Contributor Terms

Version 2026-11-04

These terms apply to every pitch and every guide you send to Think In Grids (“we”, “us”). By sending a pitch you confirm that you have read and accept them. The version you accept is recorded with your pitch.

1. Who can contribute

You must be at least 18 years old. You write under your own name and give us true details. Ghostwriters and agencies may not submit for someone else unless we agree in writing, and the real author must be named.

2. Original work

Your guide must be your own work. It must not be published anywhere else, online or in print, before we publish it or while we are considering it. Do not copy text from laws, other guides or websites. Short quotes are fine with a clear credit and link. We may run similarity checks.

3. No AI-generated content

We do not accept content made with generative AI. This covers text, images, charts and translations. Do not use tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or similar tools to write, rewrite, expand, shorten, summarise or translate any part of your guide, even if you edit the result afterwards.

Spelling and grammar checkers are allowed. You may use search engines to find sources, and you must open and read each source yourself.

When you send your pitch, you confirm that you will write the guide by hand. We may ask for your notes, outline or edit history. If we find AI-made content, we will reject the guide, remove it if it is already published, and may refuse future work from you. AI-detection tools are not proof on their own, so we judge by the evidence and by talking to you.

4. Links

You may include at most two links in total to your own work, such as your website, your business or your profile. A link in your author line counts as one of the two.

Links to official and primary sources, such as government and regulator pages, do not count. We encourage them. Each link must be relevant to the guide and must work.

These are not allowed: affiliate, sponsored or tracking links; shortened links; links to gambling, adult, loan, crypto-trading or similar sites; and links to sites you do not own or work for.

We decide how each link is marked. We may add “nofollow” or “sponsored”, and we may remove or replace any link. You may not ask for links to be added or changed after publication without our approval. We do not sell links and we do not swap links.

5. Accuracy and sources

Every rule, fee, date and number must come from a source you can link to. Prefer official bodies. Say clearly when something is uncertain or depends on the case. Give the date you last checked each source. Do not present your guide as legal, tax or financial advice. If we tell you about an error, you will help us fix it within 7 days.

6. Disclosure and promotion

Tell us about any relationship with a company, firm or product you mention, including clients, employers and payments. Guides must teach, not sell. We do not publish ranked lists, “best of” lists or side-by-side comparisons of companies, firms or products.

7. Style and structure

Write plain words in short sentences, as if you were explaining to a friend. Use one title, four to five main headings, and several question headings under them. Each heading must answer its own question fully. Begin with a summary of three to four points. Aim for 1,200 to 2,500 words, in English or Arabic. List your sources at the end.

8. Review and editing

We edit for clarity, accuracy, structure, length and links. We may ask a qualified reviewer to check your guide. You will see the final version before it goes live. Accepting a pitch does not guarantee publication or a date. We may decline or stop at any stage, and we do not have to give detailed reasons.

9. Your rights and our licence

You keep the copyright in your guide. You give us the exclusive right to publish it online for 60 days after it goes live. After that you may publish it elsewhere only if you tell us first and link to our original.

You also give us a worldwide, non-exclusive licence, with no end date, to keep the guide on our site, to edit it, to turn it into audio, summaries, emails and social posts, and to share it. We will always credit you.

10. Payment

Contributions are unpaid unless we agree otherwise in writing before you start writing. We never charge contributors a fee.

11. Author details

We publish your name, your role and a short bio of up to 40 words. You confirm that these are accurate and that you have the right to share them.

12. Personal data

We use the details in your pitch only to assess it, to contact you and to publish your author line. We keep pitches we do not accept for up to 24 months, then delete them. You can ask to see or delete your data at any time. We do not add you to our newsletter unless you subscribe separately. See our Privacy page.

13. Your promises

You promise that the guide is your own work, does not break anyone’s rights, does not defame anyone, and that you have the right to give us the licence above. If someone makes a claim against us because you broke these promises, you will cover our reasonable costs.

14. Removal and updates

Rules change. We may update, unpublish or remove any guide at any time, for example when it becomes out of date. You may ask us to remove your guide. We will do so within 14 days, but copies already shared by email or social media may remain.

15. Ending the relationship

We may stop working with you, and remove your guide, if you break these terms. The rules on AI, links, originality and disclosure are the most serious.

16. Changes to these terms

We may change these terms. The version date is shown at the top of this page. Your pitch records the version you accepted. Changes apply to new pitches. Guides we have already accepted stay under the version you accepted.

17. Questions

If you have a question about these terms, use the contact link in the footer before you send a pitch.