# Storytellers 📖 Handbook

## Overview

Contributor Comms depends on great storytelling to get the message out about our amazing community.

It's no secret that governance and technical documentation can be kind of on the boring side. And that's ok–it's not always there for entertainment purposes. It is about providing valuable information and getting you where you need to go. But that said, an important message can be lost without an entertaining messenger. 

In this role, Storytellers are here to help Kubernetes contributors hear the latest news in the most entertianing ways. Storytellers will take us on journeys through words and visuals to help us craft.

## Workflow ⚡️

Storytelling is welcome in any medium that can be supported by the Contributor Comms team. This includes but is not limited to written word–as outlined in [blogging guidelines]–or through video following our [YouTube guidelines]. 

Storytellers are constantly building new ways to share, and these resources are gathered in the [storytelling resources folder]. 

### Contributor Comms Process

#### Idea Paths

There are multiple ways to successfully contribute a Kubernetes blog post. Here are some of the common paths to help you do so:

**To start:** 

* Open a [Contributor Comms Requests issue](https://github.com/kubernetes/community/issues) to share your blog idea, or attend an [Contributor Comms team](https://github.com/kubernetes/community/tree/master/communication/contributor-comms) meeting to discuss it ahead of time

**To write:**

* Create an initial draft -- it is always easier to work from some written down ideas than to do so from scratch
  * A draft can be written in:
    * Google Docs or
    * Markdown (and shared via [Gist](https://gist.github.com/) or [HackMD](https://hackmd.io/))
* Connect with a storyteller -- if you reach out to Contributor Comms, you will be paired with someone to help you through writing, editing, and getting your article published
  * Discussion happens via GitHub issue or through working group meetings
* This includes working with Contributor Comms team to polish, and format your blog post
  * There is not a single canonical format for documents, but we do have [guidelines for effective articles](https://github.com/kubernetes/community/tree/master/sig-docs/blog-subproject#blog-guidelines)
  * There are further technical considerations by the [Blog team](https://github.com/kubernetes/community/blob/4026287dc3a2d16762353b62ca2fe4b80682960a/sig-docs/blog-subproject/README.md#submit-a-post)

When it's ready, submit the blog post: 

* Go to the `kubernetes/website` repository
* Open a PR with your added blog post
  * If you need help with this process, Contributor Comms will look to pair you with someone for PR and shepherd it through the review cycle

Or if you already have everything you think you need you can:

* Go to the `kubernetes/website` repo and send a PR
* There's a Kubernetes blog team that will walk you through [the process](https://kubernetes.io/docs/contribute/new-content/blogs-case-studies/)

### Tips

Converting a Google Doc to markdown? Here is a helpful way to do so:

* go to: https://discuss.kubernetes.io/
* Open a new topic
* Paste the Google Doc into new topic window
  * Discourse will automatically convert it to markdown 🎉 
* Now you can copy the markdown text, with all its original formatting, and paste it into your blog post file (this will often be a text file you are editing on your computer from a text editor like VS Code)
* Be sure to add the syntax required at the top of the blog post (see links above)
* Now you are ready to submit it as a PR

## Minimum Skills and Requirements

- Have a passion for telling stories, technical writing, journalism, and painting pictures with words
- Desire to be a Kubernetes Org Member and if not already, work your way towards membership
- Helpful but not required: Comfortable with working with GitHub workflows or working in a collaborative document like Hackmd.io

## Expectations

Anyone is welcome to contribute when they have time. The core expectation of storytelling is taking responsibility for getting the story from inception to published.

If you would like to be listed as a member of the team, here are the expectations:

1. Be prepared to write one blog a quarter and participate in edits to other articles. The time commitment is typically 5-10 hours per quarter depending on the number of blog posts in the review queue.
2. Storytellers are expected to attend at least one Contributor Comms meeting a month or check-in to remain active.
3. Remain non-partial: if you receive a request to write about a project, an individual, or a group of people from your employer, you should ask an impartial blogger to write it.
4. As with all contribution to Kubernetes, adhere to the [code of conduct](/code-of-conduct.md), values, and principles of the project.

There are no shadow roles for Storytellers. If Storytellers are interested in becoming a shadow they can read more about the available leadership roles in the Contributor Comms [Role handbooks](https://github.com/kubernetes/community/tree/master/communication/contributor-comms/role-handbooks).

[blogging guidelines]: ../storytelling-resources/blog-guidelines.md
[YouTube guidelines]: /communication/youtube/youtube-guidelines.md
[storytelling resources folder]: ../storytelling-resources/
[Marketing Council Handbook]: ../role-handbooks/council.md
