This summer, The Huffington Post was running a series on "what autism looks like for different families." I thought, "hey, I could write something!" so I emailed the editor with a proposal. She told me to get something to her by Monday, and I said I would.
A day early, I submitted my piece and then...crickets. Nothing.
Was I too early? Did my email get lost? Was my writing bad? Did they not like it? Hellllloooo?
Still, I sat tight and waited. Then I found this post, about how Autistic voices were not getting published on the HuffPo, and my heart sank.
So I decided to write them and just ask them, pointing them to the above accusation. I watched my email get opened repeatedly all morning (I have tracking software that tells me when an email has been opened), so I knew they were reading it. Finally, I got a response saying they were sorry for the delay and they take such accusations very seriously, and of course, all voices are welcome.
That afternoon, I got access to their submission back end and was able to upload my article that night.
Then I waited...and waited...and waited...
(Understandable of course. I've submitted my writing to other sites before and the turnaround for editing can take months depending on the site and how many submissions they receive. It's not personal!)
Finally, the editor wrote me directly to let me know my post was up! And there you have it. My first post for The Huffington Post.
So my advice if you want to write for them as well:
1) Get to know the editor of the section you want to submit to. (I follow many editors on Twitter)
2) Read other posts in your section and learn their style. You'll get an idea of what works well for their readers.
3) Be patient! It takes time for editors to get to all submissions, so cut them some slack.
4) If you're not sure about something or where you stand in line, just ask! Things do get lost in the shuffle at times and rather than stewing about it, just check in and see how things are going.
5) Wait some more!
I think I waited about two months total from submission to publishing, so don't despair!
A day early, I submitted my piece and then...crickets. Nothing.
Was I too early? Did my email get lost? Was my writing bad? Did they not like it? Hellllloooo?
Still, I sat tight and waited. Then I found this post, about how Autistic voices were not getting published on the HuffPo, and my heart sank.
So I decided to write them and just ask them, pointing them to the above accusation. I watched my email get opened repeatedly all morning (I have tracking software that tells me when an email has been opened), so I knew they were reading it. Finally, I got a response saying they were sorry for the delay and they take such accusations very seriously, and of course, all voices are welcome.
That afternoon, I got access to their submission back end and was able to upload my article that night.
Then I waited...and waited...and waited...
(Understandable of course. I've submitted my writing to other sites before and the turnaround for editing can take months depending on the site and how many submissions they receive. It's not personal!)
Finally, the editor wrote me directly to let me know my post was up! And there you have it. My first post for The Huffington Post.
So my advice if you want to write for them as well:
1) Get to know the editor of the section you want to submit to. (I follow many editors on Twitter)
2) Read other posts in your section and learn their style. You'll get an idea of what works well for their readers.
3) Be patient! It takes time for editors to get to all submissions, so cut them some slack.
4) If you're not sure about something or where you stand in line, just ask! Things do get lost in the shuffle at times and rather than stewing about it, just check in and see how things are going.
5) Wait some more!
I think I waited about two months total from submission to publishing, so don't despair!
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