I love featuring voices other than mine here at “All Things Single (and More).” Although I read widely about single life, think critically, study the academic journals, and do my own original research, my perspective is limited by my own life experiences. So, even though I always appreciate hearing from people who share my point of view, I also greatly value those whose single lives have been very different.

I’ve always been single. I can’t write from personal experience about what it is like to be single again, after a divorce or the death of a spouse. I’m white and female. I welcome stories and essays from people who are not. It would be so great to hear from single people from other countries.

I’ve always loved my single life (except for all of the singlism). I like giving a voice to people who have struggled with being single – as long as their bottom line is not “get me out of here!” Although I no longer have a full-time job, I have never truly lived on the financial margin. I also consider myself unimaginably lucky in that I have never had a devastating accident or illness. I have been very fortunate to have had guest bloggers willing to share their experiences as single people facing such formidable challenges.

So why am I writing about this now? Typically, in the past, people have written guest posts for this blog after telling me about their own single lives. Sometimes they ask directly whether they can write a guest post; other times I invite them. They all have some things in common:

  • They are familiar with this blog. They have read it often, maybe even commented occasionally. They know what “All Things Single (and More)” is all about.
  • They want to write about single life in a way that is not “poor me – I’m single. How do I find someone?”

Recently, though, I have been receiving inquiries from people who want to write about topics that have nothing whatsoever to do with the themes of this blog. Or they just want to write something – anything – and have me tell them what topic to address. If you only want to guest post to get a link back to your site, then your post is not for “All Things Single.” People who write here have a passion for single life, or something to say that comes straight from the heart.

I am, though, happy to stretch a bit. For example, authors sometimes send me books that are not primarily about single life, but include some thoughtful observations about it along the way. That’s fine. I think married people can also have something insightful to say about single life. I also have interests in friendship and in the psychology of lying, so posts on those topics are welcome as well. Any proposed themes, though, do need to have some relevance to what this blog is about.

Bottom line:

If you would like to write a guest post, read this blog. (My Living Single blog and Single at Heart blogs are relevant, too. A guest blogger would also be someone who is interested in some of the feeds from other enlightened singles bloggers at Single with Attitude.) Look at the comments, too. Get a sense of what the readers care about. Be sure your reading includes these two posts:

Then come to me with your suggestions. If you understand what this blog is about, have something relevant to say, and write well, I will almost certainly invite you to contribute a guest post.

UPDATE: I have been receiving inquiries that are all formatted almost identically. The email writer begins by saying something nice about this blog, then notes that s/he loves to write and would like to contribute a guest post — no charge to me, just a link back to his or her site. Then the writers list some of their previous posts. With one or two exceptions, I have not had good experiences with these people. They have no real passion for single life, and no point they care deeply about making. They just want links back to their sites. So to all of these people: You can send me something if you wish, but it is unlikely that I will like it enough to publish it.