Umbrella Splash Magazine

Editorial Vision & Pitch Guidelines

Stories that connect. Voices that matter. Discover what Umbrella Splash publishes, what makes a strong pitch, and how to share your story with our readers.

Find Your Submission Our Editorial Vision

Our Purpose

Stories that connect.

Umbrella Splash Magazine is a platform for stories, ideas, creativity, and experiences that bring people together.

We spotlight people who are creating, building, serving, overcoming, discovering, and making a difference in their communities.

From entrepreneurs and veterans to artists, authors, families, food creators, animal companions, and storytellers, we believe every meaningful story can create connection.

We look for stories that inform, inspire, create conversation, and leave the reader with something worth remembering.

Our Editorial Approach

What We Look For

The strongest submissions have a clear purpose and give readers a reason to care, think, feel, or act.

Inspire

Stories of courage, resilience, creativity, purpose, personal growth, and possibility.

Inform

Useful ideas, knowledge, experiences, perspectives, and information readers can learn from.

Connect

Stories that bridge people, cultures, communities, generations, and experiences.

Create

Original art, photography, writing, recipes, ideas, and creative work that deserves a platform.

Our Content

Our Editorial Pillars

Our stories live across a range of subjects, but they share one goal: creating meaningful experiences for our readers.

People & Purpose

Human-interest stories, personal experiences, resilience, community, and stories with heart.

Veterans & Military Life

Veterans, military families, service, transition, leadership, and the military-civilian experience.

Business & Entrepreneurship

Founders, entrepreneurs, leadership, innovation, business lessons, and meaningful ventures.

Creativity & Art

Art, photography, filmmaking, writing, design, creative careers, and original creative work.

Books & Ideas

Authors, books, writing, publishing, ideas, and conversations that expand perspective.

Food & Culture

Recipes, culinary traditions, food stories, beverages, and cultural experiences.

Life & Wellness

Lifestyle, personal growth, resilience, wellness, home, relationships, and everyday life.

Travel & Discovery

Destinations, experiences, cultural exploration, adventure, and discovery.

Before You Pitch

Is Your Story a Fit?

Your story may be a strong fit for Umbrella Splash if it does one or more of the following:

Has a clear story, idea, or purpose.
Gives readers something meaningful to learn, feel, or discover.
Offers an original perspective or personal experience.
Educates, inspires, entertains, or creates connection.
Reflects real experience, creativity, knowledge, or expertise.
Fits one of our editorial pillars.
Gives our readers a reason to care.

Choose Your Submission

06 — Pitch Better

What Makes a Strong Pitch?

A strong pitch helps our editorial team understand your idea quickly and see why it matters to our readers. Focus on the story, the value, and the perspective you can bring.

Start With the Story

Give us the central idea. Tell us what happened, who is involved, or what makes the story worth telling.

Tell Us Why It Matters

Explain why this story matters now and why it deserves the attention of our readers.

Know Your Reader

Tell us who will benefit from the story and what readers will take away from it.

Bring Your Perspective

Your experience, expertise, access, or point of view should add something distinctive to the story.

Keep It Focused

One strong story idea is usually more effective than several unrelated ideas in one pitch.

Give Us the Takeaway

Tell us what readers will learn, discover, feel, understand, or do differently after reading.

EDITORIAL TIP Before you submit, ask yourself: Can someone understand my story idea, why it matters, and why I am the right person to tell it in less than a minute?

07 — Make Your Pitch Clear

The Pitch Formula

Not sure where to begin? Use these five questions to shape your idea before you submit.

01 — THE STORY

What happened?

Give us the central story or idea.

02 — THE WHY

Why does it matter?

Explain why readers should care.

03 — THE READER

Who will care?

Identify the people who will benefit from your story.

04 — THE ANGLE

What makes it different?

Show us your unique perspective or access.

05 — THE TAKEAWAY

What should readers gain?

Tell us what readers should learn, feel, or do.

08 — Ready to Share?

Choose Your Submission Path

Choose the option that best matches the work, story, idea, business, product, or creative project you want to share with Umbrella Splash Magazine.

Stories, Articles & News Tips

Have a story, article, essay, feature idea, or news tip? Send us your original work or pitch for editorial consideration.

