Trying something different for the novel I'm currently working on. In the past I've tried plotting scene by scene and then figuring out later where chapter breaks should be, but it always feels a little awkward. For this one I'm going to try writing it chapter-by-chapter instead. I'm only on the second chapter, but it feels slightly better to me. Maybe it's that writing a chapter in a chunk feels more like writing a story for the GAF challenge.
So I wrote a new ending to a story I wrote over a year ago. This is the fifth ending I've made for it, but god it is awkward to try and come back to a thing after so long. Like, I've edited it many times, but haven't added anything new to it in what felt like forever. Super worried about consistency in style...
Will do the challenge updates in a bit, but the mini-comic I wrote for Dead Endings just came out, so I wanted to share a full page.
Mmmm... Delirium Tremens aura~
(It's the membership exclusive so you can't view it unless you subscribe, but they have a ton of other comics in there plus novels, audio dramas, etc., so it's kind of a spiffy deal if you do.)
I have a pen name. I have a theme (fantasy/monster? Is a minotaur really a monster? Body of a man, head of a bull.) Hmmmm.
And gods help me I wrote 1500 words today. As I mentioned earlier my brain has been working on these but I hadn't sat down at the keyboard yet. That changed today. I have an idea for three but like cosmic I could stretch this out a bit. In fact, for it to come full circle and really wrap up as a single series I'll need probably five or even six of these.
My main issue will be time. I think I will not make the same dates you all are trying to hit. Too much real life stuff intruding.
Will do the challenge updates in a bit, but the mini-comic I wrote for Dead Endings just came out, so I wanted to share a full page.
Mmmm... Delirium Tremens aura~
(It's the membership exclusive so you can't view it unless you subscribe, but they have a ton of other comics in there plus novels, audio dramas, etc., so it's kind of a spiffy deal if you do.)
I have a pen name. I have a theme (fantasy/monster? Is a minotaur really a monster? Body of a man, head of a bull.) Hmmmm.
And gods help me I wrote 1500 words today. As I mentioned earlier my brain has been working on these but I hadn't sat down at the keyboard yet. That changed today. I have an idea for three but like cosmic I could stretch this out a bit. In fact, for it to come full circle and really wrap up as a single series I'll need probably five or even six of these.
My main issue will be time. I think I will not make the same dates you all are trying to hit. Too much real life stuff intruding.
Thanks, A! Scripting turned out to be good fun, and seeing it drawn by someone else is a real treat. Hope it entices a few more people in.
For the mini-challenge, yay for joining! Don't stress about hitting the dates too hard. If you're able to hit the first publishing date with the rest of us, that'd be best (for the comparison), but nothing says you can't release later. I feel you on the life stuff, so just have fun with it and use it as a guideline not a hard date if you need to.
Only 200 words into the 4th short. Unfortunately lost a bigger chunk of the day than I would have liked due to some allergy medication. They were supposed to be non-drowsy!
Writing GAF Mini-Challenge of What the Hell, Why Not
Guidelines:
- Write 3 erotic shorts (2,000 8,000 words*) by May 9th
(Proofreading/editing 2nd week of May)
- Simultaneous release of everyones first erotic short to be May 18th
- 2nd short to be published May 25th, and 3rd on June 1st
- Bundle of all 3 to be published in June for 1.99-4.99 (if your shorts are <5000k 1.99, if >5000k 4.99)
- Release platform: Amazon
- Pricing (TBD. Thinking 1st free and on KU(?), and the other two at .99 or 2.99)
- Willingness to share sales/profit numbers (if any)P) so that we can track and compare
Checklist:
- 3 proofread/edited shorts ready for publication by May 18th (uploaded that morning)
- Silly pen name
- Book covers
- Blurbs
- Amazon account/agreement to publish**
*If your shorts are less than 5k, price ~.99 or 1.99. Shorts at 5k+ are to be priced at $2.99
**Publishing under your pen name on Amazon (as gleaned from other authors) -
1) You can have up to 3 pen names. Once you have a work published, search the work through Author Central and then claim it. You'll be prompted to add the new pen name to your dashboard. Once you verify that it is, they will set up a separate page for that pen name. After that, a drop down menu, at the right top of the screen, will show all your pen names.
^Question yet to be answered is how to publish without being logged into your real account, though if you put put the author name as the pen name when you're publishing, maybe it just doesn't connect to your AC account and floats out there until claimed...?
Resources:
Formatting - (Haven't used these myself, but they were recommended as free and compatible with Kindle needs)
1) Draft2Digital - free formatting
2) Mark Cokers formatting guide for Smashwords
Tip from other erotica authors:
1) Do not upload on Friday nights (to Amazon)
2) Titles really need to be eye-catching for the genre
3) Nail your keywords
4) One bestselling author noted not to put your book in the erotica category*.
They also said to not use taboo, step-family, virgin or anything like that in keywords.
5) Blurbs need to be tight and suggestive (without getting you flagged by Amazon as ADULT), not meandering
A hilarious, but compact example I saw:
"Julie's life is out of control and empty. As a 21-year-old college drop-out, she wanders the side show, looking for something, anything, to make her feel alive. When she sees six-foot, seven-inch Arnold under the Strong Man canopy, she realizes she may have found just what she's been craving. But can she take his raw power?"
*I'm not so sure about this. Maybe sirap can shed some light on it.
