Wanted: Guest Bloggers

Would you like to guest blog for Writer Beware?

To vary our subject matter and present differing points of view, we’re looking to publish occasional guest blog posts on subjects relating to publishing, books, writing, and, of course, literary schemes and scams. If you’re interested in writing about a current issue or problem in the industry, if you have a point of view about writing or publishing that you’d like to share, if you’ve had a writing or publishing experience that you think would help, inform, and/or warn other writers–we’d like to hear from you.

Here are some examples of guest blog posts we’ve hosted in the past:

Distributor vs. Wholesaler–Getting Your Book on the Shelf

Playwriting in America: Percentages, Pitfalls, and Pay-to-Play

A Reviewer’s Plea

Posts must be at least 500 words, and can be as long as 1,200 words. We’re not a paying market, but we’ll give you a byline, a bio, and links to your website, blog, or whatever. We’ll expect you to be available to respond to comments on your post.

Right now, I’d especially love a post or posts on the schemes and scams that threaten freelance writers.

We do have some guidelines.

– You must have expertise in your subject. That doesn’t mean you have to be a literary agent, editor, or even a published writer (though we would love to have guest blog posts by industry professionals)–but you do need to have some experience or skill that qualifies you to know what you’re talking about.

– Your primary purpose must be to inform, not to promote. I understand that guest blogging is a way to raise your online visibility, and that’s fine. But please don’t contact me if you’re just interested in writing a puff piece in order to drive traffic to your own website or business. I get such solicitations a lot, and I trash them all.

– Your views must be compatible with the general tenor of this blog. If you’re a regular reader, you’ll probably have a sense of what that is. If you’re new, read back for a few months to get a feel. I’m not suggesting that guest bloggers have to toe any sort of party line–I’m always open to different and provocative viewpoints. But if, for instance, you want to argue that literary agents are greedy, cruel, and indifferent to real talent, I’m not interested, because I think you’re wrong. Or if you want to predict that in 10 years there will be no more publishers and every author will be a mini-entrepreneur servicing a niche audience…I’m not going to go for it, because I don’t agree.

– If you have an idea, contact me even if you think I might not be interested. You never know!

So if you have an idea for a guest post, please contact me, and we’ll discuss it!