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Welcome to the SoberRecovery Team!
Thank you for your interest in contributing to the recovery space. SoberRecovery is home to the largest online addiction recovery
community, an expansive directory of treatment centers and an engaging content section that covers a wide array of topics filtered
through the lens of recovery—here’s where you come in! We advise that you first take a moment to familiarize yourself with the site,
making note of our overall vibe, voice and style. Then use the following information to guide you in writing the kind of content that
performs best on our site.
CATEGORIES
Our content is organized into two primary blogs: addiction and recovery. They are labeled as Addiction Info and Recovery
Support, respectively, on the navigation bar. As a general distinction, Addiction Info tends to be more informational or scientific by
nature while Recovery Support leans more towards lifestyle or inspirational content.
Here’s a breakdown of all the categories we cover in addiction and recovery:
Addiction Recovery
Addiction Treatment
 12 Step
 Counseling & Therapy
 Getting Help
 Non-12 Step
 Treatment Center
Information
Alcohol Abuse
Co-occurring Disorders
Q&A
Signs of Addiction
Drug Abuse
 Cannabis
 Club/Street Drugs
 Depressants
 Designer Drugs
 Hallucinogens
 Opiates/Opioids
 Other Drugs
 Prescription Drugs
 Stimulants
Family & Friends
Kids & Drugs
Healthy Living
 Body
 Mind
 Nutrition
 Recipes
 Spirit
In the News
 Celebrity
Op-ed
Personal Stories
Q&A
Relationships
 Love
Sober Living
 Entertainment
 Holidays
 Music
 Work

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TYPES OF ARTICLES
Online readers have a lot of content to choose from and very little time, which is why we strive to produce content that is engaging,
useful and easily consumed. Keep in mind that our editorial team reserves the right to add, move, paraphrase or delete information in
order to make a piece more packageable for the web.
Before beginning your article, please determine which of the 3 content formats would best convey your message:
Standard Article
Short: About 200+ words
Regular: About 500-750 words
1. Headline
2. Introductory paragraph
3. Body paragraphs
4. Sub-headers, to separate themes and ideas when necessary
5. Conclusion/Takeaway
- Try to answer the following question by your concluding statement:
“Why does this information matter in the long run?”
Examples:
Letting Your Loved One Hit Bottom
Wet Brain: Alcoholism’s Dangerous Outcome
List Article
(Text/Multimedia)
1. Headline
2. Introduction
- 1 to 2 paragraph(s)
- Strong opener
- Should hit on a general theme of the topic in relation to
addiction/recovery
3. Segue to List
- “Here are the 5 most encouraging things you can say to someone in
recovery.” Or “Here 7 tips on how to keep stay motivated when you
feel like giving up.”
4. List Items
- Numbered items or ideas (can be a word or a full sentence)
- 1 to 2 paragraphs elaborating on each item or idea
Examples:
5 Most Encouraging Things You Can Say to an Addict
Sobriety Playlist: 7 Songs That Get You High on Life
5 Radical Statements Made About Addiction

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Slideshow 1. Introduction Slide
- A paragraph giving overall background on the slideshow topic and
items
2. Body Slides
- Each slide should correspond to a single item with a paragraph of
description
Examples:
Top 10 Alcohol Brands Consumed By Youth
6 Herbs to Take During Recovery
AUDIENCE
As you probably know, addiction and recovery is a highly personal and sensitive issue. There are many schools of thought on what
works and what doesn’t, and SoberRecovery does not specific endorse one method or idea over another. The only thing that we do
take a stance on is total abstinence. This is very sacred to our readers as they often come in from the forum community where that
is a long-supported idea.
Here are two other things to know about how to best approach our readers tactfully:
 They fall under all stages of recovery.
Our readership is broad and varied and we want to reach them all—whether that’s in an universal piece or a specific, targeted
article. For a better idea, here are the five categories that readers generally fall under:
1) Someone who has just recognized his or her addiction and is considering getting help
2) A newcomer in recovery who is looking for support and guidance
3) Someone who is past the initial phase of recovery and embraces sobriety
4) A family member or friend of an addict who is looking for advice or support
5) A treatment specialist or professional in the recovery field interested in spreading awareness
 They do not all go to AA.
Though the bulk of readers do seem to practice the 12 steps, a small (but vocal) percentage do not. Unless an article is
specifically about the program, we do not want to assume our readers abide by that approach. We can certainly use themes
and ideas that AA encourage, but tweak the language so that it does not isolate those who have another approach in their
recovery.

