Taking the Erotica Leap

[MJ DeMarco]

Thanks for posting your books, it's not often around here our authors "come out of the closet" as everyone prefers to stay incognito. Not saying one way or the other is wrong, just refreshing to see some actual covers ... and they're quite good as well, especially if your target market is young men, lol. Like the pen-name as well.

 

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[Rainy_TX]

Thanks Lauryn! (Love the spelling of your name, btw)

I'm curious as to your thought process of "and things really did turn out exactly NOT as planned... then what?" That makes for an interesting twist to writing... or how did you meld that to your book?

I've set a few goals for today:
- Complete two covers I'm doing for freelance; one fiction, the other non. (Something has to help fund my ventures in writing...lol)
- Finish the first book of Thicker than Blood and see about getting it off to an editor.
- Start work on the second installment of TTB

I'm following the writing techniques I read about in a thread here, about writing in thirty-minute increments. During that time, I'm not going back and re-reading what I wrote - this is strictly brain flow to paper. I have time to polish it up at the end of the day, I just want to get my thoughts down.

Hope everyone is having a great Tuesday!

 

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[britnidanielle]

Great covers! You could also do cover design for authors (if you don't already).

And good luck w/ writing!

 

[joanna]

It made me wonder if other writers have that happen to them? You go along writing until you reach a certain point and then you just can't seem to write what you had in mind, as if the character was telling you it's not what they'd do. I've had it happen a couple of times before and each time, it made the story/plot work better than I had originally planned. Go figure.

Uhm... yeah. Current WIP:

This will be a nice little short story, might need to work hard to stretch it to 5k, so it makes sense for publishing...

Uhm, OK, this is starting to look like 6k easy. Nice.

Well, this character seems lonely, and needs someone to talk to. Less navel gazing, and oops... suddenly I'm at 27k and counting.

... and this one actually had an outline to begin with.

So yes, derailing by characters I would say is quite common

 

[Lauryn]

Thanks Lauryn! (Love the spelling of your name, btw)
I'm curious as to your thought process of "and things really did turn out exactly NOT as planned... then what?" That makes for an interesting twist to writing... or how did you meld that to your book?
I've set a few goals for today:
- Complete two covers I'm doing for freelance; one fiction, the other non. (Something has to help fund my ventures in writing...lol)
- Finish the first book of Thicker than Blood and see about getting it off to an editor.
- Start work on the second installment of TTB
I'm following the writing techniques I read about in a thread here, about writing in thirty-minute increments. During that time, I'm not going back and re-reading what I wrote - this is strictly brain flow to paper. I have time to polish it up at the end of the day, I just want to get my thoughts down.
Hope everyone is having a great Tuesday!

Well my character is so based on me.. that it's so hard. On one hand I want her to be the filthy McNasty I never got to be... so I want to take real events and exaggerate them. On the other hand, I keep mixing the truth up all over. If things turn out exactly NOT as planned, then it really emulates more of my true story... unless I twist things in a positive way.

In my head, the book has at least one follow up title. But I just don't know until I start writing!

I'm new to fiction - has this ever happened to you?

Great workflow going!

 

[Rainy_TX]

So back to your books, do you typically write about alpha males in your novels?

Alphas... no... I mean I think I have a good mix of strong men and strong women. If I write the same characters, or same type, it gets to be monotonous, you know?

 

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[Rainy_TX]

Well my character is so based on me.. that it's so hard. On one hand I want her to be the filthy McNasty I never got to be... so I want to take real events and exaggerate them. On the other hand, I keep mixing the truth up all over. If things turn out exactly NOT as planned, then it really emulates more of my true story... unless I twist things in a positive way.

I totally understand! I tend to do this with most FMC I write about... they are me, but as a few things are different in their lives, the might react differently than I would. (Total nurture over nature here, but it helps).

In my head, the book has at least one follow up title. But I just don't know until I start writing!
I'm new to fiction - has this ever happened to you?

Of course! I think it's always fun to just write and see how things play out. I try to develop a personal relationship with my characters, as weird as it might sound, and they normally lead the story the way it SHOULD go, the way that sounds more real and natural.

 

[Rainy_TX]

built a more enticing storyline than I would of if I'd stuck to the plan.

Exactly! The story seems truer to life.

 

[Rainy_TX]

The hot... male, librarian? lol, now there's a twist. I can't imagine writing without having a general idea of where I wanted the story to go. I like to write an outline and then let the characters decide how they get there. The events in the outline give me something to look forward to writing. I like to think of it as a cruise - I know the ports-of-call and I cannot change them, but what happens in the journey to them remains unwritten.

