The Imperfect Parent - Pays $10-$50

[angelahoy]

The Imperfect Parent
210 Penny Ave. B107
East Dundee, IL 60118
Email jessica - at - imperfectparent.com
Website http://www.imperfectparent.com
Prescott Carlson, Site Editor
Guidelines: http://www.imperfectparent.com/submit/index.php

Writing for The Imperfect Parent

***Please note: The Imperfect Parent is going through a major redesign and refocus, targeted for our 4th anniversary on April 18th. We will be publishing a very limited amount of new material until that date, and there may be longer than normal delays in response to your submission.***

**Past writers: we've recently updated our guidelines, payment schedule, and submission process. Please take a moment to review before submitting.**

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, but simply ask that you notify us immediately if your piece is accepted by another website or publication. 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. You may be sentient of your navel, just don't have a staring contest with it. Submissions should generally fit into these main categories:

Features

The feature articles we look for cover timely topics and issues relating to parents and families. This may be an in-depth profile of a person/organization, or a detailed look at a current event. These articles would utilize interviews/quotes from experts on the subject. Features are generally assigned, but we will most certainly consider submissions -- please send a query of your story idea and clips to our editor.

Parenting Methods

The Imperfect Parent seeks 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. Relevant quotes and/or interviews from perspective participants or experts are encouraged. Please stay away from propaganda or press release jargon. The most engaging writing on this subject will be from a neutral ground, or from the side of opposition.

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

The Imperfect Parent is also looking for writings about political and social issues from counter-culture or mainstream perspectives. It is important to us to provide a platform for parents that might not hold popular views to exercise their First Amendment rights. While we will certainly reject any content that contains overtly offensive material, we support political viewpoints on BOTH sides. Our mission is to "preserve the balance" and give parents an opportunity to voice their opinion in a non-hostile environment. We want to know how your politics have changed since becoming a parent, how your social stance has changed, and your perspective on current events as it relates to your children and being a parent. Editorializing is allowed in these pieces (although overtly pushing a personal agenda is not), 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", a McSweeney's style list, 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.

Book Reviews

Short (approx. 400-800 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?
General guidelines would be features: 800-3000 words, essays: 800-1000 words, humor: 600-800 words, book reviews: 400-800 words. These are not hard and fast 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 one paragraph, 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 - at - 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 rudimentary 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.

Can I include a photo or illustration with my submission?
Yes! Our submission form allows you to upload a GIF or JPEG image under 1 megabyte in size. This site has compiled a great list of free photo sources. Please do not use any copyrighted photos or images. If you do not have an illustrative image, feel free to upload an author photo.

How much do you pay?
Payment is contingent upon the quality and type of written work submitted. Book reviews pay $10. Anecdotal essays/humor pay $15. Original articles pay $25. Payment for features vary depending on the writer's experience and relationship with The Imperfect Parent, but begins at $50 for an 800 word piece. Checks are disbursed at the end of the same month following publication (i.e., for all items published in March, payment is disbursed on March 31).

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 - at - imperfectparent.com.

Thank you! We look forward to reading your submission. wwbl2006