Editorial & Content System

1. Simple Feature Overview

The Editorial & Content System is where your team creates, reviews, approves, and publishes all written and multimedia content on the Hyphen platform. It covers the full journey of content — from an author's first draft all the way to a live article on the Reader Portal.

Under the hood, the system spans three applications: the Admin Console (Next.js, where you author and manage everything), Strapi CMS (the headless content store that the Reader Portal reads from), and the Reader Portal (Next.js, the public website). A local PostgreSQL database (accessed through Prisma) holds version history, the editorial-workflow records, the media library, and a synced cache of articles for fast admin queries. The diagram below shows the high-level journey a piece of content takes; the rest of this guide explains each stage in detail.

What You Can Do

How Content Reaches Readers

1. An author or editor creates content in the Admin Console (stored in Strapi, with a cached copy and version history in PostgreSQL).
2. The content moves through the Editorial Workflow for review and approval (tracked in the submissions and workflow_events tables).
3. An editor or the publishing team publishes or schedules the content.
4. Publishing flips the article's published layer in Strapi (POST /actions/publish).
5. The Reader Portal picks up the new content within approximately 60 seconds (Next.js ISR — Incremental Static Regeneration).
6. Readers see it on article pages, section pages, the homepage, search, author pages, and any collection or issue it belongs to.

Two ways content enters the system. Most short content is created directly in Content → New Article. Longer manuscripts (often from external contributors) come through the Editorial Workflow as submissions — manuscript files in Google Drive that are reviewed, edited, then converted into an article at the publishing stage. Both paths end at the same place: a published Strapi article on the Reader Portal.

How It Works (Behind the Scenes)

This section explains the end-to-end data flow so you understand exactly what happens when you click Save or Publish.

The three applications and one database

What happens when you create or edit an article

When you save an article in the Admin Console, the request goes to POST /api/articles (create) or PUT /api/articles/[id] (update). The server:

1. Writes the article to Strapi as the system of record. The Strapi document ID becomes the article's id.
2. Calculates readTime from the word count (≈200 words/minute).
3. On update, if title, content, or excerpt changed, writes a new row to the article_versions table in PostgreSQL with an auto-incrementing version number — this is your version history.
4. If you set a Magazine visibility tier (magazineAccess), the server forces the accessLevel to a canonical value (see Configuration Reference) and rejects inconsistent combinations with HTTP 400.

Editorial status vs. published state. In Strapi, an article's editorial state is stored in a field called articleStatus (draft / pending_review / approved / archived). Whether the article is actually live is a separate flag (Strapi's draft-and-publish publishedAt). The admin "Published" and "Modified" labels you see are derived — an article is "Published" when it has a live published layer in Strapi. Publishing is allowed directly from draft, pending_review, or approved (there is no mandatory approval gate in the article editor itself).

What happens when you publish

Data-flow diagram

Content entities (issues, collections, events, podcasts, newsletters)

Unlike articles (which live in Strapi first), content entities are authored in PostgreSQL first and pushed to Strapi by a cron job:

• You create/edit them in Content Entities → Issues / Collections / Events / Podcasts / Newsletters (stored in the issues, collections, events, podcasts, podcast_episodes, newsletter_editions tables).
• The sync-entities cron (every ~15 min) finds-or-creates the matching Strapi entry by slug and publishes it when its status is published or featured.
• The Reader Portal then renders them at /issue/[slug], /newsletters/[slug], etc.

Why the 60-second delay? The Reader Portal uses Next.js ISR — pages are statically cached and regenerated on a timer. After publishing, wait up to ~60 seconds, then hard-refresh.

The Editorial Workflow Explained

The Editorial Workflow is a state machine: every submission is in exactly one status at a time, and it can only move between statuses through defined transitions. Each transition checks a specific permission, so only the right role can perform each step. This guarantees a consistent, auditable review process.

Every transition writes a row to the workflow_events table (event types include status_change, assignment, reassignment, note_added, author_response, rejection, route_back, cancellation, retraction, soft_delete) — this is the submission's permanent audit trail and timeline.

The states

The transitions

Each arrow below is a real transition with its own permission gate. The most important "forward" path and the "route-back" paths are shown.

Who does what

Four roles, no Designer. The workflow has exactly four acting roles — Author, Sub-Editor, Chief Editor, and Publishing Team. There is no separate Designer role, and there is no intermediate "typeset review" / S6B state. The publishing team owns the entire publishing leg end to end.

Typesetting is a required gate before publishing. From Ready for Publishing (S7), the publishing team must first Start Typesetting to move the item to Publishing in Progress (S8). The Publish Now and Schedule actions are only available from S8 — you cannot publish or schedule straight out of the Ready queue. This guarantees every item passes through typesetting before it goes live.

End-of-life states

• Reject (reject) — from Triage (S1), Review (S3), or Final Review (S6). Requires a reason. The submission becomes SX_REJECTED_WITHDRAWN.
• Cancel (cancel) — for a stuck submission in S2/S4/S5/S7/S8/S9. Requires a reason. Becomes SX_CANCELLED.
• Retract (retract) — pulls a published (S10) item out of circulation. Requires a reason. Unpublishes the Strapi article and marks it SX_RETRACTED.
• Delete — Submissions in S0/S1 are hard-deleted; submissions already in a terminal state (rejected/cancelled/retracted) are soft-deleted (deletedAt, deletionReason recorded). Active in-flight submissions cannot be deleted — cancel, reject, or retract them first.

