Call for Personal Essays and Recap of Our First 5 Months

An update and thanks from Open Secrets editor Rachel Kramer Bussel

Sep 08, 2023

I’m Rachel Kramer Bussel, founder and editor of Open Secrets. As we enter our sixth month, I wanted to thank you for subscribing and recap the wonderful personal essays we’ve published so far. I’m so proud to have worked on every one of them, and have great admiration for our authors, who’ve bared their souls and shared deeply personal insights. If you missed any of them, they’re linked below and all our content can always be found in our archive.

I also wanted to make sure you know there’s a public call for essays up as of this posting to round out the final essays of the year; the call will be updated as each slot is filled and will close when all slots are full. Open Secrets pays $100/essay upon finalization of the text. Most of the essays I’m looking to commission are on specific topics such as personal experiences with 9/11 (that one will remain open through this Saturday, September 9), what it’s like to be a veteran or have served in the military (in the U.S. or elsewhere), Wicca/being a witch, work/career, dating/relationships, health, gratitude/giving thanks, and our relationship with our stuff, but I’m also open to any topics we haven’t covered yet. The best way to get a sense of the essays I’m most likely to accept is to read some of the ones Open Secrets has already published.

If you’ve already submitted an essay, thank you; everyone will hear back from me by December 31, 2023 at the latest. Due to time constraints, I can only consider full essays of 1,000-1,500 words. If you know anyone who might have an essay that’s a good fit for Open Secrets, please pass on our writing guidelines.

I started Open Secrets after reading about the closure of several publications whose essays I’d enjoyed. As an essayist myself and reader of essays, I wanted to provide an online home for the kinds of essays I like to read, ones that highlight powerful moments in another person’s existence, ones that offer a glimpse into a life that may be very much like the readers or completely different. I wanted these essays to make people feel less alone.

I funded the first six months of essays myself, though the end of September, and essays published beyond that are funded by readers like you. I’m also on the lookout for grants so I can continue and expand Open Secrets; I would love to be able to publish more essays and post more interviews. That being said, what the future holds for Open Secrets after 2023 will depend on my available time and funding. Our publishing schedule may change, but my hope is to maintain our weekly essays and grow beyond that.

If you want to support Open Secrets, there are several ways you can help us reach more readers. Clicking the heart icon at the bottom of our posts, leaving a comment, recommending us on Substack, sharing our essays on social media (you can tag us @OpenSecretsMag on Twitter/X and Instagram) and/or becoming a free or paid subscriber all help get our essays in front of by a wider readership.

And if you have suggestions for types of essays you’d like to see us publish or anything else you’d like to share, feel free to comment here or reach out at opensecretsmag at gmail.com.

“This Job Will Kill Me If I Let It” by Katrina Jackson

“The Lasting Legacy of Medical Trauma” by Gretchen Lida

“Live Through This” by Leah Nagely Robbins

“Beyond the Embargo: Keeping the BTS Book a Secret” by Anton Hur

“Beware the Barbies and Other Plastic Playthings” by Jerry Portwood

“The Last Time I Had a Best Friend I Was 11” by Diann Leo-Omine

“The Catheter Lady” by Jordan Sara Kurtzman

“An Ode to Old-Fashioned Letters” by Joshunda Sanders

“Am I My Pen Name?” by Ben Goodwin

“Some Of Us Just Got Here Sooner” by Teresa Douglas

“I Was a Lesbian Lothario” by Allison Hope

“Voce” by Nick Walker