Submit
All good things start here writer!
Interested in submitting to the DFL publication? You’re in the right place, in this page, you’ll find all you need to know about submitting your precious piece to our precious publication, it’ll be a perfect match!
Keep reading if you’re a writer, or skip straight to the bottom if you want to be an editor.
Guidelines
We’ll aim to keep this section pretty loose, as we want to have a wide variety of content to read on the publication.
We will not publish posts, poetry, or essays that harmfully discriminate against minorities
Though we encourage posts that talk about sex or sexual themes, we will not publish anything that comes across as meaninglessly sexual or pornographic, as we believe sex is something that should be shared, but with meaning
We would prefer not to publish things that have already been published on Substack, as cross-posting is a massive pain in the ass, but if you have a piece you’d wish to submit that has been published on other platforms, we would love to feature it
Pieces that have already been posted on other publications unfortunately cannot be accepted, unless they have explicitly stated that it is okay for your work to be featured in other publications
We’d prefer your works to have proper grammar, punctuation, spelling, and capitalisation (Just because the editor (Ellie here) has OCD) (This isn’t really that important, just encouraged).
We do not have any guidelines on length, headings, font, spacing or sizing, so don’t worry about all that stuff, we’ll sort it out.
If you’re worried about being accepted, don’t! We will accept any writer of any skill level, so why not just submit?
Submissions
This is your stepladder to success:
Write your piece! Doesn’t matter where or when, just get those thoughts down onto paper and get onto that process.
Once you’re ready to submit, email dreamsfearslifepublication@gmail.com with your Substack name, your piece, and we’d love to know as much about you as you’re willing to share.
Please also attach the image you’d like to be on the cover of the article, and have the correct dimensions
Any other images can be inside the document with the piece.
Your work will be put on the page shortly and you will be tagged as the author.
You will receive an email to become a byline contributor, press accept and we will be able to tag you as sole author in the byline.
Tip: Make sure to email us on the email you use for Substack, as that’s what we’ll use to add you as a byline contributor on the page
If you have an idea or wish to become a regular on the publication: DM Ellie on Instagram at @ellie.essays, tell a story about yourself and what you want to contribute, why, and when you plan to publish.
Become an editor!
If you’re passionate about editing, advising, and helping writers hone their pieces, we highly encourage you to become an editor.
Right now, this will be a voluntary role, with loose hours, around 1 - 3 a week, and there are lots of things you can do.
Keen? Email dreamsfearslifepublication@gmail.com with your specialty in the subject, and include what you do, why you do it, and how you can help.
Are you a copywriter?
Great! You can write copy for the social media pages or information pages of this publication.
Interested in Graphic Design?
You can design and craft the publication logo, word-mark, typeface, or social media posts for the publication.
Interested in web-design?
We’d love for you to design our website to catch the eye of every reader who comes along, whether that be our themes, layout, or style, we’d love you to come on board.
Interested in social media marketing?
You can run our social media! Right now we have about every account under the sun, but no time to go through them all and post individually, so a social media manager would be absolutely essential to growing this platform.
A message from owner/editor Ellie:
I’m so sorry that I can’t offer any monetary value to you now, believe me, I wish I could, but in my financial place right now, it won’t be an option.
My vision is for this publication to grow exponentially with lots of people pitching in for free at the beginning, which will lead to paid positions down the track.
If you’re thinking about it, please don’t hesitate, I need all the help I can get, and I’d love to meet new people who are passionate about creating a publication that helps writers get their foot in the door.
Thank you so much for your consideration,
Owner/Editor Ellie <33
Greetings, Ellie. I attempted to apply using the email address you provided in the article, but I received a notification stating, "The address you sent your message to was not found in the target domain." Could it be that you have an email forwarding rule in place?