FAQ

Q: Can you help me save my marriage or fix my sex life?

A:  I do not offer marriage or sex advice over email. I just get too many emails to answer every one of them personally. And, in the end, if you can’t find what you need on the blog, there probably isn’t much more I can say over email. I encourage you to send me your questions, though, because I sometimes craft a blog posts based on them. In some cases, I also send out a prayer for your well-being. Please keep in mind that your email will be a lot easier to read if you use punctuation, especially capitalization at the start of every sentence, and paragraph returns. Emails with no capitals, no periods, and no paragraph returns are very hard to read. And I get 100s a day. So please go easy on my eyes, if possible.

Q: I want to become a professional writer just like you. Can you share some tips?

You’ll find my best advice for becoming a writer in this post. Many people ask me how I established myself as a writer. I fear they believe that I know of a magic formula that they can use to transform themselves from a lawyer (or some other profession) and into a writer overnight. I don’t know of such a formula. I became a writer by studying journalism for four years. Then I worked as a newspaper reporter for three years, then a writer in book publishing, and then as an editor at a consumer magazine. By the time I went freelance, I already had half a year of work lined up. I also had many connections and contacts. That is the only formula for success I know. It’s a formula that seems to work. I have never struggled financially as a writer. Other writers who have followed a similar trajectory tell me the same.

I suppose some people become freelance writers overnight–without going to school or working in the field. But I do not know their secrets.

Q: Do you do workshops?

I regularly present on marriage, writing, creativity, depression and other topics. Contact me: alisa @ alisabowman (dot) com if you’d like to line me up to speak.

Q: Will you review my book?

I love books and am an avid reader, and I do periodically review books on this site. That said, I get roughly 10 requests a week to review books, which is way more than I can read. You are welcome to send a copy of your book to the following address: PO 583 Emmaus PA 18049. That said, I cannot acknowledge receipt or promise that I will read your book. Also, please keep in mind that I do not:

• Participate in Amazon bestseller campaigns
• Recommend books that I have not read
• Review books according to a set schedule set by a publicity campaign
• Agree to publish a review on a specific day
• Respond to requests from authors or publicists who have not read the FAQs here

I do, however, understand the plight of the book author who is in need of publicity. You can greatly increase your chances of getting mentioned on this site if you instead send me a guest post, offer your book as a giveaway, or do an email interview with me. If you wish to do a guest post, please read the following question.

Q: Do you accept guest posts?

I occasionally run high-quality, original guest posts, especially if they lend a unique perspective to the site. Your guest post will have a higher probability of running if: 1) It is original. I do not run material that has appeared elsewhere on the web 2) Offers fresh tips that are helpful to the PHEA community 3) Is bravely honest and/or funny 4) Uses correct punctuation and spelling 5) Is not offensive to any group of people 6) Does not contain multiple promotional links 7) Does not read like an ad for your product, site or book. To improve your chances of writing a post that would appeal to this community, I highly encourage you to read a number of posts in the archives and especially the reader comments on those posts. Please include a short bio with your post and email it to me for consideration. I do not compensate for guest posts.

Q: I love your blog. Can I re-post your content on my blog?

You’ll find re-posting buttons at the top and bottom of every post on this site. Click on those to find my re-posting rates.

Q: Do you ever guest post for other blogs?

I occasionally guest post for other sites with related content (relationships, sex, happiness). I also occasionally write guest posts about the business of blogging, writing, and social media. I do not, however, regularly write for free for magazines, online magazines, and other commercial outlets.

Q: Do you take advertising?

Not at this time. My main goal is to help people. I reserve the right to reconsider in the future. For now, however, I’m ignoring the many requests I get to place ads on this site. I do, however, offer giveaways. If you would like to offer some swag for my readers or sponsor a Reader of the Month, contact me: alisa @ alisabowman (dot) com.

Q: Do you do link exchanges?

No, I don’t.