Write for Us - Busted Halo

Before you go any further, please read our “About Us” page.

*Please note we do not publish sponsored posts or articles with promotional links

What we’re looking for

Busted Halo hopes to share the Catholic faith in a fun and interactive way and provide creative resources for Catholics to use when sharing the faith with others.

We are looking for contributors who can use a relevant and approachable voice to engage readers. We think learning about the Catholic faith should be fun! So keep that in mind as you write. Our content falls into the following categories:

Essay/Reflection: Write from a personal perspective about a spiritual practice, formative experience, scripture passage, struggle, or specific topic. We also welcome pop culture reflections.
Seasonal Article: Write for a general audience about a topic related to a Church season or holiday. This might invite someone back to Church or to experience the holiday in a fresh way. Click here, here, and here for examples.
Explainer/Resource: Help readers utilize a specific spiritual practice or faith tradition by addressing the basics in an easy-to-understand way. Focus on explaining a faith topic in a way that people who might be new to the Catholic faith would understand. Click here and here for examples.`
Listicle: Provide Busted Halo readers with specific takeaways or lessons about a certain topic. Click here, here, and here for examples.

We do not publish poetry at this time.

Editorial calendar (subject to change)

January/February/March: Lent, Sacrifice, Spiritual Renewal

April/May: Easter, Pentecost, Creation, Church Community

June/July/August: Faith in Everyday Life, Relaxation and the Importance of Sabbath/Rest

September/October: Religious Education, Vocation, Personal Faith Journeys

November/December: Gratitude, Prayer, Thanksgiving, Advent, Christmas

Please note that we typically program our content 1-2 months in advance.

Sending pitches

Please e-mail editor@bustedhalo.com with a few paragraphs explaining what you want to write and why you think it’s a good fit for Busted Halo. Tell us a little bit about yourself and why you are interested in this topic and our website. Along with your pitch, please send us two to three writing samples to give us an idea of your style and tone, links to your blog or other online publications, and your Twitter (X) and/or Instagram handle.

Helpful hints

Great pitches are stories, not topics. So, you should identify a specific angle or takeaway. For example, “I want to write about motherhood” is a topic, but “I’d like to share how my relationship to Mary completely changed after I became a mother” is a story.
Be sure you can answer the question, “Why should the reader care?” If you can’t identify concrete takeaways for the Busted Halo audience, your pitch might need more workshopping.
If Busted Halo has covered the subject of your pitch before, explain how your take will be different.
Personal is always better. If you have a compelling personal connection to your story, share it!

Here is an example of a great pitch:

6 Psalms for When You’re Sick

This time of year, most of us would rather hear the singing of carols and jingling of bells than the other sounds that often fill the air: coughing, sneezing, and nose blowing. But the reality of winter is, of course, an increase in contagious illness. Darker days and colder weather can compound the miserable feeling of any sickness, whether acute (like the flu) or something chronic we struggle with all year long.

I’d love to share six psalms Busted Halo’s readers can turn to for comfort in times of illness. From Psalm 41, which speaks of God’s care for the sick, to Psalm 6, an anguished cry for mercy, the psalms can not only offer encouragement for healing, but remind us that suffering is part of the human condition that can be offered up sacrificially. In this piece, I would highlight the different ways six specific psalms show God’s understanding of–and compassion for–sickness.

Sending submissions

Pitches are preferred, but if you would like to send us a submission, please follow these guidelines:

Length: Usually 500-700 words, but depends on the piece. Please attach your piece as a Microsoft Word Document. We will not accept submissions over 1,000 words.
Stories must be previously unpublished and should follow the guidelines listed above.
Include five headline ideas with each submission.
Include ideas for photos or images that could illustrate your piece.
Send us your Twitter handle and links to your blog or other online publications.

Any wording taken from AI-generated responses, including copying and pasting sentences or paraphrasing, is strictly prohibited.

What we pay

Our standard rate is $75/article.

We try to respond to everyone who reaches out to us with story ideas. Please allow two to three weeks for a response. This time frame will vary with the volume of submissions.