Submissions vs. the article record. A submission carries the manuscript through review (its file lives in Google Drive; document revisions are tracked in document_versions). At the publishing stage, Prepare Article imports the Google Doc HTML and creates/updates the actual Strapi article. So the workflow produces an article; it is not the article itself until that import step.

2. Who Should Use This Feature

3. Before You Begin

Before your team can start creating and publishing content, make sure the following are in place:

Prerequisites Checklist

Tip: If you're setting up the platform for the first time, work through these in order. Authors and sections should be created before articles.

4. Key Terms in Simple Language

5. Step-by-Step Setup Guide

1

2

3

1Search bar — find articles by title, author, or content

2Create New Article button

Filter toolbar — filter by status, section, author, and date range

3Article rows with status badges, author, section, and date

5.1 Set Up Authors

Every article needs an author. Set up author profiles before creating articles.

To create a new author:

1. In the Admin Console sidebar, click Authors.

2. Click the New Author button in the top-right corner.

3. Fill in the author profile:

   Field	Required?	What to Enter
   Name	Yes	The author's full display name
   Email	Yes	The author's email address
   Photo	Recommended	Upload or paste URL for the author's profile photo
   Short Bio	Recommended	A 1-2 sentence bio that appears next to articles
   Long Bio	Optional	A detailed biography for the author's profile page
   Location	Optional	City or country
   Website	Optional	Author's personal website URL
   Social Links	Optional	Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook handles
   Languages	Recommended	Languages the author writes in (select all that apply)
   Specializations	Recommended	Check all applicable types: Fiction, Poetry, Essay, etc.
   Status	Yes	Toggle Active (default) or Inactive

4. Click Save to create the author profile.

To view an author's profile and published works:

1. Go to Authors and click on any author's name or card.
2. The author profile page has three tabs:
   • Overview — Statistics (total articles, translations, views, comments)
   • Timeline — Activity history showing recent actions
   • Works — All published works with filters for "All", "As Author", and "As Translator"

To edit or deactivate an author:

1. Go to Authors and click Edit on the author's card or row.
2. Make your changes and click Save.
3. To deactivate an author (e.g., if they are no longer contributing), toggle the Status to Inactive. Their existing articles remain published.

5.2 Set Up Sections and Tags

Sections and tags organize your content so readers can browse by category and topic.

Sections

Sections are the main divisions of your magazine. Typical sections include:

• Fiction
• Poetry
• Essays
• Interviews
• News

Sections are set up in Content → Sections (or through Strapi if managed there). Each article belongs to exactly one section.

Tags

Tags are flexible labels applied to articles for additional categorization. Examples: "short story", "memoir", "debut author", "translation", "award winner".

To manage tags:

1. Go to Content → Tags in the Admin Console.
2. Click New Tag to create a tag.
3. Enter a Name and an optional Description.
4. Click Save.

Tip: You can also create new tags on the fly when editing an article — the tag field supports "create new" directly.

5.3 Upload Media to the Media Library

The Media Library stores all images, audio files, videos, and documents used across your content.

To upload files:

1. In the Admin Console sidebar, click Media Library.
2. Click the Upload Files button.
3. Either:
   • Drag and drop files into the upload area, or
   • Click Browse to select files from your computer
4. For each uploaded file, fill in:
   • Alt Text — A description for accessibility (important for images)
   • Caption — Optional caption displayed below the image
   • Credit — Photographer or source credit
   • Tags — Keywords for finding the file later
   • Folder — Select a folder to organize the file
5. Click Upload to save.

To organize your media:

• Create folders: Click the folder icon and name your new folder (e.g., "Issue 12 Covers", "Author Photos")
• Filter by type: Use the filter pills at the top — Images, Audio, Video, Documents
• Search: Use the search bar to find files by name
• Sort: Sort by date, filename, or file size
• Bulk select: Check multiple files to delete them together

To use media in an article:

When creating or editing an article, click the Featured Image picker. This opens the Media Library where you can:

• Select an existing image
• Upload a new image directly
• Set alt text and caption for the selected image

5.4 Create and Edit an Article

To create a new article:

1. In the Admin Console sidebar, click Content.
2. Click the New Article button in the top-right corner.
3. Fill in the article form. The form has several sections:

Basic Information:

Featured Image:

Author & Translator:

Publishing Settings:

Conditional Media (shown based on content type):

SEO (collapsible section):

4. Click Save to save the article.

Magazine Access tier

When an article is part of a magazine issue, the way readers find and read it changes. Use the Article visibility dropdown in Publishing Settings to control this.

Quick rule: if you want the article to live only inside a magazine issue — never on the home page, never on a section page, never in search results — pick one of the two Magazine options. The standard Access Level field disappears because the magazine tier handles read access.

