Submit Your Story or Articles to BtB News

Thank you for your interest in contributing to BtB News — the official
News, Views and Events Site of the International Pure Bhakti Yoga Society.

Back to Bhakti (BtB News) keeps devotees and bhakti-yoga lovers

around the world informed about the news, views and events taking
place in and around the sanga or congregation inspired by the worldwide
preaching mission of His Divine Grace Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta
Narayana Gosvami Maharaja. It offers news articles, tour reports, seva
team profiles, feature articles, and opinion pieces related to the bhakti
culture, practice and philosophy.

BtB News is intended for a wide audience that includes both devotees
and the general public. Our articles are therefore written in line with
international editorial and journalism standards, and with a broader
audience in mind.

We welcome writers or guest bloggers to contribute a one-time article

or to become a regular correspondent for BtB News. Please send all
stories or story ideas to: editors@backtobhakti.com. To learn more about
writing for us, please read on.

Write A Column
BtB News is also looking for writers, photographers or video artists to
join our blogging staff. Focus on a category, cover all categories or create
your own branded column – it’s your voice. We only ask that by joining
our team you publish content at least once a month.

Bloggers get a full text bio at the bottom of every article and an editorial
staff dedicated to promoting and distributing content to get the widest
audience for your voice.

Contact editors@backtobhakti.com to learn more about becoming a

regular blogger on BtB News.
General Guidelines
1. On the first page of your article, please write your own name and
relation to the event or project you are writing about. If you have
an official position (Example: Team Leader, Art Designer, etc),
write that down too.
2. Include your email address, and preferably also a phone number
and a good time to contact you. These will not be published
unless you want us to, but this is important in case we need to ask
you more questions about the story or confirm some facts.
3. Always make sure your story includes the five Ws of journalism:
who, what, when, where, why, and how. If you’re writing about
an event, please include the exact date that it happened on. If
you’re writing about a person, make sure to include their relation
to the event or project.
4. Please use alternatives to or explain the meaning of any insider
bhakti terminology, Sanskrit words or anything else that a
member of the general public would not understand.
5. Try not to be vague. Always use plenty of solid facts and details.
6. If available, please include photos or video to go with your story,
or give us details on where to find some. Be sure to include photo
captions; tell us the names of people in the photo, and explain
what we see in the photo. (Example: Reverend Desmond Tutu of
South Africa receives Bhagavad-gita during the Bhakti Festival at
the Rose Temple in LA.)
7. We recommend that you explore our website before contributing.
Read several articles in each section: Featured, Columns, Seva
Teams, Tours & Festivals and Siddhanta. Note the style and voice
of writing.

Some Categories of the Site Explained

Featured: This is news that is directly about our IPBYS and Srila
Gurudeva’s mission (eg: New Books Published, Srila Gurudeva visits
Temple Project in Houston) and/or members (eg: Krishna Dasa receives
Sannyasa). This also includes stories, which highlight people, trends,
and relevant topics in the IPBYS, as well as reviews of art, music, or
literature.

Columns: This includes news and views that are especially relevant or
interesting to the general public. For instance, stories about
vegetarianism, yoga, the environment, spirituality, trends in religion, and
more. Most of these are submitted by our guest bloggers or may include
re-posts from other sources. If you would like to submit a story from
another publication for re-post, always credit the original author and
publication, along with a link to the original article.

SevaTeams: In addition to what you are already getting from

SevaTeams.com this is where teams and their project updates are
highlighted. Articles posted here may be (re-)posted to and from
SevaTeams, not as a replacement for the current site but rather to boost
it.

Tours & Festivals: This category features news and reports about your
local Sanga’s activities. Also our travelling preachers are encouraged to
submit updates about their programs, location, number of guests, etc.
preferably with pictures or video.

Siddhanta: These articles must be based on a springboard of solid facts

and proper Vaisnava philosophy and should not reflect someone’s
personal opinion. Although this is not aimed to be a place for institution
bashing, BtB News does not avoid controversial topics as long as they
truly reflect the conclusions and intention of our Gaudiya Vaisnava
lineage and are free from improper use of language.

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