Write for DOnations
Share your knowledge and get paid, while supporting tech-focused nonprofits and charities.
What is Write for DOnations?
The Write for DOnations program brings together two initiatives: building content to help developers and supporting tech-focused charities and nonprofits.
Through the program, community authors help grow DigitalOcean’s library of DevOps, software development, and production systems tutorials—all based on free and open-source software. These authors then receive a personal payout and select a tech-focused charity to receive a donation.
What topics are you looking for?
Our tutorials help developers at all levels solve problems, answer questions, and do things they couldn’t do before with open-source software.
For Write for DOnations, we’re looking for practical guides covering open-source software and Linux/Unix-like systems, including production installations, deployments, containers, and automation. We’re especially interested in:
Basic Linux system administration
Are you a whiz at setting up SSH keys? Are you the one people come to when they can’t find a file? Is your knowledge of environmental variables the envy of all? Share what you know by submitting a tutorial about system administration.
Linux tools
Are you a grep power user? Do you use Rsync to make backups a breeze? Are your systemd service files second to none? Help others reach your level of expertise by proposing a tutorial about Linux tools.
Docker tutorials
Do you make YAML files in Docker Compose that are works of art? Do you excel at keeping your Docker images clean ? Does your Docker monitoring leave no container in the shadows? Give the community the benefit of your experience by writing a tutorial about Docker.
TIP: Our tutorials focus on providing a series of steps to solve a specific problem. Each step is explained thoroughly so that readers are always aware of what the code or commands do, and gives them enough information that they can adapt the process to their own situations.
As an example, check out the tutorial, Initial Server Setup with Ubuntu 20.04. This tutorial features a set of discrete steps. In each step, the reader is directed to take a specific action, which is given in the step title, and the result is described. The emphasis is on what the reader is doing, rather than describing the technology involved.
What is the payout structure?
Authors receive $400 per tutorial upon publication. The author then selects a single tech-focused charity or nonprofit or a group of nonprofits united by similar missions to receive a donation from DigitalOcean.
New tutorials are paid $400. Updates for existing tutorials, such as distribution changes, are typically paid out at $100. All payouts are at editorial discretion.
Additionally, for each new article that is approved and accepted, DigitalOcean will make a $25 donation to the charity selected by the author.
What people are saying
I had a great experience writing an article for the DigitalOcean Community. The editors set clear expectations and worked with me to make the tutorial the best it could be. I loved being able to contribute to a resource that I use frequently myself.
Radek Pazdera, 2021
If you are looking forward to upskilling yourself through writing impactful articles, this is the place to be. The amazing style guide will set you on the right track to start with and then the detailed review and feedback will polish your article to make the best of it. Definitely an amazing learning opportunity and also a way to contribute to charity.
Abel Mathew, 2021
The DigitalOcean team made the whole editorial process so simple that it was a pleasure writing the tutorial. I just wanted to share that contributing to the “Write For DOnations program” was a very enriching experience for me.
Damaso Sanoja, 2020
What is the publication process?
Apply, collaborate, write, review, revise, publish, and repeat.
Apply
Apply to the program with your topic idea, an outline of your tutorial, and a writing sample that showcases your ability to explain your technical knowledge to others. We publish only original, first-run content under a Creative Commons license.
Collaborate
If you’re accepted, you’ll work with the editorial team to refine your topic and outline for your tutorial.
Write
Once your topic is approved, it’s time to write. We provide resources to help you get started.
Review
Submit your first draft and collaborate one-on-one with a professional editor to prepare your work for publication. The editor will complete a technical review and will provide developmental feedback about your work.
Revise
Based on your editor’s notes, you’ll revise your tutorial. (Sometimes a few times!) Our goal is to ensure that your tutorial works (technically), aligns with our style, and will help our community grow their skills.
Repeat
Build a relationship with the editorial team by suggesting new articles that you want to write.
What are you looking for in an author?
