Share Your Cancer Experience, Become An IHadCancer...

Guest Writing for IHadCancer.com

Thank you for your interest in writing for IHadCancer.com. We are grateful that you are willing to take the time to share your talent and your story to prove our mission: shared experiences, shared strength. We look forward to working with you and sharing your cancer journey with the world.

How To Submit Your Story

Please email blog@ihadcancer.com and include “Blog Submission” in the subject line. Submit your blog in either the body of the email or an attached Word document or Google Docs file. If submitting a Google Doc, change the Share Settings to "Anyone with the link can edit." Do not submit PDFs. To get a better idea of the types of stories we accept, check out What We Love.

Please note that while we cannot accept all of the submissions that we receive, that in no way means you are limited to sharing your story with the IHadCancer community. All members are welcome to write in their Journals and on our Dear Cancer board. If you have any questions, please direct them to blog@ihadcancer.com.

We reserve the right to edit and adapt your guest blog content as we see fit. Our team will be in touch with you should that be the case.

Have an article you’ve already published that you’d like for us to re-purpose? Though we prefer to have original, unpublished content, we may make exceptions based on the content. Please shoot us an email with more details for consideration.

Want to contribute to our Creativity category with a multimedia submission? Shoot us an email with more details.

Submission Requirements

Length

-- 700-1000+ words for long-form blogs.

-- Up to 500 words for a written creative submission with an introduction and title of the creative submission.

Biography

Include a 2-3 sentence bio about yourself, including your IHadCancer.com username. Writers must be registered users.

Images

(Optional)

You are welcome to share one or more high quality, horizontal-format image options you'd like to use as the featured photo. Photos should be larger than 640x480 pixels and above 300 KB. P.S. We love to feature photos of the authors themselves. How to check the size and quality of your image.

Social Media

If you have accounts with Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and/or have your own blog, add links to them in your user profile. We will reference them when promoting your published content online. Note: you may have to change your privacy settings so IHadCancer can tag you. Find out how to make your Facebook profile taggable by IHadCancer, follow the instructions in this article under "Timeline and tagging options."

Monthly Mailing List

(Optional)

Each month, we send writing prompts to contributors on our mailing list. There is no requirement to write on those specific topics for that month. If you have an idea on what you want to submit (written or otherwise), send us email letting us know what it is. If you don't want to write that month, just wait until the next round is sent out.

If you'd like to be added or taken off of this list, email us at blog@ihadcancer.com

What We Love

We're looking for inspirational and, most importantly, honest stories about the trials and tribulations following the words "You have cancer." We strongly encourage you to write about issues that most people would be afraid to talk about: chemobrain, scanxiety, survivor's guilt, or any under-represented topic. Cancer isn't new, but there are too many stories and experiences that remain unspoken.

By writing about your experience, you are not only contributing to a global community -- you're reaching individuals who need to hear your story. Our mission is to have everyone going through cancer know this truth: you are not in this alone. Here are some tips for stories that we love to publish:

1. Be Raw

The more honest and vulnerable you can be about your struggles and victories, the more readers will relate to and be inspired by your story. At the end of the day we all want to know "There's someone out there who understands me."

2. Be Real

This is your story and your experience. Tell the world what it’s really like to be in your shoes by being as specific as you can. Don’t write for a broad audience, write for those who you want to speak to.

3. Be Yourself

Be yourself and share a story that comes from the heart. Don't try to be anyone else or worry about what those who had a different experience may say. Think about what you wish you could have read before you started all of this, and write that.

4. Be Open

Recognize that no two cancers are the same and that every journey is different. Our community is passionate about looking at a diagnosis from every single person’s own perspective. Be open to those perspectives and acknowledge them in your writing.

5. Be Human

Unless your treatment history is the focus of your submission, don't start with an introduction of your medical history or a list of terminology. Keep in mind that some people are just starting their cancer journey and are looking for emotional support through these posts. The clearer you are, the easier it will be for someone to associate with your own experience.

6. References

Please provide proper attribution to data, quotes, and other content referenced that helps support you story. Give credit where credit is due :)

What We Don't Love

We are proud of the creative, driven, world-changing individuals that make up our community. There are many authors and entrepreneurs in our midst, and we welcome the opportunity to share your contributions with the IHadCancer community. That being said, we are strict about keeping the site a space for connections, not promotions. If you are an author or work for a company that you would like to share on IHadCancer, please do not advertise your products or services in Discussions, Dear Cancers, Statuses, comments or direct messages. Instead, include a link to your outside work in your profile's personal website. If you are interested in partnering with us, see the section below: Sponsored Content.

We do not accept and are not interested in SEO-driven or promotional submissions. If you work for a content farm, a PR agency, or are writing articles to plug a product or brand name in a post, we are not interested. If your submission or bio references or promotes a business or service that is not in line with our brand philosophy (e.g. cancer gimmicks), then we are not interested.

Affiliate Links:

In an effort to maintain and control all advertising on IHadCancer, it is up to the discretion of the IHadCancer team to insert affiliate links into submitted blog posts. We also reserve the right to remove any outside affiliate links that are included in submissions.