How to do Memoir Guest Posting With Us

The Memoir Network hosts a premier site for people wishing to write their memoir or teach memoir writing. We invite you to join us in the memoir conversation by guest posting your memoir excerpts and thoughts:

on writing personal and family stories in our Memoir Writer’s Blog. Your memoir guest posting will provide inspiration and guidance for writers within and outside The Memoir Network.

Please read the following:

Your posts must be about memoir writing specifically—this includes an excerpt of a memoir of yours or about the culture of writing (the writing life). Examples: characterization, writer burnout, scheduling, organizing a virtual book tour, organizing an outreach campaign for a workshop. We do not accept articles that promote your products or services or affiliate links. (Your bio is where this is done.)

Articles should be between 500 and 1,500 words. All material should contain breaks in the form of subtitles. Lists are also fine.

Your article needs to contain a keyword phrase (vs. one key word: “memoir”) that is used at least three or four times in the article. Using the key word phrase in the title is a plus. Excerpts of your memoir, too, must follow this key-word-phrase rule. (This may require some re-writing.)

Link twice to material on The Memoir Network site. You will have a link to your site in your bio. We reserve the right to add more links to the Memoir Network.

Your memoir guest posting must not have been used elsewhere first in its entirety.

~ You may resubmit a post that appeared on your own blog if you significantly rewrite it. The title and lead paragraph must be different. Otherwise, the original article becomes the canonical article and the reprint does not rate on a Search engine. This will not produce new fans for you! Please alert us if you are doing this.

~ We are fine with your reprinting the post after 60 days on your own blog or web site. We ask that you attribute the first printing to The Memoir Network’s Memoir Writer’s Blog.

~ You may not submit the post to another blog at any time. Doing so is grounds for blacklisting and having your post removed from our site. A book excerpt is an exception to this rule. Double posting also affects search engine ranking!

Your guest posting must be ready to print. That involves no spelling or grammar mistakes and tight writing. Generally, we will not edit but may on occasion do some tweaking. You will not receive a revised copy to approve. On occasion, we will send an article back that we really like for revisions. When resubmitting the revised article, include the photography and the bio again. Mention that it is a re-submission. (We will probably remember your article but just in case….)

Your bio needs to be in the 20-40 word range with the following:

~ a live link to your blog archive, your website and/or your web bookstore—the choice is yours. You may not link to a blog or a website other than your own. You may also include a live link to two of your social media pages.

~ a headshot of yourself (500 px minimum x 500 px minimum at 72 dpi) to accompany the bio.

An image pertaining to your topic to go with your memoir guest posting is a must. It needs to be in the public domain or be from your personal collection and must serve as an illustration for your article. Please send the original web link to the public-domain photo. If it is from your own photos, please say so. In the interests of time, we will use your submitted photo and only exceptionally use another.

For examples of what others have posted in the Memoir Writer’s Blog click here.

You must post in a prominent location on your blog or web site a note that you have published memoir excerpt or an article on The Memoir Network’s The Memoir Writer’s Blog.

~ This note should contain the title of the post along with a live link to your post. This is the spirit of the wording we ask you to use: “Visit The Memoir Network’s The Memoir Writer’s Blog for my recent article, XYZ.” Promotions on various social media are also appreciated. They, too, may bring you fans.

In the interest of time, when you send your query, include your guest post and the photograph(s) or image(s).

If we do not respond within a couple of weeks, get back in touch with us with the original query, the post and the photograph(s). This will save us the time of finding your original material. It is also possible that we have lost it—in which case, we do not want to go on a search. Send to [email protected]

The fine print: Memoir Guest Posting

Your memoir guest posting to The Memoir Network’s The Memoir Writer’ Blog/the Memoir Professional’s Blog must not have been published in its current version prior to its publication on our blog—an exception being an excerpt from a printed book.

Except for excerpts from printed books, ALL RIGHTS to the memoir guest posting are transferred to Denis Ledoux. I may use your post in any number of ways including but not limited to: ebooks, MP3s, e-courses. I will always attribute to you the authorship of the source material and a link to the website mentioned in your bio.

I will not provide you with monetary or other compensation of any kind for the original or the subsequent posting. If this is not agreeable, please do not send a proposal for posting a guest article. When you submit a guest post, you are agreeing to these terms.

With warm regards for a creative and mutually rewarding collaboration of memoir guest posting,
Denis Ledoux