We’re always on the lookout for people interested in writing for London Reconnections and are open to submissions.
Be warned, however, that we do have a few editorial guidelines that articles must follow. These are summarised below, and it’s probably best to make sure you’re happy writing to them first. If you want them explained or want to know about them in more detail, just email us at [email protected]
Tone Is Important
You’ll notice that all the articles on this site conform (or at least try to) to a relatively reserved tone. Use of the first person is minimised and humour, where present, is gentle and dry. Someone once commented that LR articles generally read like a cross between Sir Humphrey and a 1950’s BBC journalist, and they’re probably not wrong!
Facts not Opinion
As we explain on our Why We Write page, the primary goal of London Reconnections is to communicate facts. In our entire history, the number of opinion pieces we have run can be counted on one hand, and this is a situation that is unlikely to change greatly for a while.
We try to keep a reasonably strict division between primarily fact-filled posts and the comments, where opinion is not only allowed but positively encouraged. So if you have it in your heart to write an article on what you personally feel is wrong with the Victoria Line, then LR is probably not the place for it (although if it’s good we’ll probably link to the place where you do end up writing it). If you want to write up the last TfL Board Paper on the subject (with a bit of analysis thrown in based on its contents), however, then this may well be the place for you.
Research, Research, Research
Our commentors are far smarter than we are, and we are proud of that fact. It keeps us on our toes and keeps standards high. The downside as an author, of course, is it means that you will get pulled up fast if you haven’t rigorously fact-checked your writing. Writing for LR is basically not as fun as you might think – mostly it’s trawling through lots of papers and documents looking for facts and citations!
Don’t Worry Too Much About Your Spelling & Grammar
Although obviously we want articles to be written as professionally as possible, we don’t expect every contributor to have a background in writing. If you’re a specialist or work within the industry and have something you think you can add, but are worried that you may not be able to write to the necessary quality, then don’t worry! Just drop us a line and you may still be able to contribute – after all, that’s why we have Editors…
Other Things to Remember
There are various other things that people writing for LR should remember – including the fact that we reserve the right to edit all articles and may hold back or reject an article if it clashes with another that is already scheduled. The short list above, however, hopefully gives you a feel for what you might be letting yourself in for should you decide to contribute. So if you’re still keen on contributing, then just drop us a line at the email above!