Magazine access can be set on the Issue Editor. For articles bound to an issue, the access tier can be set on the issue rather than the article: the Issue Editor has a "Default access for articles in this issue" setting plus a per-article Access override on each Table-of-Contents row. The effective tier resolves as TOC override → issue default → article's own access level, against the four-tier ladder (Free / Restricted Free / Premium Limited / Subscriber Only). The Article visibility dropdown described here also works. See Paywall & Access → Magazine Issue Access Tiers and the Magazine guide.

How the form behaves when you change the visibility

• Pick "Magazine — subscribers only" → Access Level is hidden. The article becomes subscriber-gated automatically.
• Pick "Magazine — registered readers only" → Access Level is hidden. The article becomes free for any registered reader.
• Pick "Public — appears in home, sections, search" (or leave the default) → Access Level reappears, and you can choose Free / Restricted Free / Premium Limited / Subscriber Only as usual.

Article ↔ issue is 1-to-1. An article belongs to at most one magazine issue. To bind an article to a specific issue, add it from Magazine > Issues > [your issue] > Table of Contents (see the Magazine Issue Management guide). The Article visibility dropdown controls access; the Table of Contents controls placement.

Common mistakes

To edit an existing article:

1. Go to Content to see the articles list.
2. Find your article using:
   • Search — Type a title keyword
   • Filters — Filter by status, content type, section, access level, author, or date range
3. Click on the article title or the Edit action to open it.
4. Make your changes and click Save.

To preview an article before publishing:

• While editing, click the Preview button to see how the article will look on the Reader Portal.

To view version history:

• While editing an article, look for the Version History section.
• You can see all saved versions with timestamps and change notes.
• Click on any version to view it, or click Rollback to restore that version.

5.5 Submit an Article for Review (Editorial Workflow)

The Editorial Workflow is a structured process for reviewing and approving content before publication. It ensures quality and editorial standards are met.

Understanding the Workflow Stages

The editorial workflow has these stages, in order:

Invited (optional) → Awaiting Triage → Assigned to Sub-Editor → Sub-Editor Review
    → Awaiting Author Review → Author Revision (if needed)
    → Awaiting Final Review → Ready for Publishing
    → Publishing in Progress → Scheduled or Published

Here's what each stage means:

To access the Editorial Workflow:

1. In the Admin Console sidebar, click Editorial.
2. You'll be automatically directed to the right queue based on your role:
   • Chief Editor → Triage Queue (incoming submissions)
   • Publishing Team → Publishing Queue (approved content)
   • Sub-Editor → My Work (your assigned reviews)
   • Author → Submissions (your submitted articles)

To create a new submission:

1. Go to Editorial → Submissions.
2. Click New Submission.
3. Fill in the submission details (title, content, content type, language, etc.).
4. Click Submit. The submission enters "Awaiting Triage" status.

To invite an author to submit:

1. Go to Editorial → Submissions.
2. Click Invite Author.
3. Enter the author's details and a message.
4. The author receives an invitation and can submit directly.

To filter and find submissions:

• Use the status tabs at the top:
  • All | Triage | In Review | With Author | Final Review | Publishing | Completed
• Use Search to find by title or author name
• Use Content Type filter (Article, Poem, Essay, Interview, Short Story, Translation)
• Use Language filter (English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Other)

5.6 Review, Approve, or Reject an Article

For Chief Editors — Triaging new submissions:

1. Go to Editorial → Queue (or click the "Triage" tab in Submissions).
2. Click on a submission in "Awaiting Triage" status.
3. Review the content.
4. Choose an action:
   • Assign to Sub-Editor — Select a sub-editor from the dropdown and click confirm. The submission moves to "Assigned to Sub-Editor".
   • Reject — Provide a reason and click reject. The submission moves to "Rejected/Withdrawn".

For Sub-Editors — Reviewing submissions:

1. Go to Editorial → My Work to see your assigned submissions.
2. Click on a submission to open it.
3. Review the content using the editor view.
4. Choose an action:
   • Send to Author for Review — Write your feedback/comments and send. The submission moves to "Awaiting Author Review". The author is notified.
   • Submit to Chief Editor — If the content is ready, forward it for final review. The submission moves to "Awaiting Final Review".
   • Request Changes — Ask for specific revisions with detailed notes.

For Authors — Responding to revision requests:

1. Go to Editorial → Submissions to see your articles.
2. Look for articles in "Awaiting Author Review" or "Author Revision" status.
3. Click to open, read the editorial feedback.
4. Make the requested changes in the editor.
5. Click Resubmit to send the revised version back. The submission moves back to "Sub-Editor Review".

For Chief Editors — Final review:

1. Go to Editorial → Queue and click the "Final Review" tab.
2. Open a submission in "Awaiting Final Review" status.
3. Review the content and all editorial feedback.
4. Choose an action:
   • Approve for Publishing — The submission moves to "Ready for Publishing".
   • Request Changes — Send back to the sub-editor for more revisions.
   • Reject — Provide a reason. The submission moves to "Rejected/Withdrawn".

Note: Every workflow transition triggers a notification to the relevant person. Authors receive notifications when their work needs attention, editors receive notifications when content is ready for review.

