ooking back over my life, I can map the seasons through the magazines I read. The celeb magazines from my teen years. The fashion magazines from my college years. The parenting magazine years. The home decorating magazine years. 

But now I’m a fifty-plus empty nester, and no one’s favorite audience. Sometimes it feels like the only articles targeting women my age are the ones telling us what not to do: haircuts we shouldn’t have, clothes we shouldn’t wear, foods we shouldn’t eat. It is frustrating to have 20-something freelance writers—who I know are lumping me into a vague “mature women” category—tell me what to do.

So when I stumbled across PROVOKED by susan, I celebrated on two fronts. First, as a reader I finally had sassy articles that celebrate the unique phase I’m in. After fifty years on this Earth, I know what I want from life, and after years of “playing nice,” I’m finally ready to speak my mind. And PROVOKED is right there with me! Second, as a writer, I suddenly have a market for issues and opinions that don’t fit anywhere else. Ask Susan! I sent her a laundry list of ideas, including my take on everything from grandma names to funerals to family heirlooms.

As both the founder and a hands-on editor-in-chief, Susan Dabbar agreed to tell us more about the creation of PROVOKED by susan and how WOW writers can help shape the future of this well-paying market.

WOW: Being the founder of PROVOKED by susan is just the latest chapter in your life. Can you tell us a little about some of your other endeavors?

Susan: My résumé reads like a dare to disrupt every field I entered. Call me a serial reinventor. I started my career designing nuclear submarines, then pivoted to Nestlé, marketing the chocolate chip cookie to a country where it didn’t exist yet. Led costuming at Disney and later built a global college admissions firm from scratch. I’ve also played professional poker, advised billionaires, and moved my family more than thirty times. My husband jokes that I’ve reinvented myself more times than Madonna.

What ties it all together? Resilience and great storytelling—followed by a strategic focus on outcome. I’m wired to move with intention, following the numbers. From counting cards to word counts to subscriber growth, I play smart—and I like to win.

WOW: Out of all of these very cool career experiences, was there a specific event that made you focus your attention on the publishing world?

Susan: Yes—when I turned sixty. I sold my educational consulting business, stepped back, and expected to feel free, finally able to enjoy the pause. What I felt instead was untethered. Not bored, but boring. Oh—and invisible. I’d spent decades building things, solving problems, staying sharp, and suddenly the world was speaking to me like I’d aged out. I looked around and tried to find publications that respected my life experience and earned wisdom. What I discovered was that we’re either patronized with wellness tips and “what not to wear” lists or completely ignored. I couldn’t find the thing I needed, so I’m building it. 

PROVOKED started with a simple question: Why should we age quietly when we’re just getting interesting?

WOW: That’s right! We’re interesting and deserve to be heard! Give us the PROVOKED basics: When did it start, where can we find it, who is it for, and what will we read in it?

Susan: PROVOKED launched in late 2024 and lives at provokedbysusan.com. It’s built for smart, curious, unruly women over fifty who still have something to say—and plenty of story left to write.

Women are not a monolith. Each of us has built a life shaped by experience, ambition, and reinvention. I’m building PROVOKED to reflect that: content by women, for women, across all walks of life—without dumbing it down or smoothing the edges. Think The Atlantic meets Bustle meets The Cut, but for the demographic mainstream media forgot exists.

We publish personal stories, sharp opinion pieces, cultural commentary, sex and aging content, money and tech guides—anything that challenges the tired idea that midlife means slowing down. We don’t do listicles or patronizing wellness advice—we do provocative, intelligent content that makes you think, “Finally, someone is saying what I’m thinking.”

WOW: As a fifty-plus woman, I can tell you that I am tired of reading articles directed to my age group that I can only imagine were written by twenty-something writers who view everyone over fifty as grandmas baking cookies and playing Bingo. I love the voice of many young writers, but sometimes I think you need a writer who has lived what they’re writing about. Can you describe the voice of PROVOKED?

