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2011
This Rambling Post Brought To You By Cold Medicine
(Four disconnected parts: Love and mucus, guest posts and their discontents, pretty necklaces, pretty travel pictures taken by me.)
My head is filled with mucus and sadness. I think there may be few things more poignant than a rainy Wednesday in December when you are sick and there is no one to make (or procure) soup for you. Beyond sex, beyond forming alliances, beyond raising healthy young, THIS is why people struggle so hard to find another person to love and live with. It’s all about the wild hope that someday, somewhere, when your head is heavy and your throat is filled with knives and your lungs ache, someone will show up in your home with spicy Asian noodle soup, the good kind of tissues with lotion, and some heavy-duty cough syrup and then let you lay your head in their lap after you have made use of these items. Wars have been fought for less worthy goals.
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Lately, lots of people have been emailing me and offering to guest-post. Now, I like having guest posters. I have asked several folks to guest post here, some you’ve seen and some who declined. And some of the guest posts people have offered have been quite funny and well-written, but they don’t seem to have anything to do with the kinds of things I usually talk about. I think of this blog as serving dual purposes: a place for me to talk about the things I want to talk about, and a place for people to come and read something they enjoy. But just as I would probably not post someone’s well-written and amusing review of a tractor, should I post their well-written and amusing take on something dating-related if it has nothing to do with anything I’ve ever said here? Or would you just be happy to read something pleasing and light when I’m not posting, and you don’t really care how topical it is?
I feel really guilty telling people no, like I am being snobby and harsh. It’s just a blog, for heaven’s sake. We’re all trying to get our names out there somehow, and get new readers. I would like to do some guest-posting myself. But I think I need some criteria for the ones I accept here. Mainly, though there is room for serious wiggle here, the post has to be written specifically for this site, by someone who has read some of this site at least.
Do you care one way or the other what kind of guest posts I publish?
(I would also LOVE to post dating/love/sex/breakup stories from other bloggers–or anyone–who feel shy about posting under their own name but want to dish. I have some of those stories I’d like to post somewhere else, so I know other people have them too.)
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Speaking of anonymous bloggers, a friend of the site offered me a pretty necklace in exchange for linking to her lovely Etsy store, and I eagerly accepted, both because I like presents and because I like her stuff (if I didn’t like it, I would have said no. Just FYI.) I love the way she describes her aesthetic: “…accessories with a soft gothic, steampunk touch.” That is how I like my accessories. The necklace I chose is on its way to me, but I also really liked these two (click to link):
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I’ve been going through lots and lots of old photos as part of a Christmas project, and it’s making me YEARN to go somewhere new, even if I did just get back from Paris (and am still suffering from DESPERATE poverty to prove it.) Here a re a few pictures I love culled from Costa Rica and Tanzania, just because.
i want a guest blog from you. xoxo
I enjoy the tenor of your writing and I enjoy most of the things you choose to write about. If you were to have guest posts, I’d like for them to write about the topics you usually write about. I enjoyed most of your guest posts from your week abroad. Also, I love romance/dating/sex-related stories, too! Sadly, I have few to tell.
Ooo, I love that second necklace! I wish she had earrings too! Er, for me to put in my Etsy cart and/or favorite, but then never get around to actually buying—which is what I do with most other Etsy things because I’m fidgety and indecisive.
Guest-posting is difficult. I don’t know what to do about it either. I’ve had people ask to guest-post and ask me to guest-post, but I haven’t done either one because I don’t quite GET it. On the other hand, I really liked a couple of your guest posters. On the other other hand, I haven’t done anything about that (like, check out their regular blogs). I wonder if a link does more than a guest-post, or if a guest-post does more than a link? I tend to do links to people I like, but not put their actual post on my actual blog.
I read blogs where I like the owner’s writing. Topics don’t matter to me as much as voice. I don’t really see a need for guest posts. I mean, I am a little sad when my favorite blogs lie empty for a week or two, but it’s not like I can’t find anything else to read. That said, guest posts are fun when they play off a theme that’s already come up. I also love the idea of using guest posts as a way to share stories that are too revealing/juicy to put on one’s own blog!
I think that if you think a guest post is funny and well-written, and in keeping with the overall tone of your blog, then I’d be interested in reading it even if it’s not about the same content you usually cover. I mean, I wouldn’t want you to suddenly start posting 50% guest posts with funny and well-written tractor reviews, but every now and then it’s fun to read something completely different that’s still appealing in its own way.
So I’m still pretty new to blogging, but I think I would only want a guest post on my blog from a person I seriously adored. I agree with Swistle, that I think links might be more helpful to these people.
I hope you feel better soon. Being a pitiful sick person is one of my specialities. I like the steampunk jewelry btw
Did you really get to be that close to the cute little lion? Awwww. Lucky!!
Guest posts: I come back day after day because I feel some affinity with the way life is hitting you and the way you hit back. That is a weird way of saying that we come here because ofr the tome you set and it makes sense for you to pick posts that fit in with that tone. At least, I think it does. Just , please, please, keep doing what you do. Thanks.
I like you guys.
it’s your blog – your rules. don’t worry about saying no.
and yes, asian noodle soup is totally worth going to war for. hope you feel better.
Thank you for the shout out, you’re the best!!!
As far as what’s posted here, I’m not picky. I like good heartfelt writing. Whatever strikes you will probably also strike your readers.