I know I'm writing to a niche audience. It isn't easy when you want to write erotica. It isn't something you want tattooed on your forehead or proclaimed in block letters on the outside of your home. While it isn't something I hide, it is also something I know most of my neighbors and acquaintances wouldn't understand.
But that's not really the point. Even those friends who read and love what I write can't answer my question about what price to set for my stories. And thanks to this Huffington Post article among others, I know I'm not alone.
At this point, I'm not a big name anywhere. I know people must have run across my work because it's out there. I've been published in a few places. That doesn't mean I have a big audience or following. If I put books or short story collections out there, I am not sure that I will have them snapped up by millions of readers. So goes the doubt of the would-be writer.
Yet there is a price to not publishing, too. Maybe I'm not able to say that a certain number of words is necessary for a $.99, $1.99, or $9.99 ebook, but if these stories just sit in my computer hard drives forever they don't get to do what I'd love them to do most: be read and enjoyed.
I won't stop from my earlier goal to be submitting to magazines. Part of that is getting my name out there and even the token payments remind me to stay on target to write and submit and do everything I can to be published. But what about those great stories I've worked on so long that simply cannot find the right market to be published? Maybe that's the place to start with the ebooks and self-publishing to allow them to find their larger audiences.
Yes, part of this is spawned from my latest rejection letter, which stated that my story was well-written but not what they were looking for. I've given more thought to what they are looking for, and I may try again.
Until then, it's good to get a good feel for what I've written and how the short stories might fit into collections and how many novellas I've got ready to go. This is the time to get out there and find my spot. Encouragement is appreciated.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Feedback...
Sometimes, all I can say is thank you. Today, it was a stretch even for that.
Erotica is an interesting niche to write. There's something about the intimacy of the characters and setting that will repel some readers and attract others. Normally attraction is a good thing, but there is a line between what is welcome and what isn't.
Most of my readers are people I know. I love that I've learned so much about these people. Sometimes I write things specifically to titillate them. All I ask in return is that I get feedback from them about what they thought - even if it amounts to "I hate it." Mostly it keeps my inner needy writer assuaged from thinking my muse must be dumped down a well and never see the light of day again.
Of course, when these friends send flattery my way, I know it's not going to amount to anything. It's just their polite way of telling me to keep going and keep my self-esteem from dragging. My friends are wonderful this way and I hope they know how much I appreciate that.
On the other hand, there are people I don't know. One today who referred to himself by a male name while not only praising lesbians but calling men incomplete... Well, he left me some interesting comments, including a nickname and an instant message and two apologies for being so forward with the disclaimer that he doesn't do that much.
Seriously? Mostly it just makes me shake my head. I should send him to a piece of mine featuring gay males instead. I write so many different things, yet he wants to believe that I am one of those characters featured in the story (neither of which is a proclaimed lesbian). I could point him to several heterosexual characters I've written.
I don't know how to get it across to people that the details of the characters I write are not something I'm trying to express about myself. I write fiction. I love fiction. Sometimes I'll change things about a character to make it fit the story better or to get my message across. If that means creating a man where there was once a woman, changing the color of eyes or hair or skin, or making up mannerisms where none existed previously, so be it. Nothing is set in stone. Actually, that's one reason I love writing - it isn't set in stone! I can tweak things endlessly until they fall the way I need them to.
All the writers I know have heard the phrase 'Write what you know.' That isn't always a literal thing - writing what you know can take many forms, and it doesn't have to be just writing things from your past. It can be morphing them into messages to make readers think.
I can't think of a single story I've written where I've poured all of myself into it. There's always something changing, taking one small piece of truth and draping it with a bunch of fiction. That's the only way it works for me. It's like this phrase that I'm trying to weave into a story: "I write fiction because fact hurts too much." That quote will describe how I feel about it, but when I'm done nothing else about the story will be true about me.
Please regard the writer as a creator of many stories, not simply a regurgitator of what happened. I don't just mean me - most of the writers I know have a separation between self and characters. Don't be afraid to ask. You just might get an answer.
Erotica is an interesting niche to write. There's something about the intimacy of the characters and setting that will repel some readers and attract others. Normally attraction is a good thing, but there is a line between what is welcome and what isn't.
Most of my readers are people I know. I love that I've learned so much about these people. Sometimes I write things specifically to titillate them. All I ask in return is that I get feedback from them about what they thought - even if it amounts to "I hate it." Mostly it keeps my inner needy writer assuaged from thinking my muse must be dumped down a well and never see the light of day again.
Of course, when these friends send flattery my way, I know it's not going to amount to anything. It's just their polite way of telling me to keep going and keep my self-esteem from dragging. My friends are wonderful this way and I hope they know how much I appreciate that.
On the other hand, there are people I don't know. One today who referred to himself by a male name while not only praising lesbians but calling men incomplete... Well, he left me some interesting comments, including a nickname and an instant message and two apologies for being so forward with the disclaimer that he doesn't do that much.
Seriously? Mostly it just makes me shake my head. I should send him to a piece of mine featuring gay males instead. I write so many different things, yet he wants to believe that I am one of those characters featured in the story (neither of which is a proclaimed lesbian). I could point him to several heterosexual characters I've written.
I don't know how to get it across to people that the details of the characters I write are not something I'm trying to express about myself. I write fiction. I love fiction. Sometimes I'll change things about a character to make it fit the story better or to get my message across. If that means creating a man where there was once a woman, changing the color of eyes or hair or skin, or making up mannerisms where none existed previously, so be it. Nothing is set in stone. Actually, that's one reason I love writing - it isn't set in stone! I can tweak things endlessly until they fall the way I need them to.
