Soul Of Miami is Now Accepting Contributors

The Soul Of Miami website was started by just two people, James Echols and Annette Peikert back in July of 2008. Since then, we have had a few friends join on to help us out. Over the years, it has grown exponentially. Also, the scene has gotten so big it is impossible for us to cover it all. To that end, we have decided to open it up to other contributors.

Would you like to (A) help support the south Florida scene AND/OR (B) get your skills in front of a big audience? Well, we recommend you start your own blog. BUT, if you do not want to go through the hassle of setting up all the technical details and building an audience, this might be for you. Soul Of Miami gets between 30,000 and 50,000 hits per month with 15,000 to 20,000 unique visitors (yes, these are real, non-padded numbers).

If you think you might like to join the Soul Of Miami team, please read the below carefully and see if this is something for you.

1) There is no pay. We will just say that right up front. That is to say, there is no cash pay. There is certainly plenty of exposure, there is the chance to help support your community and there are usually plenty of freebies. However, Soul Of Miami currently makes almost no money. That may change someday, in which case, our contributors will definitely benefit from that.
2) Soul Of Miami accentuates the positive. We promote those doing good and encourage others to do better. This does not mean everything has to be all happy happy joy joy (for example, see Ralph Ventura’s Wynwood Photo Essay). But, if you just want to whine and bitch and moan about how awful everything is, this might not be for you.
3) You must contribute. This is not just your chance to get your name on the staff page in order to get free stuff. You will be expected to contribute at least one article every two weeks. More is better. After six articles, you will get your own page (example: Talmage).
4) You must produce publish-ready content. You will not be edited. If you cannot construct a proper sentence or edit your photos or videos properly, find someone to do it for you. If the quality of your work is too low, we will discontinue your column.
5) We are a non-partisan site. This means we do not and you may not endorse a certain candidate or party. This does not mean we do not write about politicians at all. If a certain commissioner is doing some charity work, for example, or hosting a great party (not a $500-per-plate campaign fundraiser), then that is fine to cover. It is also fine to support projects that help our community.
6) We are a non-religious site. This is NOT to say we are anti-religious. Nor are we pro-religious. We promote no specific belief or philosophy system. We do cover various religious happenings, though, as long as they sound fun and interesting.
7) You are an independent operator. That means that it is up to you to find what you want to cover and cover it. If you need a press accreditation for an event, sign up for it yourself. (There may be some cases where you need a letter of direction from your editor, in which case, we do supply that.) If you need assistance in applying for accreditation, we will show you how to do it. You do not need our permission to cover anything, just do it. We rarely will ask for contributors to cover certain things, but it may happen, in which case, we will make sure you are properly credentialed. Other than that, it will be up to you. (If you want a Soul Of Miami media badge, we will supply one after you have earned your own page.)
8) Cross-posting is fine. If you want to post your article on Soul Of Miami, as well as some other site, that is okay with us (just make sure it is okay with them, as well).
9) You must post yourself. We will supply you with your own login to the website. You will need to be able to use WordPress to get your own content posted. We will be happy to give you some training on that, if you are new to the format, but we will not mother you all the time. Note that being able to use blogging software is going to be a very useful skill in the future.
10) No Spamming. You are encouraged to post about what you love, including your own projects, but if we find you are just self-promoting, you will be asked to stop.
11) Ownership. This is often a sticky subject. We make it easy. We maintain non-exclusive rights to submitted content in perpetuity. This means you still own the content yourself and you can use it for anything else, but at the same time, we can keep the content up for as long as we like.
12) These guidelines may be changed at any time. You will be notified of the new guidelines via email and will be expected to follow the new guidelines. This site is constantly being tweaked and changed to try to improve it.
13) The decision of the owners is final. For whatever reason, we may decide to remove an article. We are happy to explain why, and we are happy to entertain arguments why it should be returned. The same is true of contributors. If we find that an article or contributor does not portray the Soul Of Miami, we may remove him, her, or it.

What are we looking for?
We are looking pretty much any sort of content that covers the south Florida area. Some examples: You could write interviews with local authors. Do videos of local bands. Maybe you want to contribute recipes made from local ingredients. Photo sessions of local models or designers would be great. Of course, event photography, videography and write-ups are always welcome. Maybe you are good at bargain shopping, so doing articles on where to go to find good deals would be your thing. Love art? Feature local artists! Really, anything and everything to do with the south Florida scene is on the table; photography, writing, videography, etc. If you have some other ideas on what you would like to contribute, we are always open to those. What do you want to do? Suggest it!

We do not require that you be a professional or even trained in what you want to do. Learn as you go, that is what it is all about. We do require that you not suck. If you cannot even focus a camera, we probably are not going to be able to use you as a photographer. If you cannot string words together coherently, you may want to look at something other than writing. If most of your videos have your thumb in the screen, that might not be your calling. But, if you are reasonably competent with the tools you have chosen, then maybe this is for you.

One last thing, and this is really important: Soul Of Miami is a personal site. We want you to write about you and what you love. This is not some corporate hack site where we grind out dreck we think that the “masses” want. This is just us being us. This is why we give you so much freedom to write about what you want to cover. Let me make that clear again, this is NOT your regular old “go out and take 1000 face pics to satisfy the client” site. This site is about you and what you love about Miami and south Florida.

Have we scared you off, yet? No? Excellent. Fill out the form below and let’s get cracking!