Writers’ Guidelines: Online Brands

These guidelines are for Charisma Media’s online products, including the online content for Charisma, Charisma News and Ministry Today.

All articles must be edited prior to submission. If our editors deem the writing or editing quality unsatisfactory, the article may be returned with notes for revisions. We reserve the right to edit articles as we see fit.

If this necessary revision process causes an article to go unpublished or published later than desired, the responsibility falls on the author for failing to write at an acceptable quality level.

Categories

Charisma

• Spirit: Bible study, church and ministry, devotionals, evangelism and missions, prayer, prophecy, revival, spiritual growth, spiritual warfare, supernatural, world religions, Bible reading guide
• Life: Business and finance, culture, education, family and parenting, health, men, politics, relationships, social justice, travel, women
• Entertainment: Books, movies, music, TV
• Media: Video, audio, photo, Charisma Podcast Network

Ministry Today

• Ministry News: Kingdom culture, features, columns
• Ministry life: Children, college, counseling, couples, deliverance, family life, legacy, marketplace, married, men, money, multi-ethnic ministry, multicultural, parenting, personal finance, prayer, preteen, recreation, relationships, seniors, singles, social media, special needs, teens, women
• Leadership: Business & spirituality, a pastor’s heart, administration, adversity, counseling, calling, culture, devotionals, higher education, ethics, fasting, finance, money, pastoral care, pastoring, personal character, prayer, preaching, prophecy, vision, women in leadership, worship
• Outreach: Church growth, communication, community, discipleship, diversity, evangelism, facilities, growth, healing, innovation, marketing, missions, prayer, resourcing, service, world
• Facilities: Accounting, communication, construction, environment, equipment, expansion, media, multimedia, multisite, taxes, technology

Charisma News

• U.S.
• World
• Politics
• Culture
• Marketplace
• Opinion

Quality Expectations

Editors have discretion to modify rules or add new ones as they feel the situation requires.

• All articles must contain content relevant to Charisma. Our audience enjoys stories about the move of the Holy Spirit, prophetic, churches, Christian values, pastors, miracles, the end times, healings and prominent Christian leaders.
• Articles must be properly capitalized and use correct grammar. When in doubt, consult the AP Stylebook.
• All articles must be fewer than 1,500 words. Longer articles will be broken up into multiple parts to run on different days.
• All articles should be submitted to the proper editor at least 24 hours before the deadline.
• All sources must be properly cited with attribution. Please provide hyperlinks to the original content. For examples, see cn.mycharisma.com.
• All facts and statistics should be checked.
• All verses should be given in MEV Bible translation.
• Any editorial should include the author’s biography. Editors are not responsible for seeking out a biography.
• Do not use footnotes; directly link to any outside sources within your article. Links or references to articles written by Charisma Media’s competitors are strongly discouraged.
• Libelous content—content that cannot be verified or is gossip—will not be published.
• Articles may not include profanity or graphic content.
• Editors have discretion to reject stories that could be considered salacious, defamatory, overly antagonistic or offensive to our readership.
• Our decisions are made on behalf of our readers not our writers.

Plagiarism Policy

At Charisma Media, we write in spirit and in truth. Philippians 1: 9-10 calls us to be “blameless” and approving of “things that are excellent.” With that foundation, we decry the practice of plagiarism, using another’s work without proper attribution.

As a writer, if you attempt to pass off someone else’s writing as your own or do not source your quotes or information correctly, we will reject your submission. Plagiarism can also occur when you use someone else’s argument or expression, so take care to cite the source.

Recycled content does not honor the spirit of excellence we seek to maintain in our writing. Plagiarism undermines the trust of our readers, which is critical to our work as journalists.

Editorial Process for New Writers

New writers may submit a brief query to the Managing Editor Robert Caggiano. We are not always able to respond to every query, but we will respond if we need more information or if we accept your idea. If your query is accepted, we will provide further direction for the full article.

After we’ve accepted your query, write the online article according to the guidelines we send. Send your article via email along with your byline and brief bio.

Editorial Process for Returning Writers

Your story should be submitted to the necessary editor for the appropriate product. The editor will then review it for the guidelines mentioned above. Though headlines and subheads may be suggested, the editor reserves the right to change the suggestions to create more audience appeal. Stories are then edited for AP Style. The editor will select a relevant photo pass it along to a copy editor. The stories will then go live on the designated site, with the best stories shared to social media. At any point in this process, a senior editor can cut a story. Our publisher can choose not to publish any submission.