5.7 Publish or Schedule an Article

Publishing from the Editorial Workflow:

1. Go to Editorial → Publishing (or the "Publishing" tab in Submissions).
2. You'll see three sub-tabs:
   • Ready — Approved articles waiting to enter typesetting
   • In Progress — Articles being typeset and prepared for publication
   • Scheduled — Articles set to publish at a future date
3. Click on an article in the "Ready" queue.
4. Click Start Typesetting. The article moves to the In Progress tab. This step is required — Publish Now and Schedule are not available until typesetting has been started.
5. In In Progress, make any final edits (typesetting, formatting, featured image, etc.), then choose an action:
   • Publish Now — The article goes live immediately on the Reader Portal.
   • Schedule — Set a future date and time. The article will publish automatically when that time arrives.

Why the extra step? The workflow enforces typesetting as a mandatory gate: an item must be in Publishing in Progress before it can be published or scheduled. There is no separate Designer/typeset-review handoff.

Publishing directly from the Content page:

If you have the right permissions, you can also publish directly:

1. Go to Content and open the article.
2. Change the Status dropdown to Published.
3. Click Save. The article goes live.

Or to schedule:

1. Open the Scheduling section in the article form.
2. Set the Scheduled Publish Date to a future date/time.
3. Save the article. It will publish automatically at the scheduled time.

What happens when you publish:

1. The article's status changes to "Published" in the Admin Console.
2. The article syncs to Strapi CMS (the content backend).
3. The Reader Portal picks up the new content within approximately 60 seconds.
4. The article appears on:
   • Its own article page (e.g., /article/the-summer-garden)
   • The relevant section page (e.g., /section/fiction)
   • Search results
   • The homepage (if the section or tags match a homepage section's filters)
   • Any collection or issue it's part of

5.8 Archive or Retract an Article

To archive an article:

Archiving removes an article from active display but keeps it in the system.

1. Go to Content and find the article.
2. Click the More menu (three dots) on the article row.
3. Select Archive.
4. Confirm the action.

Or, open the article and change the Status to Archived, then save.

What happens: The article is removed from the Reader Portal. It remains in the Admin Console with "Archived" status and can be restored later.

To retract a published article (Editorial Workflow):

Retraction is for published articles that need to be pulled from circulation for editorial or legal reasons.

1. Open the published submission in the Editorial Workflow.
2. Click Retract.
3. Provide a reason for retraction (required).
4. Confirm. The article is unpublished from Strapi and marked as "Retracted" in the workflow.

Important: Retraction is a serious action. It unpublishes the article from the Reader Portal and logs the action with the actor, timestamp, and reason for audit purposes.

To unpublish an article (revert to draft):

Unpublishing pulls a live article off the Reader Portal and returns it to Draft without archiving it — useful when an article needs more work but you don't want it visible.

1. Go to Content and find a Published (or Archived) article.
2. Click the Unpublish action on the article row (or open the article and change Status to Draft). Confirm — the article is reverted to draft and removed from the Reader Portal within ~60 seconds.

To restore an archived article:

1. Go to Content and filter by "Archived" status.
2. Find the article and use the More menu or Bulk Actions to select Restore.
3. The article returns to "Draft" status for re-editing and re-publishing.

Bulk actions on the Content list

Select multiple articles with the row checkboxes (or the "select all" header checkbox) to reveal the bulk action bar. The available actions depend on your permissions and on the statuses of the selected items:

Bulk Unpublish mirrors the single-article Unpublish: each affected article is reverted to draft and pulled from the Reader Portal. If some selected items can't be unpublished (e.g., they're already drafts), you'll see a "partially unpublished" message reporting how many succeeded.

5.9 Work with Magazine Issues

Magazine issues let you group articles into a structured publication with a cover, editor's note, and table of contents.

To create a new issue:

1. In the Admin Console sidebar, click Content Entities → Issues.

2. Click Create Issue.

3. Fill in the issue details:

   Field	Required?	What to Enter
   Title	Yes	The issue title (e.g., "Spring 2026 Issue")
   Issue Number	Yes	A unique number (e.g., 12)
   Description	Recommended	Brief description of the issue's theme or contents
   Cover Image	Recommended	Upload or select a cover image from the Media Library
   Hero Image	Optional	A large hero banner image for the issue page
   Editor's Note	Optional	A message from the editor introducing the issue
   Volume	Optional	Volume number
   Theme	Optional	The issue's theme (e.g., "Migration", "Memory")
   Cover Date Label	Optional	Display label for the cover date (e.g., "Spring 2026")
   Frequency	Optional	Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Half-Yearly, Yearly, or Special
   Access Level	Yes	Free or Subscriber Only
   Reader Mode	Optional	Article List (default), Flipbook, or Dual Spread

4. Click Save. The issue is created in "Draft" status.

Issue workflow stages:

Issues follow their own workflow:

Draft → Building → Under Review → Approved → Scheduled or Published → Archived

To add articles to an issue:

1. Open the issue and go to the Articles or Episodes tab.
2. Click Add Article.
3. Search for and select articles to include.
4. Reorder articles by dragging them into the desired order — this controls the table of contents.
5. Click Save.

