Work. Better. welcomes guest essays from writers whose experiences and perspectives align with my audience. If you’re interested in contributing, please read the following guidelines before pitching.
Your pitch should have a clear angle in mind that fits the Work. Better. audience: people whose relationship with work has shifted, whether they’re still in corporate, considering leaving, or already out. I also examine inherited assumptions about work culture.
Guidelines
Human-crafted content. AI is fine as a tool for brainstorming or outlining, but I will not publish an essay that was fully generated by AI. Submissions are checked against Pangram, which is built into Substack.
Length. Around 1,500 words is the sweet spot. This is not a hard ceiling, but I’m not going to publish a 3,000-word essay.
Nothing overly self-promotional. At the top of your essay, I will write a short intro about you and link to your website, your socials, and one specific call to action (like a download or newsletter). But the essay itself should not read as a pitch for you or your services. You are telling a story. You can reference your business if it’s relevant, but the main point is to write something that readers actually want to read.
No inline links to your own content. I will add inline links to other Work Better essays where relevant.
Format. Two to three H2 headers to break up the text.
Editing. I reserve the right to do light copy editing, such as fixing mistakes or adding paragraph breaks for flow. I will not edit the underlying content or argument. If a submission comes to me with a significant number of issues, I will reject it. Since this is a free publication, I don’t work back and forth with you to develop a piece.
Collaboration
I welcome collaborations that go in both directions. If you’re interested in contributing a guest essay, I’d love to discuss how we can cross-promote. For example, you might include the published essay in your own newsletter, or we could explore a guest essay swap if you have a Substack. If you host a podcast, I’d welcome the chance to be a guest. The best guest essay relationships are ones where both sides benefit, and I’m open to creative ideas about how to make that happen.
That being said, I have also published anonymous essays from people who have a story they’d like to share. I think honest storytelling about work culture is important, and I don’t want you to shy away from reaching out simply because you don’t want the essay attached to your name.
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