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STYLE GUIDE DOS & DONTS
Generally, with a few exceptions, our editorial staff adheres to the AP Stylebook. For additional guidelines, please review our list of
dos and donts below.
DO
…trim the fat.
Web readers often don’t have a lot of time on their hands so
we want to be direct in our delivery. Each sentence should
either contain a new point or a complementary idea to a
previous point. If it doesn’t, chances are it doesn’t need to be
there.
…be specific.
Recovery is a general and broad topic in itself. Any practical
takeaways for the readers to implement or remember are
always welcome.
…use active instead of passive voice.
The key difference between active and passive voice is that
the subject performs the action in the former while the subject
receives the action in the latter. Whenever possible, we want
to write in the active voice. For example, instead of saying,
“The entrance exam was failed by over one-third of the
applicants to the school,” we should say “Over one-third of the
applicants to the school failed the entrance exam.”
…stay in the present tense.
Unless referring to actions specifically happening now, use the
simple present tense (instead of present continuous tense).
For instance, instead of stating “Many recovering addicts are
also finding help in Buddhism…” state “Many recovering
addicts also find help in Buddhism.”
…connect the dots.
An article won’t make sense if the ideas are not arranged in order.
Determine the right order by grouping ideas that belong together.
Then, think of the best way to arrange them in a way that naturally
unveils what’s next and is consistent to the reader’s expectations.
…use transitions.
Transitional words and phrases also help link your thoughts
together and make your article flow smoothly instead of abruptly
jumping from one idea to another. Here’s a link to The OWL at
Purdue University’s list of common transitions you can use:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/574/02/
…fact check and cite your sources.
We aim to provide accurate information that can help keep our
audience in-the-know and inspired. Always provide evidence when
stating major ideas. For scientific research articles, we cite our
references in American Psychological Association format and/or
include links to the original study.
…italicize titles of books, magazines, novels and research
materials.
This is another instance where we break away from AP style.
…answer the question—and a little more.
Before submitting an article, ask yourself if you’ve not only tackled
the topic at hand but also the “so what” factor of the story. Let
readers know why your information matters.

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DON’T
… make sweeping statements about addiction.
When addressing topics that are not necessarily hard-and-fast
rules, we want to give ourselves room for error. Incorporating
words such as “commonly,” “often,” “may” and “can” are subtle
ways to state ideas that may or may not always be true for
everyone.
…ask rhetorical questions.
Sometimes a question can be a good tool to provoke critical
thought. However, more often than not, it simply takes up
space on the page without truly saying anything. Instead of
asking a question, it’s usually productive to just directly state
the idea.
…use serial commas.
For example, we write: “The doctors, therapists and counselors.”
and NOT: “The doctors, therapists, and counselors.”
…use exclamation marks.
Anything that’s important or exciting should be able to be conveyed
through the content of the article, and not the punctuation. In most
cases, an exclamation mark is adding emphasis where no emphasis
is needed (or trying to add emphasis without actually going through
the writing process).
PITCHING
The best way to get an assignment is by pitching your own story ideas. To help guide you in your brainstorm, here are five articles
that have performed really well on our site, with a brief explanation for each:
5 Most Encouraging Things You can Say to an Addict
 Speaks to friends and family members of an addict,
who are a large percentage of our readership
 Guides people in better navigating personal
relationships, which is a huge area of interest on the
site
How to Spot an Overdose at a Music Festival
 Published the first weekend of the Coachella Music
Festival so the timeliness of the piece created more
urgency for people to read
 A topic that’s relevant to a broader audience beyond
just the sober recovery world—useful for anyone
who attends music festivals in general
Wet Brain: Alcoholism’s Dangerous Outcome
 Creates interest with a catchy term that not many people
are aware of but sounds important
 A medical piece that focuses on the facts raises more
awareness on the condition and lends more credibility
6 Common Personality Traits of an Addict
 A broad topic that is highly applicable at the same time
 Speaks to those who are trying to determine if they or their
loved one has a problem in a non-threatening way
5 Radical Statements Made About Addiction
 A blend of news and opinion that makes for great debate
or conversation
 Word “radical” encourages thoughts or reactions from
opinionated and passionate readers