HOW TO SUBMIT: Send your submissions to [email protected]. If it is your first submission, please also include a short bio and a headshot photo as we’d like to give you credit for your submission should it be selected for publication.

WHAT TO SUBMIT: HomesCanberra.com.au posts news items and columns of opinion related to Homes, Property, Trends and related lifestyle interests with a uniquely Capital Region focus. HomesCanberra.com.au is seeking to expand coverage in particular by drawing on diverse perspectives of our contributors and weighing them against each other. We don’t aim to compete with news agencies like Australian Associated Press, publishing the very latest news story, or the many house and garden style magazines on the market. With contributors from all sorts of different backgrounds and perspectives we can compare submissions and make HomesCanberra.com.au a better and more informative site for our readers of Home enthusiasts just like you. HomesCanberra.com.au looks for smaller stories that include interviews and fresh observations and insights on larger topics.

The HomesCanberra.com.au community of writers is expanding all the time.. Join our facebook community and pose your questions to people who have written on similar topics and/or have relied on sources who you could call to help with your own submission.

HOW LONG SHOULD IT BE?: aim for anything between 400-600 words

DO I NEED A PHOTO?: Ideally yes, but we can run it without one but given that stories with photos attract up to 3 times more attention its not a bad idea to include. Images should be your own photography, or open source (please provide reference to where you got it from). If you’re using someone elses photo please provide contact details or relevant authority for its use. Images submitted need to be one of the following sizes

  • Standard: 750px width x 400px height
  • Full-Width: 1200px width x 520px height
  • Parallax/Full-Background: 1400px width x 700px height

CONTACT: Questions? Contact Clare Dahlstrom, our HomesCanberra.com.au’ editor, at [email protected]

PUBLISHING TIMELINE: Our publishing lead time varies, but in general allow two weeks for our editorial team to find a suitable slot to fit your submission in. On the few occasions we publish breaking news pieces, these for obvious reasons will take deadline priority as do pre-booked advertising features. We receive many columns of opinion, some tied immediately to breaking events, others less so. When your post is published, you will receive an email. If you do not receive an email and your post hasn’t appeared, it means that for reasons related to content, style or timeliness, your piece didn’t meet our standards. We receive a great many submissions and weigh many factors in deciding which to post. Unfortunately we cannot respond personally on the status of each submission.

HomesCanberra.com.au publishes most of its content during the week. We only post major breaking stories on weekends.

PUBLISHING STANDARDS: All published pieces must meet certain editorial standards. You can help expedite the publishing process by following a few simple guidelines:

1. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE CHECKED FOR SPELLING AND GRAMMATICAL ERRORS. We’ll check again, but a quick run through for missing words can make a big difference. Be sure to get the names right.

2. DO RESEARCH AND INCLUDE LINKS TO BACK IT UP. Whether you are referencing a quote, statistic, or specific event, you should include a link that supports your statement. If you’re not sure, it’s better to lean on the cautious side. More links enhance the piece and let readers know where you’re coming from. When including a link, do not send us a hyperlink in the text. Instead, put brackets around the words you want hyperlinked in the article and then paste the link directly following the bracketed words. For example, if you wanted to link to HomesCanberra.com.au in your piece, it would go like this: “You can find great information at [HomesCanberra.com.au]. http://www.homescanberra.com.au

3. IF YOU QUOTE SOMEONE YOU INTERVIEWED, MAKE SURE YOU CAN BACK IT UP. To some extent, it will be your word that corroborates the quote. At the very least, however, you will need to be able to present the name of the person interviewed and the time and place your conversation occurred. Being able to produce a transcription or recording of the quote is best. Before you think about quoting someone, you must establish up front whether or not that person is willing to speak with you on the record and willing to be quoted in print. You should also be clear about your ties to the sources you use. Are you a friend? A backer? A fellow board member? It’s best to state any relevant relationship right in the text. Anonymous quotes are OK, but you should still have information to verify them.

4. IF YOU MAKE A NEGATIVE, FACT-BASED ASSERTION ABOUT A PRODUCT OR SERVICE WE PROBABLY WONT POST IT. There will be grey areas here, but, in general, if you are presenting information about a product or service in a negative light and the article is not clearly your own opinion, we probably wont post it. The sad state of defamation law in Australia means that we’re liable for anything you write so its something we have to be careful about. As a rule of thumb, however, it’s better safe than sorry.

5. NOTE THAT WE OFTEN MAKE EDITORIAL CHANGES. We are not looking to change the meaning and tone of your submission. Edits are overwhelmingly small and have to do with matching the story to the rest of the page or highlighting a relevant news theme. We change headlines for many reasons. There are many factors that influence headline decisions: space, design, repetition, search engine optimisation are just some of the factors we consider.