All the writers I know have heard the phrase 'Write what you know.' That isn't always a literal thing - writing what you know can take many forms, and it doesn't have to be just writing things from your past. It can be morphing them into messages to make readers think.
I can't think of a single story I've written where I've poured all of myself into it. There's always something changing, taking one small piece of truth and draping it with a bunch of fiction. That's the only way it works for me. It's like this phrase that I'm trying to weave into a story: "I write fiction because fact hurts too much." That quote will describe how I feel about it, but when I'm done nothing else about the story will be true about me.
Please regard the writer as a creator of many stories, not simply a regurgitator of what happened. I don't just mean me - most of the writers I know have a separation between self and characters. Don't be afraid to ask. You just might get an answer.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Abortion and the News
The Susan G. Komen Foundation has pulled the plug on funding for Planned Parenthood. Somehow, this makes me irate when they mention comments about the pro-life politics getting in the way of breast health. I was a bit gratified to see that I'm not the only one - according to the Washington Post Planned Parenthood received 6000 donations in the first 24 hours (as opposed to the normal 100 to 200 donations per day) and has nearly covered the funds that the Komen foundation would have provided.
Planned Parenthood is a great organization. It's not just about abortion. They're about sexual and reproductive health across the spectrum - and especially for those who might not otherwise afford it.
And yet, so many people boycott Planned Parenthood because they also offer abortions. Maybe they're just the vocal ones who want to stand on their little soapboxes and say that every life is precious and it begins at conception?
I just have such a problem with that. Planned Parenthood states in their mission that they'd rather prevent unwanted pregnancy than abort it. My problem with the pro-life movement runs a bit deeper, though. If I can set it in my mind that abortion is the right option for me, who are you to say I can't do it? It should be between me, my religious ideals (if any), and my conscience.
Don't give me crap about saying that it ought to only be in certain cases, like rape, incest, and cases that endanger the mother's health. Suddenly we're going to open up all kinds of legal issues trying to demarcate what constitutes rape or significantly endangering the mother's health in order to allow an abortion or not.
We call ourselves free. We make decisions every day about what we want to do. We choose how to shape our own futures with every step we take.
I know several of my friends would choose against abortion - not just for their families but everyone. Some have even picketed against Planned Parenthood. (Shudder.)
Many years ago, on my way home from work, I saw such a demonstration on one of the main streets in the city where I lived. There were posters so large that each took two people to hold on the sides of the road where the speed limit was 45 mph. It was awful and I was surprised there were no accidents that evening, but it didn't change how I felt about abortion. I'd like to think if I were a doctor I'd work for a place like Planned Parenthood and help them with that task.
It's not that I enjoy prematurely taking life, but it's an important thing to do. We need professionals who will stand up and perform the duty and have it be routine enough that it isn't riskier than it has to be.
Humans are wired for the need to procreate - the need to have sex. Prevention should be the first priority, but it might also be good that we stay out of other people's business. How many of us look askance at people like Octomom? At teen mothers? Yet several also shun abortion. We only have so many choices. Make yours count - and keep them to yourself. My business is just that - mine.
I promise to follow my conscience if you do the same.
Note: if Planned Parenthood's numbers are correct, I'm sure we all know someone who's had an abortion. But nobody talks about it. Seems worse than miscarriage that way. It's an incredibly personal decision and it has far-reaching consequences. I'd love to interview someone for a story, but the story will come out either way. Email me if you're willing to share.
Planned Parenthood is a great organization. It's not just about abortion. They're about sexual and reproductive health across the spectrum - and especially for those who might not otherwise afford it.
And yet, so many people boycott Planned Parenthood because they also offer abortions. Maybe they're just the vocal ones who want to stand on their little soapboxes and say that every life is precious and it begins at conception?
I just have such a problem with that. Planned Parenthood states in their mission that they'd rather prevent unwanted pregnancy than abort it. My problem with the pro-life movement runs a bit deeper, though. If I can set it in my mind that abortion is the right option for me, who are you to say I can't do it? It should be between me, my religious ideals (if any), and my conscience.
Don't give me crap about saying that it ought to only be in certain cases, like rape, incest, and cases that endanger the mother's health. Suddenly we're going to open up all kinds of legal issues trying to demarcate what constitutes rape or significantly endangering the mother's health in order to allow an abortion or not.
We call ourselves free. We make decisions every day about what we want to do. We choose how to shape our own futures with every step we take.
I know several of my friends would choose against abortion - not just for their families but everyone. Some have even picketed against Planned Parenthood. (Shudder.)
Many years ago, on my way home from work, I saw such a demonstration on one of the main streets in the city where I lived. There were posters so large that each took two people to hold on the sides of the road where the speed limit was 45 mph. It was awful and I was surprised there were no accidents that evening, but it didn't change how I felt about abortion. I'd like to think if I were a doctor I'd work for a place like Planned Parenthood and help them with that task.
It's not that I enjoy prematurely taking life, but it's an important thing to do. We need professionals who will stand up and perform the duty and have it be routine enough that it isn't riskier than it has to be.
Humans are wired for the need to procreate - the need to have sex. Prevention should be the first priority, but it might also be good that we stay out of other people's business. How many of us look askance at people like Octomom? At teen mothers? Yet several also shun abortion. We only have so many choices. Make yours count - and keep them to yourself. My business is just that - mine.
I promise to follow my conscience if you do the same.
Note: if Planned Parenthood's numbers are correct, I'm sure we all know someone who's had an abortion. But nobody talks about it. Seems worse than miscarriage that way. It's an incredibly personal decision and it has far-reaching consequences. I'd love to interview someone for a story, but the story will come out either way. Email me if you're willing to share.
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