Write for The New Outdoors
How to get your story published with us
We focus on the connections between the natural world, outdoor experiences, environmental advocacy, health, fitness, psychology, and spirituality.
Our mission
The purpose of The New Outdoors is to build community, enhance understanding, and foster positive change. We share ideas that can improve our wellness, help us become better stewards, and improve access to the outdoors for all. In this age of information overload, our goal is quality rather than quantity.
There are already a number of quality outdoor publications on Medium. The idea for The New Outdoors comes from the realization that articles related to the new outdoor movement didn’t have a publication focused on this particular niche. A powerful synergy can be gained by having these articles appear side-by-side. Not having to compete with the “How I Made $1,000 in my first month on Medium” articles is always a plus. We see The New Outdoors as a leg of a shared journey. We welcome you to join us by following our publication and submitting stories. We travel together for a while; we do not yet know how far we will go or for how long.
We’re a fledgling publication and can’t promise publishing here is a direct path to reads or riches. But if you have something important to say, and if writing helps deepen your own learning and the learning of others, what — really — is there to lose? In the act of writing, you already experience success.
How we’re different
We’re not a traditional outdoor publication. We publish stories about the outdoors, outdoor gear, and outdoor adventure but with a twist. The twist is that we situate ourselves at the nexus of cutting-edge brain & nature science, environmental advocacy, environmental design, awe theory, spirituality, fitness, health, psychology, and self-help. This is the “new” in the New Outdoors.
We believe in some time-tested approaches that may seem contrarian in the fast-paced digital age:
- Read to gain a broadened perspective
- Think & dialogue more
- Give your draft time to breathe before revising
- Write like someone’s going to read it twice
- Bring something new to the conversation
What we are looking for
Articles that contribute something new.
This may be writing that stems from personal experience. This may be writing based on research. In either case, your unique insights are what add value and make it worthwhile.
Articles that fit one of our topic areas* and make connections to nature and the outdoors:
Health & Fitness: These are articles about how outdoor experiences can enhance physical and mental well-being.
Outdoor Me: These are stories (possibly from childhood) that reflect your relationship with nature and the outdoors.
Awe: These are pieces about outdoor experiences that involve the experience of awe — feelings of profound connection to self, to nature, and to others.
Stewardship: These are articles that promote reducing our footprint, caring for natural environments, and protecting the creatures within them. We believe getting people outdoors is — in the long run — good for the planet too. Articles about environmental design and biomimicry can fit here, or perhaps they deserve their own tab.
Inspiration: These are articles about outdoor experiences that inspire others to spend more time outdoors. These experiences may be as simple as stepping into the backyard to gaze at the stars or as elaborate as multi-day adventures in the wilderness.
How To: These are articles about gear, techniques, or practices that enable or deepen our experience of nature. Or they may be public policy or environmental education pieces focused on conservation or increasing access to the outdoors for all.
*In order to have your article featured on one of our tabs (Articles on the “Inspiration tab” for example are here), please tag the article as one of the following when choosing “topics”: Health & Fitness, Outdoor Me, Awe, Stewardship, Inspiration, or How To.
Grammar & style guidelines
Prior to submitting, we encourage close reading. If you care about your work, it’s essential to read it aloud. If you don’t already do this, try it and see. You’re sure to notice new things. In addition, we strongly encourage the use of editing tools such as Grammarly and Hemingway Editor. We use the free versions of each.
The use of a clear, transparent style allows your reader to focus on your content without being distracted. For this reason, we encourage the use of conventions as they are conventionally used. We endorse the style and formatting found in most major publications across Medium and that is endorsed by Medium itself. In particular:
Title
Select your text and choose the large “T” in the toolbar.
Subtitle
Select text directly below the title and choose the small “T” in the toolbar.
Kicker
If you’d like, you can include a “kicker” that identifies it as fitting one of our six tabs/topic areas (Awe, Inspiration, Health & Fitness, How To, Outdoor Me, or Stewardship). We are happy to add the kicker for you. If your story fits under more than one tab (many of them do), pick one, or we will pick one for you. If you want to add it yourself, instructions on adding a kicker are here.
Images
Click the “+” sign and then click the image icon. Be sure to identify the image source, and be sure you have permission to use it. Whenever possible, include at least one image along with your story.
Headings
Select text within the body of your story and choose the large “T” in the toolbar. For subheadings, use the small “T.”
Pull Quotes & Block Quotes
These are best used for their separate purposes, as other uses may confuse your reader. A Medium article that clarifies their use is here.
Paragraphing
We like the Goldilocks “just right” approach when it comes to paragraph length. Variety is also a plus. Keep your reader in mind when editing — and realize your reader may feel daunted by encountering an unbroken wall of text, especially because they may be reading on their phone.
Links
We encourage you to link to other related stories on Medium, whether they are your own or those of other writers. Appropriate external links are also welcome. If you are citing lesser-known facts or percentages, it is often best to link to the source.
Affiliate links
Especially if you are writing about gear, it may be appropriate to include a small number of affiliate links as part of your story. Based on Medium policy, you should also disclose if you receive a commission for sales or clicks.
For a more complete explanation of the formatting tips above, see the Medium article here.
How to be added as a writer
- We ask to see a sample of your writing before adding you as a writer. This can be a draft that hasn’t been published yet or an already published piece.
- Place your writing sample on Medium (if it is not there already). Copy the URL of the writing sample into your browser.
- Complete our brief Google Form (also linked below) which asks you to paste in the URL of your writing sample.
What to expect
You will receive a response from us within 36 hours. Responses will generally be one of the following:
- Your writing sample intrigues us. We’ve added you as a writer and look forward to having you submit your first piece.
- Your draft is a great fit for our mission and is nicely formatted and error-free. We’ve added you as a writer and encourage you to submit your draft for publication at your first convenience.
- Your draft is a great fit and we are adding you as a writer. Here are a few minor formatting or grammatical issues we would like you to address before we publish it.
- If you don’t hear from us, it doesn’t mean your piece isn’t of value, but only that we don’t see it as a good fit for our publication at this time.
Please note:
- A rejected submission is not a comment on the quality of your work. In most cases, it will simply mean your story didn’t mesh with our current vision. Keep reading, keep writing, and keep submitting!
- We reserve the right to make one or two small changes to your piece (fixing a spelling error, adding a comma, or slightly reformatting your title).
- You retain ownership of your piece at all times. You are free to withdraw your piece at any time.
We look forward to having you join the conversation.
Our “Add Me As a Writer Request Form” (which takes one minute to complete and asks for an email address & writing sample) is below:
Click HERE to complete our “Add Me as a Writer Form”
Thank you! We look forward to reading your work.
If you have not already done so, please follow & read The New Outdoors and the writers who have contributed to it!
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