Accepted submissions will be shared widely on the internet. They will be featured on the CCI website and on CCI’s social media accounts. Therefore, one possible risk is a breach of the adoptee’s privacy. Further details can be found in the section on confidentiality. Additionally, those who submit may feel uncomfortable, anxious, or upset as they think, write or talk about their chosen topic for their submission.

For those whose submissions are accepted and published, they may gain:

1. A sense of empowerment and pride in having their creative work showcased publicly,

2. Praise or support from members of the adoption community who engage with their submission, and

3. Exposure and visibility of their work to an adoptee-centered online audience. The hope is also that adoptees will feel a sense of belonging within the adoptee community as they see other submissions that resemble their own thoughts, feelings, and experiences.

Additionally, the project may allow adoptees to expand their knowledge and learn more about experiences that are different from their own.

Adoptees can indicate how they want their name (if at all) to be featured along with their submission if accepted. They can also choose the format of their submission depending on their preference for confidentiality (e.g. whether their face shows up in their submission). Even if the adoptee chooses to remain anonymous, it is important to note that people are sometimes identifiable by the stories that they tell.

1. Submission to the CCI Blog is entirely voluntary.
   

2. Adoptees submitting creative work(s) must be at least 16 years of age or older.

3. You are prohibited from taking part in this submission process in ANY situation that may cause harm or bring danger upon yourself or others.

4. You absolutely may not reveal any inappropriate, mature, or provocative content in your submissions. This includes but is not limited to anything even remotely related to: hate speech, bullying, racism, sexism, homophobia, intolerance of any kind, any sort of sexual, sensual, or suggestive photos, and profanity or inappropriate language.

5. Your submission must be your original creation, or in your own words.

6. Submission does not guarantee acceptance of your creative work for publication on the CCI blog. Acceptance of a submission depends on whether the creative work aligns with the scope and vision of the blog and organization. This decision is made at the discretion of the editor, and potentially other members of the board.

7. The editor and/or another member of the creative team has permission to suggest edits to your submission during the consideration for publication process. They also have permission to create or add a visual to accompany your creative work if it’s in written or audio format.

By signing your name in the Google Form linked below, you:

1. Confirm that you have read all of the information presented in this letter about the CCI Blog and submission process;

2. Agree to the terms and conditions for submitting to the CCI Blog;

3. Understand that your submitted work may be rejected, or taken down after publishing to the CCI Blog, following any breaches of the terms and conditions or at the discretion of the CCI editor;

4. Accept all risks and agree to accept FULL liability for any personal emotional or physical harm or damage that you may incur by submitting to the CCI Blog and release all CCI related volunteers of any and all liability;

5. Understand that submission to the CCI Blog is entirely voluntary,

6. Understand that while you will retain ownership of your submission, CCI has the full rights to reproduce and redistribute CCI blog content (full or excerpted) in promotional materials in perpetuity.

   • In the event that CCI wants to use your blog submission content for a formal publication, you will be contacted to provide consent.

Yes. We can also mention where the work was previously published if requested.

Yes, but please submit one creative work per Google form response.

Submissions are received, accepted, and published on a rolling basis. The publication date will depend on the number of submissions received and in need of review at any given time, and the number of submissions already scheduled for publication.

Please contact the editor to discuss your submission as exceptions to the formatting guidelines may be made on a case-by-case basis.

In addition to the prohibited content mentioned in #3 of the terms and conditions, we do not publish submissions that involve partisan/political topics or monetary endeavors/promotions for financial gain.

While we strongly encourage members to only submit pieces they feel they will be comfortable sharing in the long-term and therefore highly discourage retracting pieces, if for whatever reason you feel a strong need to take a submission down, please contact us and exceptions can be made on a case-by-case basis with terms decided on by mutual acceptance of both parties.