Guidelines for Guest Posts

Want to propose a guest post for Companion Animal Psychology? These are the guidelines.

Guidelines for guest posts on Companion Animal Psychology



Companion Animal Psychology accepts guest posts from diverse writers who support evidence-based approaches and the kind, humane treatment of animals (and their people).

If you would like to propose a guest post, please follow these guidelines. It would also be helpful to read previous guest posts by contributors to Companion Animal Psychology.

Please note, guest posts are not considered between mid-May and mid-October (with the exception of scientists, who may pitch all year round if their story is time-sensitive). 

1. Please send a pitch and not the whole article. I will let you know if we want to see the article. Companion Animal Psychology blog covers any aspect of the relationship between people and their pets, and any kind of companion animal (not just dogs and cats).

I have a strong preference for stories that are evidence-based, and have a bias towards ethical, humane treatment of animals and people. Suitable subjects for guest posts include scientific research on animal behaviour, animal welfare, dog training, cat training, etc.

If you're a scientist thinking of writing a guest post about your research, I would love to see your pitch. You may find this article by Patrick Dunleavy helpful: how to write a blog post from your journal article in eleven easy steps.

Photographers are also invited to send pitches for blogs based on photos of dogs or cats. Please put 'photo blog' in your subject line.

2. Contributors should have appropriate expertise. Please include a sentence or two that addresses why you are the right person for this story.

For example, you have (or are working towards) a graduate degree in a relevant discipline; you have (or are working towards) a suitable dog training qualification such as CTC or KPA; or you have relevant experience in animal shelter and rescue.

If you have some other kind of expertise and would like to write a guest post, please be sure to mention your expertise in your pitch.

If your story is more of a personal piece, tell me why you are the right person to write it and why it is a good fit for this blog.

Ideally, please mention your expertise in the subject line e.g. 'guest post proposal by dog trainer/cat behaviourist/scientist/student/shelter worker/blogger'. This will help me know to prioritize your email.

3. You should expect to be edited to make your piece as good as it can be. Although there are no specific length requirements, stories are typically between 600 and 1200 words. Articles should be written for an intelligent reader who is not a scientist.

4. Please read through the blog and get a feel for whether or not your story is likely to be a good fit.

Queries that are considered to be spam will be ignored. Companion Animal Psychology does not published sponsored posts or posts by content writers simply looking for back links.

5. Companion Animal Psychology is not able to pay for guest posts at this time.

If you have something you would like to propose, you can contact me (Zazie) by email at companimalpsych at gmail dot com. I apologize but I am not always able to respond to all queries, especially if they do not follow these guidelines.

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