How to keep one voice when several people (and a tool) write for you

Open any issue of a member magazine and you can usually tell where the volunteers' pieces end and the staff writing begins. One is chatty, one is stiff, one reads like a legal notice. AI tools add a fourth voice: smooth and a little bland.

A magazine that sounds like itself feels trustworthy. Here's how to get there without fighting your contributors.

Write a one-page voice guide

Not a manual. One page, with these parts:

1. Who we're talking to. "Practising engineers, mostly in mid-career, who are busy and sceptical."
2. How we sound. Three or four plain descriptions: "direct", "warm without being chatty", "technical when needed, never jargon for its own sake".
3. Words we use and avoid. "Members, not users. Say 'use', not 'utilise'."
4. Do and don't examples. Two or three real sentences, one marked as right for you, one marked as wrong.
5. Basics. Spelling convention, how you write numbers and dates, how you refer to the association.

A fuller one-page style guide.

Give contributors a brief

Volunteers write better with a clear brief. Send each writer:

• Who the article is for and what it should help them do.
• Word count and deadline.
• Two or three points to cover.
• A link to the voice guide.
• An example of a piece you liked.

A good brief fixes most problems before they exist.

Edit for the whole, not the sentence

You don't need every writer to sound identical. You need them to sound like they belong in the same magazine. When editing, look at:

• Openings. Does it start with something useful?
• Length of sentences and paragraphs. Break up the long ones.
• Jargon. Explain or replace.
• Tone. Pull back anything pompous or too casual.

Leave the writer's own turns of phrase where you can. That's what makes a piece human.

Edit with the writer

Send changes back and explain them. Writers learn and improve, and they're more likely to write for you again. Never publish a heavily edited version a volunteer hasn't seen.

Use AI with your voice guide

If you use AI tools, paste the guide in first and ask for suggestions, not rewrites:

Here is our voice guide: [paste]. Read the article below and list places where the tone or wording doesn't match it. Quote each one and suggest a fix. Don't rewrite the whole piece.

Then make the changes yourself. More on this.

Anchor the voice

The editor's letter, the contents page and the headlines are where readers hear the magazine's own voice most clearly. Keep these consistent, and the rest has something to hold onto.

Review

Every few issues, put the guide beside the latest issue and see where it has drifted. Adjust the guide, or the writing.