Dear writers,
Hello! Thank you for your interest in submitting to Narratively. We are excited to announce that we have opened up submissions for our Personals and Secret Lives sections. Note: We are not accepting pitches at this time, only submissions.
If you've already submitted and haven't yet heard back, we absolutely plan to get back to you still, and will do so in the upcoming weeks. Thank you for your patience, and for your interest in publishing on Narratively.
A little bit more about us:
Our mission at Narratively is to publish untold human stories that surprise, delight and captivate readers. The true stories we publish are defined not by topic but by style: immersive, cinematic storytelling that takes readers inside another world, another life, through vivid scenes, colorful details and compelling narrative arcs. Our staple sections are: Deep Dives, Memoir and Secret Lives, and we recently put out a call for The Personals, which we're excited to start publishing.
So, what are we looking for? The best way to get a clear sense of what makes a Narratively story is to read several pieces on our site, particularly from our Greatest Hits section. And to learn more about what a good pitch looks like, check out our StoryCraft pieces, “The 3 Best Pitches I’ve Ever Received,” which pulls back the curtain on how to get our attention, and, “So, What Is a Narratively Story, Anyway? (Hint: Surprising, Exciting and Delightful, to Start),” in which two Narratively editors break down what defines a feature story for the site, replete with advice on how to do it. Still have questions? Pop over to the How to Pitch Narratively thread and ask us anything!
(NOTE: We’ve refined what types of stories we publish in recent years, so if you’ve submitted to, or even written for, Narratively in the past, we request that you read these full guidelines plus review some of the stories in the link above before submitting.)
There are a few key factors that every Narratively story has:
-It’s untold. The topic is original, fresh and not already covered in other major publications, books or movies. Think offbeat, unusual, beyond the news cycle. It should make the majority of readers say, “Wow, I’ve never heard about this before.”
-It’s human. Every Narratively story follows one central character or a small group of characters. We explore big ideas and topics, but always through the lens of human experience.
-It’s narrative. As you may have guessed from our name, we like stories with a narrative arc. That means that each Narratively story has a concrete beginning, middle and end that unfolds like a movie, taking the readers on a wild ride as they see, feel and hear the events through your writing.
We pay for all stories. In addition to publishing on Narratively.com, we also develop TV, film and podcast projects inspired by the stories that run on our site, generating additional creative and financial opportunities for contributors.
Please note that we only publish narrative nonfiction. We don’t publish fiction, poetry or opinion pieces.
If you’re a fan of Narratively, you know that we are all about the BIG story. We like an epic narrative that unfolds in several acts and consists of vivid, cinematic scenes. But part of what we like, too, is a unique perspective. We want to be surprised and delighted — we want to not see it coming. And sometimes that looks like one delicious slice of pie rather than the whole thing…
Enter The Personals. These first-person pieces still meet two of the main criteria for Narratively stories: They’re about something super unique and interesting, and they’re rooted in detailed and colorful scenes. BUT they instead focus on one moment, one day, one week, one summer, etc. (And consequently, they’re much shorter.) We want your best pieces about a surprising moment, a split-second, life-changing decision, an upside-down view of something that we, as a society, are used to looking at head-on. Send us your story about that time you decided at the last second to leave the altar and make a go of it with your unforbidden love instead, the stranger who gave you advice that changed the trajectory of your life forever, that time you confronted your bully 25 years later only to learn about the hardship they were going through at the time.
What The Personals Is: You can tell us a story on a subject we’ve heard about before, but give us a unique way in.
What The Personals Isn’t: We love a good internal-based story like everyone else, a writer working out their opinion or recent revelation on the page, but that is not what we’re looking for here. We want active, exciting first-person stories that revolve around dramatic scenes and moments.
A few stories we’ve done in the past that are good examples of what we’re looking for:
I Was Taught to Hate My Lesbian Neighbors. They Took Me In Anyway (1,500 words)
I’m Not an Asian Stereotype, But I Play One on TV (1,400 words)
Why I Apologized to My Rapist (1,500 words)
Details:
Pitches? Drafts? We are only accepting submissions for these at this time.
Word Count: Ideal length for full drafts is between 1,000 and 1,500 words. Please don’t send anything longer than 2,000 words — longer drafts will not be considered.
Deadline: We’re considering stories on a rolling basis.
Rate: $300
"Secret Lives" is one of Narratively’s most popular ongoing series, and one for which we’re always looking for new stories.
The series includes both reported profiles and first-person essays, and is defined by stories that bring readers into a slice of life they normally wouldn’t have access to.
Like all Narratively pieces, “Secret Lives” stories are narrative-driven, not topic-based. This means they go beyond “this is what it’s like to have this job” and take the reader through a *story* about the job or experience at hand. There needs to be a narrative arc with a clear beginning, middle and end. The writer or subject needs to be transformed in some meaningful way over the course of the story, and that transformation needs to be communicated through active, engaging, vivid scenes.
There has to be something at stake, something universal and human that’s being unraveled and examined. The most successful “Secret Lives” stories draw the reader in thinking that they have nothing in common with the writer or subject, and by the end leaves them feeling connected to their experience in a way they never imagined possible.
Word count for Secret Lives stories is usually between 2,500 and 5,000 words, but we can be a bit flexible there.
Some favorites:
Meet Ladybeard, the Crown Prince of Japan’s Strangest Music Scene
Porno Power: The Next Generation