Write for The Memoirist

2022 Submission Guidelines

Updated Info for New and Existing Writers

Made in Canva by KiKi Walter

Welcome to The Memoirist!

The Memoirist publishes memoirs and creative non-fiction pieces that are written from the heart. Our goals are:

1. To provide relatable, riveting content for our readers — sometimes with tears, oftentimes with laughter
2. To provide a supportive community to writers interested in creative non-fiction
3. To create the best forum for the memoir genre on the Medium platform

(created by KiKi Walter in Canva)

WHAT to submit:

• Please don’t submit pieces that are out for review with another publication.
• We are looking for memoirs. We will consider Example of style: David Sedaris.
• These should be PERSONAL pieces. We are not looking for SEO articles. (Please, no “The 5 Things I Learned…And You Should Too!)
• We love humor. We love when there is a lesson learned. We love the heartfelt. We also love the deep and darker journeys you may have been on.
• We don’t love hate and all that jazz.
• We aren’t going to do anything Medium related, tech related, data related, etc., etc. here.
• Please—no erotica or super graphic sex. While the dirty stuff can be fun to read, let’s keep it clean in this particular pub, folks. You can allude to it. You can write about it. You can even mention that you received a blowjob against a dumpster outside of a Taco Bell. But, please, no Anaïs Nin inspired descriptions of lady bits or the exact process of, say, said blowjob.
• However…swearing like a trucker on holiday is A.O.K.!
• Please do not submit more than one piece a day.
• I can’t guarantee you that we will publish every story you submit. This could be for a variety of reasons that have nothing to do with your writing or how well the piece is written.
• If you plan to have more than one part to a certain submission, please ensure that each piece can stand alone as a complete story, even if it’s part of a larger/longer narrative. Our limit is three parts. Also, please leave a private note indicating this, so we can assign the same editor to your series.
• Unless we are running a special short form event, any pieces under two minutes will not be accepted. The average length of our pieces is 4–7 minutes.

Topics:

• Personal stories from your life
• We prefer only memoirs. We will likely refer any personal essays to our sister publication Age of Empathy
• Train of thought essays and opinion pieces will not be accepted
• Fictional Memoirs will not be accepted
• Creative formats are accepted if the topic is relevant

Become a writer for The Memoirist:

• PLEASE follow the publication and our newsletter. I respectfully ask all those asking to contribute to please follow us on Medium as well as on our social media platforms.
• In addition to our newsletter, we also currently have a Twitter page and a Facebook Group. I will be cross-promoting published pieces and would like to utilize our Facebook Group as an internal community for networking, calls for content, contests, and more.
• Please do not email any editorial member of the publication or our publication email address to be added as a writer, or send your draft submission via email, as we may not see it. All requests should be made via the “Join Us” tab on our homepage OR by filling out the form below.

I’m a writer here, so NOW what?:

• Submit your drafts directly to the publication and wait with great anticipation. :-P
• We try to turn around pieces as quickly as possible, but due to the number of submissions, please give us up to 24ish hours to review your draft.
• We don’t plan on doing any hard editing, so please proofread your work and ensure you’re following the rules of the Medium Gods. We may fix any glaring spelling errors or grammatical errors and may get back to you with suggested edits or feedback prior to publishing or if your particular piece isn’t right at this time.
• Please make sure all photos are credited, even your own!
• If we do not accept your submission, please do not take it personally! Rejected submissions have been vetted through our editing team for a majority decision; In most cases, the piece is simply not a good fit for the publication at this time, does not fit any of the above guidelines, or may be in need of more refinement.
• Engage! It’s important to me to build this into a supportive community. My hope is that all Memoirist writers will actively participate in the growth of our publication. We can do that by doing all the goofy things we need to do to show our appreciation for the good work of others…clapping, highlighting, commenting, reading, and supporting!
• Follow! Click on the links below to follow our sister publications Age of Empathy— a fine place to share your personal essays — and QuickTalk — the go-to spot for writing tips, pub info, discussions, and interviews.

Age of Empathy

QuickTalk

Tagging:

• Please tag all your posts “memoir.” The other four tags are up to you, but here are some suggestions that are all recognized Medium “top writer” categories: humor, life, life lessons, relationships, self, and This Happened to Me.
• We reserve the right to replace your last tag with a custom-made tag for the publication. This will allow your posts to appear on our featured pages.
• *Please do not email your request to be added as a writer to any member of the editorial team or our publication as we may not receive your request. Instead, please fill out our request form below .**

Thanks!

KiKi Walter