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For many years, I was the sole writer for Self-Sufficient Kids, aside from a handful of guest writers.
Last fall, as an experiment, I accepted submissions from other writers to add more variety to the stories and advice shared on Self-Sufficient Kids. The experiment was a success!
My readers clearly find value in the shared wisdom of diverse voices and I want to continue to present new perspectives to my readers.
So I plan on continuing accepting article submissions in the foreseeable future.
To stay informed about Self-Sufficient Kids writing opportunities and other helpful writing resources, sign up to my email list here.
About Self-Sufficient Kids: Self-Sufficient Kids grew out of my sense that it would be better for my kids to break away from the persistent temptation to hover, mold, and micromanage them through their childhood. The inspiration for Self-Sufficient Kids came primarily from reading three books: How to Raise an Adult, The Opposite of Spoiled, and The Gift of Failure. Each of these books highlights the benefit of letting kids figure out life on their own so they become independent, responsible and ultimately grow into adults who are self-sufficient.
While Self-Sufficient Kids promotes raising independent kids, it also subscribes to a positive parenting philosophy where kids feel loved, supported, respected, accepted, and understood. To learn more about positive parenting click here.
I’m looking for contributors who share this same philosophy.
What I look for in the articles I publish (please read)
I want you, the writer, to be successful when you submit your work to me. I don’t want you to spend hours writing something that isn’t a good fit for Self-Sufficient Kids. So in this section, I’m going to outline specifically what I look for in articles.
#1 Does the article tell a personal story?
The articles that resonate best with the Self-Sufficient Kids community are ones where an author tells a personal story that relates to the chosen topic. Personal stories draw readers in. Stories create an authentic and genuine connection that make readers want to read more.
For instance, if you want to write about how to teach kids to stay organized, then you’ve probably: had an experience where your child was not organized, researched ways to help your child become and stay organized on his/her own, and achieved success over a substantial period of time. Telling this story will help readers understand how they, too, can help their children.
Four of the top-ranking personal anecdote stories on Self-Sufficient Kids include:
Giving Our Kids the Gift of Doing Nothing
One Brilliant Thing My Parents Did That Turned Me Into a Money-Savvy Adult
Why Every Kid Should Talk Back to Their Parents
How to Change Your Child’s Mindset in Just a Few Minutes a Day (Written by Liz Hall who submitted this during my first round of submissions!)
#2 Is the topic of the article associated with great keywords?
A secondary factor in how I choose articles is to consider whether the story has a good keyword that’s easy to rank for. In other words, I think about SEO when considering an article and whether or not people are searching for this topic on Google or on other search engines. I want Self-Sufficient Kids to be sharing articles that parents want to read. A high-volume keyword that is still easy to rank for means parents are not yet finding the information they’re looking for on a given topic and there’s an opportunity to give them what they want.
While there’s no need to concern yourself with making sure an article is SEO optimized (I can handle that) it’s helpful first to research if there’s demand for a specific topic through a service such as KW Finder.
Sidenote: If you’re unfamiliar with SEO or want to learn more, I can’t recommend the course Sticky SEO enough. This course explains SEO in plain English, as it was created by a writer, not a developer. It’s one of the best courses I’ve taken and I continue to draw on what I learned from it two years later.
#3 Alternatively, will the article perform well on Facebook?
While SEO is always in the back of my mind, I do recognize there are some articles that perform well on Facebook but don’t necessarily rank well in Google. Popular articles on Facebook tend to be ones that are emotional and that many parents can relate to. If you have a story that fits this category and it makes sense for Self-Sufficient Kids, I’d love to see it.
In addition to the factors listed above, keep in mind that your article MUST:
- Be written for the Web in well-organized, skimmable short paragraphs with lists and bullets. (I use Kelly Holmes’ Sticky Blogging Method of writing. Click here to learn more)
- Require little editing and no proofreading or formatting (the less work required by me, the more likely I am to accept an article)
- Have facts and research validated with links to relevant research and/or a pertinent book. (Please only use links within the text, no footnotes or URLs in parenthesis.)
- Be original. I do not accept articles that have been published elsewhere before they are published on Self-Sufficient Kids
How long should my article be?