Removing an article from an issue may unpublish it. An article belongs to at most one magazine issue. If you remove a published article from an issue and it has no remaining issue links, the platform automatically reverts that article to Draft and unpublishes it from the Reader Portal (and from Strapi). This prevents a magazine-only article from being orphaned — live but unreachable through any issue. If you want the article to stay public on its own, change its Article visibility back to Public in the article form before removing it from the issue. Articles that still belong to another issue link, or that were already drafts, are left as-is.

To publish an issue:

1. Move the issue through the workflow stages: Draft → Building → Under Review → Approved.
2. From the "Approved" stage, choose:
   • Publish Now — The issue goes live immediately.
   • Schedule — Set a future date/time for automatic publication.
3. When published:
   • The issue syncs to Strapi CMS.
   • It appears on the Reader Portal at /issue/[slug].
   • Subscribers receive email notifications about the new issue.

Tip: Before publishing, use the Publish Validation check to make sure the issue has enough articles, proper access levels, and required images.

5.10 Work with Collections

Collections are curated groups of articles around a theme — like "Best of 2025" or "Summer Reading".

To create a collection:

1. Go to Content Entities → Collections.

2. Click Create Collection.

3. Fill in:

   Field	Required?	What to Enter
   Title	Yes	The collection name (e.g., "Best Fiction of 2025")
   Description	Recommended	What this collection is about
   Cover Image	Recommended	A cover image for the collection card
   Theme	Optional	A thematic label
   Access Level	Yes	Free or Subscriber
   Status	Yes	Draft, Published, Featured, or Archived
   Featured	Optional	Toggle on to feature this collection prominently
   Articles	Yes	Select and order the articles in this collection
   Tags	Optional	Tags for discoverability

4. Click Save.

To publish a collection:

• Change the Status to Published (or Featured if you want it highlighted).
• Click Save. The collection appears on the Reader Portal.

5.11 Work with Newsletters

Newsletter editions are email-style content that can be archived and displayed on the Reader Portal.

To create a newsletter edition:

1. Go to Content Entities → Newsletters.

2. Click Create Edition.

3. Fill in:

   Field	Required?	What to Enter
   Title	Yes	The newsletter title (e.g., "Weekly Digest — March 16")
   Edition Number	Yes	A unique edition number
   Preview Text	Recommended	Short preview shown in newsletter listings
   Content	Yes	The full newsletter HTML content
   Topic	Optional	A topic or theme label
   Publish Date	Recommended	The date this edition is published
   External Archive URL	Optional	Link to the newsletter in Mailchimp/SendGrid if applicable
   Status	Yes	Draft, Published, Featured, or Archived

4. Click Save.

To publish a newsletter edition:

• Change the Status to Published and click Save.
• The newsletter appears on the Reader Portal at /newsletters/[slug].
• It also appears in the Newsletter Archive page at /newsletters.

5.12 Work with Events

Events cover literary events, workshops, webinars, and meetups.

To create an event:

1. Go to Content Entities → Events.

2. Click Create Event.

3. Fill in:

   Field	Required?	What to Enter
   Title	Yes	Event name
   Description	Yes	Short description
   Content	Optional	Detailed event information
   Event Type	Yes	Conference, Workshop, Webinar, Meetup, or Other
   Start Date/Time	Yes	When the event begins
   End Date/Time	Yes	When the event ends
   Timezone	Yes	Event timezone
   Venue Name	For in-person	Name of the venue
   Address / City	For in-person	Location details
   Is Online	Toggle	Whether the event is virtual
   Online URL	For online events	Meeting/webinar link
   Cover Image	Recommended	Event poster or banner image
   Speakers	Optional	Add speaker names, bios, photos, and roles
   Schedule	Optional	Add time slots with titles and descriptions
   RSVP Enabled	Optional	Toggle to enable registration
   RSVP Capacity	Optional	Maximum number of attendees
   Registration URL	Optional	External registration link
   Status	Yes	Draft, Published, Featured, or Archived

4. Click Save.

5.13 Work with Podcasts

Manage podcast shows and their individual episodes.

To create a podcast show:

1. Go to Content Entities → Podcasts.

2. Click Create Show.

3. Fill in the show details:

   Field	Required?	What to Enter
   Title	Yes	Podcast show name
   Description	Yes	What the podcast is about
   Cover Art	Recommended	Podcast cover image
   Host Name	Yes	Name of the host
   Host Bio	Optional	Brief bio of the host
   RSS Feed URL	Optional	Link to the podcast RSS feed
   Apple Podcasts URL	Optional	Apple Podcasts link
   Spotify URL	Optional	Spotify link
   Status	Yes	Draft, Published, Featured, or Archived

4. Click Save.

To add episodes:

1. Open a podcast show and go to the Episodes tab.
2. Click Add Episode.
3. Fill in episode details (title, description, audio URL, show notes, season/episode number, duration, guests, transcript).
4. Set the Status and Publish Date.
5. Click Save.

