The WMF Archives

By Kerrie McLoughlin

In doing research for the second edition of my e-book (it’s finally finished!), I’ve found some writer’s guidelines for some fun online and print publications. I hesitate to share them because doing so only adds to my competition. Alas, I love the WM Freelance Connection readers to much that I will put away my Only Child stinginess and play nice, just for today.

Your assignment is to report back here with your successes!

Below are the writer’s guidelines from The Imperfect Parent’s web site:

The Basics

In order to overcome the irregularities of email and to streamline the submission process for both our writers and our editorial staff, we've set up an online submission form. The form features a text editor to allow you to format your piece just as you would in a word processor -- no knowledge of HTML is required. We do not mind simultaneous submissions to other website/publications, but simply ask that you notify us immediately if your piece is accepted elsewhere. Please do not send us multiple submissions in a row. The Imperfect Parent does modestly compensate its writers, see further below for payment information. Here are some frequently asked questions:

What kind of content are you looking for?

The main focus of The Imperfect Parent is to provide a world view from a parent's perspective. Our main criteria are that the writing either makes people think, laugh, or both. Our objective is to get parents to think about social, political and parenting methods in a way that seeks to inform and educate on issues that affect our children and us, as parents. Anecdotal stories are fine, but they need to have a point beyond "parenting is hard". You may be sentient of your navel, just don't have a staring contest with it. Submissions should generally fit into these main categories:

Parenting Methods/Choices

Articles about alternative parenting methods in a newspaper/Associated Press format. These articles will inform parents of what certain parenting practice methods are, the organizations promoting them, if any, and what kind of impact it may have on our society. The most engaging writing on this subject will be from a neutral ground, or from the side of opposition, avoiding propaganda and jargon. Alternatively, personal essays regarding why a parenting choice was made, and why it was right for you -- avoid being preachy or judgmental of those who may have made an opposite decision.

Topic Examples: Formula Feeding, breastfeeding, attachment parenting, Taking Children Seriously (TCS), natural parenting, mainstream parenting, discipline methods, circumcision, child-centered parenting, authoritative parenting, etc.

Political/Social Issues

Writings about political and social issues from counter-culture or mainstream perspectives as a parent and how they relate to the child raising experience. It is important to us to provide a platform for parents that might not hold popular views. While we will certainly reject any content that contains overtly offensive material, we support political viewpoints on ALL sides. Our mission is to "preserve the balance" and give parents an opportunity to voice their opinion in a non-hostile environment. Editorializing is allowed in these pieces (but avoid overtly pushing a personal agenda), so long as it specifically relates back to your parenting goals or its effects on your children.

Topic Examples: Global Warming, The War, Conservative Values, Liberal Values, Libertarian ideals, Bush Administration, the Middle-east, international issues, religion, civil rights, environmentalism, economics, Feminism, Abortion, Justice System, etc.

Humor

Anything that deals with any aspect of the lighter side of parenting -- parody, satire, a funny anecdote, an "open letter", take your pick. And if you are questioning if your humor crosses the line, then definitely send it in -- we don't want "safe". We are a gloriously independent site that doesn't answer to a board of directors or a huge corporate sponsorship. Use that to your advantage. We certainly aren't afraid of offending some people, and you shouldn't be, either.

Features

The feature articles we look for cover timely topics and issues relating to parents and families in a traditional magazine feature format. For example, an in-depth profile of a person/organization, or a detailed look at a current event. These articles would utilize interviews and quotes from experts and outside sources. We are not looking for straightforward "how to" or advice articles, but pieces with more human-interest. Content based on personal experience would be acceptable, but these pieces should not be heavily autobiographical. Features are generally assigned, but we will most certainly consider submissions -- please send a query of your story idea and clips to our editor.

Book Reviews

Short (approx. 200-400 words) reviews of any book that may be of interest to parents (including children's books). To avoid multiple review submissions for the same book, please send a query to our editor with the title you are interested in reviewing.
All that being said, we can say with one word what we're not looking for: poetry. Anything else is fair game. We place more weight on entertaining and engaging writing above any certain topic.

Should I check if you're interested in my topic before I submit?

Queries are only necessary for features and book reviews. Everything else, we don't really care about what aspect of parenting you're writing about as much as how well you write about it. If it has anything that may be remotely interesting to parents, we're interested (we are parents, after all).

What lengths do you prefer?

Rough general guidelines would be articles/essays: 800-1,000 words, humor: 600-800 words, book reviews: 200-400 words. Assigned features: 1000-3000 words. These are not absolute numbers -- fortunately we do not have the restrictions of the print world, so we do not edit for length. If you can get your message across in a few paragraphs, go ahead. If it takes you five pages, that's great. Just make sure your piece is succinct and to the point, and try to keep it slightly shorter than a John Grisham novel.

Can I send you one of my blog entries?

No. Besides preferring non-published material, we've found most blog entries submitted were written to a familiar audience, and not suitable for reprint. We are developing an area on our site dedicated to highlighting exceptional blogs and posts, where this would be appropriate. Send a note to blog@imperfectparent.com if you would like us to consider adding you to our daily reads.

Is your editor going to hack apart my deathless prose?

Given our limited resources and time, if your writing is so bad it needs to be "hacked apart", the quick answer is no -- it won't be used at all. If time allows, we will work with you to put some polish on your piece if it even needs it, and possibly suggest some ideas for a rewrite, but we would hope you have a better than average knowledge of grammar, spelling, and style. Will we fix a typo, or maybe reword a sentence? Certainly. We admit that we're all imperfect (not so subtle reference). Here's our lawyer chiming in: All editing decisions will be solely at the discretion of The Imperfect Parent editors and management.

How much do you pay?

Payment is contingent upon the quality and type of written work submitted. Book reviews pay $10. Original articles/essays pay $25. Payment for assigned features vary depending on the writer's experience and relationship with The Imperfect Parent, but begins at $50 for an 1,000 word piece. Checks are disbursed by the 15th of the month following publication (e.g., for all items published in March, payment is disbursed by April 15).

What rights am I granting?

Unless an arrangement to the contrary is made, The Imperfect Parent is purchasing first exclusive electronic rights. We do not, in general, purchase works that have already appeared elsewhere, especially on the web. We also require a non-exclusive right to keep your piece available in our online archives. If The Imperfect Parent secures any reprints, we will pay half of the reprint earnings to the writer. Writers are free to sell their work after we publish it.

What kind of credit will I receive for my writing?

Every writer receives full credit for their work, and every feature/essay writer has the opportunity to submit a brief bio that will be included at the end of the piece. This bio may contain a brief description about yourself, along with a link to your own website and email address, if so desired. We also feature the most current articles on our homepage.

How soon do you report on acceptance/rejection?

We hate to be kept waiting, too, but given that the volume of submissions is ever increasing but our editorial staff is not, you generally will hear back from us within 3 to 4 weeks. We do try to make a point of responding to every submission, so please refrain from sending follow-up inquiries.

How should I send you my submission?

To expedite the submission process and to eliminate the problems of submissions coming from different sources, software types, operating platforms, and not to mention avoiding viruses, we can only accept submissions through our online form.

If you have any questions or problems regarding any of the above, please contact our editor, Prescott Carlson, at prescott@imperfectparent.com.

Thank you! We look forward to reading your submission.

Writing Opportunity: The Imperfect Parent