Living Life as Art: Artful Living: Seeking Guest Artists, Writers, & Reviewers

Living life as art... is it too much to expect? Not when you have the right tools. Read reviews of the latest art books, supplies, and a small selection of handmade goods aimed at helping you lead a life filled with fun and creativity.

I am looking for all of the following:

Guest writers to write an article on handmade goods. The specific focus is open for discussion.

Examples:

*the resurgence of handmade
*how to promote your handmade goods online and/or at craft shows or in local stores
*online handmade markets
*personal stories involving handmade perhaps involving the holidays, memories or learning to sew or craft (not necessarily business success stories)
*suggestions welcome

Guest book reviewers to write a review of an art/craft book. After completion of a short questionnaire, it may be possible that I will supply you with the book from one of my publisher partners. For a list of publishers that I work with please see the right sidebar of LLA. Reviews should contain the cover image and at least 2 images/scans from inside the book that are not available to view on Amazon or similar book sites. The cover image also should not be the Amazon one with the “Look inside” arrow.

Guest artists to write an article or tutorial sharing instructions and photos for a handmade project.

Articles

Articles and reviews should be 750-1000 words and contain 2-3 photos. Projects and tutorials should not be fewer than 500 words and contain as many photos or illustrations as necessary to be attractive and instructive. Articles should be original content (not previously published). Articles must be checked for proper spelling and grammar before submission. Please verify that your information is accurate as I do not fact-check for you.

Images

Photographs and illustrations should be your own and can be jpg or png format. I prefer 96 or 100 dpi and approximately 600-650 pixels wide. Please make sure your photos are in focus. Watermarks are acceptable as long as they are discreet.

Outbound Links

When articles and projects refer to sites or products that belong to the author this should be stated upfront. For example: After listing the supplies for a project one might say "For your convenience I have put together supply kits available in my Etsy shop here (link)." "For more articles on Etsy teams see my blog (link)." “I share daily journal pages on my blog at BlahBlahBlah (link).” All other topic-related outbound links are permissible.

A 3-4 sentence bio should also be included at the end with no more than 3 personal outbound links. A bio picture is preferred but not required.

Acceptable links include:

*a personal website or blog related to the topic or in the general field of arts and crafts
*a personally-owned business site that sells handmade items, supplies or services related to the topic or in the general field of arts and crafts
*any online shop such as Etsy, Artfire, Dawanda, Zibbet, Supermarket that sells supplies or services related to the topic or in the field of arts and crafts
*a personal, or personally-owned business, social networking site such as Facebook, Twitter, Ning, Yahoo or Google groups, Librarything, etc.
*question about a site? Just ask.

You will continue to own the copyright to all original content you submit. You do grant Living Life as Art the right to edit as necessary for publication. Just as articles may not be published before submission to LLA, I also ask that you do not reprint the article for 1 (one) year afterward, but that you link back to the article on LLA. In fact, you are strongly encouraged to link to your article on personal blogs, social networking sites, and/or in web forums especially in the first days following its publication.

Articles and projects will be archived in the sidebar under the appropriate Artful Living button: Books, Supplies, Handmade, Projects, and/or Websites.

All guest posts will be cross-marketed on Twitter, Facebook, the LLA subscriber newsletter through Google Groups and online forums as appropriate including, but not limited to, Fiskateers, 2Peas in a Bucket, the Journal Pages or You Got Mail! mailart groups on Facebook, etc.

Unrelated:

Please contact me for a review spec sheet if you are interested in any of the following:

*Artists who are willing to send an example(s) of their handmade product for a special feature/review.
*Sites that offer special services (not goods) to artists and crafters and are interested in being featured on LLA.
*Artists, sites, online shops, and companies who offer art/craft supplies and are interested in sending samples of their product for a special feature.
*Authors who have written books that cater to the artist or crafter and would like to see their book featured/reviewed on LLA. This review will also be posted on Amazon and Librarything.