So what does it mean to be a writer with MyFrenchLife™?
Your work will be published on our magazine, and you’ll be able to build your very own portfolio of articles. (See Judy’s writer page for an example!) We offer high profile exposure for all writers on social media, and in our regular newsletter ‘Le Bulletin’.
But we offer a lot more than just published articles…
We are open to receiving applications to become a Contributor from the following:
- Experienced and/or professional writers.
Much of what appears below is for younger writers or those seeking more experience and/or exposure. If you are a professional or experienced writer, please jump down the page to read about:-
– our values
– what type of writers and content we’re looking for and
– how our Contributor application process works. - Writers wishing to improve and gain exposure for their writing.
In many ways, being a writer seems like a risky career choice these days. You can’t get published! Can’t get experience! And can’t even get to the ears and email inboxes of the media and publishing power-brokers… The future of the media and publishing has never looked so bleak.The truth, however, is a lot brighter. There has never been a better time to be a writer… There’s a whole world of opportunity opening up for writers like you – you just have to know how to get there.
We want our writers to have a future; we want doors to be opened for them!
We’ve designed a digital content mastery course, free for all writers in our internal team and interns at MyFrenchLife.org. Whilst contributors do not have full access to this course we do provide guides and checklists, feedback and support all of which are a part of our digital content mastery course, especially for those writers wishing to improve and gain exposure for their writing.
This course takes you through what it means to write for the web, what SEO is and how to use it – and most importantly: how to do all of this without selling out and sacrificing the integrity and quality of your work. We’ve designed this course to build on your already-existing expertise as a writer, and allow you to forge your career in the world of digital media.
You don’t have to be a techie to become a digital master – we’ve mapped it all out for you, and will provide feedback and support each step of the way. We’ll tell you exactly what you need to know, and how to use this new-found knowledge to harness the power of online.
Well that sounds pretty great! How do I become involved?
First, make sure you’re comfortable with our five MyFrenchLife™ team member values…
1. Mutual respect
As a startup, we understand the value of passion and hard work, and really appreciate all the time our writers put into their submissions. This also means that our writers currently contribute on a volunteer basis, and we share our expertise in exchange.
2. Commitment
As we also put a lot of time into providing feedback and helping our writers become digital content experts, we ask for a minimum commitment of 12 submissions. Most contributors submit each month on a regular date, and many submit many more than just 12 articles. Our longest-standing contributor has been with us for over two years!
We’ll help you plan these submissions in advance, so we can both be sure we’re producing the best possible content for our audience. We find that it works best when we tap into an area you’re passionate about – so we’ll make sure we chat about this first!
3. Honesty
We understand that you have your own commitments to keep, and a life to live, so we’re happy to be flexible on the regularity and timing of submissions. We simply ask for timely, open and honest communication.
4. Community
Writing for us also means you’re part of a passionate, vibrant team from all across the globe. We’re proud of the community and culture we’ve built, and we love to support one another. So we ask that writers interact on social media, and our website, to give our team members the encouragement and pat on the back they deserve. Besides, it’s much more fun that way!
5. Passion and enthusiasm
Love what you do, and the rest will follow. Need we say more?
What type of writers and content are we looking for?
We are open to receiving applications to become a Contributor from the following:
- Experienced and/or professional writers.
- Writers wishing to improve and gain exposure for their writing.
What about the content?
Overall, we look for well written, deep and even challenging articles which help our readers:-
- gain a deeper understanding of France
- prepare for their next trip to France – off the beaten path and experiential travelling, not tourist information, and/or
- enable them to ‘Frenchify’ their life wherever they live, through learning or immersive French experiences.
We prefer stories about inspiring people, enriching experiences and off-the-beaten-path places.
We do NOT accept promotional material. We do NOT accept ‘random’ submissions or guest posts.
Where to next?
If this sounds like a team you’d love to be a part of, we’d love to hear from you!
You can join us as an internal team member (these are salaried roles) an internship or as a contributor. Many contributors who join our team are familiar with the print media but not the digital world. Even though Contributors are not eligible for our digital master course you get good exposure through our pitching process and interaction with us and you get to see how we present your work. Contributors take on a non-remunerated role, but we do everything we can to present your work in the most professional manner and give your work broad exposure as you build a digital portfolio.
If you are looking to be a contributor then please email us at info@myfrenchlife.org with a subject line ‘Contributor application – Your name’ and include the following details:
1. Links to your blog or website and some samples of your writing (if you have any)
Do NOT write articles for us at this stage as we do NOT accept random submissions.
2. Links to your social media pages (we’d love to follow you!).
3. An email introducing yourself and containing a quick pitch telling us what theme or topic you would most like to write on (food, fashion, language, culture etc), and how it relates to our audience.
Please use the subject line: ‘New contributor application – Your name’.
4. Next you will hear from us and if we are interested in proceeding with your application you can expect the following:-
- we will have a discussion and agree the themes and article ideas you’ll write on
- we will ask you to write a sample article following our style guide and armed with information about our audience.
- and if we all agree to proceed, then we work with you to develop a content plan for 12 articles.
We look forward to hearing from you soon! 
