What kind of writing website would this be if we weren’t looking for writers? So yes, we’re looking for contributors, and yes, we pay (but don’t get your hopes up – the pay is really low, for now.) Still interested? Here’s what you need to know:
What should you write about?
This is wide open but should focus on your experience as a writer making money (or not). Whether you’ve had some “oops” moments that didn’t work out or you’ve experienced amazing success at something you tried, we all have something to learn from each other. But, if you need something more concrete options, here is a list of ideas:
- Mistakes you’ve made with clients
- Mistakes you’ve made pitching or blogging
- Successes you’ve had getting the job or a client
- What you’ve learned as a writer
- What you think sex writers (aka smutlancers) need to know about writing about sex
- Struggles you’ve had in marketing, blogging, pitching, and anything else associated with being a smutlancer
- Best practices you believe in
- Reviews of events smutlancers should attend
- Any other topic that pertains to making a living writing and creating content about sex – send the idea over and we may love it!
You’ve got an idea. Now what?
Please send a pitch to kayla@thesmutlancer.com. Think of this as practice for your pitching skills. Your pitch should give us an idea of what you want to write about in one paragraph and a quick intro of who you are. Send links to other pieces you’ve written (on your own blog or for other sites) so we can get a feel for your style.
Expect a reply to take no more than about two weeks. We may suggest a tweak, ask for alternate ideas, say yes, or politely decline. But we intend for you to get a response. We both know what it’s like to live in suspense.
Not all pitches will get accepted.
Not all pitches get accepted. We cannot and will not provide feedback on rejected pitches. But if your idea doesn’t make it, here are some common reasons:
- The topic has already been covered.
- The topic is currently being written by another writer and will be published soon.
- Your idea doesn’t fit with the theme of the website.
- Your writing style doesn’t fit the site.
- The quality of your writing does not meet my standards.
- Or a million and one other reasons not listed here.
While we will tell you if your pitch was accepted or not, we won’t go into why. Why not? Because if we did, we’d spend most of our time only doing that. You are always welcome to send in another pitch later with a different idea.
We liked your idea. Yay! What’s next?
In our email exchange, we’ll hammer out details like deadlines and any questions either of us has. Here are some details that will stay constant:
Your piece should be between 800 and 1000 words, but if you think the piece needs to be longer, let’s talk about it.
Google Doc or Word Doc are the preferred formats to send in your work.
Your piece must be unique and never published anywhere else prior to the publication date. If you want to submit it to other outlets after that date, you may do so 90 days after it goes live.
Once you send it over, we will lightly edit it or send it back to you if we think it needs more editing. Send in your best: spell check, proofread, correct grammar errors. If we can’t read it, we’re sending it back.
For UK writers, we’ll change any spellings to US versions if you don’t – but we won’t penalize you for not doing it.
Did you mention money earlier?
We saved this for last because we figured you’d read to the bottom to get this info. The pay is not much. No one should think you’re going to pay the bills or buy groceries with this opportunity, but we can’t call ourselves Smutlancers and then expect you to work for free.
Compensation:
$25 per piece and a byline (feel free to use it as a clip elsewhere!)
All payments are made by PayPal.
What else do I need to know or do?
Make sure we know what name you want a piece published under if you use one name for writing and the other for payment.
At the bottom of your submitted piece, give us the following information:
- A one to two sentence bio
- Your social media handles or links to your social media pages
- A link to your blog/website
Link to posts on The Smutlancer website or credible resources within your finished piece if it fits – but we reserve the right to remove or change any links.
Your piece shouldn’t be an opportunity to sell yourself. This is a chance to get published somewhere and to share your experience/knowledge with other writers. Anything too self-promotional will be rejected.
Okay, hopefully, that answers the main questions you’ll have. Send your pitches and ideas or ask questions by emailing kayla@thesmutlancer.com.