Submit A Story

Why Share Your Story

The goal of our books has always been to inspire closeted gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender public safety professionals to come out and to live their lives in the truth.  It is possible to be “out” and to be successful in law enforcement, the fire service, or as an EMS professional.  We also know that there is a growing interest from law enforcement leaders, executives, chiefs and sheriffs in how to create a more accepting workplace for LGBT employees.  Our books are intended to help these straight allies better support LGBT law enforcement professionals. We have all experienced a journey that has lead us to be who we are today.  That journey was shaped largely by the historical events we witnessed and the people we met a long the way.  What has your journey been like?  What did you struggle with on the job?  Did you face discrimination?  Are you still unable to come out?  How did you come out to your colleagues?  What’s the funniest memory you have related to being LGBT on the job?    What events did you witness or experience that influenced you most?  What people did you meet on your journey who shaped who you are today?  We are looking for stories of all kinds to share in our next book. The power of our work comes from your story – one that other professionals can identify with and see themselves in.  We need your advice and expertise to help other law enforcement officers, firefighters, and EMS professionals with their own personal and often difficult struggles.  Straight allies want to know how to best support you and future LGBT members of our profession.

How To Contribute Your Story

We are actively collecting stories to publish in our next book and want you to be part of this exciting project that we know will change lives for the better in our profession.  You don’t need to be a profession writer to have your story in print.  If you have read our books, you know that there are all kinds of ways to share your journey.  We recommend starting a document and just start typing.  Work on it over time.  Let your thoughts and memories guide the story of your journey.  Take a look at our online interview questions for ideas of what to include. Click Here for to see the questions.  But, don’t limit yourself to just these prompts.  You can write as much as you like starting with any point in your life you feel is the best place to begin your story.  You can submit your story in an MS Word compatible format.  Be sure to double-space and use a 12-pitch font.  Once you are ready to submit the story, fill out the form below and attach your document using the button provided. If you do not want to write your full story, we can interview you online so that all you have to do is respond to a series of questions that can usually be answered in one paragraph.  Click Here for an online interview.

Content Guidelines

Any member of law enforcement (civilian or sworn), corrections personnel, the fire service, or an emergency medical professional may participate.

  • Our audience includes everyone, young readers, and your mother.  Please do not use profanity or share graphic recollections of sexual experiences.
  • You don’t have to use your real name and you should consider respecting the privacy of others.  Names are not important, just tell the story.
  • Be creative – this isn’t a police report – so make it more than “just the facts ma’am.”
  • Think beyond your coming out story and consider other important moments in your life including historical events and people who shaped who you are today.  They can be serious, funny, happy, or sad.  What matters is that it was an important point in your life.
  • Think Nike and “Just Do It!” If the story is on your mind, write it and submit it now or set yourself a deadline.  Otherwise, trust me, you’ll never get to it.
  • Pictures can connect a reader to a story.  If you have a picture of you that you would like to have included with your story, submit it with your story below.  We would very much like to have a picture of you uniform to include in the book with your story.

Our intent is to preserve “the voice” of each contribution.  Don’t worry about having perfect grammar, punctuation or spelling.  We use a professional editing service to insure the book conforms to a consistent writing style.  We do reserve the write to edit your story to insure it is appropriate for the audience described above.

When To Press Submit

Please complete the form below if you are interested in writing or if you are ready to submit a story.   Let us know now that you are working on writing your story so that we can keep you updated on the progress of the book’s development and help you along the way.

 

    Your Name (required)

    Your Email (required)

    What Is Your Job Title? (required)

    What State Are You Located In? (required)

    Cut and paste your story into this text box.

    If you would like to submit your completed story as an attachment in .DOC, .TXT, or .PDF format, submit it here.

    If you would like to submit your picture to be posted with your story, submit it here.

    By checking this box, I authorize Out To Protect Inc. to publish my story online or in print. I understand that I release all rights to the content of this submission to Out To Protect Inc.