Susan: The voice of PROVOKED is bold, wry, deeply intelligent, and allergic to clichés. What would Anne Lamott share with Fran Lebowitz over brunch? That’s the tone. We’re not here for perfectly balanced takes or soft landings. We’re here to poke, prod, challenge, and reflect—sometimes all in one piece. This isn’t content for content’s sake.

This isn’t a blog. Every piece must offer our readers a gut check, a wake-up call, or a revelation. We only publish what provokes: thought, reaction, memory, discovery. Write something that makes us say: “Oh, damn. Yes.”

I push our writers to answer:

• Why does this matter to us?
• What does it reflect or reject?
• What’s at stake?
• What larger truth am I exposing?

As for writers? Give me women who can be provocative without being inflammatory, who respect our intelligence while making us laugh. Writers who understand that aging isn’t about grace—it’s about power.

WOW: Aging gracefully. Years ago, I thought it sounded like an elegant way to grow older. Now I think it’s the equivalent of pushing those of us with gray hair into a corner and telling us to be quiet. After decades of striving for a place in both our personal and professional lives, I don’t think we want to settle for quiet. We want to hear our voices in places like PROVOKED, and I’m sure many women are thrilled to have the opportunity to write for their audience. What’s the biggest challenge to joining the PROVOKED contributor list?

Susan: The biggest challenge? Nailing the PROVOKED edge. Too often, we get drafts that sound like generic women’s magazine content or soft blog posts. That won’t cut it. We want writers who bring a sharp point of view, who know how to provoke thought, and who understand this truth: Every story must matter specifically to women fifty-plus.

We’ve got women engineers building our tech, women artists creating original images, and women creators running our digital and social channels. Our copyeditors are fearless. If you’ve got range, voice, and ideas that challenge the norm—we want to hear from you.

WOW: Sounds great! About how many pieces do you need each month?

Susan: We’re publishing three-to-four new pieces each week, plus one meaty, curated newsletter every Thursday. Our five core content buckets are: Wellness, Money, Tech & Culture, Humor, and Life. Within those, we cover everything—diet, sleep, sex, friendship, grief, reinvention, and the latest hot takes in culture.

WOW:  So basically…life! What’s the average time frame from assignment to publication?

Susan: Turnaround is usually one-to-two weeks from pitch approval to first draft. Most pieces go through one or two rounds of edits. We aim to publish within two-to-three weeks after final.

Our editorial process is collaborative but intentional. We care deeply about the writing, and we’re not afraid of tough edits if it makes the piece more PROVOKED. That said, we respect our writers’ time and voice.

WOW: I can attest that the editing at PROVOKED is specific and helpful. I feel you make suggestions to bring out the PROVOKED voice in every writer. You have such a fast turnaround. Does that mean that timely pieces (tied to an event in the news or an upcoming holiday) will be able to find a home with PROVOKED?

Susan: Yes—absolutely. We’re fast, agile, and independent, which means we can turn around a timely piece in a few days if it’s the right fit. In fact, we love smart takes on cultural moments—especially if they offer a perspective most outlets are missing. If you’ve got something sharp, fresh, and urgent, don’t wait.

WOW: Is there anything you aren’t seeing that you’d like more of?

Susan: We’d love to see more tech and money pitches—but with voice. Think: AI and aging, women and financial power, not generic advice columns. And we’re especially interested in pitches that reflect more diverse experiences—stories that resonate with Black, Latina, Asian, Indigenous, and LGBTQ+ readers navigating midlife.

WOW: I’m especially interested in these pieces that tailor advice—so it works for fifty-plus women. For instance, I had a friend involved in a “gray” divorce. All the advice she found was about child custody and restarting your career, but nothing for a woman counting down the days to retirement who suddenly has to rethink her plan. We have so many special circumstances in midlife that most publications just seem to overlook. Is there anything you aren’t looking for?

Susan: Please, no surface-level menopause explainers. No lifestyle. No listicles unless they offer true insight or make us laugh out loud. If you’re going to write about hot flashes, you better burn the house down with perspective. Same goes for empty “empowerment” stories. We’re not here to cheerlead—we’re here to provoke.