5.14 Feature Content on the Homepage or Section Pages

To control which content appears prominently on the homepage or section pages, you use the Page Template System. Here's a quick overview of how it connects to editorial content:

How content appears on pages:

Each page on the Reader Portal (homepage, section pages, etc.) is built from sections — blocks like hero banners, article grids, and featured article cards. Each section is configured with:

• Data Source — What type of content to show (articles, events, podcasts, etc.)
• Selection Mode — How content is chosen:
  • Dynamic — Automatically pulls the latest or most popular content matching your filters
  • Manual — You hand-pick specific articles by ID (curated selection)
  • Mixed — Pin specific articles in certain positions, fill the rest dynamically
  • Contextual — Shows related content based on the current page (e.g., same section, same author)
• Filters — Narrow by section, tags, content type, etc.
• Sort — Latest, popular, trending, etc.

To feature specific content on the homepage:

1. Go to Homepage in the Admin Console sidebar.
2. Find the hero section or featured section you want to update.
3. Change the Selection Mode to Manual.
4. Search for and select the specific articles you want to feature.
5. Set the order (first article = most prominent position).
6. Click Publish to update the homepage.

Hero exclusivity:

When an article is featured in a hero section, it is automatically removed from other listing sections on the same page. This prevents the same article from appearing twice — once in the hero and again in the grid below.

For section pages (e.g., Fiction, Poetry):

Section pages automatically display articles from that section, sorted by the most recent. The first article typically appears as the featured article. To customize:

1. Go to Layout → Pages and find the section page.
2. Edit the template sections to control layout and content selection.
3. See the Page Template System User Guide for detailed instructions.

Important: For content to appear on any reader-facing page, it must be Published in the Admin Console. Draft or pending review articles are never shown to readers.

5.15 Work with FAQ Items

FAQ items are frequently asked questions that appear on specific pages of the Reader Portal. Unlike a single FAQ page, the Hyphen platform supports page-level FAQs — each page can display its own relevant set of questions.

Navigate to FAQ Items

1. In the Admin Console sidebar, click FAQ Items under the Content group.
2. You'll see a list of all FAQ items with their question, category, page scopes, status, and last updated date.

Create a New FAQ Item

1. Click Create FAQ Item in the top right.
2. Fill in the FAQ Details (left column):
   • Title — Internal name for organizing (e.g., "Cancel subscription FAQ"). Auto-generates the slug.
   • Slug — URL-friendly identifier. Auto-generated from the title; you can customize it.
   • Question — The question as it will appear to readers (e.g., "How do I cancel my subscription?").
   • Answer — The answer text. Keep it clear and concise.
3. Configure Settings (right column):
   • Category — Choose a topic category (General, Subscription, Account, Content, Billing, Technical). Categories group FAQs within a page's FAQ section.
   • Page Scopes — Type the URL paths where this FAQ should appear (e.g., subscribe, about, homepage). Press Enter or comma to add each scope. Leave empty to show the FAQ on all pages (global).
     • As you type, existing scopes from the database are suggested for consistency.
     • You can assign a FAQ to multiple pages (e.g., both subscribe and about).
   • Sort Order — Lower numbers appear first within a page's FAQ section.
   • Active — Toggle to show or hide this FAQ on the Reader Portal.
4. Click Create FAQ Item.

Edit an Existing FAQ Item

1. From the FAQ items list, click on any FAQ item to open it.
2. Click Edit in the top right.
3. Make your changes (question, answer, category, page scopes, sort order, active status).
4. Click Save Changes.

Filter and Find FAQ Items

• Search — Use the search bar to find FAQs by question, answer, title, or slug.
• Category filter — Click category tabs (All, General, Subscription, Account, etc.) to filter by topic.
• Page scope filter — Use the "All Pages" dropdown to filter by which page a FAQ appears on.

Understanding Page Scopes

Page scopes control which Reader Portal pages show each FAQ:

Scopes are free-form text — you can use any URL path slug. The system auto-suggests values already in use to keep things consistent.

How FAQs Appear on the Reader Portal

• Each page that has an FAQ section in its template will show only the FAQs scoped to that page, plus any global FAQs (those with no page scopes).
• FAQs are grouped by category within the section, with an accordion-style expand/collapse interface.
• The FAQ section can be toggled on or off for any page via the Page Template Editor (Layout > Pages > select page > toggle the FAQ section's "Active" checkbox).
• Each page's FAQ section also generates structured data (FAQPage schema) for search engine optimization.

Delete a FAQ Item

1. From the FAQ items list, click the three-dot menu on any row.
2. Click Delete.
3. Confirm the deletion. This is permanent.

5.16 Reading Time and Publication Date on Article Pages

Article pages on the Reader Portal can show a small metadata line — the publication date and an estimated reading time — beneath the byline.

• Reading time is calculated automatically from the article's word count (≈200 words per minute) when you save the article; you don't enter it manually.
• Publication date is the date the article went live.

Whether these appear is controlled by two layers working together:

1. Platform settings — A global on/off for showing the article date and the reading time, plus a maximum reading-time minutes value. If an article's estimated reading time is above that cap, the reading-time chip is hidden (it avoids displaying intimidatingly long numbers). These live in Settings → Appearance.
2. Template field visibility — Each Article Header section in the Page Template editor has Date and Reading time visibility toggles. Both the platform setting and the template toggle must be on for the chip to show.

