ListverseAuthorsGuide

v1.7,updated17February2013

This is a guide to the writing style of Listverse. Its aimis to help authors
style their writing toconform to theuniformvoicewewishtopresenttoour
readers. The closer youadhere tothis guide,themorelikelyitisthatyour
listwillbeacceptedforpayment.
Contents
1. PopularContentType
2. Uniqueness
3. Simplicity
4. Remarkability
5. Pronouns
6. Facts
7. Sources
8. Humor
9. AuthorsVoice
10. Profanity
11. BiblicalReferences
12. Demographics
13. GeneralEditorialInformation
14. FinalNote
APPENDIXIPopularListverseLists

1.PopularContentType
Listversereadershaveveryparticulartastesifyoutailoryoursubmissiontothesetastes,youwillhaveafar
greaterchanceofhavingyourlistacceptedforpublication.Wereceivealotofliststhatwehavetorejectsothis
pointcannotbestressedenough.Thisisanonexhaustivelistofthemostpopularsubjects:
I. Mysteries: Mystery lists are the most popular. Unsolved mysteries about man, the universe, monsters,
UFOs, aliens, demons, ghosts, witches, etc. If you have a list dealing with this subject and it is not already
coveredon Listverse, it will probably be accepted if you comply with the rest of thisguide. Asyouwillseein
thenext point, uniqueness is also essential here. We dont want toreadaboutthe Loch NessMonster. We
dont want to read about Bigfoot, chupacabra, the Bermuda Triangle, etc. If your friends probably knowthe
mysterywe dotoo. Unless you can tell us something we dont know about them, leave them out. Google
searchListversetoensureyoudontduplicatecontent.
II. Darkside of man:Lists which discussthedarkersideofmanalwaysdowell.Listsofthis typeare Top10
Evil Men, Top 10 Evil Women, Top 10 Evil Human Experiments, etc. Be warned: we all know that Stalin,
Hitler, PolPot, Mao performed evil acts. We dont need to hear more about them. If you can tie the listinto

history it will be even more popular for example the Gilles de Rais is a fascinating character and his
inclusionon a list madeiteventhemorepopular. Butwehavealready had himonalist sodontincludehim
unlessitforsomecompletelyunexpectedreason...suchasTop10EvilMenWhoWerent,forexample.
III. Secrets: This is a little different from mysteries. This is subjects that the average person either doesnt
know, or isnt meant to know. Secret codes, ciphers, places that areforbiddentotheaverageperson. Ifyou
can makeour readers desperatetoknowtheanswertosomethingor to gosomewherethey arenot allowed,
youhavecreatedatopnotchlist.
IV. Facts or Misconceptions: Tell us something we dont already know. It wont be easythe Listverse
editorscombined brainpower is like Einsteins brain times ten . . .onsteroids!Popularlistsinthisareaare
factswedontknow,disprovingsomethingwecommonlybelievetobe true, orgenerallytellingusmoreabout
something we already knew. So a list of Top 10 Amazing Facts about Dreams was popular, but so was
BiblicalFactsEveryoneGetsWrong.Ifwebelieveit,andyoucanproveuswrong:wewillloveyourlist.
V. History:Lists that deal with historical topicsareoftenverypopular. Butthese shouldnot bedry liststhey
still need to be a twist on something. For example Top 10 PeopleWho WereBurnedAttheStake,mightbe
interesting, but it isnt amazing. Better would be: Top 10 People Who Were Burned At the Stake AndLived.
That isa list that would make peoples heads turn. Noone everdidsurviveincidentallyatleast notthatwe
areawareof.
Whilethesefiveareasarethemostpopularthemesinourtoparticles,youshouldntbediscouragedfromsending
insomethingwhichdoesntquitefit.Therearealwaysliststhatappealforotherreasons.

