by Ethel Smith

Created on: November 25, 2009

Helium.com is a great place to write. Over the last couple of years this website has undergone many changes, most of which have been improvements. Helium is now a very professional website and its writers need to take that into account when contributing.

In its early stages, Helium had few members and its writing demands were brief. As the website have adapted and changed though Helium have increased their standards.

Personal viewpoint.

There are a few instances were a personal opinion is warranted but more often than not this is not the case. Articles that are written from personal experience and include the word I, are not usually rated high. In Helium's Marketplace most publishers actually state that they will not accept such articles. If the publisher's guidelines stipulate that you must not use the word I then you must not. If you do, you may find that your otherwise perfectly good article will be disregarded without a second glance. Such publishers may also tire of Helium and part company with the marketplace.

Capitals

Articles that are written completely in capitals will be deleted. They may survive for a brief period but eventually they will be flagged and deleted. Avoid using capitals for titles and sub headings also. Currently Helium prefers its writers to use a lower case font for titles, headings and sub headings

Formatting

If you do not take your time, proofreading and previewing your article you may find that the formatting is wrong. Double spaces showing between paragraphs, large white spaces and sections, which are in a different font, all spoil the overall effect of your article. Even if your article is brilliantly written, the formatting could let it down. Ensure that you have thoroughly checked the appearance of your article before pressing the publish button. As a double check look at your published article and leapfrog amendments straight away if necessary.

Spelling and grammar

Make sure that you run the spell check on Helium.com or in Word or the like, if you initially write there. Bear in mind that Helium is an American website and both the spelling and the grammar may vary a little to say that of English. Stick to one particular form of spelling such as English rather than swapping and using more than one.

Plagiarism

Copying someone else's work is stealing. The person who wrote the original work may have slaved over the words for hours or days. If you then simply copy and paste this work it is theft. You may think that because you have

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