We’re looking for a diverse group of strong technical writers who love what they do and want to share their knowledge with the DO community. Ideally, you’ll have demonstrated experience in the topics we’re publishing. You’ll have written before, and are comfortable receiving feedback on your writing during the publishing process. Our readers have a wide range of skills, but we’re looking for authors who can write for beginning and intermediate developers.
What resources will support my writing?
As an author for Write for DOnations, you’ll work one-on-one with an editor to revise your writing. Additionally, please check out these writing resources from DigitalOcean:
Frequently asked questions
What does the Write for DOnations process look like?
It all starts with a proposal. When you apply to write with us, you’ll submit a a proposal with the following details:
- The article title
- An explanation of why this article would be a good fit for the community
- An outline of your proposed article, including the introduction, prerequisites, and the steps of your proposed article with a paragraph for each section that explains what the section will cover.
- A writing sample that demonstrates your writing ability, technical expertise, and ability to explain complex topics to readers who are unfamiliar with your topic.
Once we receive your proposal, we’ll review your proposal as a team. If we’re interested in your proposal, we’ll either accept it as is or work with you to refine it further.
Once we agree on the topic and outline, we’ll send you a contract to sign which lets us publish your work. That’s also when we’ll ask for your contact and payment details.
Then you’ll begin writing in Markdown, turning your outline into a full article. When your article is done, we ask that you thoroughly test it by reading through it and following it as a reader would. We will provide testing credit for this. You won’t have to incur any cost to test your tutorials.
When your draft is complete and tested, you’ll submit it to us, and the draft will be entered into our editorial queue. All submitted drafts enter the queue in the order we receive them. We sometimes have higher than normal volumes of tutorials, so it may take a little time before an editor can work on your draft.
When an editor is available, they’ll contact you to let you know they’ve started working on your tutorial, and will then verify that your tutorial is technically correct by following it as written. Our editors all have technical backgrounds and will look for technical best practices as they test your article.
If everything works as written, your editor will then do a thorough review of the structure, tone, and style of your article. When they’re done, they will provide editorial feedback on your article and send you feedback.
When you receive the feedback, you’ll address it and send it back.
Your editor will then review it again, sending it back to you if there are further revisions necessary. Once there are no more revisions to make, another editor on the team reviews the tutorial for formatting and other issues.
Once your article is ready for publication, we’ll publish the tutorial, send you the link, and process your payment. Your editor will then encourage you to submit another tutorial idea.
I have a tutorial that’s already published. Can I publish it through the Write for DOnations program?
Content on DigitalOcean must be original, first-run content that’s not published anywhere else. We pay authors for content and then we relicense it under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. However, you can submit your existing tutorial as your writing sample when you apply to write with us.
How do I receive payment for my article?
We will send payment for your article when we publish your final draft.
You can choose to receive your payout via PayPal or in DigitalOcean credit. You must have a PayPal account that can receive funds.
DigitalOcean will make donations using Bright Funds on your behalf, but you’ll tell us which fund or charity that will receive the donation.
Which charities and nonprofits will my writing support?
In response to the current spread of COVID-19, we have put together the following fund focused on fighting the global pandemic and providing relief to those affected:
- COVID-19 Relief Fund, which includes Partners in Health, Gates Philanthropy Partners, Direct Relief, the International Medical Corps, the Center For Disaster Philanthropy, the United Nations Foundation, the National Domestic Workers Alliance, and GiveDirectly.
We’ve curated four tech-related funds, which are collections of nonprofits with similar missions:
Free and Open Source Fund, which includes the Open Source Initiative, Apache Software Foundation, FreeBSD Foundation, and Software in the Public Interest.
Diversity in Tech Fund, which includes Open Sourcing Mental Illness, Girls Who Code, Out In Tech, Techbridge Girls, Society of Women Engineers, Project Include, /dev/color, and Code 2040.
