Want to publish your story? Here’s how to submit an L.A. Affairs essay

L.A. Affairs is a first-person column in the L.A. Times chronicling romance and relationships. We are looking for previously unpublished work. Here’s how to submit your essay.

We are looking for previously unpublished work.

We prefer stories that are rooted in the present, not the distant past.

Each story needs to have an arc. Mere musings on the state of affairs won’t do.

We like stories to have a strong sense of place and to feel rooted in Southern California.

Stories should be roughly 1,000 words.

Stories must be true. Everything in each piece including names must be factually correct. No exaggeration, no fictional or composite characters, no hyperbole for the sake of dramatic effect.

We will not accept anonymous essays.

We pay $400 for a published essay.

We understand that these stories are personal, and we will edit them with the greatest sensitivity we can muster. But we will edit — for content, for length and for tone. We see writing and editing as a collaborative venture, but ultimately the editor’s decisions will stand.

Please be patient: We receive dozens and dozens of submissions for L.A. Affairs each week and are not always able to respond immediately.

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