Will you write for me?

An invitation to guest write for Kat River

An invitation to guest write for Kat River…

Hello beautiful people.

I’m about to sink deeply and beautifully into birthing our baby, mothering two sweet children, and being in a golden month.

I had been pondering ways to add value to my Substack over that time - which by no means do I feel any pressure to do at all, but something I’d LOVE to do.

I’d love to invite some of you to come and GUEST WRITE for my community here on Substack. This is to

1. Support my slower season and

2. So that I can offer my audience new and valuable perspectives around mothering and creative living, AND to give some writers access to my beautiful community here, so you can connect with each other and have a great time…

Firstly- I’d like to quickly address the support I’ve received in donating August’s paid subscriptions to a “nourish the mother” kitty for some mothers who really truly need some extra care and support.

I’ll keep you updated as to how that goes but I want to thank you guys for showing up, becoming a paid subscriber (even if it’s just for the month) and being an active part of a tiny little ecosystem. It does make a difference and I do believe if we all do our best to find little creative ways to circulate resources (time, energy, love, words of support, money, intention) when we are in seasons of capacity, we really can shift the narrative of the lonely mother.

So thank you.

I love LOVE knowing that you guys have my back with ideas like this and we can rally together in ways like this. Go us ❤️

_______

Down to business 😂

I’d love to share with you my intentions with the guest writer project and you can feel into if it would be a good match for you or not.

There will be other ways to collaborate in the future (for example a written interview  series with mother makers eeee so excited for that!) so please don’t feel like this is the only opportunity, I really want it to feel great for everyone. Keep reading below to see how you can be involved x

So as you know I offer both free and paid subscriptions on my Substack.

I feel confident in publishing 1-2 simpler pieces a month for those in the “free” community ❤️

Though during my post partum period (and even honestly, coming up to birthing)

I know I’ll likely go through waves of being internal and in the thick of life, and moments of being creative and having space to write.

I have been thinking of ways to try and “add value” to those who are willing to pay and be apart of this space with me. Something exclusive for paid subs because I really want to nourish those who are helping nourish my family.

It may be $9 a month to you, but it absolutely adds up and supports us on this end of the receiving, and beyond the $9 it’s the feeling of being supported and held within the creative space that feels important and nourishing to me.

So if you are a paid sub, please know how much I appreciate you and a LOT of my spare brain space goes into thinking of ways I can do my best to support YOU better, write better, find features in this space that includes you differently, start chats and conversations, recommend those publicly who make the time to recommend me, and figure out ways to cultivate more community here etc. Thank you for cheering for me in this little corner of the internet.

Some of the ways I dream of nourishing my paid subs moving forward

1. Offering guest writer spots - to bring some diversity and perspective to the world of mothering and creativity.

2. Mother maker written interview series (beautiful photos, great questions and lay witness to the journey of other mother makers)

3. Private in depth QNA series and either offering this in written form OR if you want I could also offer it as a community zoom chat where we can all jump on and hang out together.

4. Discounts when the prints are ready (quick update with that - the woman I’m so excited to support in her business of print making,  due to her slow and ethical style AND the fact that she is a mother maker herself… is having a bub and in postpartum so I’ve agreed to wait until she’s ready to move forward rather than find someone else. All the feedback I received from you guys was SO appreciated so thank you)

5. Giveaway - possibly soon. I have two copies of a STUNNING poetry book a friend wrote and I’d love to find a fun way to gift them.

6. Spoken word poetry nights (look in person too not just online, but online for substackians hehe)

So to begin I’d love to INVITE YOU to write for me.

What I’m looking for is

1. It not be shit (haha I giggled a lot when I saw this as one of the criteria from Britt Wilde to be a guest writer for her. I’m like… how do I know i’m not shit? Love the beauty of creative imposter syndrome.) But essentially - be confident in what you write and how you do it, and love your art.

2. 2000 words or more. I know for some of you this is hefty and for some this may be simple. I’m really wanting to sink into these articles and give them space to unwind.

3. A topic within the realm of motherhood, birth, raising children, raising the self within it all, creativity, artistry, or a mashup in some ways. It doesn’t have to be what I speak about often. I’m happy to have some diversity, and thought I’d absolutely love articles super aligned to my own values - I also know that readers have discernment for themselves and I trust that too. I want to give you some freedom of exploration with what you write.

4. The ability to have a reasonably quick turn around. I usually work in creative surges- so if I can receive an article in my inbox within a couple of weeks and get it out to the Substack community with minimal editing that would be AMAZING. I’m happy to let you know what “month” I’d be publishing you so you know what sort of timeline we are working with.

5. Able to include a decent quality photo or two to go with the article. Doesn’t have to be of your face, but something somewhat relevant….

6. And finally - your article would be exclusive to my paid subscriber audience for 4 months. After that you are welcome to re-publish for your own network if you want to.

If you’d like to be apart of this, I would LOVE for you to email me privately at

Hellokatriver@gmail.com

And share with me if the above ^^ guidelines work for you, which topic you’d love to write about (you can elaborate a bit here) and when realistically you’d be able to offer it.

I so appreciate those who are about to reach out and be apart of this project.

I’m also really excited to read what you have to say. It feels like I’m about to bring out a big golden platter, and lift the lid off to reveal every delicious fruit, for everyone to devour haha.

Lots of love to you all! Feel free to let a friend know if you think they’d resonate.

Love Kat x