2.Uniqueness
ContentthatcantbefoundontheInternetisamust.TobeattheforefrontofInternetpublishingitisessentialto
alwaysbesharingnewinformation.Thisobscurityofinformationmakessomethingveryenticingitattracts
readers.
Thisuniquenesscansometimesoverrulethepopularstylesaboveforexamplewerecentlypublishedalistof
photographsofwherechildrensleeparoundtheworld.Itwasincrediblypopularbecauseitshowedamundane
partofourownlivesfromeyesthroughwhichwewillneversee.Wewerethefirstsitetopublishsuchalargeand
clearcollectionoftheseimages.Youcanreadthatlisthere:http://bit.ly/10845iS
However,thatisnottosaythatwearelookingonlyforauniquetakeonsomethingwellknown...suchasanovel
lookatamovieorcelebrity.Listsderivedprimarilyfrompopculturearenotparticularlypopular.Popculture
canofcourseappearinyourwritingbut,likecomedy,itshouldbesecondarytothetopic.
Perhapsmostimportantly,yourlistsshouldnotcontainanyentriesfromlistsalreadyfoundonListverseunlessit
isgiveninacompletelydifferentlightandcontext.

3.Simplicity
ThegreatestwritersofEnglishliteratureallsaythesamething:cut,thencut,thencutagain.Goodwritingcomes
fromrevision.SylviaPlathwouldwriteapoemtheneraseseventypercentofit.Ifyoucanfindashortwordinstead
ofalongone,useit.IfthereisanAngloSaxonwordthatcanbeusedinsteadofawordfromLatinorFrench,use
it.Makesentencesshort.AhandytoolyoucanusetogaugehowconciseyouwriteistheFleschKincaidindex.

Theindextellsyouthereadabilitylevelofyourwriting.ThebestEnglishliteratureisreadablebyanelevenyearold.
Notbecauseitisdumbeddownbutbecauseithasnoextracomplicatedwordsthatdontaddtothevalueofthe
writing.Thisauthorguidescoresinthelowseventiesthatmeansathirteenyearoldcanreadit.Ifyoudontcut
yourtextyouwillscoreinthefifties.Thelowerthescoretheworseitis.Hereisanexampleofgreatwritingthat
showsthatevenwhenyouwriteforadults,youneedtowriteconcisely:
WeweresomewherearoundBarstowontheedgeofthedesertwhenthedrugsbegantotakehold.I
remembersayingsomethinglike"Ifeelabitlightheadedmaybeyoushoulddrive..."Andsuddenlytherewas
aterribleroarallaroundusandtheskywasfullofwhatlookedlikehugebats,allswoopingandscreeching
anddivingaroundthecar,whichwasgoingaboutahundredmilesanhourwiththetopdowntoLasVegas.
Andavoicewasscreaming:"HolyJesus!Whatarethesegoddamnanimals?FearandLoathinginLas
Vegas,byHunterS.Thompson.
CanyouguesstheFleschscoreoftheaboveparagraphtakenfromoneofthegreatestbooksofthetwentieth
century.Itis84.2.Thatisthereadinglevelofa12yearold.Itdoesntscorehighbecauseituseschildishwords
orphrasesitscoreshighbecauseithasonlyasmanywordsasareneededtoconveyitsmeaning.Youcan
checkouthowyourtextscoreshere:http://bit.ly/SYPxoh

4.Remarkability
Yourlistneedstoberemarkable.IftheconceptyoupitchtousalreadyexistssomewhereelseontheInternet...it
isnotremarkable.Yourlistneedstoturnheadsyourlistneedstoexcitepeoplebecausetheyhaveneverseenit
before.Readeachitemandaskyourself:WouldmyfriendsreadthisandsayWow!?Iftheanswerisyes,you
probablyhavearemarkablelist.

5.Pronouns
Prefertheuseoftheinclusivewe.Byusingweasthedefaultpronoun,thereadersfeelincluded,asiftheyare
onalearningjourneytogetherwiththeauthor.
TheuseofIispermittedonoccasionbutitshouldbeusedsparinglyasittendstocreateadividebetweenthe
authorandtheaudiencetheaimistodrawpeoplein,notcausedivision.
Theuseofyouispermittedaslongasitisnotbeingusedtoridiculeortalkdowntothereaders.
HereisanexampleintroductionfromtheTop10GruesomeFairyTaleOriginsthatdemonstratesthecorrectuseof
pronouns:
Fairytalesofthepastwereoftenfullofmacabreandgruesometwistsandendings.Thesedays,companies
likeDisneyhavesanitizedthemforamodernaudiencethatisclearlydeemedunabletocope,andsowesee
happyendingseverywhere.Thislistlooksatsomeofthecommonendingswearefamiliarwithandexplains
theoriginalgruesomeorigins.Ifyouknowofanyothers,besuretomentionitinthecommentsorifyou
knowofafairytalethatisjustoutrightgruesome(initsoriginalormodernform),speakup.

