{PROGRESS + ACCOUNTABILITY} LAURYN'S RECONSTRUCTION: GETTING TO 50 SHADES OF PAID

[Rainy_TX]

I read some more of 2K to 10K.

Once again, a fantastic resource for writing. Thanks Lauryn!

I believe Lauryn is referring to the book by Rachel Aaron:
"2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better, and Writing More of What You Love"

Boyd - thanks for the link!

 

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[blaksol]

Sorry to go back a page but how much does the editor charge ? I immediately noticed a typo on his site

 

[Lauryn]

Pardon my ignorance.... Is this a book you are reading?

Yes ma'am - I believe another Fastlaner here told us about it. I forget if it was @Rainy_TX @ChickenHawk or @COSenior.
And right now it's 99 cents. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009NKXAWS/?tag=tff-amazonparser-20

I just ordered your book. Excited to check you out!

Aww thank you. The support is deeply appreciated.

You can find the most of the information in the book on the author's website, as well:
http://thisblogisaploy.blogspot.com/2011/06/how-i-went-from-writing-2000-words-day.html

Great post and find for everybody! She does admit the book mainly comes from this post.

Sorry to go back a page but how much does the editor charge ? I immediately noticed a typo on his site

I negotiated a pretty solid price from him. He has a special pricing system based on the work and a number of factors. My price was pretty decent.

 

[Lauryn]

So... amazing news is coming up.
I can't reveal until... the details are finalized.
But you will be soooooo surprised and happy.

 

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[Rainy_TX]

Arg, the suspense! Must... know... now!

 

[thaboybam]

Thanks for the thread! Had no idea about the Amazon filter on Erotica. I'll definitely take that into consideration for what I had planned.

 

[Cruor Vult]

So... amazing news is coming up.
I can't reveal until... the details are finalized.
But you will be soooooo surprised and happy.

You should write thrillers. You sure have the technique down.

 

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[Lauryn]

You should write thrillers. You sure have the technique down.

Haha you know I'm all about building up emotion. All this tension leads to a great release...

 

[Lauryn]

I've been working like crazy, my room's a mess and one of my supervisors aggravates the {BLEEP} out of me.
Then I found out my tax return - due this week - was taken from me for a debt owed.

I panicked for about 20 minutes before I remembered my truth: It's my writing - my product creation - my creativity that pays the bills.

So what do I do?

I keep F*cking writing.
That's what I do.

Beast mode.​

 

[COSenior]

I keep F*cking writing.
That's what I do

Absolutely!

 

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[Lauryn]

They say when it rains it pours.

The roommate and I tried to help out another co-worker. This co-worker basically pulled her pants down and left a hot one all over our kindness and left in a blaze of glory. Everyone is at fault in a way, especially in terms of not being more discerning of who we help and involve ourselves with. Lent said roommate some money that I better get back this Friday or there will be issues.

Got an Adsense payment - yay - to help tide me over until payday.

Looking for my own studio or one bed in Dallas and staying focused because I know I can make it.

Still have some great news to share, but I still don't feel it's the right time to share it. Everything is coming together under the surface, but through it all I will continue to write.

So writing, writing and more writing. And searching for a studio apartment for potentially April 1 or 15... this is my story and my focus right now.

Almost 50 book sales on my main book this month - not Ricochet, so I should start to see royalty payments over $100 again.

My initial goal is to get to $1000 a month in royalties in order to cover my rent and continue funnelling development into my business.

Gosh I can't wait until I see the fruits of my labor in 6 months. I know it's coming. I know I'm ascending.

 

[COSenior]

The roommate and I tried to help out another co-worker.

No good deed goes unpunished, or so they say.

 

[Lauryn]

Yeah, I know it's going to even itself out. It was just another added blow for now, LOL.
Just venting here I feel better. This is all going in a book!

 

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[Lauryn]

Another blow...this time much more deeply emotional and heartbreaking.

Let me write about it.

Anything that pisses me off or makes me cry means it's a good trigger point for writing. Even if I edit it to fit into something later, at least this pain I have been feeling... and feeling and feeling.... from all this sh*t piling on top of me... will be used to profit from.

ETA: 2243 words in 45 minutes. Writing when you're emotional = key to success.

 

[COSenior]

Another blow...this time much more deeply emotional and heartbreaking.

So sorry to hear this won't let up for you. Sometimes even a strong person like you needs a break.

 

[Lauryn]

So sorry to hear this won't let up for you. Sometimes even a strong person like you needs a break.

Thanks. I blame Mercury Retrograde for everything. It's the Devil. I'm so drained and I'm just channeling everything until things are sorted out.

Until then, this eloquently sums up my state of mind:

 

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[AroundTheWorld]

@Lauryn

Hugs. Just Sending Hugs.

And.

Chocolate.

 

[Cruor Vult]

Another blow...this time much more deeply emotional and heartbreaking.

Let me write about it.

Anything that pisses me off or makes me cry means it's a good trigger point for writing. Even if I edit it to fit into something later, at least this pain I have been feeling... and feeling and feeling.... from all this sh*t piling on top of me... will be used to profit from.

ETA: 2243 words in 45 minutes. Writing when you're emotional = key to success.

Precisely. Life experience is vital for good writing. These things are difficult now, but they're money in the bank for a writer. Remember how you used your real experiences to write Ricochet? Didn't turn out too shabbily, did it?

 

[Lauryn]

Precisely. Life experience is vital for good writing. These things are difficult now, but they're money in the bank for a writer. Remember how you used your real experiences to write Ricochet? Didn't turn out too shabbily, did it?

