How to write with us
Thank you for your interest in writing for Protocolized. We publish three types of pieces: stories, studies, and science. Please review the guidelines before pitching – technical details and a button to submit a pitch at end.
Stories
Our primary focus is protocol fiction, understood as a genre of science fiction.
Accordingly, our guiding principle for this type of piece is Chiang's Law: science fiction is about strange rules, while fantasy is about special people. Please do not pitch us fantasy stories. We welcome fiction focused on both real and speculative protocols that explore regimes of strange new rules, and the dynamics of the worlds that grow on those protocols.
As a litmus test of quality, we like Fred Pohl's saying: "A good science fiction story should be able to predict not the automobile but the traffic jam.”
We especially encourage fiction composed with use of LLMs, in which case we will accompany the story with an author note explaining the "writing protocol" they used.
A related type of story is personalized fiction. This is a good genre for amateur writers (and we mean that in a good way) to break into, as it relies more on a great story than perfect prose. For example, the story of an aircraft accident from the perspective of an air traffic controller, or a power plant technician who pulled off an amazingly complicated repair thanks to a manual.
Studies
We prize case study essays written by practitioners with direct experience working on, developing or improving protocols.
This could be in any number of fields. Members of the SoP24 cohort, focused on real-world improvement, worked on protocols in encryption, wildfires and floods, business management, democratic voting mechanisms, and augmented reality.
Case studies can include hands-on experiences getting standards adopted, expert analysis, or accounts of important anomalous events like wildfires or floods, major technology milestones, etc. through the lens of protocols.
If you consider yourself a practitioner, not a writer, we definitely want to hear from you. There are plenty of tools to make your life easier and share your hard-earned wisdom.
We also welcome high-quality reviews of books or sci-fi anthologies, through the lens of protocols. Interested in getting paid to revisit some classics, in-depth? Get in touch with your idea.
Science
Lastly, we publish nonfiction pieces for a general audience about protocols, especially focused on modern technological contexts, or important historical developments.
This includes essays about how protocolized environments are represented in creative media. For example, the portrayal of policing, security, and medical protocols in movies and television.
We receive a lot of pitches in this category. As a rule of thumb, we’ll take a B- protocol fiction attempt that tries a novel storytelling thing over another A+ nonfiction thinkpiece.
Qualifications
There isn’t a prerequisite background to contribute, but we have a vision for the publication which all prospective byline writers should aim to align with:
Science Fiction & Fact: Exploring hypothetical and theoretical futures that examine cultural dimensions of protocol science are just as important as those that analyze the technical aspects. How people adapt to new technologies is a difficult and critical question to answer, often requiring both a lot of creativity and technical know-how.
Cosmopolitan: The tone should always be open-minded, even if opinionated. An important objective for this scene-building project is to foster free ranging discussions about technical, cultural, and organizational subjects through the lens of protocols.
Made-to-order: Pieces should be new, written specifically for Protocolized and its audience of engineers, teachers, policy analysts, organizational leaders, and hobbyist researchers.
Timely: Catching waves of critical current events is a good way to increase attunement to the concept of protocols. If people are already focused on something, it’s valuable to provide them with a fresh angle or lens.
Right Side of History: This is a challenging one, but something that we’d like everyone to strive for. What ideas or stories could you tell today that would resonate with someone in fifty years as forward-thinking?
If that sounds like something you can do, we highly encourage you to post your pitch publicly in the #pitches in our Discord. Alternatively, you can send your pitch, in line with the technical guidelines below, to research@summerofprotocols.com
Technical Guidelines
Your pitch should be under 100 words, include a working title, and specify which category (stories, studies, science) that you are applying for.
The word count of your contributed piece should be in the 1500-2500 word range.
Upon publication of their piece, contributors will be paid $750. We expect four weeks of non-exclusive rights; you will retain all other rights.