Thank you for your interest in writing a blog for Family Equality. Your voice, expertise, and experience are powerful tools for advocacy, and we are thrilled that Family Equality can provide a platform for you to share your story. Before you submit materials, review this page to learn more about:
- Family Equality’s guest blogging process
- The types of content we do and do not accept
- Formatting guidelines
- Where and how to submit your idea
If your submission is aligned with what we’re looking for, and we have availability in our editorial calendar, you’ll hear from us.
Our process
Guest writers submit their work to Family Equality.
All posts should be submitted via email with “Guest Blog Post” in the subject line at least three weeks before the desired publication date so that the team has time to review and edit the material, develop promotional materials, and send everything to you for review.
Family Equality reviews and edits the material.
After receiving the initial submission, Family Equality will review and edit the material. This step may involve:
- Editing your content for AP and Family Equality style guidelines, search optimization, accuracy, currency, comprehensiveness, and tone and voice.
- Adding calls-to-action to Family Equality content, resources, or initiatives.
- Developing supporting material to promote the blog post.
Guest writers review updated content.
Family Equality will send the guest writers all revised and updated content along with a proposed date of publication. At this time, Family Equality may ask the guest writer for additional material, such as a guest author photo or biography, if it hasn’t already been provided.
The guest writer will review the updated materials and provide feedback or approvals.
Content is published online.
Family Equality will post the approved content online and share it widely using the agreed-upon social media copy. We encourage all writers to share the blog with their network and link to our site!
Note: While we invite writers to share our content widely, we ask that you don’t republish the article on any other website, including your own website or blogging platforms like LinkedIn, Medium, etc.
The bare essentials for every post we publish
Family Equality’s blog exists as a platform for LGBTQ+ parents and families, advocates, experts, and allies to share their stories, experiences, and expertise.
We welcome contributions that are:
- Original — We will not republish anything that’s been published elsewhere.
- Warm and welcoming — Our voice is casual, helpful, and hopeful. Refrain from using language that is jargon-y, offensive, or derogatory.
- Mission-driven — Family Equality’s mission is to advance lived and legal equality for current and future LGBTQ+ families. All content posted to our site should focus on protecting, supporting, or celebrating LGBTQ+ families specifically.
- Accurate — All data, quotations, and outside content referenced in the article should be current and properly attributed.
The best way to tell whether your post will be a good fit is by checking out the material we’ve already posted to our blog!
The Family Equality team reserves the right to pass on any contributions that do not meet our editorial standards.
What we’re looking for
The types of posts we accept
- Personal stories: Are you an LGBTQ+ family member with a story to tell? Sharing our lived experiences is a powerful way to change hearts and minds. These kinds of posts inspire readers and help them feel heard, seen, and validated. You can view an example of this type of post here.
- Expert insights: Do you work in the LGBTQ+ family space? Have you conducted research that provides insight into the LGBTQ+ family experience? Your expertise can provide valuable support to our audience! These kinds of posts inform readers and equip them with the insights they need to thrive. You can view an example of this type of post here.
- Movement updates: Have expertise or experience in the LGBTQ+ equality movement? Our blog is a great place to demystify current legislative and political priorities and encourage families to get involved. These kinds of posts educate readers and empower them to act. You can view an example of this type of post here.
- Resource sharing: Do you have resource or initiative that would benefit LGBTQ+ families and allies? Our blog can help you spread the word! These kinds of posts connect LGBTQ+ families with tools that will improve their quality of life. You can view an example of this type of post here.
Note: While we welcome the opportunity to share outside resources with those who need it most, we will not accept spam posts.
The topics we cover
We cover a wide range of topics on our site, including:
- LGBTQ+ paths to parenthood (e.g., fertility, surrogacy, adoption, foster care, etc.)
- Parenting and family dynamics
- Coming out and the journey to acceptance
- Navigating challenges in school or the workplace
- Advocacy and policy
- Youth voices
- Transgender, nonbinary, and gender non-conforming parenting
- Research and data
- LGBTQ+ identities in faith communities
- LGBTQ+ identities in communities of color
- Intersectionality
What we’re not looking for
The Family Equality team reserves the right to pass on any contributions that do not meet our editorial standards. The following is a list of posts that we will not accept:
- Anything that has been published on other platforms or websites, including your own website or blogging platforms like LinkedIn, Medium, etc.
- Anything that’s too promotional for your company or organization.
- Anything that’s offensive or derogatory against particular people, groups, identities, or organizations. While this is a place to platform lived experiences and incite positive change, this is not a site to air grievances.
- Anything that is inaccurate.
Formatting guidelines
- Word Count: We accept posts with a word count ranging between 500 – 1,500 words. If you feel you have more to say, we can have a conservation about breaking your post into a series.
- Readability: Make your post easy-to-read by…
- Organizing your content in sections with headings.
- Adding bulleted lists in place of long blocks of text.
- Keeping paragraphs short.
- Avoiding run-on sentences and difficult sentence structure.
- Structure: Include an introduction and a conclusion. The introduction should explain why the audience should keep reading/why this work is relevant. The conclusion should review what you’d like the audience to take away from your piece.
- Attribution:
- Only include images you have permission to use. When including images from other publications, cite the image source with a hyperlink.
- When including data, quotes, or content from other published sources, cite your sources with a hyperlink.
- About the author: Remember to include an author bio and a photo at the end of your submission.
Additional notes
Family Equality cannot guarantee placement.
Family Equality welcomes all submissions, and we’re open to working with guest writers if the original submission doesn’t exactly match our voice or the needs of our editorial calendar. However, because of the fast-paced and occasionally sensitive nature of our work, we can’t guarantee that we will be able to publish your post on the agreed-upon day or at all. The Family Equality team will make our best effort to communicate any delays or concerns around publication with you.
Published articles will live exclusively on the Family Equality blog.
If your post is published on our site, we encourage you to share it with your network and link back to it. However, we ask that you refrain from republishing the article on any other website – including your own website, or blogging platforms like LinkedIn, Medium, etc. This also means we cannot accept guest articles that have already been published on other platforms or websites.
Where to submit your idea
Ready to share? Send your blog post as a Google Document or Microsoft Word Document via email to communications@familyequality.org with “Guest Blog Post” in the subject line.
If your article meets our editorial standards and aligns with our content strategy, we will respond to let you know your article will be published.