Outside the Lines is a publication of, for and (crucially) by the open publishing community. We welcome pitches for one-off or regular contributions on a rolling basis. (Read more about our publishing philosophy.)

Topics can include:

  • Sharing your projects, research, publications, opportunities, wins, losses, and lessons
  • Hot takes on scholarly-ish communication, publishing, tech/infrastructure, knowledge sharing, creativity etc.
  • Exploration of ideas or questions you're pondering and want to test out in gentle, semi-structured waters
  • Reviews, event recaps, or other news-y type stuff

... and you can express yourself however you wish!

  • Writing (essays, opinion pieces, creative writing, interviews, social media threads etc.)
  • Multimedia (video, podcast episodes, charts, memes, interactive games, slide decks, comics, art etc.)
  • Literally anything else we can figure out how to put on a website (zines, stickers, knitting patterns, puzzles, oracle decks etc. – we love a challenge.)

(Side note: some of this stuff might benefit from Radish Press publishing support if you'd like to see it reach a wider audience!)

What Publishing with OTL Looks Like

The basic process goes like this:

  1. You submit a pitch.
  2. Two or more of the editorial board review your pitch. If they give the ok, an editor is assigned and together you figure out logistics and timelines.
  3. You create your wondrous thing and submit it to your editor on time (yes, really).
  4. Two or more other editors review the final piece. If they give the ok, we schedule it, then promote via socials and newsletters once published.
  5. You start plotting your next wondrous thing and start again at step 1.

Other Ways to Contribute

We also have a few semi-structured ways to get published, so you don't have to start from a blank page.

  1. Don't Overthink It Writing Club: we share a writing prompt on the 1st of every month, and you can submit a short and sweet response that will be published the following month (pending light editorial review). Follow our various socials and newsletter to get the new prompt, and share your piece by mid-month via our DOI Writing Club form.
  2. Release Radar: Got something you want the world to know about? Send us a quick summary via our release radar form and we'll compile them into a monthly post.

We have more ideas in the works, so stay tuned.

Pitch Us Now