Instructions

La Boqueria market, Barcelona, Spain

So you want to participate in Sweet Saturday Samples, huh? Here’s how.

Every Wednesday at 10:30 AM Central U.S. time, the new weekly Linky Tool sign-up goes live. It will accept new entries until midnight Friday, two days later. Visit this blog during that time span, look for the latest “Sign-up link” blog post, and click where it says “Click here.” I try to keep each week’s blog posts the same as the week before, for the convenience of writers who are already too busy.

Please enter your sample book’s genre beside your name or your blog’s name on the Linky Tool, as well as a direct link to your blog. This is for the convenience of readers, who are generally looking for their favorite genres rather than books in general.

Your blog post should go live early Saturday morning; how early is your choice. The post should include a selected sample of your writing, either from a published masterpiece, a work in progress, or a finished story currently making the rounds of editors, agents, etc. This next is a suggestion, not a requirement, but please enable comments on the sample, so readers can converse with you, as well.

Note that Sweet Saturday Samples is open to all genres and writers. It’s not necessary to have a published work, because it’s never too early to attract a following. Your book doesn’t have to a) be romance, b) be any related genre, c) include romantic elements, nor d) completely exclude graphic sex or violence. All are welcome. The only links I’ll delete are those where writers are deliberately flaunting the guidelines or clearly haven’t read the instructions.

We do ask that your sample be rated PG-13, at the strongest. I can’t repeat this part too many times nor too strongly–Your book doesn’t have to be sweet, just the sample posted. This includes images. This weekly mini blog hop is intended to attract readers and introduce them to you and your writing. But some readers who don’t enjoy graphic violence or sex have quit attending blog hops, because they never know what they’ll click on next. By not including blogs with graphic sex or violence on the front page, in words or images, we’re hoping to create a haven to attract readers who prefer it this way.

If your blog has sexy images or gory pictures on the front page, consider opening a page dedicated to #SweetSat and remove the images from that page.

You can offer a prize on your blog if you like. It’s not required. It’s your blog, so manage it as you please.

Just after midnight Saturday morning, I’ll trawl through the submitted links, ensuring all’s copasetic. Once that’s done, I’ll post the “Sweet List” for the week, opening the blog hop to readers. (And that includes me, by the way. I’m a voracious reader with wide-ranging tastes, as well as a writer.) The links stay on the blog’s home page all week.

On Mondays, I try to post the weekend’s stats, but that must be subject to my own work schedule. If I’m really busy, well, sorry about that!

If you have questions, feel free to ask. I’m trying to pull together an FAQ section, as well.

Cheers,

Gunnar

P.S. Hat tip to Bernard Gagnon as the taker of the tempting photo from the Barcelona market, above.