Edit!

My editor sent my story back, and the time has come to fix all the things she found. The beauty of editors is they pick out the weak spots. The hard part is picking out what is actually the perfect flaw among all the pieces that, when fixed, make it better.

 Until next time...

Conflict of Interest

Erotica isn't an easy genre to get reviews. Self-published authors as a rule also have trouble trying to get someone to write about their books. I've been writing down my thoughts on a file, trying to get a better idea of what is out there. It's almost like a review. I have been thinking about changing those thoughts into actual reviews.

Except then a friend of mine explained why he thought it was a conflict of interest to post reviews of another author's books. Those words weigh in my mind as I try to figure out all the details. His point comes from his experience in cars. One company might be looking for your loyalty to be only to that company for as long as they can.

I don't know how many other authors write reviews. I ought to head over to a writing forum like GoodReads to see who is out there reviewing. But writing isn't quite like a lot of industries out there. I don't expect a customer to buy books from one author only. I don't even expect customers to buy in only one genre. A lot of brands look for that kind of loyalty - buy only BMW or Dyson or Energizer. Use only Pandora or State Farm for your service needs.

When I look over the books I own, several authors have been my favorites. Each of them has a different strength (and weakness). All of those books have held my attention, though some do keep me up to read later than others. 

What are you looking for in a review? Would you follow what an author says in that genre? I assume an author in the genre keeps reading a lot of things to know what's out there and what is allowed within the rules of that genre. Where would that conflict of interest lie between getting reviews of other works out there and promoting your own work?

In Search of an Artist

It's not easy to go in search of someone to make pictures of your words. I can search for what I want, but somehow I just get an idea in my head and it doesn't always happen to be among the stock images.

I'm never sure if I can afford an artist, but I am on the lookout for places to see who is out there. Who wants to do erotic images (or at least, images for erotica ebook covers)? Those two do not have to be the same thing.

When I look at ebooks, there are a lot of covers that show skin or some barely-there outfit that will (hopefully) interest the reader. Sometimes the cover does not match with my read of the book. I don't find it easy to translate my words into something to match the front.

I suppose I'm lucky I have a good editor to work with already.

So this week is dedicated to finding the requirements for any place where I might publish an ebook, looking for the spots where the artists are congregating, and possibly looking at stock images to see if I can get ideas for the words I've already written.

Plus, I'm going to send the first one to the aforementioned editor and put the finishing touches on it so I'll be ready to go when I get that artist. Oh, the exciting life of a writer!

Market Research

There are a lot of reasons to do market research. I've been delving deeply into it for a few weeks now as part of the end of my hiatus.

One of the coolest parts of market research is getting to read what else is out there. Sometimes it's not so cool, when you run into tidbits that make you think: what the hell?

I have found a couple authors I admire. I have found a couple authors I'd rather not read again. I have found a couple stories that don't seem to stand alone, where each piece is needed for the whole, but by itself it doesn't grab me enough to want to read more. I also found a few stories that make me want to read the entire series.

But my other reason for what I'm doing is seeing where my stories fit into the greater scheme of things. How I write versus how they write. How much I can get away with as far as word count and price and all the rest. I'm also thinking about reviewing several of the things I'm reading. Maybe those authors will have something to say about mine when I get it out there.

Yes, when I get it out there. I'm putting together a plan, and I happen to be tenacious once I get a plan in place.

Then I wonder about reviewing the other authors. I'm not one of those people who is able to just say 'oh, this is hawt!' like I've seen a few other reviews doing. It matters to me about the greater story that brought them to the erotic scenes. What are you looking for in a review of a book, say on Amazon or in a blog like this one? What do other authors see when someone new comes along and leaves a review, whether it is stellar or dismal?

I think what I would look for is either constructive criticism or something that would help a reader decide that, yes, this is the book for me. So it would include bits about characters, plot, and all the other pieces that create stories in every genre, not just erotic scenes.

Get Out of My Fantasies!

No, not really. I write them to share them, but I find it odd when people assume that since I write erotica it must mean something specific.

What I often get is someone assumes that he or she is in that fantasy that I have. But that would mean that every single story I write is a fantasy of mine. And that I only fantasize about people I know. Or possibly that I have attempted every single thing I've written about...

Whoa. Just stop right there. I can't even continue on that line of thought any longer.

