Fictionphile Publishing Guidelines

by the Fictionphile Staff

As a community of writers, readers, and enthusiasts, we are committed to fostering an inclusive and supportive environment for all our users. To maintain the quality of our content and ensure a positive user experience, we have put together a set of publishing guidelines that we ask all our contributors to follow. These guidelines are designed to provide clarity on what we expect from our content and contributors, as well as to ensure that our content is consistent with our values and mission.

Editorial Mission

Our editorial mission is to publish thorough critical analysis on narrative entertainment

Editorial Goal

Our editorial goal is to spread deeply considered opinions on narrative entertainment

Editorial Values

The following are our core principles and values, which determine everything we do at Fictionphile.

Truth & Integrity

We stand by our values, even when it’s not convenient. To us, the following are integral to Transparency.

Transparency

We disclose everything:

  • Sources are named and credited
  • Confirmed biases are made clear
  • Affiliations of character and financial nature are disclosed

Honesty

We hold the truth in the highest esteem:

  • We never distort the facts—even when it would be more convenient
  • We do not take payment for our opinions
  • We speak the truth boldly

Independence

Our journalism is built on a foundation of independence:

  • We, staff and contributors, decide what we cover
  • We indulge in zero quid-pro-quo
  • Funding never decides coverage

Social Awareness

We are aware of society’s political, sociological, and economic circumstances, and that awareness in-part informs everything from topic selection to perspectives considered.

Social Justice

We see some circumstances and dynamics in society as fundamentally broken and support those looking for justice:

  • We favor articles that point out inequities and unfairness when present
  • We pick fights with those in a place of privilege or who engage in bad-faith arguments
  • We’re not afraid to speak truth to those in power
  • We’re not afraid to edit, or retract and apologize for content that has been shown to cause harm to a person, group, or community should it ever be published
  • We seek out diverse voices to contribute to our space, including our articles and other content

Fiction’s Impact

We are most keenly in favor of articles that point out the impact that fiction, or narrative entertainment as a whole, has had on larger issues:

  • We favor articles that point out tie-ins with society, especially those that highlight or embrace societal philosophies and trends
  • We edit and cultivate articles so they have more of a wide-fiction viewpoint
  • We call out the good guys and bad guys and ensure that our audience knows where we stand when presented with objectionable content for the sake of verisimilitude 

Strong Opinions & Stances

We believe in having strong opinions and stances in our journalistic writing. No punches pulled. No equivocations given.

Fact-Based Opinions

We rely on facts to form the opinions we put to digital print:

  • We labor to provide exhaustive references
  • We present our sources transparently
  • We use facts as the basis of our opinions

No Affiliation

We keep a clear and discernable separation between subject and journalist:

  • We don’t allow journalists, including editors, to cover stories where they personally know the subject
  • We do not take gifts in exchange for favorable reviews or coverage
  • We don’t publish sponsored posts or other digital PR

Publishing Minimums

Complete

An article or other work of journalism must be complete for our consideration. Meaning, it is not in a draft stage or a work in progress. The author has signed off its publishing in full, because they personally believe the work to be complete. We will edit to taste and standards, but we must start from a stage of completeness.

Researched

An article or other work of journalism must be researched for our consideration. Meaning, it contains links to reputable sources, cites its assertions well, and shows thought and care for the integrity of itself. The article is not the rantings of a netizen, but instead bases itself on a depth of research.

Thorough

An article or other work of journalism must be thorough for our consideration. Meaning, it is not a quick think piece that just poses questions. It explains, it delves into the weeds, and it comes back out again with depth.

Authorship

All articles must be credited to an actual human being. Nom de plumes or pen names will be considered on a case-by-case basis, but we must personally be able to identify the author. This is primarily to ensure that the coverage we publish stays true to our principles, including no affiliation between journalist and subject.