Submission Guidelines

*** We are currently OPEN year-round to submissions for our blog. ***

Are you an experienced author, editor, literary agent, or publishing professional? Then we would love to consider your guest post for our blog!

What we're looking for

Informative & helpful posts about literary agents or querying, non-fiction or novel writing, young adult (YA) fiction or kidlit, and magazine/short story writing will be prioritized. Pieces that fall outside of these niches may be considered, if they successfully motivate and/or educate on the craft of writing, or the publishing process.

We do not accept fiction—this is a blog about improving your writing craft and how to publish.

Please read our blog to get a feel for the kind of pieces we publish.

Length of posts

800-2500 words.

Structure

Pieces that are written in list format with clear headings, such as this blog post, are ideal, but we'll consider other styles.

Format

Please submit your work as an email attachment, preferably in Microsoft Word (.docx) or Google Docs format.  

Previously published work

We will consider work that has appeared elsewhere as long as you own the copyright, but we prefer original, unpublished work.

Payment

While we don't provide payment for first-time authors on our site, we do offer guest authors exposure to our growing readership (10,000+ per month). A link to your website and preferred social media platform will be embedded at the top of the post. We also promote your piece across our social media channels. And if your work is exceptional, we might partner with you in other ways.

Bio

Along with your submission, please include a 1-2 sentence bio. This should include any relevant information, such as your publication history, accolades, or your job title (if you work in the publishing industry, or a related industry).  

List your social media links and website after your bio. These will be used for marketing purposes. 

Editorial Process

Selected pieces will be subject to editorial guidance from the So You Want To Write? team, including minor cosmetic edits and requests to the author for targeted edits.

Response times

We aim to make a decision within 1 month of receiving your piece, but, due to the large volume of submissions we receive, we are unable to respond to everyone. If you do not receive a response within 60 days, please know that we read your piece carefully but decided it wasn't a fit for our blog. 

Once you have thoroughly read and agreed to the submissions guidelines, please send your work, plus bio and a writing sample to hello@soyouwanttowrite.org with the word "SUBMISSION" in the subject line.