Color Me Surprised. If You're A Writer Not Just A Reader, You Might Like This.

History of Women is looking for more writers. :)

photo from pexels

When I originally started History of Women on Medium, I had a really simple idea. Women were pretty much erased from the history books. Women accomplished so much and endured so much, but most of their stories went untold.

I wanted to tell the stories people don’t know.

The publication started as just me. As it grew, I opened the doors to other writers and feedback from readers has been great.

There’s a lot of great stories in there…

One of our top pieces was about Victorian crotchless underwear. Another was about the little girl that inspired Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Plus, the one about how Marilyn Monroe’s mother got thrown in an insane asylum for grieving. And the one about dating advice from a 1938 magazine.

I could go on. The public nonsense when a black actress played Anne Boleyn and the one about how prostitutes changed fashion. All the horrible ways women tried to lose weight in the past. There’s so many great stories in that little publication.

Here’s the thing.

78% of our stories were written by 7 people.

Those seven writers have lives and jobs and families. And I’d truly love to see this little publication grow, but I desperately need more writers who can tell a great story that’s (a) true and (b) has a woman at the center of the story.

Doesn’t matter if you’re a man or woman. Doesn’t matter if you’re old or young, new at writing or an old pro. All that matters is that you can tell a great story. You don’t have to be a historian, either. Some of our writers are, but most are not.

Maybe you have an interest that would collide well with the publication. Maybe you’re fascinated by a specific woman like Virginia Woolf or Audrey Hepburn. Great. Tell all her stories. Not her biography. Her stories.

Maybe you’re fascinated by a time period. The Victorian Era or The Edwardian Era. Great. Tell the stories related to women from that era. Maybe photo essays fascinate you and you can curate great collections that tell a story.

Maybe you’re fascinated by a topic, like fashion or cooking and can tell us how women cooked before refridgeration or share recipes from another era. Maybe you love pirates, or true crime. Great, tell us the stories that involve women!

Maybe you’re a poet who can weave poetry and storytelling together or poetry and photos together in some amazing way I haven’t even thought of.

One of our writers is a seamstress who actually made a Victorian corset and shared the photos and what it was like to wear it. It was amazing!

There are so many different approaches. So many unique voices out there.

I know this is a bit off the beaten track.

Usually I send you stories instead of asking if you can write them. lol. But it occurred to me that maybe if you like reading History of Women, you might also be interested in joining us to tell some of those stories in your own unique way.

I’ll be back next week with another story as usual. Until then, if you’re interested in writing for History of Women, the submission guide is here…