WOW: I love that you’re steering away from articles that recycle the same ten predictable tips or pieces of info and are going a step further to “Here are the experiences I’ve only ever told to my best girlfriends—or maybe just thought to myself.” It’s powerful reading an article that reflects your secret thoughts and realizing that you aren’t the only one feeling that way. When I first pitched PROVOKED, I was worried that I wouldn’t make the cut. Do you feel there are any red flags in a pitch that make you pass on a story?

Susan: The biggest red flag is vagueness. A strong pitch has a clear angle and a reason for being. Don’t just tell me, “I want to write about aging.” Tell me you want to explore why so many women fear becoming like their mothers, or how fashion becomes armor after sixty. Be specific. Be bold. That’s what gets my attention.

Pitches: What to Include

• Explain briefly the journey the reader will take.
• Tell us what makes this story provocative. Takeaway? Wisdom? A provocation for action?
• In the subject line, write “Pitch” and include the working title. If it’s time-sensitive, use “Time-Sensitive Pitch.”
• Pitches should be one-to-three short paragraphs and include:
  • A working title
  • A clear thesis or central question
  • A sense of the conclusion or takeaway
• Let us know how you plan to tell the story. Will it include personal reflections, expert interviews, cultural commentary, links to relevant research? You don’t need every detail—but give us a sense of your sources and approach.

Strong pitches show us that you’ve thought deeply—and that this is a story only you can tell.

WOW: PROVOKED is relatively new, and you’re relatively new to the publishing world. Has anything surprised you? What has been the biggest challenge?

Susan: What’s surprised me most is how hungry the audience is. We’ve barely scratched the surface, and the response has been overwhelming.

The biggest challenge? Building something premium in a world obsessed with cheap clicks. Getting new engaged subscribers who get us. But I didn’t come here to play small. I came to build the media brand women over fifty actually deserve. That means holding the line on quality—and creating the kind of content we wish we’d had ten years ago.

WOW: Well, better late than never! You are constantly evolving, and I’m sure PROVOKED will be also. Any plans for the future?

Susan: Plenty. We’re launching a podcast later this year and building premium verticals around money, wellness, and tech. We’ll be expanding our newsletter into additional days and formats—always listening closely to what our audience actually wants to read and hear. We’re also planning live salons and events in 2026.

But more than anything, we’re building a cultural force. A place where women don’t just read—they gather, they get loud, and they get seen.

PROVOKED isn’t just a platform. It’s a reclamation—of voice, of power, of presence. We’re not here to politely suggest the world notice us. We’re here to make it impossible to ignore us.

WOW: Your enthusiasm is infectious. I can’t wait to see what’s next for PROVOKED. Thanks for introducing us to your amazing publication. I have a feeling there are plenty of WOW writers who would love to be PROVOKED.

PROVOKED by susan has a team of twenty-five talented, experienced freelancers—writers, designers, editors—ranging in age from forty-five to eighty-five. But they’re still growing. What do you have to offer to women who are loving their fifty-plus lives?

They pay some writers per word and others per piece, depending on the writer’s experience, the content bucket, and the nature of the assignment (personal essay vs. reported feature, for example).

Rates range from $0.50 to $1 per word, or $400 and up per piece with anticipated increasing rates as the publication becomes more profitable. Personally, I made over $800 for each article I wrote for PROVOKED. Although they are a new publication, they pay promptly. Once a piece is through editing, payment goes out within the month. And, in the words of Susan, “We treat writers with respect.” 

Check out their pitch guide.

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Jodi M. Webb writes from her home in the Pennsylvania mountains. She has bylines in PROVOKED by susan, Business Insider, Pennsylvania Magazine, Tea Journey, NPR and Woods Reader. She's also a blog tour manager and writer for WOW! Women on Writing. Visit her blog Words by Webb jodiwebbwriter.com/blog.