Rogues’ Gallery
By: Sherry Mcguinn
Tags: Writing, Medium Writers, Submission Guidelines, Rogue, New Publication

If you defy convention and shatter stereotypes, this publication is for you.

Are you a rebel? A rogue? Someone who refuses to follow the herd and marches to the beat of their own drummer, no matter what?

If so, you are cordially invited to submit your blood, sweat, and tears to our brand-new Medium publication, Rogues’ Gallery.

Essayists. Poets. Journalists. All are welcome. The caveat: You must be unafraid to be your authentic selves. We know: That sounds like bullshit as that phrase has been bandied about for a while now, but we mean it.

Have something on your mind that’s bothering you, either about life, or this platform? Let it out. Do you have a problem you need help with? Tell us about it. Have a funny anecdote that will inspire laughter in a time when we so badly need it? Share, please.

First and foremost, we’re looking for great writing.

Writers who know how to make their copy sing and resonate with the “listener.” Writers who never settle for the expected, or the mundane. Writers who kick ass.

Topics? Sex. Drugs. Rock ‘n Roll. And everything in between. For now, at least, nothing is sacred.

One thing we won’t tolerate: Intolerance and/or maliciousness. If you’ve read Sherry McGuinn and Kristi Keller, you know the tone we’re looking for. That said, feel free to be respectfully disruptive.

We also ask that you do your best to keep typos and formatting issues to a minimum. We get it: Everyone makes mistakes, but we’d much rather spend our time sharing our work, as opposed to “fixing” it.

So, what do you think? Are you ready to unleash your inner rogue? Then, let’s get started. Let’s break free, together, to entertain, inform and above all, to inspire.

Thanks for reading. We look forward to hearing from you.

How to become a contributor:

Please send an email to sherrymcguinn@gmail.com with Rogues’Gallery in the subject line. Be sure to include your Medium profile and a brief intro on why you’d like to contribute.

Once added, you’ll be notified via email. Then, you can submit your stories — no previously published Medium pieces please — by creating an original draft, and clicking the three dots in the upper right-hand corner. Simply select Rogues’ Gallery and your draft will be reviewed. You Medium vets already know the drill, but newer writers on the platform, may not.

Marion Michele/Unsplash

If, for any reason, your story isn’t accepted, we’ll let you know in as timely a fashion as possible. And, please, don’t take it personally. We’ve all been rejected from our fair share of Medium publications. Hopefully, this will be the exception, rather than the norm. It will take a while to get our “sea legs.”

As always, it’s important to keep Medium curation guidelines in mind:

“Curators are looking for thoughtful, clearly written pieces that tell a compelling story, convey an interesting idea, or share a smart point of view. These can take many forms …We explicitly do not want to distribute misinformation, stories with clickbait headlines, stories that are primarily marketing a product or service, stories that use photos that the author doesn’t have the rights to use, or stories with excessive typos and errors.”

Please refrain from using affiliate links, as well. This isn’t the place for that.

“Zhuzh up” your stories with attention-grabbing pics! Be sure to use royalty-free images. You can find some excellent ones on Unsplash, Pixabay, Flickr.Com and many other sites. Please make sure to credit the photographer! If you don’t, your work will not be published.

Also, tag your story appropriately. This helps readers find your work and helps our editors publish it under the correct tab.

Finally, please be patient. This is a new publication and, as with anything new, it takes time to “get your groove on.” But, we’ll do our best to publish as quickly as possible.

One more thing, (okay, I lied). If you think you’d make a great editor for Rogues’ Gallery, shoot me — Sherry McGuinn — an email.

Thanks so much for reading. We’re looking forward to your submissions!

Sherry