Submit a Story

Art Submissions

Submit 3–10 artworks, preferably from the same collection or series. High-quality JPEG images are recommended, with 300 DPI preferred for print-quality images.

Submit Art

Pet & Animal Companion Stories

Share meaningful stories about pets and animal companions, including the relationships, memories, joy, and lessons they bring into our lives.

Submit Pet Story

Food & Drink Recipes

Share original recipes, food traditions, culinary experiences, and the stories behind the dishes that bring people, cultures, and communities together.

Submit a Recipe

Author & Book Features

Share your writing journey, book, ideas, experiences, and perspective for consideration in our author and book feature coverage.

Submit Author Feature

Business, Entrepreneur & Product Features

Tell us about your business, entrepreneurial journey, mission, products, services, lessons learned, or the impact you are creating. Product features may also be considered for editorial coverage.

Explore Features

09 — Featured Conversations

Entrepreneur & Author Interviews

We want to help promote meaningful stories from entrepreneurs and authors. Our interview series gives readers an inside look at the people, ideas, lessons, and experiences behind the work.

Interview requirement: Answer a minimum of 12 questions with at least 1,200 words in combined answers.

Founder Stories

Open to founders and co-founders. Share your entrepreneurial journey, challenges, lessons, marketing strategies, mistakes, growth plans, and advice for other entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneur Guidelines

Author Stories

Open to authors of business books. Share your writing journey, publishing lessons, marketing strategies, reader takeaways, and advice for aspiring authors.

Author Guidelines

10 — Know the Difference

Editorial vs. Featured Opportunities

We offer different ways to share your story. Understanding the difference helps you choose the opportunity that fits your goals.

Editorial

Your Work. Our Editorial Review.

Submit original work for consideration as editorial content.

Stories and articles
Art and photography
Recipes and food stories
Pet and animal stories
News tips and story ideas

Featured

Your Story. A Dedicated Spotlight.

Feature opportunities provide a focused platform for entrepreneurs, authors, creators, and businesses.

Entrepreneur features
Author and book features
Interview series
Business and creator spotlights

11 — Submission Checklist

Before You Submit

A few minutes of preparation can make your submission clearer, stronger, and easier for our editorial team to review.

✓

Original Work

Submit original work or work you have the legal right to publish.

✓

Proofread Your Submission

Check spelling, grammar, names, facts, and links before submitting.

✓

Include Required Information

Follow the specific requirements for the submission category you select.

✓

High-Quality Images

When images are required, provide high-resolution files suitable for publication.

✓

Provide Image Credits

Include photographer, artist, or image credits whenever required.

✓

Disclose Previous Publication

Tell us if the work has previously been published and confirm that you have the necessary rights.

12 — Our Responsibility

Editorial Standards & AI Policy

We want Umbrella Splash to be a trusted, respectful, and original space for readers and contributors.

We Expect

Original and authentic work
Accuracy and responsible reporting
Respect for people and communities
Proper image and content rights
Appropriate attribution and credits

We Don’t Publish

Plagiarized work
Hate speech or discriminatory content
Defamatory or knowingly false claims
Material submitted without appropriate rights
Misleading or intentionally deceptive content

AI & Originality

We recognize that technology and AI tools are increasingly part of the creative and editorial process. However, submitted work must represent the contributor’s own ideas, experience, perspective, and responsibility. AI-generated material should not be presented as original human writing or creative work. Contributors may be asked to disclose significant use of AI in developing submitted material.

13 — After You Click Submit

What Happens After You Submit?

Here’s what you can expect once your submission reaches our team.

Submit

Send your work through the appropriate submission form.

Review

Our team reviews the submission for editorial fit and quality.

Follow Up

We may contact you for clarification, edits, or additional material.

Edit & Publish

Selected submissions may move through editing, scheduling, and publication.

14 — Your Story Matters

Your Story Could Belong Under the Umbrella.

We are looking for stories, ideas, voices, art, experiences, businesses, books, recipes, and perspectives that help our readers see something meaningful from a new point of view.

Learn How to Pitch Choose Your Submission

Before you submit, take a moment to review our editorial vision, pitch guidance, and submission requirements. The stronger your submission, the easier it is for our editorial team to understand your story.