Add community writers docs

community-writers/README.md

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+## Welcome! 
+We're so excited to have you as a volunteer community writer! Our goal is to cultivate our relationships with our community writers while amplifying their work through the publication and promotion of their work through our Dev org and social media. As part of this experience, we want to provide you with feedback, help you to grow, and support your writing.
+
+Because we would love to prioritize what you want to write about in regard to topics our community would find interesting, we encourage you to pitch topics. However, we always have a backlog of ideas if you need some inspiration or are open to being assigned a topic.
+
+## Publishing on Virtual Coffee Dev
+We publish our blog posts on the Virtual Coffee Dev organization on Dev.to. This is a great platform for sharing your work with a broader audience.
+1. Publication Scheduling
+We don't currently have a regular cadence for publishing blog posts. Currently, we're doing monthly challenge posts. If you have a specific date you'd like your blog post to be published, please let us know in advance so we can plan accordingly.
+
+2. Writing the Blog Post
+Write your blog post, focusing on clear communication, valuable insights, and engaging content.
+> Keep SEO optimization, grammar, and spelling in mind as you write.
+Include links to previous Virtual Coffee blog posts, our site, or images where applicable. 
+
+For more tips, see the Tips and Tricks for Writing a Successful Blog Post below.
+
+3. Grammar and Style Check
+ Run your drafted blog post through Grammarly for grammar and style refinement.
+
+4. Review Process
+Request a review from our resource maintainer 5-7 days before the publication date or earlier if your draft is complete--this could be a google doc with edit access or the unpublished draft of Dev.to.
+
+Incorporate feedback and make necessary revisions to enhance the quality of the post.
+
+Do not schedule your blog post for publication until you've been approved.
+
+7. Image Selection
+   - Create a blog post image relevant to the content. Alternatively, find a free image on platforms like Unsplash.
+   - If you need an image generated by MidJourney, DM @BekahHW on slack.
+
+8. Scheduling and Publishing
+Once the review process is complete and your post is refined, schedule the post for publication in the Dev platform.
+- Select Virtual Coffee as the organization
+- Update the title
+- Change published to true
+- Add the metadescription to the description field
+- Add relevant tags to increase discoverability
+- Upload and add a cover image. Remove the "#" before cover_image
+- If you're scheduling the post, remove the "#" before published_at and update to the day and time you'd like to schedule the post
+
+## Tips and Tricks for Writing a Successful Blog Post:
+
+Crafting a well-structured blog post helps to engage our readers and convey your ideas effectively. Here are some tips to make sure your blog post is clear, engaging, and easy to read:
+
+1. Clarity and Simplicity
+- Tone, Voice, and Style: Maintain a casual and engaging tone. Let your personality shine through while staying professional.
+- Use language that's accessible to a broad audience.
+- If the concepts are complex or for folks with experience using the technology, mention that early in the blog post or consider creating a section with expectations. For example, if you’re writing a Tutorial on using Next.js, you might have a section like this:
+    ## Expectations
+    - Basic understanding of Next.js
+    - In-depth understanding of React Hooks
+    - Familiarity with Cypress
+    Explain technical terms and concepts in simple terms, offering context for those new to the topic.
+
+2. Concise Sentences
+- Opt for shorter sentences over complex ones to enhance readability and comprehension.
+- Keep sentences focused on a single idea to avoid confusion.
+
+3. Paragraph Length
+- Break down paragraphs into shorter segments (1-3 sentences). This prevents overwhelming readers with large blocks of text.
+- Each paragraph should address a single point or idea.
+
+4. Grammar and Spelling
+- Proofread your content for grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors.
+- Use Grammarly or similar tools to catch mistakes and enhance the overall quality.
+
+5. Formatting Guidelines
+- Use subheadings to organize content hierarchically. Utilize markdown syntax ( ## for H2, ### for H3) to create headings. Remember not to skip levels in headings. For example, don’t go from an H1 to an H3.
+- Use bullet points or numbered lists to simplify instructions or to break down complex ideas.
+- Incorporating Code Snippets: When discussing code-related topics, use formatted code snippets to enhance readability.
+    - To use code snippets, use three backticks followed by the abbreviation for the language of the code you’re including. For example, if you’re highlighting a JavaScript snippet, it would look like this: " ```js```" After the code is completed, close the syntax highlighting with another three backticks.
+
+6. Visual Elements
+- Include relevant images, diagrams, code snippets, or screenshots to illustrate concepts.
+- Ensure images are clear, appropriately sized, have alt text, and have proper attributions if required.
+- Image Attribution: If using images from sources like Unsplash, provide appropriate attribution.
+
+8. Introduction and Conclusion
+- Begin with an attention-grabbing introduction that highlights the importance of the topic. Personalizing the introduction with a story often helps to create a rapport with your readers.
+- Summarize key points and provide a clear takeaway in the conclusion.
+
+9. Effective Linking
+- Insert hyperlinks to relevant sources, previous blog posts from other members of the Virtual Coffee Team, and external references.
+
+10. Call to Action
+- Encourage engagement by including a call to action at the end of the post. This might be asking readers to check out a repository, follow Virtual Coffee on Dev, etc.
+- Invite readers to share their thoughts, ask questions, or explore related content.
+
+11. SEO-Friendly Writing
+- Integrate relevant keywords naturally into your content to improve search engine visibility.
+- Craft a descriptive and engaging meta description for the blog post.
+a meta description should ideally be between 150 to 160 characters.
+    - The metadescription should briefly capture the essence of your blog post, highlight value, and include any key words. 
+
+## Extra Tips
+
+- Provide attribution to any resources you used. If you quote, paraphrase, or summarize from another writer, be sure to provide a reference and link to the post(s). 
+- AI Writing Tools. If you use an AI writing tool to help write your blog post, do not post exactly what it drafted. Consider that a starting point that you can personalize, review, update, and make your own. It can be useful to ask ChatGPT/AI writing tool for a review of the content. 
+