It's Official - I Go Both Ways

A while back I did a post about indie vs. traditional publishing, and at that time I surmised I would like to go both ways. Since then, I've published 4 titles for the Amazon Kindle, and have had some decent success (in my opinion). Being self-published means a lot of your own time (and cash as needed) goes into the non-writing aspects of the finished product. You are the only one in charge, and the only one who is going to make it happen.

Once you have finished your story - great! Now it's time for the hard part: editing, formatting (either figuring it out or paying for it), designing (or paying for ) cover art and design, and then letting the world know about your book through your own marketing and promotion. This could entail guest-blogging, interviews, giveaways, buying ad space, getting reviews, social media and so on. You also need to keep records, because now you are running your own business. Setting up all of this is just as time intensive as actually doing it, and then  - oh yeah - you might want to keep writing new stuff, because isn't that why you were doing this in the first place?

I was just offered a contract from a traditional erotica publisher for an anthology. I am beyond thrilled by this. However - it does not mean that I am going to suddenly put all of my cute little eggs into one basket; I still plan to continue self-publishing. However, I am honored to be publishing with this particular company, and hope that I am fortunate enough to get other things published with them in the future. It will be amazing to have their reputation, editing, cover design, distribution and promotion behind me. Plus - I'm not at the point where I can afford print copies of my books, and that would be an option with the anthology.

This whole turn of events for me in the last week has made my abandonment of NaNoWriMo at 26,000-plus words less shattering. I realized with all of the forms and correspondence I needed to attend to, that I was just going to stress myself out too much. On the plus side, I am now 26,000 words closer to being able to present this publisher with a follow-up to what they have from me already! Hurrah!

Believe me, I do get that I will still have to market and promote as much as ever, and that my royalty share will be less, but I also won't be one hundred percent alone in my efforts. For some, one way may be better than the other - but I think they are both valid and have their place. So in that spirit, I am now officially going both ways.


Has anyone else out there self-published, and then been traditionally published or vice-versa? Any feedback on your experiences you'd like to share?

NaNoWriMo Halfway Point & Mixing it Up

Hello Kittycats - I have been a very, very bad girl by not keeping up with the blog - but alas - I have been writing. And writing. And writing some more. We are just about to the halfway point of NaNoWriMo, and even though I have churned out over 20,000 words, I need to be at 25,000 by tomorrow night to be on track. It has been very hard, as I do have the day gig to contend with, and I also want to get that free Christmas story up by Thanksgiving for all of you naughty little girls and boys.

(Teaser: it will be titled "Santa's Big Helper", and will have a menage theme. Tis the season to be jolly...)

Two things have been bringing this novel writing fast track marathon to a halt: World building (it is a paranormal erotic) and sex genre. I always intended for this story to have strong elements that included BDSM, multiple partners, and such, but so far - the two sex scenes have been fairly straight M/F. Not that there's anything wrong with that...

However, the title and the theme concerns an evil djinn that has this woman under "Ecstasy's Curse", so she finds herself exploring the outer realms of sexuality. I just sort of haven't gotten to that part yet. So far, I have been developing her character, story background and build-up, plus her true love interest - which is why the sex so far has been just between the two of them. I'm starting to wonder if it will be too much of a left turn for the reader when all of a sudden she gets real freaky.

For all of you writers out there - do you like to mix it up? Do you actually prefer not to be locked into one specific erotica genre when writing, or do you tend to stay focused, feeling that it's easier to market to a specific audience?

As a reader - does it frustrate you to buy a book in a certain erotic genre, only to find that there's too much other erotica thrown in that you don't care for? Or do you like it when the writer mixes it up?

My personal preference is to mix it up. I love Lisabet Sarai's "Incognito" for that reason. While there is a lot of BDSM in it - and it tends to be marketed as such - there are also non-BDSM F/F and M/F scenes, and the book focuses on the main character's sexual journey and exploration. Let me know what you think.

