Generic Checklist for Content Quality Improvement
For new writers, bloggers, and book authors
This checklist is a pragmatic approach that does not lead to perfection, which I refrain from, as explained in a story titled Why I Find Perfection in Imperfection.
I created this as a generic checklist and will post one for different levels.
As I do, you may also use this checklist for writing books. If you plan to turn your stories into book chapters, you may gain some insights from a guide used by many writers who became published authors. Please feel free to join my publication, Illumination Book Chapters.
Here is a summary of our editorial criteria in a checklist format. Using this checklist might also increase the chance of your stories being boosted on Medium.
1 — Did I write my story for the reader?
Who is my audience?
Did I write this story for a specific or a broad audience?
Is my writing at an appropriate level for my intended audience?
2 — Does my story have value for the reader?
What value do I give in this story?
What takeaway points did I provide?
Do these takeaway points matter to my audience?
Does my story make an impact?
3 — Is my story easy to read?
Did I use a logical structure?
Did I choose simple and useful words?
4 — Does my story meet high editorial standards?
If I were the editor to review this story, would I accept it?
Did I use Hemingway Editor to check the editorial quality of my story?
5 — Does my introductory paragraph align with my conclusion?
Is there a clear link between my introduction and conclusion?
Can I make my introduction more attractive?
How can I make my introduction and conclusion more memorable?
6 — Did I make my content interesting and engaging?
Did I use a dull or exciting style?
Did I choose lively words?
Did I use analogies and metaphors to make my content enjoyable?
Did I use a conversational tone to make my story engaging?
7 — Does my story provide my intended messages?
If I were the reader of this story, would I understand the intended message?
Are my points clear?
8 — Is my story rigorous for facts?
Did I check the facts from reliable resources?
Did I provide adequate citations for borrowed content?
9 — Did I write my story honestly?
Do I believe in my content?
Did I write this story to create a sensation or provide useful messages?
Are the messages aligned with my genre, e.g. fiction, non-fiction.
10 — Does my story give a pleasant reading experience?
Did I reflect the correct mood aligning with my content?
Would the reader show disgust with my points?
11 — Is my story formatted attractively?
Did I check my paragraphs to ensure they are short?
Are my sentences complete?
12 — Is my story clean and uncluttered?
Did I remove unnecessary objects from my story?
Did I remove obsolete words or phrases?
13 — Are my title and subtitles formatted correctly?
Did I use a standard title formatting style?
Did I check titles are not all caps?
Did I use short headings?
Did I check heading and subheading are not more than 200 characters?
14 — Are the photos of my story appropriate and captioned?
Does my photo align with the theme of my content?
Did I use copyright-free images?
Did I caption photos with correct source links?
15 — Did I address potentially ambiguous points in my story?
Is my story understandable from the level I set?
Did I remove obscure words and phrases?
16 — Did I choose the proper tags for my story?
Did I use relevant tags representing the messages of the story?
17 — Did I add at least one of the publication tags to make my story visible to the followers?
This is optional but highly recommended. Our publication has seven tags: business, science, technology, self-improvement, philosophy, fiction, poetry. Using these tags captures your story in the relevant tab. Some readers only follow specific tabs which are interest to them.
18 — Did I apply one final spell-check and grammar check for my story?
Is my story free from spelling mistakes?
Are the sentences grammatically correct?
If I purposely use incorrect words, did I indicate their use to the reader?
19 — Did I read my story backward to ensure no typos remained?
Did I remove all typos?
Did I ask a friend or colleague to read it for me?
20 — Did I check that the numbers and bullet points are correct?
Are numbers in my lists correct?
Are bullet points standard and aligned?
21 — Did I test the web links?
Does the link go to the correct address when I click on the link?
22 — Did I disclose affiliate links?
Are affiliate links mentioned clearly in the beginning and at the end of the story?
Are the affiliate links relevant to the theme of the story?
Do the affiliate links offend my audience?
23 — Did I check the Medium Rules to ensure my story complies with the rules?
Does my story meet Medium Rules?
Did I particularly check my story to ensure it does not include hate speech?
Is there a possibility for my story to offend my readers?
If there is a potential offense, how can I prevent it?
24 — Did I ask a trusted editor to help with blind spots?
If my content is controversial, did I ask an editor to provide guidance on my blind spots?
Did I follow the advice from the editors?
25 — Did I provide relevant references at the end?
Are references about cited content provided at the end of the story?
Conclusions
I believe using this checklist for beginners can be helpful. This is just one form of checklist, so you can customize it by using your experience and insights from other top writers on this platform.
Our memories are limited. When we consistently use a checklist tool, we not only submit high-quality materials with confidence, but we turn these useful points into habits.
Our long-term memories (procedural memory) can also get more robust with consistency.
This checklist is by no means comprehensive. I only focused on the frequently repeated errors causing publishing delays. This story reflects my personal views with a pragmatic approach.
This is so helpful, I have written this list down so I can use it in my writing. It’s difficult finding insightful information when your a beginner and don’t know how or where to go to the next step. I got accepted as a writer for Illumination a week or so ago which was a BIG deal for me. I have always thought and believed I’d make a career from my writing, it’s my ultimate goal in life, but the steps to get there are what I struggle to know, see or take. I am very grateful for this insight. THANKYOU x