Recently, I have received many inquiries about guest posting on my site. The Universe is trying to tell me something. The message: Get back to the beginning. When I started this blog, my intention was to create a forum for parents everywhere to share their experiences, ideas, challenges, successes, frustrations, questions and concerns. But I am not good at delegating. I have tried to carry the blog myself, which has lead to months of fervent activity, followed by periods of complete inactivity. As I freely admit on my About Me page, I don’t actually know it all, but I’ve always believed that together we can figure it out, sharing a few laughs, and maybe even a few tears, along the way. So let’s share.

Beginning, in January, 2012—that means NOW folks, for all of you writers and wannabes out there!—I will be accepting submissions for publication. If you would like your creative non-fiction writing to be considered for publication on The Know It All Mom, here is what you need to do:

1. Email your story ideas or completed pieces that have NOT been published elsewhere to tkiam@theknowitallmom.com.
2. Type the word SUBMISSION and your word count in the subject line of your email, please, otherwise your work might just get lost in the plethora of email that finds it’s way to me, and that would be sad. Submissions must be creative non-fiction. Although I love to read poetry, short stories, and most genres of fiction, the Know It All Mom is not the place for these children to find a home.
3. Keep submissions under 500 words. Longer pieces may be considered, but only if the content cannot possibly be covered effectively without saying more.
4. Expect to be edited. This is in no way an indication that you are not a talented, gifted individual with the literary genius of Jane Austen, but rather a simple fact that it’s my blog, I like what I like, and I reserve the right to post things only after I am 100% satisfied.
5. Do not send attachments. Please copy and paste your submission into the body of your email. Attachments can be cumbersome. They don’t open, they lose formatting, and are generally a pain in the butt. Pasting text directly into your email simplifies everything. Attachments will not be opened. Thank you in advance.
6. Make sure your work is thematically consistent with the Know It All Mom. To understand who I am and the mandate behind my blog, the About Me page is an excellent place to start. Note that I prefer anecdotal, personal stories of life as a mother/woman/wife/daughter/sister/friend/parent. Itemized How-To or Top-Ten-type lists are NOT my favourite. I’d rather read how you developed the list than the list itself. I like honesty. I like writing that comes from the heart with a straight-forward, no-nonsense approach. I do not like self-indulgence. This is a fine line to walk, I know, I tip-toe along it every time I sit down to compose something. Still, it must be done. I like people with opinions, even opinions I do not share. Disagreement is essential to dialogue, so take a stand and tell me what you think. If you can make me laugh, great! If you can make me cry, that’s good, too. To familiarize yourself with the type of stories I am interested in receiving, read some of my posts, e.g., Confession Time, Coming from a Place of Yes, or One Joint is One Too Many, or better yet, read some of my published pieces found here: Writing. If you are still in doubt, email anyway. The worst that can happen is that I say, “No.”
7. Do not expect an immediate response. I will respond to you, I promise, but as we all know, “Life is what happens while we’re making other plans.” (John Lennon said that, I think…anyone know?) In other words, I plan to get back to everyone as quickly as I can, regardless of the outcome of your submission, but only after the realities of my day-to-day life as a wife, mother, chauffeur, chef, laundress, etc., have been managed.

Thanks for reading, and I hope to hear from you very soon. Happy writing!