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(UPDATED July 2024)
I wanted to give this page a recent update. I am not accepting reviews at this time, guest posts, or other contributions to my blog at the moment. I am handling a lot of freelance work as well as a full-time day job. And to be honest, despite all the joy I do gain by discovering books by authors not in the mainstream, I realized recently that I don’t have as much joy in reading as I used did in the past. This pause is, in part, to regain that enjoyment and make reading less of a responsibility in my life again.
You may find I’m talking about books on my blog but it’s because I’m either playing catch up, helping a book being promoted via a blog tour with WOW, or…it’s just something I’ve discovered that I can’t wait to tell you about. And I want to enjoy books that way again.
By some chance, if we have worked together before in some way, feel free to reach out via our last previous exchange, and I may be able to make an exception. Also, if you are promoting a book on writing, this is definitely another way I’ll make an exception!
And you know? Feel free to write me and tell me about your book in general. That’s been the benefit of this blog. I LOVE hearing about authors who not published in the traditional way either through small presses or independently published. This blog has been the way I’ve found some amazing books.
Also, feel free to reach out to me about blog tours with WOW! Women on Writing. It’s a way to make a bigger splash about your book and reach more bloggers at once. In the past, I have worked regularly with Indie Book Reviewer as a reviewer. I can vouch for the fact that it’s a high-quality service that helps you get positive reviews of your book on Amazon.
Please note the information below is only valid when I’m accepting books to review or contributor content. As I stated above, I am placing an indefinite pause on this at this time as of July 2024.
Book Reviews
I am updating this section to reflect my most recent tastes in books! I’ve been in a rut, plain and simple lately. The types of books I normally would expect to enjoy, I’ve not enjoyed at all. So, with that said, I’m available to read new books! I’ll make it easy on you and say that I’m open to reading (almost) anything and everything. I can’t say for sure what I’ll even say yes to because I’m just in a weird mood in terms of books. So send it on!
However, there are a few things I won’t read:
- Anything with excessive violence, gore, or sexual content (best to err on the side of me not being willing to read these types of books at all).
- Things that bash Christianity. Also, to be honest, I’m wary of Christian fiction in general as I like to remain true to the word of God, so I’m very, very cautious about what I read in this genre.
- Anything paranormal or with a strong horror element.
- I’m likely not going to review a book where romance is the primary element of the story. It’s not impossible! However, it’s pretty rare for me to enjoy.
Please understand that I don’t respond to every inquiry I get. I work full-time and work freelance as well. Plus, I often reply based on my current interests, mood, and busy-ness level (which can change quite frequently). Don’t forget, my email is npyles86[at]gmail[dot]com.
Also, at this time, I only am able to read PDFs of books. This is simply because I like reading on my computer and not my phone (and I don’t own a Kindle). I’m not accepting physical books at the moment just due to delivery stressors at my home (so trying to limit that).
Be a Guest Contributor to ‘3 Suggestions on a Saturday Night
I had moved my Saturday night post to Substack, but I’ve decided to bring it back to my blog! So, if you’d like to be a guest, here’s how these work: I ask you to share your movie choice, book choice, and one random wild card choice for readers to enjoy on a Saturday. Make you also include your “why” about your selections.
Here are a few examples of these posts (on my blog! Future posts will now be on Substack):
Saturday Night with Paul Lonardo
Saturday Night with Arthur Herbert
Saturday Night with Melanie Faith
For more, check out the rest here.
Contribute an excerpt and host a giveaway
I am always open to featuring your book with an excerpt! So, please let me know if you’d like to feature your book in this way. Send me about a 350 – 500 word excerpt, and make sure to choose an excerpt somewhere, in the beginning, that will capture the reader. I like doing giveaways with excerpts so let me know if you’d be open to that.
Guest Posting Opportunities
I am working on new ways to feature writers! So, here are a few things I’m considering, and let me know if you’d like to join in:
The Writer’s Toolbox
Do you have writing advice to share? Consider sharing advice for your fellow writers in a guest post, whether it’s about character development, titling your book, the publishing process, finding an agent, writing query letters, improving social media, brainstorming new ideas.
Requests:
- Keep your post between 500 – 700 words
- Consider writing a “listicle” post where you bullet point a specific number of tips, resources, etc.
- Write this for every writer in mind.
The Healthy Writer Series
I’m interested in authors who want to talk about how they keep their creative selves healthy! Whether it’s literal physical health, or maybe it’s mental or spiritual health, I would love to hear about it.
Requests:
- Keep your post between 500 – 700 words
- Write it in a friendly conversational tone that encourages the reader to reflect on their own healthy ways.
- If you are stumped as to how to start, ask yourself how you stay creatively motivated, or how you balance your writing time with work and life time, or how you manage social media without staying in the dumps. Or take this topic on in a different way! Maybe write about great snacks for your writing session, how to organize your writing space, and exercises you can do inspire your mind.
Social Media & Marketing Topics
Are you a social media or marketing pro? I’d love your articles featuring tips that people can use to expand their reach. It can be social media focused, or maybe what you did during your virtual book tour to enhance the experience of readers, or maybe which services you used to promote your book. Or any unique way that you use social media and other marketing methods to expand your audience reach.
This post is open to any and all writers, not just authors! So, feel free to reach out if you have any advice to share.
Please let me know what angle you are considering before writing your post. And like I said, it may take me a while to get back to you, so hold tight.
Also, my background is in public relations and I can’t tell you how beneficial it is for your promotional efforts to pitch the press. So, I highly encourage you to access this FREE 2024 publicity calendar that gives you 12 months of story ideas offered by Selena Soo. She’s someone I often referred to as a resource during my time in PR and she really knows what she is talking about, so don’t miss this free resource.