Submission Guidelines
**Submissions are now open - please read through our guidelines before submitting an article!
Together Estranged is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that supports and empowers those who are estranged from family members while enhancing social understanding for the destigmatization of estrangement. We've recently opened up a blog to explore various topics within estrangement.
Dysfunctional family systems are often complex and can affect nearly every aspect of a person’s life - it takes a lot of time to unlearn some of the underlying messages associated with estrangement, and our goal with this blog is to:
a) normalize the discussion of difficult family dynamics and estrangement
b) remind others that they’re not alone, and
3) provide wisdom, guidance, encouragement, and support to our estranged community
The first step in doing so is to recognize that your story matters - and that by writing about your experiences, you are contributing to the collective strength of all who have experienced difficult family situations and those who are trying to navigate the path of estrangement.
With 500+ Facebook, and 200+ Instagram followers, Together Estranged reaches a large audience of people wanting to take a stance against generational trauma - who finally want to put a stop to it and do better for themselves, to influence generations to come.
The site is still growing from its humble start in 2020, and can continue to grow with people who want to learn, understand, grow and heal.
Anyone who has had to distance themselves/cut off a relationship from a parent, stepparent, sibling, aunt/uncle, cousin, grandparent or other member of their nuclear family (no matter your age or location) can submit an original post (not previously published anywhere else, including your own site), with a bio and image, for inclusion on the blog, but you can also post anonymously if you feel it is safer to do so.
This space is not reserved for influencers, mental health professionals, activists, leaders or those who blog in a professional sense. This blog is for real people from our community who are willing to share their experiences openly and vulnerably.
Many of our members have faced different kinds of estrangement and are at varying stages in their lives - their stories all uniquely address the different aspects of being estranged from family members.
Together Estranged would not be here without our amazing community, so we'd like to thank you for your continued support.
If you have your own personal experience with estrangement and would like to share, we are now taking submissions!
What we are looking for:
Posts on Together Estranged should all have the following things in common:
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They are highly personal. They don’t include vague descriptions or “sugar-coat” details in their story. Instead, they use emotion to reel in the reader’s attention. They speak to the universal pain that anyone who is estranged can understand - and they paint a very clear picture using vivid language.
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They go deep. The message of their story goes much further beyond cliches and common words of advice. Their writing is compelling and begs the reader to reflect on themselves and their own estrangement experience - opening their world a little more and bringing us all a bit closer together.
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They’re practical when appropriate; some posts thrive by the sheer magnitude of someone’s personal story, while others may offer helpful tips and insights for healing from and navigating through estrangement.
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Consider this blog to be similar to a private journal or a pen pal system, where you’re writing to someone and sharing your deepest thoughts, emotions, and insights.
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Is there anything that you have learned in your estrangement journey that may help others who are currently going through it? How did writing about your experience feel? If you have any advice or lessons learned that you feel would be helpful to others experiencing estrangement, make sure to include it in your post.
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Your story should show us where you are today and how estrangement has impacted where you are currently.
Why Contribute to Together Estranged?
1. Your post will be read by hundreds of people and shared through all of our social media channels.
2. Our aim is to make the articles very accessible - allowing others to comment and share their sentiments, would likely bring a greater sense of community.
3. If you wish for it to, every post of yours can include a bio with links back to your site or social media page if you have one.
4. Being a Together Estranged contributor helps to foster community between our members, and it helps us to relate to each other and feel validated in our own estrangement stories. Your story is important, and it deserves to be heard.
Writing Submission Guidelines
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Include a quote at the top of your post. You can use Google, Pinterest, Instagram or Tiny Buddha to find quotes that speak to the underlying message of your story. Sometimes it’s helpful to consider the category of your article, and then search from there. For example, you could type into Google “quotes about standing up for yourself” if your story relates to that. Please avoid song lyrics and quotes from pop culture. Be sure to give credit to the person who stated the quote as well.
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Aim for a word count between 1,000 and 2,000 words.
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Share a specific story from your life, with intimate detail. Don’t tell us you went through a tough time; paint the scene for us. Who was there? What occurred? When did this happen? What do you think caused this to happen? How did this situation make you feel? How did you process it? It’s important to share your lessons and insights, but your post will be much more powerful if you also discuss how you got to those lessons.
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If you have any practical “lists” that you’d like to share for our community, we just ask that you first speak to the situation and connect with readers on a deep, meaningful level. Be sure that whatever advice/suggestions you’re providing that they’re actionable, relatable, universal, and thought-provoking.
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Choose a topic related to estrangement that isn’t gender-specific, and not related to running a business as an estrangement coach, self-promotion, operating an online blog or becoming a mental health professional for those estranged. We do currently allow submissions on difficult topics such as religion and parenting, because they too are part of the estrangement experience for many people, but articles submitted must speak solely to the individual’s personal experience and how they felt/processed the situation as opposed to name-calling. Our blog is not meant to bash others’ beliefs or ways of doing things, but rather to detail personal estrangement-related challenges that have intersected with some of these areas of life.
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Avoid making any references to your personal work - whether it’s blogging, coaching, a mental health practice or social media account, other than in your bio. You may be in the mental health field, but we’re really looking for the shared experience of estrangement to prioritize over anything else.
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Submit original content. This means that your submitted post has never been published anywhere, including your own blog site, and does not have any pieces taken from any previously published post - whether yours or someone else’s.
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Keep paragraphs to three sentences or fewer. Include a bio, 50 words or fewer, at the bottom of the post. You may include any number of links.
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Any self-promotion items should be reserved for your bio. Any self-promoted links posted in the body of the article may be removed.
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If you wish to remain anonymous, make sure to let us know when submitting your post.
A Few More Things to Consider
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If your post feels like a good fit for our blog at this time, you’ll receive a response from us within two weeks of submitting it. If you don’t receive a response from us within that time frame, you’re welcome to submit a different article at another time.
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You may be asked to revise to make your post stronger or clearer, and your proposed title may be altered before your post is published to the site.
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Your post may be edited for clarity, grammar, and overall style at the discretion of Together Estranged. If there are any major changes made, you will be asked to review and approve it first.
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Our guidelines are subject to change, without notice, as we learn more about how we want our blog space to develop. We appreciate your understanding.
Thank you for sharing your story, and for being part of the Together Estranged community.
How to Submit an Article to Together Estranged
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Send your post in plain text, not HTML, in Microsoft Word to our email address (togetherestranged@gmail.com), with the title of the article in the subject line. Please send us only one submission per email.
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If you’d like a photo of yourself to appear next to your name and bio (if not posting anonymously), you may include a high-resolution, professional photo in your email to us along with your submission.