Exciting news, everyone: As of today, this blog is open to guest posting!

This is something I’ve been contemplating for a while, and for several reasons. It allows you to offer greater variety in content, helps you build relationships with other writers / bloggers, increases traffic… Basically, it’s a win-win situation for the host as well as the guest. And you bet I’m game for that!

So, what am I looking for from guest posts? How can you pitch your idea to me if you’re interested? Well, you can check out the Guest Posting Policy page, but let me go into a little more detail below. 

What I’m Looking For From Guest Posts

Basically, I’m looking to publish guest posts from authors, as-yet-unpublished writers, and fellow bloggers either once or twice a month (as content is submitted, of course). These posts may fall under one of three categories, based on what’s covered most often at the blog:

• The Craft of Writing (writing tips, craft / technique, writing process, etc.)
• Fantasy Literature (influential authors, world-building, reading / writing trends, etc.)
• The Writer’s Life (well-being practices, lifestyle, inspiration, general creativity)

I’d also be happy to host guest posts as part of an author’s blog tour as long as I’m already familiar with the author’s work.

Length-wise, guest posts can range anywhere between 500 and 2000 words. It’s a wide range, but I believe it’s more important to let posts be long enough to cover their subjects adequately rather than forcing them to be too short.

Also, your guest posts should be previously unpublished material that you have written (i.e., not plagiarized). You may absolutely promote your guest post on your site (links, reblogs, etc.) or via social media once it has gone live. However, I’d appreciate it if you refrain from re-publishing your post on other sites after it has published here.

I won’t be too strict with article formatting. However, bolded headings help with SEO optimization, so I encourage guest writers to use them in their posts. If you need examples, check out any article from my Chronicling The Craft, Character Evolution Files, or #1000Speak series.

The Pitching and Submission Process

If you have an idea that could work for a guest post here, email me through my Contact page with an article pitch, a valid email address, and (if available) a couple links to guest posts you’ve done at other sites. (I’ll also take direct emails if you already have my address, or DMs on Twitter.) If I think your idea would be a good addition to the site, I’ll respond so we can discuss a timeline for submitting and posting the article.

When you submit your guest post, make sure it includes the following:

• A 2- to 3-sentence bio at the end that tells readers a little bit about you and provides links to your website / blog and social media pages
• A photo of yourself (or avatar, if you’d prefer not share a photo) to accompany the bio
• Appropriate images (photos, animated gifs, graphics, etc.) for your post, granted that you have permission to use those images

Once you’ve submitted your post, I’ll review it for editing and let you know if I have any changes or questions. Any changes will be limited to punctuation and grammar. (Trust me, I won’t do anything drastic to your work!)

That should cover everything. If you have any questions about the guest posting policy or have ideas for a possible article, you know where and how to find me! I hope you’re as excited about this as I am, and I look forward to having more guests here in the future!