For Writers

Submission Guidelines:

Our essays and interviews aim to spark a cultural shift towards collaborative healing. We are excited to share your perceptive experiences and effective solutions. Do you have a health or well-being issue? It could be shared by millions around the world. Or perhaps you have a condition that nobody’s heard of or understands. Sharing your story may connect you to someone else living with the same one.

Our two writing sections are Personal Essays and Global Heath Practitioner Profiles.

Personal Essays

Our essays are deep dives into how health impacts our lives. We seek creative nonfiction essays that tell personal stories. You do not have to be a professional writer—everyone has something important to share. However, we value original insights and clear, grammatically correct writing. Essays should be written from your own personal viewpoint.

Essay Topics

The following list of suggested topics is not definitive. Surprise us!

• The Auto-Immunity Community – Lupus, MS, Rheumatoid arthritis, and more.
• Music and Healing – Plato said that music is “a moral law.” We would add that it reduces pain and anxiety and brings joy to life. Did music breathe life into you?
• Fertility – Bring us your triumphs and outside-of-the-box solutions.
• The Body – Any part of it you want to expand on: head, shoulders, knees and toes.
• Rules Doctors Must Follow – Are you a health provider? Tell us tales from ‘the other side.’
• My Mystery Illness – You know who you are, and we believe you. Tell the world.
• I think I’m the only one with this condition – You may not be as alone as you think.
• Kinnected Success Stories – Was your problem solved by a fellow member of Kinnected?
• Sleep – Finding it, losing it, reveling in it; apnea, insomnia, inspiration and more.
• Integrative Healing – Stories that open our eyes to non-Western medicine.
• Community Healing – Organ donation. Are you a donor? A recipient? Feel like sharing?
• The Breakfast Club – Do you eat the same thing for breakfast every-day? Why?
• Heal Into Dying – Death and dying across cultures; Teach us how to honor this process.
• On Gender –Questions, stories and more.
• Global Health Practitioner Profiles—A Day in the Life

Our interview-format Day in the Life profiles spotlight the wide range of health practitioners around the world. Our mission is to celebrate the good people who heal us and to introduce the diverse practices and disciplines that comprise global health and wellness.

Has a health practitioner of any kind enlightened you or made a tangible difference in your life, and the lives of others? From the smallest villages to the busiest urban centers, from high-rises to tent-cities, we are seeking in-depth portraits of a day in the life of a global practitioner.

This series should be crafted as an interview with a strong narrative. Please provide at least 4-6 photographs that clearly illustrate key aspects of your profile. For example, if the practitioner works primarily with older patients, include photos showing her among her patients. If the provider mixes herbs by hand, photos should show him doing this. Ask yourself: which specific part of my profile does each photo depict?

To get a feel for the format we’re seeking in this series, please see one of our current Day in the Life profiles. Feel free to use similar questions as a jumping off point, but subsequent questions should demonstrate that you bring a unique perspective which fits the location and the health practitioner.

Rates

We currently pay $100 for health practitioner profiles. We are not able to pay for original essays at this time. If you would like to submit your health story we are very grateful to read it and post it for the benefit of the Kinnected community. We can add either a Paypal or Patreon button to help compensation flow to you. Authors of original essays and profiles will retain the rights to all work. Kinnected does not own your writing or bind your writing to the website. By submitting a story, you acknowledge that the work is entirely yours and does not violate any intellectual property or copyright laws in your country of origin.

The Fine Print

Length Approximately 600 – 1500 words, but say what you need to say, and stop when you’ve said it. That’s more important than exact word count.
Topic: Anything related to health, wellness, the human body, healing, medicine, and how it has significantly impacted your life. We are looking for thought-provoking pieces that will resonate with the Kinnected ethos. See our suggested topics for ideas.

• Tone: Your writing should be personal and clear, like a friend who wants to talk over a cup of tea.
• Edits: Please edit your piece carefully before submitting. We reserve the right to also edit your submission for brevity, grammar, or readability.
• Audience: Our readers come from a variety of perspectives, faiths, world views, and backgrounds. Keep this global audience in mind as you write.
• Photo and Bio: Please provide an author photo and a bio along with your submission. A link back to your own site should be modest and fit the content of your post. Absolutely no promotion, selling, or spamming of your product or brand.
• Photos and artwork: If you have permission to use them, you are welcome to submit photos to accompany your writing, and/or an original pieces of artwork that shares the tone of the writing. However, Kinnected may decide to use photos or illustrations of our own choosing. Submitted photos should be free of text. Photos must be a minimum of 1000 px wide, and photographer credit should be included.
• Copyrights: You retain the copyright to your writing, but once it’s submitted to us, we reserve the right to use and refer to it. We will also promote your writing in creative ways.
• Turnaround Time: We will respond to all submissions as quickly as possible. If you do not receive a response after 2 months, feel free to follow up.