 

[Rainy_TX]

Whew! So, I finally finished book one of Thicker than Blood, writing about 5k words today. I'm getting ready to send it off to the editor. I plan on starting book two tomorrow. Hmm... I might even start it tonight. Might as well keep writing while the story is flowing out nicely.

 

[AubreyRose]

My tip for tonight... well, it shouldn't really be a tip, but for those who don't already know... be sure to always have a professional editor go through your story! Your mind will often put words that are missing into the story... just because when you thought about the sentence, those words were there in your mind. This holds true for spelling and grammar as well. Don't sell yourself short and potentially ruin an awesome story by not having an editor comb through it. Errors quickly turn readers off, so save yourself the disappointed and possible bad reviews.

I just got my story back from the editor and I had to laugh at the mistakes he found that I had no idea were there.

Just so people know, if you are hiring for this, they are called "proofreaders" or "copy editors" and are usually more expensive than general or developmental editors (who are editing for plot/style/pacing/consistency).

edit: Rainy, how much does your editor charge? Mind linking to the website?

 

[AubreyRose]

Thanks for that, because I've been trying to make sense of who does what for a while. Copy editors are really more expensive than developmental? I'm competent to do the former, but not the latter. I'd think it would be the other way around.

I'm sure there are lots of exceptions, but copyediting is way more time intensive. Also there's a strict objective measure of how well you can do your job; with developmental editing it's a lot more fuzzy and I feel like a lot of unscrupulous people throw the term around too loosely =/

 

[Lauryn]

I'm loving this thread and can relate to so many things. As I've said I have released my need to be "all things" in terms of my publishing entity. I'm focused on story structure whilst I work other things out.

Totally skimming this FSOG parody. I am like the only person I know who just never finished the first half of the book. I wouldn't say it was horrible or anything. Just ... I didn't really care to read it. Literotica.com has a great section of things I do read.

 

[Rainy_TX]

Rainy, how much does your editor charge? Mind linking to the website?

For my 10k words, he charged me $50 for both copy and developmental edits. The developmental edits, he simply pointed out places that needed more detail, had too much detail, would help with development or things that didn't make sense. Such a huge help. If he had a website, I would like it for you guys!

Progress update: I have completed the edits, received feedback from my betas, made slight adjustments, had betas do a 2nd read and now... I think she's finished, this first book of "Thicker than Blood" anyway.

While going over the beta's thoughts, it occurred to me that while I have a story line in place, it may change... I want to give my readers what they want, and by creating a series, I can adjust events to their liking, as long as they provide the feedback. This would provide a more interactive experience for them and perhaps draw them in deeper.

 

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[COSenior]

Busy indeed! I'm playing catch-up after almost a week off due to a trip out of town. Next time I hope to have a decent laptop or tablet with keyboard so I can take it with me. Trying to write 30k words that you've already been paid for in two days is NO FUN! To be fair, my client told me to take several weeks to make up the hours, but I hate to have it hanging over my head.

Grabbed your book, looking forward to reading it. I'm in the middle of something right now, and have a couple of Aubrey Rose's books to read ahead of it, but should get to it within the next week. Will leave a review wherever I can if you like.

 

[Rainy_TX]

Trying to write 30k words that you've already been paid for in two days is NO FUN!

Ouch... I can't imagine that. I tend to do best when I have no deadline but my own. If I had to write for someone other than myself, I think my creativity would suffer, having to force it. Hope you had a good trip to make it worth playing catchup!

Will leave a review wherever I can if you like

Sounds fantastic! Would love to hear what you think.

 

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[COSenior]

Unfortunately, it wasn't that kind of trip, but thanks.

I ghostwrite for a client who treats me more like a collaborator and respects my creativity, so I'm lucky. He's also helping me pay a large debt while I work toward making some money at this, so I'm happy. I should have an update on my progress thread in a few days...hope to see you there. I may PM you for a hookup with your editor, too, one of these days.

 

[Rainy_TX]

Unfortunately, it wasn't that kind of trip, but thanks.

Sorry. I hope everything turned out okay then.

I should have an update on my progress thread in a few days...hope to see you there. I may PM you for a hookup with your editor, too, one of these days.

You certainly will see me... I've found this forum is my new lurking grounds. lol Such a wealth of knowledge. And, yeah, let me know when you need an editor. I have a fantastic one.

 

[avispa]

Yes! Finally someone has the same opinion. People blush, mutter, and ho-hum, but aside from the sexual plots, There's not that much of a story!