Emotions are awesome until you're feeling the ones you don't want to feel. I'm just channeling them into my work. Someone won't sit around and listen to me complain, but put that ish in a book and I promise someone would pay to be entertained by the misery.

 

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[Thriftypreneur]

In addition to 2k to 10k, I've also just finished reading Writing the Breakout Novel (recommended to me by @ChickenHawk). It's a little old, but I highly recommend it. Lots of the ideas in it I can see in the best-sellers I'm currently studying. It covers things like Plot, Advanced Plotting, Plot layers, Stakes (public and personal), etc, a lot of stuff that can help you kick any writers block when thinking about your work-in-progress like the book suggests.

Keep plugging away.

 

[Lauryn]

Big News.

Ricochet - and tentatively, The Playgirl Diaries - has been signed to a publishing deal.

The publisher is someone I've worked with in the past. I've edited for her and consider her a friend and inspirational woman overall. I love her books and she has mastered the genre in which my series is in so well that she and her counterparts are number one bestsellers on Amazon. In fact she's been self-publishing before it was a big thing on Kindle.

She's going to help with several parts of the process to help leverage my talent with her resources and acumen.

I wasn't looking for this deal. You guys know how I felt. I was A-okay with having to do this on my own. But the lift is needed. If the stories suck, then there's a chance I get to take them back and publish them under me.

I have a real reason to kick this shiz into even higher gear now because she has a very hungry and supportive fan base, holds book discussions, book giveaways and then some. She's also going to rip down the covers I had in mind and help me with better covers and get some print options going.

The contract is signed on my end, things just need to be finalized over the next week, but it seems pretty much signed, sealed and delivered.

Oh - and don't worry, if this deal falls through, I'm still publishing.

===

Ricochet has sold a little over 10 copies since publishing. My other book - the adult one that made almost $8k on its own - that's still my number one. I need some cover, SEO and copy editing and marketing done for this book, but I'm cool for now. I'm just happy that it's selling and my royalty payments are climbing.

It's just been a very exhausting month and a half - actually two months - because shiz hit the fan right after New Year and then doubled up after coming back from Vegas. I see things and people for who they are and I have too much to do to put energy into getting angry. Hurt and wounded, I'll just mix and match things into my stories and let the drama keep people hooked. Nothing will be true, just based on real events... and I'm cool with this because ...

 

[Lauryn]

In addition to 2k to 10k, I've also just finished reading Writing the Breakout Novel (recommended to me by @ChickenHawk). It's a little old, but I highly recommend it. Lots of the ideas in it I can see in the best-sellers I'm currently studying. It covers things like Plot, Advanced Plotting, Plot layers, Stakes (public and personal), etc, a lot of stuff that can help you kick any writers block when thinking about your work-in-progress like the book suggests.

Keep plugging away.

Thanks! I'm going to add it to my collection.
Right now I'm getting the words out, then I'm taking a break, researching, re-reading and layering over the storyline.

 

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[COSenior]

Ricochet - and tentatively, The Playgirl Diaries - has been signed to a publishing deal.

Congratulations! It feels good to have your work validated, doesn't it? Glad you'll be working with someone you know and trust, and I hope it works out stupendously for you!

 

[Lauryn]

Congratulations! It feels good to have your work validated, doesn't it? Glad you'll be working with someone you know and trust, and I hope it works out stupendously for you!

It does feel good, especially because this is my first work.

Whenever I feel like giving up, I remember there's a woman bringing in $30k a month in bigfoot porn and I know there's room for all of us. We just have to believe in our story, harness the craft and push on those fantasies deep within.

 

[Held for Ransom]

I remember there's a woman bringing in $30k a month in bigfoot porn

Ah, ah!!!

It *used* to be that way until Amazon CRUSHED her with filters and blocks. Undaunted, she took her talents elsewhere in Romance and quickly reproduced the same results. And she did it as a complete unknown (brand new pen name, no promotion, nothing)...

Great writing is appreciated everywhere.

Ugh, I must admit I have a bit of a girly crush on her. She's so close to me geographically. I think she's just terrific.

Don't worry, I confessed it to the wife.

It's all good.

*gulp*

Love the enthusiasm... Love the passion.... Love the grit @Lauryn.

Love it.

 

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[COSenior]

OK, someone PM me the pen names of this woman. Bigfoot porn...this I've gotta see.

 

[Lauryn]

Here's an article on her: http://www.thefrisky.com/2014-01-15/introducing-bigfoot-erotica/

@Held for Ransom I didn't know she had to switch genres?

Thank you all for your support. It's been tough but I'm here.

 

[Andrew C]

Hey Lauryn, just reading your thread...

I really respect you for your courage in posting your vision, your ambition, and your ups and downs as you make progress toward your goal.

Seeing as you are meeting each twist and turn with optimism and creative strategy, it seems only a matter of time.

I salute your hustle!

Continued success

 

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[COSenior]

Here's an article on her: http://www.thefrisky.com/2014-01-15/introducing-bigfoot-erotica/

@Held for Ransom I didn't know she had to switch genres?

Thank you all for your support. It's been tough but I'm here.

Bwahahahaha, that article was hilarious! I suppose she's changed pen names too by now.

 

[AroundTheWorld]

Bigfoot porn...this I've gotta see.

Dying.

This cracks me up.

And, it goes to show you that with our connected world, there are SO MANY worlds / cultures that we just don't know about
or, with a little digging around, can tap into.

Still LOLing.