***Editor's note (Updated Jan. 2023): We have a small editorial team fielding a high volume of submissions. We are currently only able to process a limited number of external submissions every month. More details below.***
Editorial Guidelines | Contributor FAQs | Mighty Contributor Portal | Why Was My Story Rejected?
The Mighty’s goal is to make health about people. That’s why we’re building the biggest and most diverse collection of first-person stories about health and disability on the internet. When you share your story or write for The Mighty, you're helping to break stigmas, foster connection, and let others know they’re not alone in their experiences.
There are a few ways to interact with the Mighty community and share your experience.
Table of Contents
Share Your Story: Join Our Community, Post a Thought or Ask a Question
If you're new to The Mighty, posting Thoughts or Questions is a great place to start.
They’re like a post on social media and are perfect for sharing short personal updates, photos, poetry, and asking for support from the community. You can share your diagnosis journey, talk about your day, or discuss a struggle you're facing. You can also join Groups to share Thoughts with people who have similar interests, concerns, and/or health conditions.
Thoughts are not edited by Mighty staff but are monitored by our Moderation team to keep the community a safe and supportive environment.
For a how-to guide to posting a Thought or Question, see here.
Write for Us: Become a Contributor
Contributor Stories are published articles on the Mighty website that are written by members of our community. Contributor Stories range from relatable personal experiences with health/illness to responses to current events, health-related book and movie reviews, self-care tips, gift guides, and so much more.
Contributor Stories are edited by Mighty staff for spelling, grammar, clarity, and to meet our editorial guidelines. Contributor Stories are distributed through The Mighty’s social channels and shared with our nonprofit and media partners. If you found us via a story shared on social media or when searching the web, it was probably written by a contributor!
You don't need professional writing experience to become a contributor, but if you do, that's great too.
To submit your story for the first time, head here.
If you’re already a contributor, you can visit your contributor portal here.
Editor's note (Updated Jan. 2023): The Mighty receives a high volume of submissions every week and is unable to process all of them in a timely manner. Given the finite capacity of our small team, we sadly cannot guarantee that all submissions we receive will be reviewed promptly. Furthermore, we cannot guarantee acceptance of every submission we review. We currently have a significant backlog of stories to edit and though we are working to clear them as fast as we can, we also want to make sure our writers' personal health stories are given the time and care they are due. Because of this, we will only be publishing a small percentage of the external submissions that come in. Instead, we will be publishing the majority of submissions we receive directly to members’ Mighty profiles as a Thought (see section above). If that happens to a story you submit, know it is ultimately a positive reflection on your work; while we do not have the editing time to devote to as many stories as we'd like, our editors reviewed your submission and still felt it made a valuable addition to our community — other members will still be able to read and comment on what you wrote, and your writing will still have a unique URL you can use to share your story with everyone you know!
Where Does My Story Fit?
Check the following to see which content type would be best suited for your submission. While we can’t guarantee publication if you submit a story, we’ll be able to consider it.
- “I’m a professional writer and I want to share an article/my story.”
Great! Your story would be best suited as a Contributor Story submission. - “I just want the community to read my story.”
Your story would be perfect as a Thought. - “I want my work to be read on your social media and shared widely.”
Your story would be best suited as a Contributor Story submission. - “I’m a blogger and want to republish my articles on The Mighty and/or write new articles.”
Your story would be best suited as a Contributor Story submission. - “I want to share a poem.”
We love poetry at The Mighty! Our editorial team doesn’t publish poetry submissions as Contributor Stories, but you can share your poetry with our community by posting a Thought in our Mighty Poets group. Use the #MightyPoets hashtag too so more members can discover your wonderful work! - “I want to submit my fiction.”
Right now, we only publish first-person nonfiction essays and blogs. However, as with poetry, you can share your fiction as a Thought if you want others to read it. - “I want to share my journey in full.”
Your story would be best suited as a Thought for the community to read. - “I want to meet others who understand what it’s like.”
We’d love for you to join our Mighty community by sharing a Thought or Question. - “I need help” or “I’m feeling suicidal.”
We’re here for you. If you need urgent medical help, please call 911 or your local emergency number. You can also contact any of the crisis centers listed here to chat with someone in a safe, supportive environment. Our community is also here if you'd just like to talk about what's on your mind.
Before submitting a story for consideration, please read our editorial guidelines. Stories that follow our guidelines are far more likely to be accepted for publication. You can also read our Contributor FAQs.
Unless you’ve written about a timely topic or current event, it often takes six months or longer for a Contributor Story to be published. You can post a Thought right away without waiting for an editor to review it. If you're waiting longer than three months and you want to check your submission's progress, you can email us at editors@themighty.com.
Contributor Stories and Thoughts are important parts of the Mighty community. Both show up in our community members’ feeds, and both start important conversations that often leave people feeling more understood and less alone.
Here are some examples of recently published stories we loved:
Example 1: When PTSD Makes Healthy Relationships Feel ‘Too Good to Be True’
Example 2: 5 Charts You Need If Identifying Your Emotions Is Hard
Example 3: Self-Diagnosed Autistics Are Valid
Example 4: Why Performing Stage Combat With Cerebral Palsy Was a Real Battle
Example 5: When I'm 'Caught in the Act' of Having a Learning Disability
Example 6: Why 'Get Well Soon' Culture Isn’t Helping Anyone Heal
Writing Prompts
Are you feeling stuck for a story idea? We’ve created a few general prompts for you to consider. Remember: these should always relate to your health condition or disability, or experience in living with an illness!
- What do you wish people understood about living with your health condition?
- Adults with a health condition, what do you want parents of kids with your condition to know?
- What can people do to help end discrimination and stigma against people with your or a loved one’s health condition?
- How do you feel about the way the media portrays your health condition, whether in a general way or a specific movie or TV show?
- Discuss an aspect of your health condition that people rarely talk about.
- If you could invent something to help with your health, what would it be?
- What's your #1 tip for managing your health condition?
- Which area of your life does your health affect the most?
- My health often stops me from _____, so here is what I do instead.
- What's the best piece of health advice you've ever received?
- What's the best change you've ever made for your health?
- Write the pep talk you need for your health today.
- What has surprised you most about living with a health condition?
- Some misconceptions about my health or disability are _____.
- What's something that would make the world more accessible for you?
Happy writing! Are you already a contributor? Visit your contributor portal here.