What’s Your Story?

A lot of people want to read it!

You know What It’s Like to… do something that isn’t already in the WiLt* lineup (see below for plans). “It” doesn’t have to be heroic, strange, or unique. But you do need to have done it so you can describe What It’s Like.

How to Submit Stories

Illustration: adapted from mohamed_hassan on Pixabay.

Unfortunately, WiLt is no longer accepting stories: while plenty of folks were given the go-ahead (their story proposal was accepted), not enough actually wrote the stories and submitted them, and I reluctantly had to give up on the project in Fall 2021.

Copyright Grant

Specifically, by submitting a story to What It’s Like to…, you agree you are granting ThisIsTrue.Inc (WiLt’s publisher) non-exclusive rights to your story under U.S. copyright law to publish it on this site and on Medium, and in any book compilations ThisIsTrue.Inc or its assigns may publish, and/or adapt it to and for any other medium (such as podcasts). “Non-exclusive” means you retain the right to also publish it elsewhere.

Once you grant these rights, the grant cannot be revoked.

ThisIsTrue.Inc does not guarantee books will be published, nor that any particular story will be included in any particular book, but the more popular the stories are, the more likely it is that books will be published.

Q&A

Q: Do I have to have experienced the topic myself to write about it?
A: Yes: that’s how you’ll be able to describe What It’s Like to do it!

Q: Can the experience be illegal?
A: Yes, but the story must include what happened (arrested? etc.), and can’t promote illegal activity.

Q: Can I use a pen name, or omit my name entirely?
A: Yes. If you submit your story through Medium, you are responsible for how your name displays: they pick it up from your account info.

Q: Is it possible to write for WiLt and not register on Medium?
A: Yes, I will post it for you there — but then you will not be paid.

Q: Can you give me a vague idea about how much I might be paid by Medium?
A: Not really. Some writers there do it as their full-time job, making thousands per month — but they’re essentially posting stories there 5 times a week or more. The month this site was created (February 2021), I was paid $5.98 by Medium for my stories — but then, since I was busy creating this site I only published 2 stories there, in early February. For August 2020, Medium reported that 6.2% of active writers earned over $100 that month, $49,581.31 was the most earned by a writer that month, and $9,958.82 was the most earned for a single story that month. That obviously means, then, that 93.8% of “active writers” earned $100 or less. See what I mean by it’s impossible to say?

Q: What if I have more questions?
A: Use the Contact link and ask. Those with wide applicability will be added here.

Pending Topics

*Those marked with an asterisk are looking for a writer! (Exact titles subject to change, including by you: choose to be more specific, use a more-preferred term, etc. For instance, “Receive a Donated Organ” should probably be “Receive a Donated [specific organ name: eye, kidney, liver, heart….]”, or you may prefer “Have a Heart Transplant” or whatever.)

What It’s Like to…

  • Adopt a Child*
  • Be Arrested*
  • Be Autistic*
  • Be Dyslexic*
  • Be Mugged*
  • Be a Professional Writer
  • Be a Rural Medic
  • Be a Surrogate Mother*
  • Be a Widow*
  • Be a Widower*
  • Be in a Coma*
  • Be on a Civil Trial Jury*
  • Be on a Felony Trial Jury*
  • Be on a Murder Trial Jury*
  • Be on a Pandemic Planning Committee
  • Be on a Ventilator*
  • Be the First Person to ________*
  • Become Paraplegic*
  • Become Tetra/Quadraplegic*
  • Command a Rescue
  • Diagnose a Life-Threatening Condition
  • Discover Your Birth Family
  • Donate an Organ*
  • Drive Code 3
  • Drive a Fire Truck*
  • Drive an Ambulance
  • Have ADHD/ADD
  • Have Anxiety*
  • Have Covid-19*
  • Have PTSD*
  • Have a Baby at Home*
  • Have a Baby in a Taxi*
  • Have a Baby in an Ambulance*
  • Have a Baby*
  • Have a Cop as a Patient
  • Have a Friend as a Patient
  • Have a Heart Attack*
  • Have a Stroke*
  • Immigrate to the U.S.*
  • Land a Medical Chopper
  • Launch Into Space*
  • Live in [Name Your Place!]*
  • Lose ### Pounds*
  • Lose a Child*
  • Own Your Own Business*
  • Pass Out
  • Put a Corpse into a Body Bag
  • Receive a Donated [Name the Organ]*
  • Renounce Citizenship*
  • Run for Office*
  • Serve Time in Jail*
  • Serve Time in Prison*
  • Sit with a Friend as He Dies
  • Start an I.V.
  • Stutter*
  • Survive Cancer*
  • Survive Suicide*
  • Win the Lottery*
  • Work at [Name Your Place!]*

As you can see, pretty much anything could work if it’s something others would wonder about. Again, those marked with * in that list are looking for a writer.

Thanks much for sharing your story!

*Wilt: “A second person singular present tense of will.” —American Heritage. (Yeah, I know it’s a stretch, but writing is nothing if not creative!)