I have to say, your design skills are phenomenal. I was wondering where the photos were taken, then picked up on ''graphic design''


if you can Write AND Draw, you just cut miles ahead of people seeking drawers, like um.. me

Where would your book be published? How will you manage interest level, and keep your readers ''Engaged'' You Don't want a customer to look at the next book, and think eh. It's the same.

is there a reason your cover has no finished face?

 

[Rainy_TX]

''A reader hooked with a freebie'' might induce ''Download Syndrome''

Yes, I could see that, but I'm only posting on Smashwords to get my book to B&N so I can have amazon price match my first book in the series to free. After that, the rest of the books in the series will be Amazon only. I want the first book to remain free indefinitely.

I had one free on Smashwords for three weeks and asked people to report it to Amazon, with no luck

I've heard that you have to wait until it's on Barnes and Noble before Amazon will take it seriously. (If your book is accepted into Smashwords Premium, it will be distributed to B&N in a week or so.) I'm just watching B&N for it to be available there, then I will proceed with pounding Amazon for a price match.

 

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[Rainy_TX]

B&N is Barnes and Nobles

 

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[Rainy_TX]

I don't know how, but I managed to write 2k words today, going back and forth from doing internet research on ebook marketing. Guess these characters are really starting to talk to me.

 

[Rainy_TX]

How often does Smashwords pay, and what's their royalty cut? I'm pretty used to monthly Kindle payments now.

Honestly, I don't know. I can say that I'm not bothering with them after my first book is permafree... not near the exposure Amazon has. I'm basically just using them to push my book to B&N for the permafree that Amazon will match.

 

[avispa]

Got you. I might do that just to get it permafree on Nook and Kindle. How about Google Play?

it will cost $25 to publish Aps on the play store (one time Fee)

 

[COSenior]

How often does Smashwords pay, and what's their royalty cut? I'm pretty used to monthly Kindle payments now.

I think they pay quarterly. Don't recall their cut, but I think it's comparable to one of the Amazon options. I'm thinking either 40% or 65%. Sorry, I know that's a large range. You can find it on their FAQs.

 

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[COSenior]

Thank you!

I have a high-profile ebook author link to me on a social media platform. I am very exited about this and wonder if it would be wrong of me to contact them and ask them about marketing? I'm sure they get bombarded with questions just like it every day...

I agree with Lauren. I had a fairly high-profile author approach me for a review swap, and it ended up being an excellent opportunity for me. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Most authors are only human, after all.

 

[Rainy_TX]

They already linked to you without your asking, so if you were to thank them and strike a conversation, there's potential in this. If the conversation goes nowhere, take a break and offer to invest in mentorship from them. No harm in that.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Thanks guys! I took a step and thanked her and told her that I loved her work. She responded about a hour later. I'm going to leave that alone for a few days and then see if I can chat with her more later. (Ha ha... like a first date. You never want to call them the next day!)

I've done a lot of research today on promotion and have gained some incredible insights and tips that I wouldn't have thought of. Right now, I am making a plan. First and foremost is getting more books of my series published. I don't know when my first book will become permafree (it's pending becoming available on B&N and then Amazon price matching B&N), so I need to have a few more books in the series up by then. After that, I can spend a little more time working on some of the tips I've learned. (Like contacting top rated Amazon reviewers and asking them for reviews. Not only will you get reviews but because they are top rated, it will bump you up by association! Just be careful not to contact just any reviewer. Some review actual products and don't have any book reviews.)

Whew. What a Monday! I've also been able to write more in my second book... hoping to have the 10k word goal by Wednesday afternoon.

 

[Rainy_TX]

Please check out Rob Eagar's Sell Your Book like Wildfire. He has dope information on book marketing.

Just bought it. I watched the youtube vid he made... looked good. Thanks Lauryn!

 

[britnidanielle]

I have my series "Bad Dates & Other Disasters" up on Google Play. You can set a book there for free on your own. It still hasn't forced my first book permafree on Amazon yet. So....there's that. People buy it from Amazon & DL it for free on Google Play. So, whatevs.

 

[Rainy_TX]

Wow, it's amazing that life can say "yeah, you're not doing that today", even when you have a well-developed plan. BUT, I did manage to finish up book two for my Thicker than Blood series, "Fallen from Grace", today and it's off to my beta readers and editor. WHEW! I also created it's cover and tried to keep it in line with the cover of the first book. (below)

So far, the only thing I have published is the first book in the Thicker than Blood series. While I'm doing nothing to promote it, I've made 6 sales on Amazon with one five star review and I've had 280 free downloads on Smashwords with one four star review. I keep checking B&N to see if the book has been published there and so far, it has not. Will update when it does.

After all of the edits are done, will be publishing book two... hopefully tomorrow or Saturday.