About Writing for Private Lender

About Private Lender

Our readers are experienced private lenders looking for advanced-level insight into market trends, compliance, best practices, operations, and strategy. They typically have other sources for their general business reading and pick up our magazine to dial into issues specific and often exclusive to our industry. Articles explore a single topic into the minutiae.

Becoming a Contributor

Because we are first and foremost an association, we generally look for contributors to be AAPL members.

This also means that most of our contributors are not professional writers: they are people working in private lending or support industries. Although some level of writing ability is necessary, we prioritize meaningful content that is of direct interest and applicability to our readers.

Signing up to become a contributor does not guarantee your article idea or finished piece will be accepted. Ideas and finished articles must fit our editorial guidelines and any specific parameters discussed.

Article Ideas

We accept topics related to the business or industry of private real estate lending. We look for content from subject matter experts that explores a single niche subject at a granular level.

Examples
Good: Best practices for email campaigns to stay top of mind with your borrowers
Bad: 5 things any business should know about email marketing

You must disclose any actual or potential conflict of interest, including but not limited to any financial interest in any product or company/organization relevant to your submission.

When submitting an idea, please keep in mind the following dates. 

Topic Areas

Generally, we look for topics in the following broad categories as they apply to private lending. If it doesn’t quite fit, no worries – we’d still love to hear about your idea!

  • Accounting, Audits, & Taxes
  • Capital Sources
  • Case Studies – download form here
  • Corporate Responsibility
  • Due Diligence
  • Human Resources
  • Legal & Compliance
  • Legislation & Advocacy
  • Managing & Leadership
  • Market Trends & Economy
  • Marketing
  • Operations
  • Professional Development
  • Sales
  • Servicing
  • Strategy
  • Technology

Finished Article Requirements

  • Original works submitted exclusively to AAPL.
  • Between 1200-1600 words (exception: Last Call is 500 words).
  • Written in Second Person Point of View (exception: Last Call and Case Study-type articles are first-person).
  • Submitted as a Word document (exception: Case Study Forms may be submitted as PDF).
  • Completed; we will not edit incomplete articles, and submissions that require rigorous editing may not be used.
  • Educational/informative in nature; they may NOT be sales pieces, reference your products, or include promotional language.

Photographs & Illustrations

We do not buy photos from writers. We assign photos and illustrations to professionals as needed.