Book sections behave differently. For sections marked as a Book section, the article header intentionally hides the author/translator byline and the date — a book piece is presented by the book, not by a personal byline — regardless of the template's field-visibility toggles. (A section is marked as a book section via its Section settings.)

5.17 Reader-facing Article Filters (Category and Language)

The Reader Portal can show an article filter bar so readers can narrow a listing by category (section) and/or language. This is configured on the Article Filter section in the Page Template editor (Layout → Pages → select page → the Article Filter section's Properties panel).

• By default the filter bar offers a single dimension. Turn on Apply both Filters to let readers filter by category AND language together.
• When Apply both Filters is on, two option pickers appear: Category options and Language options. Use them to curate exactly which categories and languages are offered in the dropdowns. Leave a picker empty to offer all categories (or all languages) — the default.
• The categories come from your active Sections, and the languages from the active Language registry, so the lists stay consistent with the rest of the platform.

Editor tip. You can also constrain an article grid/listing section's underlying pool by Section, Tag, and Language using the curated multi-select dropdowns in that section's Properties panel — and a contextual "Related By" section can layer a Tag or Language constraint on top of its relationship. These shape what the section pulls; the Article Filter bar above shapes what readers can choose to filter by.

6. How to Verify It Worked

After creating, editing, or publishing content, here's how to confirm everything is working correctly.

Verify an Article is Published

Verify an Author is Set Up

Verify a Magazine Issue is Published

Verify a Collection is Published

Verify Scheduled Publishing

7. Worked Examples

7.1 Example 1: Creating and Publishing a New Article from Draft to Live

Scenario: You're a content manager who needs to publish a new short story called "The River's Memory" by author Priya Sharma in the Fiction section.

Step-by-step:

1. Check the author exists:

   • Go to Authors in the sidebar.
   • Search for "Priya Sharma".
   • If she doesn't exist, click New Author and create her profile (name, email, short bio, photo, set specialization to Fiction, toggle Active).

2. Upload the featured image:

   • Go to Media Library.
   • Click Upload Files.
   • Upload the story's cover image.
   • Add alt text: "A misty river at dawn".
   • Save to the "Fiction Covers" folder.

3. Create the article:

   • Go to Content and click New Article.
   • Title: "The River's Memory"
   • Content Type: Fiction
   • Content: Paste or type the full story in the rich text editor. Format with headings, italics for thoughts, block quotes for dialogue.
   • Excerpt: "In the village where rivers remembered everything, Meera discovered that some memories are better left undisturbed."
   • Featured Image: Click the picker and select the image you uploaded.
   • Author: Search and select "Priya Sharma".
   • Section: Select "Fiction".
   • Tags: Select "short story", "debut" (or create new tags).
   • Access Level: Free.
   • Status: Draft.
   • Click Save.

4. Preview the article:

   • Click Preview to see how it will look on the Reader Portal.
   • Check the formatting, image placement, and excerpt.

5. Publish the article:

   • Change the Status dropdown from "Draft" to "Published".
   • Click Save.

6. Verify on the Reader Portal:

   • Visit /article/the-rivers-memory — the full article should be live.
   • Visit /section/fiction — the article should appear in the fiction grid.
   • Visit /author/priya-sharma — the article should appear in her works list.
   • Search for "River's Memory" — the article should appear in results.

7.2 Example 2: Sending an Article Back for Revision and Then Approving It

Scenario: You're a chief editor. A new poem called "Fragments" has been submitted and needs revision before it can be published.

Step-by-step:

1. Triage the submission:

   • Go to Editorial (you'll land on the Triage Queue as a chief editor).
   • Find "Fragments" in the "Awaiting Triage" list.
   • Click on it to review.
   • Click Assign to Sub-Editor and select "Ravi Kumar" from the dropdown.
   • The submission moves to "Assigned to Sub-Editor". Ravi receives a notification.

2. Sub-editor reviews (Ravi's perspective):

   • Ravi goes to Editorial → My Work and finds "Fragments".
   • He reads the poem and finds the third stanza needs work.
   • He clicks Send to Author for Review and writes:

     "The third stanza breaks the rhythm established in the first two. Consider revising the line breaks and the closing image. The rest is strong."

   • The submission moves to "Awaiting Author Review". The author is notified.

3. Author revises (Author's perspective):

   • The author goes to Editorial → Submissions and sees "Fragments" in "Awaiting Author Review".
   • She reads Ravi's feedback, revises the third stanza in the editor.
   • She clicks Resubmit.
   • The submission moves back to "Sub-Editor Review". Ravi is notified.

4. Sub-editor approves:

   • Ravi reviews the revision. The third stanza is now much better.
   • He clicks Submit to Chief Editor for final review.
   • The submission moves to "Awaiting Final Review". The chief editor is notified.

5. Chief editor gives final approval:

   • You open "Fragments" from the "Final Review" tab.
   • You read the revised version and are satisfied.
   • Click Approve for Publishing.
   • The submission moves to "Ready for Publishing".