Open Internet/Free Speech Fund, which includes the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Mozilla Foundation, Wikimedia Foundation, Creative Commons, Code Labs for America, Owasp Foundation, Internet Archive, and Free Press.
Tech Education Fund, which includes IEEE, Code.org, Techsoup Global, NPower, Vets Who Code, and Computer History Museum.
We are continuously exploring additional charities and funds which may be a good match.
Will my donation be tax-deductible?
Because DigitalOcean will be processing the donation through Bright Funds, it won’t be possible for you to claim it as a charitable deduction on your tax return.
I’m under 18 years old. Can I publish a tutorial?
Due to legal reasons, we can only work with authors 18 and older.
I published a tutorial with DigitalOcean. Can I repost the published tutorial on my own blog?
Tutorials on the DigitalOcean Community site are published under a Creative Commons license – specifically, an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 license. This means that you can republish your content as long as you give credit (we prefer a canonical link), share it under the same license, and it is not for commercial purposes.
How do you evaluate proposals?
Our team reviews each proposal we receive. We look for clear explanations, strong writing ability, and solid teaching skills. Our tutorials are aimed at all audiences, and we strongly prefer writing samples that follow our tutorial style. Unfortunately, because of the high volume of samples we receive, we cannot accept every author who applies and we cannot provide individual feedback on each sample we review.
What is the payout structure for Write for DOnations?
The typical payout for community authors in the Write for DOnations program is $300 for typical tutorial content. We then make an additional payout in the form of a contribution from DigitalOcean to the author’s choice of tech-focused nonprofits from our list of funds.
I cannot receive payments via PayPal. Do you support other payment methods?
Unfortunately we can only make payments via PayPal at this time, and only directly to PayPal addresses that can receive money as well as send it.
If you cannot receive payment via PayPal, we also offer the same amount in DigitalOcean credits.
Can I choose the charity or nonprofit that will receive the charity payout?
You can choose to donate to one of the funds we support, which splits the donation equally among the nonprofits in the fund. You can alternatively choose to donate the full amount to one specific nonprofit from within those funds.
At this time, it is not possible for authors to select a charity or nonprofit that is not on our list, but we hope to expand the program in the future to include this capability.
I am a first-time author. Can I make updates to a DigitalOcean tutorial?
At this time, we ask all first-time authors to first write an original tutorial in order to gain a better understanding of our style and technical requirements.
Can I translate a DigitalOcean tutorial?
At this time, we are not accepting translations for publication. You may publish a translation of your own on your own web site, using the guidelines described in the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
I have questions and/or thoughts about the Write for DOnations program. Where can I share them?
There are two ways to share thoughts or questions about the program. The first is to write to us directly at writefordonations@digitalocean.com. Though we may not be able to reply to each email, we will read all of them and use your feedback to guide our future work. If you have a question that you think may help others, please feel free to leave it in the comments section below.
Apply to Write for DOnations!
We’re currently reviewing our backlog of submissions and are paused for new topics until 2025. Please check back next year, and thank you to everyone who has submitted a topic! See the below information for tips when we open applications back up.
Topics
Please review the topics we’re looking for and check out the Community site to see what else we’ve published in your topic area.
Details
We publish only original, first-run content under a Creative Commons license. All of our community authors sign our Freelance Writers Contract.
Tips: Successful applications have strong outlines. An effective outline has a specific focus and clear steps to help readers solve a specific problem. Your outline should include all necessary prerequisites, specific steps, and enough detail so that the editorial team can assess the tutorial’s scope. Check out our tutorial about writing successful proposals and outlines.
Remember, our tutorials focus on providing a series of steps to solve a specific problem. Each step is explained thoroughly so that readers are always aware of what the code or commands do, and gives them enough information that they can adapt the process to their own situations. Your outline is the first step toward creating a good learning experience for readers!
Become a contributor for community
Get paid to write technical tutorials and select a tech-focused charity to receive a matching donation.
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