Shrimp City Report
Editor's Guide to Adding Stories & Contributors
Everything you need to publish local writing — restaurant reviews, food & wine, adventure stories and more — on the Lowcountry Voices page.
As the editor, you add writers and publish their stories. This guide walks through the whole process start to finish. You only need your web browser and your admin account. Allow about 5 minutes for your first story.
Sign in as an admin
Open the site and sign in with your admin account. The Contributors' Desk is locked for everyone else — only you can add or publish content.
If you see a "Sign in" button on the desk page, click it and use the same email you manage the app with.
Open the Contributors' Desk
Go to the Contributors' Desk (the "Submit a story" link on the Lowcountry Voices page, or the /contribute address). You'll see two tabs at the top.
The Contributors' Desk
Add a writer first, then switch to "Add Story" to publish their work.
Add a contributor (do this first)
Click the Add Contributor tab and fill in:
- Name — the writer's full name.
- Title / role — e.g. "Food & Wine Writer".
- Bio — a short paragraph about them.
- Focus areas — comma-separated, e.g. "Restaurant Reviews, Food & Wine".
- Photo URL — a direct link to a square headshot (https://… ending in .jpg or .png).
- Personal link — optional website or social profile.
Click Add contributor. They now appear in the contributor dropdown on the story form, and their card shows on the public Lowcountry Voices page.
Add a story
Click the Add Story tab and fill in the fields:
The Story body uses a rich text editor. Use the toolbar to add headings, bold and italic, bullet or numbered lists, links, and quotes — just like a document. Select the text you want to format, then click a toolbar button.
Publish and view it live
Click Publish story. You'll see a confirmation message. Your story is now live on the Lowcountry Voices page.
Visit the Contributors page in the site navigation. Your story appears under "Latest Stories" with its category badge and the writer's name. Click it to read the full article with the cover image and byline.
Tips & troubleshooting
- Save a draft: uncheck "Publish immediately" before saving. The story is stored but won't appear on the public page until you re-publish it.
- Images: use a direct image URL. Right-click an image online → "Copy image address". It should end in .jpg, .png or .webp.
- Headshots: a square photo looks best on the contributor card.
- One contributor, many stories: add a writer once, then select them on every story they write.
- Nothing showing? make sure you're signed in as an admin and you left "Publish immediately" checked.
On the roadmap
Letting contributors submit their own drafts
The plan, when you're ready: invite each writer as an app user, then open a "Submit Draft" form they can use themselves. Their submissions land in a private review queue and stay hidden from the public until you, the editor, approve and publish them. This keeps quality control with you while letting writers send in their own copy. We'll build the review queue and the draft permissions together when you give the go-ahead.
Shrimp City Report · Editor's Guide · 2026
