Welcome to our Submission Information Page! Power of Families posts new content from our contributors almost every single day–on a variety of topics and in a variety of formats.
Our goal? Offer parents support, inspiration and pro-active ideas.
Please read through our guidelines below to get a clear picture of what we publish, and then send your submissions to [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you!
Please read through the information below and then sign up here or at the bottom of the page to receive our author call-out emails.
Some introductory information:
The submissions we publish will be different than what you will find on most parenting websites. While most parenting resources focus almost entirely on how to solve/fix problems that arise, we focus on helping parents set up a positive, loving environment in their homes and establish systems so that problems are less likely to arise. Of course, solving issues is part of parenting, but we try to focus on pro-active ideas as opposed to reactive solutions.
Please be sure to read thoroughly through our site so you get a feel for our tone and perspective.
Submission Topics
(1) Building Relationships
- Understanding and connecting with our children
- Helping our children build strong relationships with each other
- Strengthening our marriages
- Connecting with/learning from other parents
(2) Teaching Values
- Teaching children about honesty, respect, courage, kindness, hard work and helping them see why such character traits/values will benefit them in their lives
- Setting an example for our children
- Taking advantage of teaching moments
(3) Establishing Systems
- Setting up rules and consequences so children understand expectations
- Helping kids accept and follow through on household responsibilities
- Teaching children about earning and saving money, about budgeting, etc.
- Building a strong family identity and culture
Submission Guidelines
(1) Watch word count.
Please keep your submission within the word count guidelines outlined for each submission format above. If you submit an article over the word count, we will ask you to edit it down.
(2) Properly give credit to outside sources.
If you reference someone else’s idea or use a direct quotation, please include a link to the article or book the information came from. (For books, Amazon is suggested.) If you have a page number for a reference from a book, we would like to include it as well. Also please include basic attribution information (author, title, etc.) in the body of the text, if possible. For example:
Rachel Stafford, in her book Hands Free Life, explains, “You see, the inherent responsibilities required to inhabit the sacred space on an Emergency Contact line–connection, trust, time, and availability–are all essential for building close relationships, which is one of the key features of a Hands Free Life” (34).
In her Slate article, “Please Can I Have a Turkey Sandwich and Sleep on My Back While Pregnant?” economist Emily Oster explains why eating deli meat during pregnancy isn’t that dangerous after all.
Submission Process
We like to give our editing team enough lead time to carefully polish your material and prepare it for the site. We especially encourage articles that have been published elsewhere. Please send in your submissions three months in advance of when it would ideally be published. (For example, if you’ve got some great Valentine’s Day ideas, you’ll want to send them in by the first of November.) Here’s the basic process we’d like you to follow:
(1) Prepare your submission using the guidelines above.
(2) Paste your submission directly into the body of your email.
Please, no Word attachments. We do accept links to blog posts and videos, but please link to the specific item you would like us to consider—not to your full blog or YouTube channel. The subject of the email should be the title of the submission and your name. Please include the title/author/type of submission/other details in the body of the submission. If you would like to submit using Google Drive, the document title should be the title of your submission and your name. Please share your finished document with [email protected]. Please make sure [email protected] has permission to edit your document.
(3) Add a photo (or photos).
Each post needs at least one accompanying photo (more, if possible). We really would love for you to include your personal photos–it doesn’t matter if they are “professional.” Please attach photos to your email or post them on your blog and send us the link.
(4) Email your finished product to [email protected]
You’ll receive a brief auto-responder letting you know your submission arrived safely. Please be assured that if you received the auto-response, we DID receive your submission and it will be read by at least two editors. Because of the large number of submissions we receive, we will not personally respond to every submission. At this time, we are only responding to submissions we accept for publication. Power of Families reserves the right to edit submissions for length, structure, grammar, tone, etc., but we’ll send you a link to the edited version for approval before it goes live.
(5) Register here on the website and add a head shot to Gravatar.
Once you register, you’ll receive a confirmation email asking you to click on a link. Please follow the instructions to finish setting up your account. Should your submission be chosen for publication, we will not be able to list you as an author until you have added yourself to our system. (We can help out here if necessary.) We use Gravatar for our authors’ headshots. Many sites (including ours) can automatically insert a photo of you that has been uploaded through www.gravatar.com. It’s free and simple, and as long as your email address with them is the same as it is with us, we’ll be all set.
(6) If your submission is accepted and published, pick your free program.
We compensate our authors with our online programs, so for each submission that is accepted, you may choose one program from our Store Page. We are also happy to link to your blog or website in your byline.
You will keep the copyrights, but we will publish it on Power of Families. You will be notified regarding any additional publications. There may be additional opportunities for your posts to appear in published Power of Families books. (We will notify you and ask permission as those opportunities become available.)
If your post is not accepted for publication on Power of Families, please do not be discouraged. We are not able to post everything that we receive, but that doesn’t mean you didn’t do a wonderful job. Please consider posting on (or starting) your own blog, as well. There are lots of ways to strengthen families!
If you have any questions about this process, please contact us at [email protected].
Your voice is powerful. Your voice means something to parents out there who might need exactly what you have to offer. Thanks for considering joining our team of contributors!
Image: hinnamsaisuy / FreeDigitalPhotos.net