women become better leaders.

Articles should be:

• Previously unpublished.
• Well crafted and carefully edited.
• They can be devotional, informative, or biographical.
• Their point must be clear, encouraging, engaging, and Biblical.
• Written in a conversational tone, as if we were sitting on the deck, lingering over glasses of lemonade.

Article Submissions:

• Make sure the document is saved as a .doc or .docx file. Use this format for the document’s file name: LastName_Title. 
• In the document include your name and email address.
• Include a short bio blurb and link to be posted should your article be selected.
• Bible quotes need to include Scripture reference as well as the translation used.
• Email your submission to Submissions.PriorityNow@gmail.com as a document attached to the email.

Bio Blurb:

• Write in third person.
• Word length: 100 words.
• Include a link or two to where you can be found online.
• Since this is for our state, include the town (or nearby town) you live in.
• If you need help with this, feel free to email with questions. Patty4PriorityNow@gmail.com

There is no payment for posting your article or using your photograph, but a short bio blurb and link will be included with the post should we accept it for publication. Please include this with your submissions.

When an article is published on the PriorityNOW Blog, the author retains ownership of the article and the PriorityNOW Blog holds the First Rights. The author is free to sell, publish, or post it 30 days after our publication. If the article is reposted, we ask that a credit line and link be included stating the article first appeared on the PriorityNOW Blog.

Within 8 weeks of receipt we will reply to your submission with either an acceptance or a decline. Sometimes we may offer edits or suggested revisions before accepting your article and authors are responsible for making the final revisions. If you have questions contact us at Patty4PriorityNOW@gmail.com

If your article is selected to appear on the PriorityNOW Blog, we ask that you share the link to your post with your friends and on your social media and reply to people who take the time to comment on your article. This is the fun part, connecting to people, and it’s what will build our online community and yours.

Photo Submissions

• Pictures must be ones that you took.
• Submitted pictures can be of people, places or things. Stick with seasonally appropriate pictures.
• If minors are pictured, please obtain permission for their picture to be used on our website.
• Please send only five pictures per month.
• Change the picture file name to this format: YourName_June  If you are submitting more than one photo, please number them: YourName_June1
• Photo size: at least 1600px x 1600px, but not larger than 3000px x 3000px. Featured images must be at least 2400 px wide.
• email your submission to Submissions.PriorityNow@gmail.com.