As you know, there is no rest for the wicked, so I must get back to weaving this tale of Ecstasy...

Pink Petal Books - Call for Anthology Submissions

Right in the middle of NaNoWriMo, my eyes spied this tweet from Pink Petal Books about a call for submissions. And you know how I love to submit! So I hit the pause button on my Evil Djinn book, left my poor characters panting with frustration, and I rushed right over to see what all the fuss was about. It looks good kiddies.

Pink Petal Books likes to focus on erotica with a heavy dose of romance, because they believe "Love is a beautiful thing". Now who can argue with that? I like the looks of this publisher, and I am polishing up a few gems for this call. Now, it should be noted that they have a general call out for submissions, but this is for specific themed anthologies coming out starting next year. The first deadline is January 15th, 2012.

I'm going to take a slight left turn here and comment about royalties from publishers in regards to anthologies. I personally believe that anthologies are a terrific way to get your foot in the door as a newer author, or to introduce yourself to a larger audience. I know some authors don't like that they have to split the proceeds with the other authors, and there are some reviewers who aren't super fond of reviewing anthologies. But in this case, Pink Petal Books will release your story as its own entity after 90 days of the anthology being out. I think that's a great incentive, as I know of one very well-known erotica anthology that pays the authors $50, and that's it - no royalties regardless of how many titles they sell. I might add, that's not that unusual.

Things should eventually change in the face of the ebook revolution, but for many years, ANY type of writing has been difficult to sell if you weren't a top list author. So many respected authors would sell their stories for $20, $40, $50,  and with newer authors, free just so they could get the exposure.

Wow. I sure can get distracted. Bottom line, this looks like an interesting call for submission, and if you have a hot story between 7,000 - 15,000 words, and it fits in with one of their themes - you may just get it published! Check it out:

http://pinkpetalbooks.com/special-submission-calls.html

Ok, back to the writing dungeon...

Are Men From Mars & Women From Venus?

I am well into my first day writing on my new novel for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). Somehow in answering one of the trigger questions I had - "what does the character want?" - it made me really consider who I'm writing for. Who is my demographic? Will male readers be drawn to my writing, or is it really a female audience I'm reaching?

Honestly, my intention all along was to swing both ways; I have always hoped that whatever I wrote would appeal to a wide range of readers. But is that the best way to go? Ellora's Cave has traditionally, and quite successfully, built their erotica reputation as a destination for women. However, they recently put out a call for submissions for a new line they are creating that is specifically geared towards men:

http://www.jasminejade.com/t-writerscircle.aspx

This is not at all about what is already a very popular erotica genre - M/M - it is geared toward heterosexual men looking to read some great erotica. Wow. So the submission guidelines are specific to a stereotypical male sexual prototype - things like less drama and more dirty talk - whereas with erotica geared to women, it seems to be more about the drama and the romance.

I find this interesting, as Ellora's Cave has identified a market need to provide a different erotic reading experience for our red-blooded males. It made me start to wonder if the stories I'm writing would generally be more appealing to women, or would men prefer them. Looking at my free Halloween story, "Halloween Tail", through this veil I would guess it's more of a women's story, yet, I also thought that Evan's desire to prove himself sexually (in a pretty extreme way) to a woman he's been friends with for awhile would also fall under a male fantasy.

I'd be interested to hear what you as writers think. Are you gearing your writing/stories to a certain demographic, or are you letting the characters and stories take you where they may, and hope someone jumps on to enjoy the ride? Are you specifically trying to appeal to both a male and female audience? Should we be worrying about that?

As a reader, is there a certain style/type of erotica that doesn't do it for you? If you're a woman, do you have to have romance or it turns you off? As a man, do you appreciate more emphasis on creative sex scenarios as opposed to a lot of extra drama and story?

Phew. That's a lot to think about, and if I'd had a boner just then - it would have killed it. Let me know what you think kiddies, and I will go back and work on my NaNo story in the meantime.