L.A. Affairs submission guidelines

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 We are looking for previously unpublished work.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• We are looking for previously unpublished work.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.