I prefer articles that are 1,250-2,000 words. If you have an article with fewer words that you think would be a good match for Self-Sufficient Kids, I’d be willing to consider it and publish it at a reduced rate (see below). I won’t publish an article that is less than 800 words.
How much will I be paid?
Articles selected for publication will be paid $75 via PayPal.
I pay $75 for articles of 1,250-2,000 words. This is my preferred length.
I’ll consider an article with fewer than 1,250 words (800 words minimum), but will pay $50.
Conditions
When you submit your article to Self-Sufficient Kids you agree that if it’s published, Self-Sufficient Kids retains the right to republish or reuse the material in the future. Credit will always be given to you as the author.
I reserve the right to edit your article to fit the style and voice that is consistent with Self-Sufficient Kids.
Please do not submit the article elsewhere or publish it on your own site after submitting it for my consideration. Also, please do not submit the article elsewhere or publish it to your own site once it has been accepted by me. (See the next section about when and how it’s OK to republish to your site.) Some articles take longer than others to go live, but I assure you, once accepted I will publish your article and get it out to thousands of parents who can benefit from it!
I may add to your article affiliate links to third-party products I consider relevant, and I also may create my own digital product or lead magnet for readers, typically in the form of a list or other printable.
Can I re-publish the article on my site?
Articles can only be republished on your personal blog (and nowhere else) after the article has been live on Self-Sufficient Kids for 90 days. The article needs to use a canonical link pointing to the Self-Sufficient Kids article and state that the article was originally published on Self-Sufficient Kids. (To learn more about canonical links and how to set one up, see this Yoast article.)
How soon will an accepted article be published?
I typically accept 2-3 articles per month. So, depending upon when you submitted your article and were accepted, your article should be published within 6 months or so. You’ll receive an email with a link to your article once it goes live and I’ll send you payment shortly thereafter.
The topics I’m currently looking for:
I want to make it clear that in general, I’m more interested in a layman’s view of parenting backed with third-party research than an original, highly-scientific analysis of brain research, neurology or similar topics.
Here are a few specific topics that I’m currently eager to cover for my readers:
- Growth mindset: raising kids with a growth mindset is a hot topic in parenting right now and the concept is very appealing to parents. However, many parents are uncertain how exactly to help nurture a growth mindset in their kids. Sharing your story about how you successfully worked with your child to help him or her develop a growth mindset would help other parents better understand what they need to do.
- Kids chores: my readers are interested in having their kids do chores, but they’re often uncertain about how to motivate their kids to do chores or help out around the house in general. I’d love to share more personal stories from parents who have found non-reward techniques to motivate kids, and especially teens, to do household tasks.
Other topics I’m interested in (these are topics, not final headlines):
- What is grit and how parents can nurture it in their children?
- Why pretend play is so important for young children
- Why children need risky play
- How to encourage good study habits in kids and teens
- Time management for students
- Social skills that school-age kids should know and practice
- Daily routine/habits of successful students
- What to do when kids say “I’m bored!”
- The right way for parents to deal with sibling rivalry
- Raising resilient children
- Building self-esteem in children
- How to build a child’s confidence
- Friendship drama: how to coach kids through peer issues
- Morning/evening routine for kids (young kids in particular)
- How to get kids to listen
How to submit your article
When the submission window is open:
- Email completed articles to: articles @ selfsufficientkids . com. I accept either a link to a Google Doc or an attached Word doc.
- Please write the title/subject of your article in your email subject line.
- If referencing an article or other source, please link this reference within your article and not in footnotes.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs):
1) What will happen after I submit my article?
Once I receive your submission, I will try my best to reply within three weeks with either a yes or no.
That said, I get a lot of emails, and I could easily miss yours. If you haven’t heard back from me after 3 weeks, please send me a reminder.
2) Can I submit more than one article?
Not at this time. Please send me one article about the topic that most resonates with you.
3) Can I include links to articles published on my own site in the article I submit to Self-Sufficient Kids?
Only if they add to the story and will make sense to the reader.
I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU!
PS: If you’ve made it this far, we’ll likely work well together! I can’t wait to see what insights you can provide to Self-Sufficient Kids readers.