6.Facts

FactsarethelifebloodofListverselists.Onaverage,eachiteminalistshouldhavethreenewfactspreferably
factsthatarenototherwisepresentedonthesiteandarenotcommonknowledge.Themorefactsyoucanfitinto
anentrythebetter.Pleasenotethatfactsarenotjustdetailstheyareinterestingpiecesofrareinformation.Facts
comebeforehumoralways.Thatdoesntmeanyoushouldputjokesattheendofeachitem,itmeansprecedence
mustalwaysbegiventothefacts.HereisanexampleofoneentryfromTop10PoisonousFoodsWeLoveToEat.
Factsareinbold.
Firstoff,alittleinterestingtrivia:intheUS,thankstoaUSSupremeCourtdecisionin1893,tomatoesare
vegetables.Intherestoftheworldtheyareconsideredtobefruit(ormoreaccurately,aberry).Thereason
forthisdecisionwasataxonvegetablesbutnotfruit.Youmayalsobeinterestedtoknowthattechnically,a
tomatoisanovary.TheleavesandstemsofthetomatoplantcontainachemicalcalledGlycoalkaloid
whichcausesextremenervousnessandstomachupsets.Despitethis,theycanbeusedincookingto
enhanceflavor,buttheymustberemovedbeforeeating.Cookinginthiswaydoesnotallowenoughpoison
toseepoutbutcanmakeahugedifferenceintaste.Finally,toenhancetheflavoroftomatoes,sprinklea
littlesugaronthem.Nowwejustneedtoworkoutwhethertheyaretoemahtoesortoemaytoes.
Asyoucanseeinthisexample,alittlesubtlehumorisaddedattheendofanotherwiserelativelydryentry.Here
isanotherexamplefromTop10PlacesYouDontWantToVisit.
InspiredbytheBotanicalGardensinPadua,Italy(thefirstbotanicalgardenwhichwascreatedtogrow
medicinalandpoisonousplantsinthe1500s),theAlnwickPoisonGardenisagardendevotedentirelyto
plantsthatcankill.Itfeaturesmanyplantsgrownunwittinglyinbackgardens,andthosethatgrowinthe
Britishcountryside,aswellasmanymoreunusualvarieties.Flameshapedbedscontainbelladonna,
tobaccoandmandrake.TheAlnwickGardenhasaHomeOfficelicensetogrowsomeveryspecialplants
namely,cannabisandcocawhicharefoundbehindbarsingiantcagesforobviousreasons.

7.Sources
SourcesareessentialtoListverselistsaswedealinfacts.Youneedtobackupeveryfactualassertionwithlinks
toreputedwebsites.PleaseavoidusingtabloidnewspapersasyoursourceanddefinitelydontuseWikipedia.
Somesourcesarejustaboutalwaysofflimits:tabloidslikeDailyMail,NationalEnquirer,TheSun,Mirror,Metro,
NYPost,Examiner.SiteslikeAbout.com,suite101.com,geocities,hubpages,angelfire,Ranker,damninteresting
aregenerallyunreliable.Placesliketodayifoundout.com,boinboing.net,Cracked.com,andmentalflossarerarely
(ifever)reportingtheirownnewsandaremoreareoftenjustlinkingtosomeoneelse'sstory.Let'sgotothe
originalsource.Wikipedia,squidoo,andrandompeople'sblogs(URLswithblogspot,wordpress,tumblr,etc.in
thename)generallyaren'treliablebecauseanyonecanmakeoreditthem.Forumboards(likeFreeRepublicand
reddit)areusuallyoutaswell.
We'reaimingformorereputablesourceslikenewsorganizations(localornational)thatpeoplehaveheardofand
wouldrecognizeorganizationsthatactuallyhaveareputationtoupholdandcareaboutgettingfactsright.
Scholarlyjournals,academicpublications,peerreviewedscientificstudiesareallgoodnews.GoogleBooksand
newspapersareusuallyreputable.
Ifyouhaveasourcethatdoesn'tseemveryreputableorlikeit'sjustrecyclingsomeoneelse'sstory,let'sseeifthey
haveaprimarysource(reporteronthescene,interviewwiththeperson,academicpaperthey'resummarizing,etc)
orifwecanfindoutwhothey'regettingthestoryfrom(andthenwe'llusethatasoursource,too).These
bloggy/webbysecondhandsourcesoftenjustrecycleeachother'scontentinanendlessrumormill,stretching
detailsandinsertinglittlesensationalbitstogetclicksandwe'dliketotrytoavoidbecomingoneofthosesites,so