I write stories. They are fiction. The people held within them are also fiction. There is a disclaimer on many fiction books that proclaims all events and characters are made up. The beauty of making everything up is that there are no restrictions to where they can go. A piece of writing advice passed around so many is "Write what you know." While that is fine, there is also a point where you have to change things or be forever paralyzed by what someone else, a real person, would actually do. That doesn't work in fiction, because the rules require a fiction story to make sense, to have a point, to come to a conclusion and not simply fizzle into oblivion.

Sometimes, pieces of a person I know or something that really happened might spark an idea to create a character or to shape an event or to twist a plot. Those pieces are harder for me, because it takes me a long time when I rewrite them to make them fictional rather than representations of someone or something real.

I think I need to get that tattooed on my hand, so the next time someone says 'that's me' I can just flash them an explanation without getting that annoyed tone of voice when I explain, no, it isn't about you. Remember that for any writer you meet, whether she is writing science fiction or he's into literary prose or someone else mentions romance. It isn't about you, or anyone else in the writer's life.

Somewhere between sometimes and often, it isn't even about the writer. Those story bits are so close to us because we created them. Yet like children, they have to go and live lives of their own.

Wardrobe Inequality

My mother sometimes expresses regret for my childhood - I never wanted to wear the frilly dresses and ruffles and all the other hallmarks of little girls. As soon as I could express myself well enough, I wore practical clothes like jeans and t-shirts.

One of the things I loved most about jeans was pockets. So many clothing items, and not just for little girls, lack that one detail. Sure, women wear purses. That has become an expectation for many reasons, and not simply a fashion choice. Women are often caretakers of others and need to carry more items than will fit in their pockets.

A purse should never be an excuse to get by without pockets in clothing. They only seem to be used for the same things because both carry essentials like a wallet, keys, cell phone. Did you ever see the college girls at the bar? They never carry purses or coats (despite the weather) because there is too great a possibility for them to be lost. They have a bit of money and ID and not much else.

Purses often become larger and larger as women age. They lug so much junk they can't live without until they try to weigh it on a scale and realize they're carrying a medium-sized dog instead of a wardrobe accessory. The straps cut into their shoulders from the weight and removing the purse creates a lopsided stride.

Sometimes I miss my backpack from college. I have a couple accessory backpacks that can take the place of a purse, but few of them have enough pockets to stay organized. It's hell searching for a pen at the bottom of a backpack that's masquerading as a purse. At least in my current purse (6x8", fully zipped shut weighs about 2 pounds) has a lot of dividers and a specific pocket for my phone.

I often refuse to buy outfits without pockets. Only one pair of slacks remains without, and they're my favorite despite that lack due to fabric and fit. Yoga (and other workout) outfits are notorious, and I only manage because my mat has a bag with a pocket. Otherwise I'm at a loss for where to put my keys. I replaced my old workout lock with a combination lock because I never knew where to put the key when I was swimming.

No matter how small the purse, however, you can always find a pen and notebook of some kind within where I'm scribbling notes about something or other. Of course, if I could find a way to put that in my pockets I might be tempted to try to go without the purse. But a woman's wallet seems unwieldy without a purse.

Just one more way the sexes will never be equal.

End of a Hiatus

It's easy to get pulled in too many directions. Today I found myself saying yes when I should have been asking more questions. I find myself reminded of all those magazine articles with a topic about how to say no. Say no politely, say no assertively, say no even when you think you can do it all.

I can't do it all. Most days I don't want to.

I started to make a list of the things I accomplish on a daily basis. I get tired of it near the afternoon and skip it, but if I don't keep up the list I can't remember what I've finished.

Lists don't just include those little things (like taking vitamins) that slip through the cracks without a reminder. Today I looked up all the work in progress ideas I have in various stages. I have six published short stories that I call done. I have one novel completed that needs a rewrite and I haven't decided to push myself through mentally. I have another novel with a reworkable premise. There are also fifty short stories that I haven't finished or haven't edited or haven't yet published.

Fifty?

I can't believe I've allowed so much time to pass me by without doing something with those ideas. This week I had two more (ideas, not half-written slush pile stuff). Last night I outlined them to give myself direction to tackle them.

I'm at a loss over the fifty mark. Most of them are short- too short for me to think that I ought to put them for sale on their own. However, several of them are candidates to be lumped together into short story bundles.

If you need me, I'm looking into some market research. See you next week.