A Writer’s Diary
An Audio Diary about Writing and the Writing Life
A Writer’s Diary shares audio diary entries about writing and the writing life from Charlotte Donlon and other writers because the writing life can be a solitary life.
Sometimes it’s nice to know we aren’t alone.
If you listen to A Writer’s Diary and like it, we’d love for you to rate it and post a short review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you prefer to listen. Thank you!
Send Us Your Audio Diary Entries
We have plenty of diary entries from Charlotte to last for several weeks, and she continues to record new entries. But we also want to share your diary entries!
Submissions for guest diary entries are open through October 15, 2021. All submissions updates and announcements will be posted on Charlotte’s Instagram account and in Charlotte’s weekly email newsletter. Follow her on Instagram and/or subscribe to her email newsletter to stay in the know.
Submissions guidelines are below.
A Writer’s Diary Submission Guidelines
The current submissions window is open through October 15, 2021.
Please send A Writer’s Diary submissions to charlotte@charlottedonlon.com using these guidelines:
Please submit your diary entry in an mp3 audio file that’s no longer than 10 minutes.
Please include a brief written bio in the body of the email with each submission email. Please don’t include any links in your bio. We don’t have time to check links. Please include Twitter and Instagram handles. We will include links for your social media accounts in the episode description.
So, to be clear, your submission email should only include a written bio in the body of the email with an mp3 file attached.
The audio quality has to be decent. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Charlotte uses the voice memo app on her iPhone to record her entries.
Please keep the content clean from a language standpoint. We are fans of all of the language, it’s just easier this way.
No discrimination, hate, abusive language, etc. allowed.
You can submit up to three different diary entries per submission window. Please send a different email for each entry.
Please share anything you wish about writing and the writing life in your audio diary entry—the good, the bad, the ugly, the ordinary, the extraordinary. But, again, please keep the content clean. We are fans of all of the words. We just don’t have time to police these things.
Do not include an intro, an outro, etc. Don’t say your name or introduce yourself. Don’t make your entry sound like a commercial. Please listen to existing episodes/entries to get an idea of the aesthetic, the vibe, the format. You are welcome to mention your book, your literary journal publication, etc. but it needs to be in light of the writing life. Like a diary entry. Not like a commercial.
If your entry is used for A Writer’s Diary, your name will be included in the podcast episode title and your bio will be included in the show description. We will link to your Twitter and Instagram accounts if applicable.
No anonymous entries allowed.
If we can’t hear what you’re saying, if the file is too long, if the file isn’t an mp3, or if you don’t follow the other guidelines, we will reject your entry and you’ll need to try again during the next submissions window.
We cannot tell you how to record, convert, etc. an mp3 audio file. Our time is limited and A Writer’s Diary will have more longevity if it’s simple and doesn’t take up a lot of our time. Google is your friend.
We cannot edit your audio files. If your diary entry is accepted, we will publish it on A Writer’s Diary podcast as-is.
If one of your diary entries is selected and scheduled for an episode of A Writer’s Diary, and you decide you really don’t want it to be on an episode, you will lose your spot. We need to protect our time and energy as much as possible. We’re not trying to be difficult. Promise.
Okay. Please send any questions to charlotte@charlottedonlon.com. We will respond to you as soon as possible. We want this to be a good thing for writers. Thank so much for your interest. We look forward to hearing and sharing your entries!
Charlotte Donlon is a writer, a spiritual director for writers, and the founder and host of the Our Faith in Writing podcast and website. Charlotte’s writing and work are rooted in noticing how art helps us belong to ourselves, others, God, and the world. Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Curator, The Christian Century, Christianity Today, Catapult, The Millions, Mockingbird, and elsewhere. Her first book is The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other. You can subscribe to her newsletter and connect with her onTwitter and Instagram.