we'resteppingupoursourcingrequirements.
Inordertostreamlinetheprocess,wedliketoimplementtheformatusedbyoneofourwritersthatwevefoundto
beveryeasytoedit.
Pleasenumberyourentriesindescendingorder,aslistsappearwhenpublishedonthesite.Youalsodontneed
toincludeperiodsintheheader(wejustneedtoremovethemlateranyway):Asseenbelow,9War"looksspare,
butit'sallweneed.
Weveboldedtheintextcitationsbelowsotheystandout,butthatsonlyforthisdocument(youwontevenhave
theabilitytouseboldonthesitesubmissionform).Pleaseincludethoseintextcitationsafterthepertinentfact
fromtheentrythattheyrebackingup.Thisletsusknowexactlywhateachcitedlinkshouldbeproving.
Also,allthelinksgotogetherattheendoftheentirelist.Thisissowecanjustpastethemintoanotherwindowall
inonelumpandtheneasilyswitchbetweenwindows.Yourcitationnumberingshouldcountupthroughtheentire
list,notrestartforeachentry.
9War
Iftheresonethingevenbetterforsalesthanviolence,itsthethreatofwar.Meremonthsago,theworld
watchedontenterhooksasNorthKoreatargeteditsmissilesandthreatenedtorainnucleardestructiononthe
West.Everynewsoutletwasfullofbreathlessanalysisandmaps(LINK7)showinghowtheUSlaywithin
strikedistancedespitetherebeingnopossibilityofwhatsoeverofwar.
Asinnone:zilch,zero,nada.Thefactis,aNorthKoreanattackwouldalmostcertainlyendwiththemissile
failingtolaunchorfallingintothesea,forthesimplereasonthattheirtechnologysucks.Analysisconfirmsthat
Pyongyanghasyettobuildabombsmallenoughtofitonamissile(LINK8)whileexpertsagree(LINK9)
thatKimsrecentblusterwasjustthat:bluster.So,weessentiallyhaveanonstoryaboutafatlittletyrant
bawlingforattentionhalftheworldaway,andourmediaspinsitintoanarrativewherewereallonthevergeof
annihilation.
Noristhisaoneoff.Notsixmonthsearlier,majorpaperswereliterallycallingonObamatostopIrans
nuclearambitionswithadevastatingairstrike(LINK10),onlyfortheIranianpeopletopeacefullykickthe
hardlinenutjobsoutofofficelessthanayearlater.Inotherwords,themediasreportingofthiskindofthingis
almostscarilyirresponsible,justasitiswith...
[endofentry]
(Again,theselinksgoattheendofthedocument,andtheyreeachspecificallytargetedtoeachfactinthe
text.)
LINK7:http://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2013/04/world/northkoreamissilecapabilities/
LINK8:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/worldasiapacific11813699
LINK9:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301202_16257578835/northkoreandictatorkimjongunhaseverythingtolose
innewwarexpertsays/
LINK10:http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/apr/3/whywemuststrikeiran/

8.Humor

Humorisimportantinalist.Buthumorneedstostemnaturallyfromthemaintaskathand:educatingwithshort
facts.HumorshouldbegentleandwittythinkStephenFrynotJimCarrey.Wewantourliststomakereaders
chuckle,notguffaw.HereisanexamplefromTop10GruesomeFairyTaleOrigins:
Intheoriginalsleepingbeauty,thelovelyprincessisputtosleepwhenshepricksherfingeronaspindle.She
sleepsforonehundredyearswhenaprincefinallyarrives,kissesher,andawakensher.Theyfallinlove,
marry,and(surprisesurprise)livehappilyeverafter.Butalas,theoriginaltaleisnotsosweet(infact,you
havetoreadthistobelieveit.)
Intheoriginal,theyoungwomanisputtosleepbecauseofaprophesy,ratherthanacurse.Anditisntthe
kissofaprincewhichwakesherup:thekingseeingherasleep,andratherfancyinghavingabit,rapesher.
Afterninemonthsshegivesbirthtotwochildren(whilesheisstillasleep).Oneofthechildrensucksherfinger
whichremovesthepieceofflaxwhichwaskeepingherasleep.Shewakesuptofindherselfrapedandthe
motheroftwokids.
Anotherapproachisfoundinthesamelist:The1989versionoftheLittleMermaidmightbebetterknowasThe
bigwhopper!
Listverseisnotahumorsite,itisafactssite.

