Writer’s Guidelines

Writer’s Guidelines – Bay Area Parent
Thank you for your interest in writing for Bay Area Parent. We are always looking for articles with strong local perspective filled with  names, references and issues of particular interest and relevance to parents and children in Marin County, San Francisco, the Peninsula, the East Bay, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties.
We like writing that is friendly, accessible and backed by well-researched information that is fresh and empowering to busy parents and families.
It’s important to look through our website, blog and back issues of our monthly magazine and ancillaries for style and recent content.
If you have professional journalism experience, we sometimes assign articles. But we really prefer writers to come up with their own ideas – people write best when they are passionate about their subject!  Payment is typically 25 cents a word.
For seasonal articles – holidays, winter sports, etc. – please query 3-4 months ahead of the appropriate publishing month. 
We do not accept articles written by someone promoting a particular business or product; however, we do have a good option for getting that kind of material into the public eye. Contact our advertising department about contributing Sponsored Content.
Here are the most popular types of articles and their approximate word counts:
Departments (approx. 600-1,200 words).
This can be a profile, round-up or a single topic short article.It typically includes a sidebar or resource box. Good examples include Where to Pan for Gold in Northern California and Shooting Down the Helicopter Parent .
Our Mom’s Minute department is a 600-word interview in Q&A format most often with a community hero, mentor, entrepreneur or trail-blazer in some area relating to children and families.
Features (approx. 1,200-1,800 words).
These are timely, often issue-oriented articles that involve a good deal of interviewing and reporting. There are often multiple sidebars. Recent examples include Does My Child Need an IEP? 
Blogging
We’re also looking for bloggers to write for the Bay Area Parent blog. Are you a writer and a parent with insight to share about raising your little one in the Bay Area? Do you have expertise to share that relates to parenting and family life? Although there is no payment, our blog is a great opportunity to write, connect and share your feelings and knowledge. It is also a good way for us to get to know you and understand your reporting and writing ability for future assignments. Email [email protected]
To query in general, send a concise paragraph or two about your proposed article and a little about your credentials as the author. Please do not query on more than two articles at once. Send to [email protected]