Editorial Specifications for independent digital publisher Home for the Harvest are presented below.
Editorial Mission
Home For The Harvest is a website that helps new gardeners learn how to grow plants at home. Our mission is to empower new gardeners with both technical knowledge from experts and practical learning from other new gardeners. In our written articles, photos, and videos, we focus on broadly-applicable gardening techniques as well as species-specific plant care instructions. We have hundreds of articles to help amateur gardeners learn to grow plants from seed, choose safe and effective plant foods & potting soils, and choose the right plant for the right place.
Ethical Standards
As a gardening website, we seek to provide readers with factual, helpful information. We strive to present ideas in a fair manner, accompanied by clear reasoning and context.
The ability to publish content electronically is incredibly powerful. Instant, worldwide publishing carries with it important responsibilities for the publisher. The publisher makes all reasonable attempts to ensure correctness and completeness in published content. If an error is identified, it shall be corrected as soon as reasonably practicable. Expert sources are to be consulted in the event of a dispute over correctness.
All published content is to be original work. Any supporting information included must be clearly attributed (including a clickable link). Content hosted on other websites is to be properly embedded with a live link to the original source (including Twitter tweets, Pinterest pins, Instagram posts, and YouTube videos).
Quotes from popular gardening books and horticultural texts are to be transcribed exactly as written and are accompanied by a citation that includes the title of the book and the name of the author. Where possible, a link to the exact publication should be included below the excerpt. Quotes are not to be paraphrased, and proper attribution is non-negotiable. Quotes from experts on our published list of gardening experts are to be given priority.
All considered pieces shall pass through the Editorial Review Process prior to publishing, including technical correctness and proofreading. Continuing education on ethical standards and current best practices are provided by the professional association Garden Communicators International.
Editorial Review Process
Home For The Harvest uses a three-step Editorial Review Process.
The first step in our Editorial Review Process is the submission of the piece by the author. Once received, the piece is assessed against the assigned topic to ensure it answers the main questions and covers the topic as expected. The piece is either accepted, rejected, or (less frequently) a revision is requested.
The second step is a review by the Editor. This is a more in-depth review that assesses the technical correctness of the piece as well as the practical usability by the audience members. The piece is also reviewed for formatting, tone, brand voice, grammar, readability, and overall cohesiveness. Any “fluff writing” is identified and removed. Quotes from respected publications are also added during this step.
Edits are made by the Editor to bring the piece in alignment with our publisher guidelines. In select cases, as with our downloadable Garden Planner (and the accompanying articles), the text and visuals are also reviewed by an Ornamental Horticulturalist for technical correctness.
The third step in the process is the production of the individual website page for the content. Text is uploaded and formatted, images are re-sized and inserted, and metadata entered. The content is then proofread and published.
Editorial Contact
Mary Jane Duford, Editor
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-jane-duford/
116-5100 Anderson Way, #434, Vernon, BC, Canada, V1T 0C4