9.AuthorsVoice
Wearehappyfortheauthorsvoicetoshowthroughasweconsidereachwritertobeacolumnistbutcareshould
betakentoensurethatthisdoesnotextendoutsideoftheguidelineshere.
Firstandforemostthereadersshouldfeelyouarecredibleandtrustworthy.Youdontneedtowritelikeyouare
writinganessay,butyoushouldmaintainahighstandard.

10.BiblicalReferences
WhenquotingfromtheBibleallreferencesandquotesshouldbetakenfromtheDouayRheims(DR)editiononly.
AcompletecopyoftheDRcanbefoundhere:http://drbo.org.TheDRistheapprovedCatholicEnglishlanguage
editionoftheBibleandasidefromcontainingtheoriginalcanonasdefinedinthefourthcentury(sevenmore
booksthanthecutdownversionusedinProtestantreligions),itsEnglishisclearerandlessambiguousthanthe
KingJamesedition.

11.Profanity
WedonotpublishprofanityonListverseunlessitispartofagenuinelysourcedquoteorthetitleofsomething
published.Wewill,ingeneral,useemdashestoobscurepartsoftheprofanewords.Thereasonforthisisthata
writershouldbeabletoalwaysfindabetterwordtoexpresstheirpoint.Profanitywillusuallylowerpeoples
perceptionofthewritersability.

12.Demographics
10percentofListversereadersareunder18

50percentarebetween18and34
40percentareover34
Wearegenerallytargetingtheintelligent18+audience.

13.GeneralEditorialInformation
Weuseourownhousestyleforeditingbutsupplementthatwiththe16thEditionoftheChicagoManualofStyle.
Whileyouneedntadheretothatdirectlyinyourownwriting,ifyouarefamiliarwiththestylebyallmeansfeelfree.
Wewillrewriteifnecessary,butthelessrewritingweneedtodothemorelikelyitisthatyourlistwillbepurchased.
Spellingmistakesandbasicgrammaticalerrorsareusuallyclearedupifyoudomultiplerevisionsofyourlist
beforesendingitin.Ifyou'rehavingtrouble,we'drecommendreadingitaloudorhavingafriendlookitover.
WeusemetricmeasuresandconvertthemtoImperialinparentheses.
WewritewithanAmericanaudienceinmindsoweuseAmericanstandardspelling(basedonthelatesteditionof
theMerriamWebsterdictionary).PleaserunyourlistagainstanAmericanspellcheckerbeforesubmitting.

14.FinalNote
Wereturnallliststhatrequirealotofediting.Pleasemakesureyouread,reread,andrereadbeforesubmitting.
Slowingdowntheeditorialprocessslowsdownpaymentsandpublication.

APPENDIXIPopularListverseLists
ThisisashortlistofsomeofthemostpopularcontentonListverse:
Top10GruesomeFairyTaleOrigins...http://bit.ly/10G9NOK
Top10EvilSerialKillers...http://bit.ly/Vcsvrl
Top10HiddenImagesinCartoons...http://bit.ly/10G9Ud8
Top10CodesYouarentMeanttoKnow...http://bit.ly/10G9YtF
Top10StrangeThingsAbouttheUniverse...http://bit.ly/VcsGTi
Top10FactsaboutSex...http://bit.ly/VcsL9D
Top10ProphesiesYouDontKnow...http://bit.ly/10Ga843
Top10CreepyMysteriesYouHaventHeardOf...http://bit.ly/10Ga9oA
Top10EvilHumanExperiments...http://bit.ly/10GaasR
Top10TerrifyingPlacesonEarth...http://bit.ly/YmFUAV
Top10PlacesYouCantGo...http://bit.ly/10Gajwc
Top10ConspiracyTheories...http://bit.ly/10GanfE