Tips and Resources for WritersFOR MEMBERS OF THE ASSOCIATION: Posting to Global Writes
Monday, March 12th, 2012 — posted by John Lamkin
FOR MEMBERS OF THE ASSOCIATION:
Here is a letter from Trisha Miller, the head of our Technical Committee about changes to IFWTWA’s online magazine, Global Writes.
I believe that the changes she outlines will make submitting articles to Global Writes much easier. If you are a blogger, especially a WordPress blogger, the process should be very easy. If you are not a blogger, with the short learning curve in using the procedure outlined below by Trisha, you will be able to blog very soon and set up your own blog if you like.
Here is Trishas explaination:
We’re thrilled to announce some exciting new changes at Global Writes, our award-winning online magazine.
The most obvious improvement is a brand-new design and layout, making it easier to feature current articles and to find older articles. With the new format, your articles will look more professional and garner greater attention.
The other change takes place behind the scenes….instead of sending your articles to our Editor, all articles will now be posted by you – the author – by logging into our back-end administrative area, where you’ll type in (or copy and paste) your article and photos, then submit your article for editorial approval and publishing. As an added benefit, this will eliminate extra steps (saving our volunteers precious time), and allow us to post your articles more quickly.
CURRENT AUTHORS
Log in was migrated over from the IFWTWA.org site. So go to the login pagehttp://global-writes.com/wp-login.php and enter your email and password. If you are denied access use the “”Lost your password” link just below the log in form. Your password will be emailed to you.
Once you’ve logged in you will be taken directly to the administration panel of WordPress. If you’re already using WordPress, you’ll know what to do, if not don’t worry as it’s very user-friendly.
1. Click on Post>Add New
2. Enter your article’s title in the top field.
3. Type in (or copy & paste) your article in the big field just below the title.
4. Select the categories which your article fits in (lower right column).
Select “Chronological” for ALL articles. Then choose whichever categories fit your content. Categories correspond to the menu on the front end of the site so choose carefully.
5. Enter “Tags” in the next block down.
Tags are like keywords or phrases and are very important for Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Normally 4 to 6 key phrases are enough. They should be phrases which are in your article; city, restaurant name, event name, etc. Choose the most important and enter them separated by commas, then click “Add.”
6. Click “Save as Draft”
Only click “Submit for Review” when you are done working on the article. Clicking “Submit for Review” will LOCK YOU OUT from further editing.
Adding Photos:
7. Our format has always been to insert a full width photo after the first
paragraph. So insert your cursor in the space between P1 and P2. Then click the “Upload/Insert” link just above. A window will open with a button to “Select Files.” Find your photos, select them all and upload them.
8. After your files upload click on “Show” one at a time and enter the “Caption” and “Alt” text. This is also very important for SEO.
9. Choose the photo you want as the first, full width, photo where you left your cursor. “Show” that photo and click “Use as Featured Image.” That is the image which will show in the slideshow on the home page and as your thumbnail in the menus.
10. Then select “Alignment Center” and “Size Large” and click “Insert in Post.” Your photo will now be in your post where you had left your cursor.
11. Repeat for all your other photos except you won’t have to upload them. Click the upload/insert link but then select the “Gallery” tab. For most other photos select “Alignment Right or Left” to alternate positions in the article. If you need to move an image in the text simply select it by dragging the cursor over it and the caption and then drag and drop it.
Preview the Article
11. Save as draft again and then click “Preview” to see how it will appear on the
site. Only you and the editors will be allowed to preview your draft article.
12. When you are ready to submit for review just click the button. The editors will take it from here. If we find problems we may email tips or advice but we will generally make the corrections and publish your article.
Profile
The new site now also gives you some control over your profile. If you click on your name on one of your article pages you will see each author now has their own profile page. Bios and websites where carried over from the old site. But you may edit them and add or change the photo if you want. Click on “Profile” in the menu at the left in the admin panel. A profile with a photo and your email, Facebook and Twitter info is something Google is now looking for. It’s your own personal SEO, so keeping it current and informative is important.
NEW AUTHORS
Under the “Home” menu, or at the bottom of each page, click on “Register.” Enter your full name as you want it to appear in your byline. You will not be allowed to change this later. And enter the email address we have in your record at IFWTWA.org. An email will be sent to you with a password. Log in with that and you will immediately be able to comment on other articles. You can also begin setting up your profile. But to be moved to “Contributor” status so you can begin to publish articles an administrator will need to upgrade your permissions. Please send an email to twlack@charlottecountywebsites requesting “Contributor Status” to Global-Writes.com. Be sure to include your new username and email.
That’s it! If you have questions or run into problems, send an email to our webmaster, Tim Lack, at twlack@charlottecountywebsites.com, or to me at trisha@travel-writers-exchange.com
Kudos to Tim for his many hours of hard work in the Global Writes redesign – thanks Tim!