6. Publishing team publishes:

   • The publishing team sees "Fragments" in Editorial → Publishing → Ready.
   • They open it, make final formatting adjustments.
   • Click Publish Now.
   • The poem is live on the Reader Portal.

7.3 Example 3: Creating a New Author and Mapping Content

Scenario: A new writer, Amit Desai, is joining your publication. You need to set up his profile and assign his first two articles.

Step-by-step:

1. Create the author profile:

   • Go to Authors and click New Author.
   • Name: Amit Desai
   • Email: amit.desai@email.com
   • Photo: Upload his headshot from the Media Library.
   • Short Bio: "Amit Desai is a Mumbai-based writer whose work explores urban solitude and the spaces between languages."
   • Long Bio: Add a more detailed biography.
   • Location: Mumbai, India
   • Website: https://amitdesai.com
   • Social Links: Twitter: @amitdesai, Instagram: @amit.writes
   • Languages: English, Hindi, Marathi
   • Specializations: Check Fiction, Essay
   • Status: Active
   • Click Save.

2. Create and assign his first article:

   • Go to Content and click New Article.
   • Title: "The Quiet Between Trains"
   • Content Type: Fiction
   • Content: Paste the story.
   • Author: Search and select "Amit Desai".
   • Section: Fiction
   • Tags: "short story", "urban"
   • Access Level: Free
   • Status: Published (or Draft if it needs review first)
   • Click Save.

3. Create his second article:

   • Repeat the above for his essay "Notes on Forgetting".
   • Content Type: Essay
   • Section: Essays
   • Author: Amit Desai
   • Tags: "memoir", "language"

4. Verify the author profile:

   • Go to Authors and click on "Amit Desai".
   • The Overview tab should show 2 articles.
   • The Works tab should list both articles.
   • On the Reader Portal, visit /author/amit-desai — his profile, bio, and both articles should appear.

7.4 Example 4: Featuring Content on a Curated Homepage Section

Scenario: You want the homepage hero section to showcase three specific articles for the week: a new fiction piece, a featured interview, and an award-winning poem.

Step-by-step:

1. Identify the articles:

   • Go to Content and note the titles (or IDs) of the three articles you want to feature:
     • "The River's Memory" (Fiction)
     • "In Conversation with Arundhati Roy" (Interview)
     • "Monsoon Ghazal" (Poetry)
   • Make sure all three are Published.

2. Edit the homepage hero section:

   • Go to Homepage in the Admin Console sidebar.
   • Find the Hero section (usually the first section — "Hero Full-Width" or "Hero Carousel").
   • Click Edit on the hero section.
   • Change the Selection Mode to Manual.
   • Remove any existing selections.
   • Search for and add:
     1. "The River's Memory" (this will be the primary hero item)
     2. "In Conversation with Arundhati Roy"
     3. "Monsoon Ghazal"
   • Arrange them in the desired order (first = most prominent).

3. Publish the homepage:

   • Click Publish to save and push the changes.

4. Verify on the Reader Portal:

   • Visit the Reader Portal homepage.
   • The hero section should display the three selected articles in order.
   • The rest of the homepage sections (article grids, etc.) should NOT duplicate these hero articles (hero exclusivity ensures this).
   • Click each hero article to confirm it links to the correct article page.

Tip: If you want the hero to go back to showing the latest content automatically, change the Selection Mode back to Dynamic with filters like "all sections, sort by latest".

7.5 Example 5: Publishing a Themed Collection

Scenario: You want to create a "Best of 2025" collection that curates the top 10 articles from the past year.

Step-by-step:

1. Identify the articles:

   • Go to Content and filter by date range (January 2025 – December 2025).
   • Sort by views, shares, or manually select your editorial picks.
   • Note the 10 articles you want to include.

2. Create the collection:

   • Go to Content Entities → Collections.
   • Click Create Collection.
   • Title: "Best of 2025"
   • Description: "Our editors' selection of the finest fiction, poetry, and essays published in 2025."
   • Cover Image: Upload or select a curated cover image.
   • Theme: "Year in Review"
   • Access Level: Free (to reach the widest audience)
   • Articles: Search and add the 10 articles in the desired reading order:
     1. "The River's Memory" by Priya Sharma
     2. "Monsoon Ghazal" by Kavita Rao
     3. ... (continue for all 10)
   • Tags: "best of", "2025", "editors pick"
   • Status: Published
   • Featured: Toggle ON to give it prominent placement
   • Click Save.

3. Feature the collection on the homepage (optional):

   • Go to Homepage and find or add a "Collections" section.
   • Configure it to show Featured collections.
   • Publish the homepage.

4. Verify on the Reader Portal:

   • Navigate to the collection page — all 10 articles should be listed in order.
   • Each article link should open the full article.
   • The collection should appear in any homepage section configured to show collections.
   • If featured, it should be highlighted prominently.

8. Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them

Known Limitations

Note: These limitations reflect the current state of implementation. Features listed as partial or pending may be completed in future updates. If you encounter issues not covered here, contact your platform admin or file a support request.

9. Frequently Asked Questions