People enjoy reading about the true personal experiences of other people. They want to share in the writer's heartfelt moments, lessons learned, nostalgic memories, defeats and triumphs.
The personal essay has been one of the richest of all literary forms for more than four hundred years. It is distinguished from the formal essay by its conversational tone, loose structure, and honest self-disclosure.
What Makes A Good Personal Essay?
It almost feels like cheating at first to be able to write a column that requires no research. Everything needed is within the writer's head and heart. The challenge for the author is to make sure that he writes the experience with absolute honesty, depth of emotion, and transparent thought processes. The reader wants to share in the fact that this experience is real. They want to be able to feel it.
The best personal essays are about everyday people living everyday lives who encounter confronting a personal strength or weakness, a new truth, a humbling or triumphant moment or even just a humorous incident that the reader can relate to.
These firsthand stories come from everyday life, but what raises them to the level of a unique, well-written, hopefully absorbing personal essay? The writer must cultivate an ability to strain out the gold from the gravel of a day's dross, mundane activities and events. One way to facilitate this process is by journaling. It trains the awareness to spot the gold otherwise missed. It is the best practice for this genre.
Personal essays, like any good writing, should grab the reader from the first word. The introduction should grab the reader, saying in effect, "Hey, I'm an interesting, complex person just like you and I'm going to tell you a story about something that happened to me that opened up my eyes."
What If the Essay Is Just Too Personal?
Sometimes the essay may just seem too personal, in which case a writer might want to use a pen name. He can also change the perspective and write from the third person point of view to add distance. Or a writer may simply have to wait a longer period of time from the actual event before attempting to write and publish an account of it.
Guidelines for the Writer
Payment varies from a free copy of the publication to more than $1,500. Length can be as short as 200 words to 10,000 or more. Read the submissions guidelines. Be sure to get a good feel for the magazine itself as well. Checking out even the ads can help a writer develop a sense of reader taste and background. Be familiar with the publication's style, moral tone, social and political leanings.
Personal Essay Markets
Here are some personal essay markets to submit the finished personal essay to:
Christian Science Monitor, The Home Forum Section - Pays $75 for short pieces (300 words) to $150, on publication. Submissions should be original, upbeat personal essays from 400 to 1,100 words.
Skirt! Magazine- Publishes 8 to 10 personal essays every month on topics relating to women and women's interests. Uses a different theme each month. See guidelines. Pays $125 for essays of 800 - 1,000 words. E-mail submissions accepted and response time is remarkably quick.
The Sun Literary Magazine - Pays from $300 to $3,000 for essays, the amount being determined by length and quality. Contributors receive a complimentary one-year subscription. No minimum word length, and they rarely run anything longer than 7,000 words. They try to respond within three to six months.
Guideposts- Articles should present "tested methods for developing courage, strength and positive attitudes. They help readers achieve their maximum personal and spiritual potential." They want first-person narratives written in simple, dramatic, anecdotal style. Payment: $200-$400.
When you consider the growth and popularity of reality TV, you get some appreciation for the insatiable interest people have in other peoples' lives. You don't have to be a celebrity to make people want to peer into your windows. Use your free life experience for profit and publication now.
Maryellen Grady - When I was around 12 years old, I sold a short story to a girls' magazine, and I got to see it published with my name on it for all to ...
