There are occasions when we have to turn down a submission. This can be for a variety of reasons, but there are steps you can take to improve your chances of getting accepted in the future.
VoiceBox age range
VoiceBox is designed to feature the work of young creators aged between 13-25. Please only create an account if you are over 13 years old. If you are older than 25, you are more than welcome to create an account and follow your favourite creators, but we ask you to refrain from submitting content.
Keep grammar and spelling mistakes to a minimum
If you’ve written a story, article or poem it’s essential that you proofread it. While the odd mistake is perfectly normal (it happens to everyone!), lots of errors may lead us to turn the piece down. If you struggle with spelling and grammar, don’t worry; there are plenty of free tools available online to help with your writing.
We understand that English isn’t everyone’s first language, and we are always happy to accommodate a written piece from a multi-lingual creator.
Do not submit inappropriate content
While hard-hitting content such as politics, relationships, and mental health are welcome, we do not tolerate the glorification of potentially harmful topics such as the promotion of self-harm, sexually explicit content, content with sexual undertones, or radicalised views.
Creative expression is important, and we understand there is a fine line between what is appropriate and what isn’t. If you aren’t sure, pass your piece over to a friend or parent/guardian for a second opinion. If you have a question about a specific topic you can ask us by emailing us at content@voicebox.site.
No health, financial, or legal advice
Health, financial and legal matters are extremely personal and complex topics. While we appreciate any enthusiasm to support other young people in their journey for better health and financial or legal stability, we don’t want your work to become liable should that advice fail.
This doesn’t mean that you can’t talk about health, finance, or the legal world altogether – we love hearing about personal experiences. Related submissions in the past range from the cost of living crisis, to the experiences of law school, to dealing with a chronic illness.
Do not use AI
Please refrain from using AI to create your work. While we understand that AI is a really fun and exciting tool, it can’t mirror your own unique voice and opinions. VoiceBox exists to amplify what matters to you and we don’t want AI to damper your personal style.
Add your personal spin
Do you want to write about tips for travelling? Getting started with yoga? A guide to the best video games of the year? Great – but make it your own. A page with a few generic points that can be found on many other blogs won’t be accepted. It’s so important that we hear your voice, so try to refer back to personal experiences and views.
Quality over quantity
VoiceBox is designed to showcase the work of talented young creators and activists; we look for submissions that engage our readers and bring a unique perspective. If your work does not meet these criteria, it is unlikely to be accepted. We understand that you might want to submit multiple pieces to VoiceBox (and we always value repeat creators!), but to help us maintain a diversity of voices on our platform, please refrain from submitting more than three pieces a month.
Do not promote specific products and/or services
We completely understand that when you’re passionate about a particular product or service you want to shout about it! It can, however, be difficult to strike a balance between enthusiasm and ‘free’ promotion. We love receiving content about publicly available services such as AI or social media, and we also sometimes accept balanced, non-bias pieces about a paid-for product or service. But content that only serves to promote something won’t be accepted. This includes compilations and ‘best of’ type articles.
Do not plagiarise
If you’re taking inspiration from someone else’s work, please make sure you cite them appropriately. Plagiarised content will be immediately turned down, so it’s super important that you let us know of any external sources.
If you include sources make sure you hyperlink them in-text
Citing external sources is a great way to back up your work, but it’s important that they’re easy for the reader to find. Hyperlinking the direct source in a sentence is the best way to do this.
Avoid topics that have already been covered on the site
If your piece is too similar to something already published on VoiceBox we might have to turn it down. We do sometimes accept articles about similar topics as long as they provide different perspectives. Have a quick look through the site to cross-reference content with your own.
Suggested word range for written pieces
If you want to submit a written piece and you’re unsure about the word count, don’t worry. Before you get started, try to think about audience time and how most people won’t have hours to read something – we find it’s best to stick within the remit of 500-1000 words (but that’s not a rigid guideline). Our editorial team may need to shorten your piece in places if it is too lengthy.
Something to remember
Sometimes, we have to turn work down. There are various reasons for this, and we are not able to provide an answer each time – but it doesn’t always mean your work is ‘bad’ or poorly written/created. It might simply be we have too many submissions to publish all of them! Please bear in mind, however, that we only accept work of the highest standard, so make sure you’re absolutely certain before hitting the submit button.