Writing for Yopp

PLEASE READ ALL GUIDELINES BEFORE SUBMITTING

At Yopp, we seek to help any group of people whose lives suffer from social, financial, & legal factors outside their own control and to educate others on how they can be part of that effort.

We seek to reveal the hidden stories of the marginalized people to those who’ve been protected from oppression, and to validate the experiences of other marginalized people living those stories.

We believe that all sources of oppression and arbitrary hardship are interconnected. For that reason, we believe in looking at things through a big-picture lense.

The backbone of Yopp is our Yopp Academy section, which is devoted to teaching the fundamental principles of social justice that you will find woven through all forms of oppression. But these facts and theories are empty without real people and real experiences to flesh them out.

The heart and soul of Yopp are the stories you tell. No single person can express the experience of every form of marginalization, which is why you’ll find articles from people with a wide variety of backgrounds and perspectives on Yopp.

Above all, at Yopp, we seek to teach, to validate, to empower, and to expand the awareness of our audience.

What I’m Looking For

Before you decide what you want to submit to Yopp, please first familiarize yourself with the style and content that’s typical for this blog and what topics have already been covered. Articles on Yopp are engaging, informative, thoughtful, and in-depth. I’m looking for pieces that prioritize harm reduction and the needs of vulnerable people.

Most importantly, the voice of Yopp almost always involves taking educational resources and information and infusing it with a personal narrative: From friendly to somber to sarcastic, every article is here to teach you something, and that teacher is a real human being.

Types of Content I’m Seeking

• Opinion pieces
• creative non-fiction and personal narratives
• content or resource recommendations
• opportunities to help others and specific calls to action

I do not want: Poetry, fiction, feminism 101, news reports, or listacles (unless you really have something unique and informative to say), a story that offers no takeaway or educational value for the audience.

Please ensure your article will fit into one of the following categories:

• Voices: A collection of personal stories and anecdotes showing the ways oppression affects us on a day to day basis, and connecting that to larger issues.
• What Can I Do?: Specific suggestions for behaviors and thought patterns you can change or actions you can take to help support marginalized groups.
• Media with Impact: Recommendations for articles, videos, books, comics, or other media that dramatically influenced my activism and awareness of the issues other people face.
• Bad Arguments: Critiques of common arguments used to excuse oppression and/or opinion pieces on how to expand past the dominating narratives in our society.

(I am not accepting submissions for Yopp Academy at this time.)

Specific Topics I’m Seeking

Yopp covers an extremely wide range of subject matter. Here is a list of perspectives and subjects that I would love to see covered on Yopp in the future: 

Issues related to:

• The LGBTQIA+ communities
• Autism, ADHD, or cognitive-based disabilities
• Native and Indigenous communities
• Body positivity movement/fatphobia
• The unhoused
• Anti-semitism
• Police brutality and first-hand experiences of BLM or other protests
• Sex work and the people who do it
• Discrimination against non-christian religious groups
• Sexual assault against groups other than and in addition to cis women (ie: cis men, trans people, disabled people, inmates etc.)

Note: I will always prefer first-person perspectives in place of reporting on a community you are not a member of. Pieces that use this kind of outsider reporting will not be automatically rejected but will need to demonstrate a much higher level of skill, knowledge, and nuance to be published. 

Parents of Disabled Children

Although one of the specialties of this blog is disability, I make a point to limit the number of stories from parents of disabled children that I publish.

The narratives around disability are currently oversaturated with the perspective of able-bodied parents who– while loving– can contribute to the societal view that disabled people are resource-draining, disempowered, and not capable of telling their own stories. For more information about the issues behind writing about your disabled children, please check out this article by disability activist Carly Findlay and this piece by disabled mom of a disabled kid, Meriah Nichols.

In the event that I choose to publish a special piece about the parent of a disabled child, please avoid any specific identifying information (ie: real name, height, weight, specific city they live in) and please get explicit permission from your children to share their stories. If you’re uncomfortable reading your article to your child, then I won’t publish it.

Ableist Language

Language is always evolving, especially within the context of social justice, but one front that mainstream activists have lagged behind on is eliminating ableist language. Phrases like, “It fell on deaf ears,” or “they turned a blind eye,” or “you can’t fix stupid” utilize diagnosable involuntary disabilities to express ignorance, neglect, and malice.

As a result, I don’t allow ableist language on my blog, except for educational purposes. Autistic Hoya has an excellent list of phrases to avoid and replace. If ableism accidentally slips through into your piece, upon acceptance, I will ask you to change it.

Submitting to Yopp!

I am currently accepting FULL SUBMISSIONS ONLY of new, unpublished material.

If you’re satisfied that your piece is a good fit, send your submission to “Yoppvoice@gmail.com” including the word “submission” in the subject line. Simultaneous submissions are fine, notify me if your piece is accepted elsewhere. I’m happy to publish previously unpublished writers or new writers and I put priority on pieces by folks from marginalized groups.

Your word count should be between 1,200-3,000 words and longer pieces are preferred. Please use US English spelling in full submissions.

Any attached documents should be in a shared google docs link or in a .doc or .pdf file. Be aware that all accepted submissions will be subject to editing before publication, but I am always willing to work with the writer to keep the spirit of the piece intact.

I aim to confirm receipt of all submissions within a week, and will usually respond with an answer 2-4 weeks after that.

What You Get in Return

Because the majority of my writers are going to be part of multiple marginalized groups and will often be sharing personal experiences of the way oppression has affected their lives, it’s important to me to pay for that work. Guest bloggers will be paid $150 for articles that are over 2,000 words and $125 for articles between 1,200 and 2,000 words. (Guest posts are paid for exclusively by external sponsors. If you are interested in sponsoring a guest post, please contact me.)

You are welcome to include a bio with promotional links to your own content and social media in your published article, and all publications will be advertised to my followers on this blog, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

---