The Attuned Writer Fellowship
Here at Attuned, we believe that understanding Intrinsic Motivation is the key to making organizations happier and work more meaningful—and we’re putting our money where our mouth is to the tune of US$50,000 with the launch of The Attuned Writer Fellowship.
The first program of its kind on digital newsletter-publishing platform Substack, The Attuned Writer Fellowship will give one talented emerging writer the financial and mentorship support to launch and run a newsletter dedicated to exploring Intrinsic Motivation in all its many forms for one whole year.
The winning applicant, as chosen by our all-star panel, will receive a salary of US$50,000 over the course of 12 months to start a Substack newsletter on Intrinsic Motivation and produce at least 2-3 full-length posts per week on the subject. The writer will also receive mentorship from our panel of industry experts and support in growing their readership from Attuned, with the ultimate aim of building a big enough subscriber base to transition from a free newsletter to a paid one, and thus become self-supporting, once the sponsorship ends.
Hamish McKenzie, co-founder of Substack, says:
“I love that Attuned recognizes that what a writer needs to succeed is so much more than a software tool. This program offers the kind of support that frees writers to focus on nothing but the thing that matters most: the writing itself. This is the first program of its kind organized outside of Substack, and I hope to see many more like it in the future.”
The competition is open to anyone, anywhere in the world. Please see below for more details on how to apply, and what to expect.
The Prize
US$50,000 one-year contract, paid monthly (terms and conditions apply)
Mentorship sessions with the judges
Ongoing support and mentorship from the Attuned team
How to Apply
To apply for The Attuned Writer Fellowship, please submit the following items to team@attuned.ai on or before August 15th, 2021 with ‘Attuned Writer Fellowship Application’ in the subject line:
Your CV or LinkedIn profile.
Three previous pieces of work that best illustrate your writing ability. Writing with a unique and passionate voice is more important to us than whether or not it appeared in a world-renowned publication, so please choose the writing that you feel represents you best, whether published or not. Please do not submit short stories or poetry, or dissertations, essays or other academic work.
Create a blog-style post of between 500-800 words on the subject of Intrinsic Motivation. You’re free to tackle the subject in any way, and from any angle, that you wish. Check out the Attuned blog and this short animation for background and inspiration.
Come up with 10 ideas (a title and a 1-2 sentence synopsis for each) for blog posts related to the subject of Intrinsic Motivation that you would write if you win.
Complete the Attuned Intrinsic Motivation Assessment, and share your Motivator Report with us, along with your feedback on the results (in 200 words or less). You may want to consider questions like: To what extent do you feel like the report represents you? Were there any scores that surprised you? Are there any scores you strongly agree or disagree with? Did you find the process useful? Are there any ways we could improve?
Shortlisted applicants will be contacted by September 12th, 2021. If you do not receive a message from us by this date, your application has been unsuccessful.
The Judging Panel
Casey Wahl
Founder & CEO of Attuned, and author of The Quiet Comeback.
Rachel Richardson
Former Head of Editorial at Snapchat and a two-time British Society of Magazine Editors ‘Editor of the Year’ winner.
Lenny Rachitsky
Author of the hugely popular Lenny’s Newsletter, which offers advice on product, growth and working with humans, and has more than 65,000 subscribers on Substack.
Abid Rahman
International / Newsletter Editor at The Hollywood Reporter.
FAQs for applicants
I’ve already got a Substack newsletter. Can I still enter?
Yes, you can. As long as you’re ready to start a new one from scratch and work on it full-time.
Will I have to write about Attuned?
Nope. We have our own blog and newsletter where we write about what we’re doing as a company. The newsletter will include a mention of Attuned as sponsor of the Writing Fellowship for the duration of the one-year contract, but the content will be about Intrinsic Motivation from the perspective of the winning writer.
Will I have to write what Attuned tells me?
Nope. We’ll provide editorial guidelines and some help to get started, but as long as the newsletter is on the subject of Intrinsic Motivation, and adheres to our standards of taste, decency and inclusivity, then you will be free to explore the topic in any way you wish.
How often will I have to write if I win?
Based on Substack’s recommendations for a successful newsletter, we’ll be looking for the winning applicant to write at least 2-3 substantial posts per week. The aim is for the winner to develop this into a paid newsletter that can provide them with a regular source of income after the Attuned Fellowship ends.
When will I have to start?
We’ll work with the winning writer to come up with a reasonable launch schedule, but our aim is to launch in early November 2021.
Do I have to quit my job to do this?
The Attuned Writer Fellowship is intended to be a full-time program that gives an emerging talent the opportunity to focus 100% on their writing for one year with a view to building an income stream that will hopefully enable them to make a living from their newsletter once the sponsorship ends, so to do it at the same time as a full-time job is very much against the spirit of the competition. Also, given the time it takes to research and write 2-3 substantial and high-quality posts each and every week, it is unlikely to be feasible (or enjoyable) to do it on top of another job. Which is a long-winded way of saying, if you can’t commit to this full-time for one year, this probably isn’t the competition for you.
For more information on how Substack newsletter subscriptions (both free and paid) work, visit substack.com
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