Other thoughts:
One of the free options for sharing/getting your work out there is Wattpad, but the Wattpad format pretty much requires you just post your work for free. What this does get you is a lot of readers and eyes/feedback, so I think it might be good to release here at the same time as well with the first short.
Participants
Me
Nappuccino
Gaz_RB
Delio
Blargonaut
Jintor
timetokill
toddhunter
Nudull?
mu cephei
FlowersisBritish
Cyan
cosmicblizzard
Yes, get started so that you're not scrambling near the end and have time to revise and edit. More time means you can polish or fiddle with covers and the like. <-- Your covers must be done by each upload date or you won't have a cover.
Haha. Yours will be a grand experiment in several ways, then. Pricing-wise, the $2.99 sirap mentioned does seem to be standard, but for shorts that are 5000 and up. Under that I'd price .99 or 1.99 or people might not bite bc of the length to cost ratio. You cool with that? I imagine others will join you in the under 5k test case.
Published my first longer work (46k) with my erotic pen name, Cassandra Logan, and the downloads have already exceeded any other first day with my shorter works. I've had 4 purchases and 16 borrows in less than 24 hours. I've also had two people sign up for my mailing list. Pretty excited, just need to keep the motivation up, finish the sequel, and publish within thirty days.
Using CosmicBlizzards advice I tweaked all of my keywords, it hasn't helped my older works yet, but it could be the reason for the increased downloads on my new book.
Just thought I'd give an update, cause, yeah, I'm excited. lol
Published my first longer work (46k) with my erotic pen name, Cassandra Logan, and the downloads have already exceeded any other first day with my shorter works. I've had 4 purchases and 16 borrows in less than 24 hours. I've also had two people sign up for my mailing list. Pretty excited, just need to keep the motivation up, finish the sequel, and publish within thirty days.
Using CosmicBlizzards advice I tweaked all of my keywords, it hasn't helped my older works yet, but it could be the reason for the increased downloads on my new book.
Just thought I'd give an update, cause, yeah, I'm excited. lol
Seems tweaking the keywords a while after releasing doesn't do much. Actually did that with my novels to no effect.
But damn, don't think i want to write a 46k erotic work. At that point, id just write 10 4.6k ones or give up outright and go back to writing things i want if the shorts were bombing.
Seems tweaking the keywords a while after releasing doesn't do much. Actually did that with my novels to no effect.
But damn, don't think i want to write a 46k erotic work. At that point, id just write 10 4.6k ones or give up outright and go back to writing things i want if the shorts were bombing.
It's actually more romance than just straight up erotica. It has it's sexy moments but I'd say 2/3 is romance, makes it easier. Because of that I ended up putting it into the Romance<Fantasy and Romance<Sci-Fi categories instead of an Erotica category.
It's actually more romance than just straight up erotica. It has it's sexy moments but I'd say 2/3 is romance, makes it easier. Because of that I ended up putting it into the Romance<Fantasy and Romance<Sci-Fi categories instead of an Erotica category.
Guidelines:
- Write 3 erotic shorts (2,000 – 8,000 words*) by May 9th
(Proofreading/editing 2nd week of May)
- Simultaneous release of everyone’s first erotic short to be May 18th
- 2nd short to be published May 25th, and 3rd on June 1st
- Bundle of all 3 to be published in June for 1.99-4.99 (if your shorts are <5000k 1.99, if >5000k 4.99)
- Release platform: Amazon
- Pricing (TBD. Thinking 1st free and on KU(?), and the other two at .99 or 2.99)
- Willingness to share sales/profit numbers (if any)P) so that we can track and compare
Progress Checklist (3 weeks to go): You should be finished with/or well into...
- 1 short done (or well into it)
- Silly pen name
- Title
- Blurb
Upcoming:
- Formatting: Free Template, Draft2Digital (free formatting), Mark Cokers formatting guide for Smashwords
- Covers: DIY & Paid cover resources
1) Canva - Super cheap and easy to use
2) 4 Incredible Free Sources for Photos to Use in Your Book or Blog - Good info about the process of getting photos + free and paid sites listed
3) Canstockphoto - Free and paid images
4) Fiverr - Recommended by reddit/used by other authors putting out shorts if you don't want to design your own
- Amazon account/agreement to publish
Other Considerations:
- Twitter Account - You might want to consider starting a twitter account for your pen name now so that you can cultivate a few followers in the weeks leading up to tell about your shorts when they release. Not necessary, of course, but it's free marketing and could benefit your sales. If you do start one, let me know and I'll put a * next to your name. No need to reveal what it is, but this will be a good way to see how much of an impact a little marketing does for this.
Participation List
*Me - Medieval
Nappuccino - Friends and Benefits
Gaz_RB - Doctor-Patient Fling
Delio - Superhero
Blargonaut - Cyberpunk Heist Caper
Jintor - Lesbians?
*timetokill - Virgins/Daddy Issues
toddhunter - Theme? What theme? Sex!
Nudull - ???
mu cephei - ?????
FlowersisBritish - Historical/Dinosaurs?
Cyan - Tiger/human love
cosmicblizzard - The Strange and Bizarre
Petit Melon - Vampire/Paranormal
besada - Housewives/Occult
Fiction - Heaven and Hell
sirap - Werewolf billionaire stepbrothers kink (serial)
AngmarsKing701 - Fantasy/Monster
SolVanderlyn - ???
I'm jumping on this train. Wish me luck. I got 1,500 words or so down in a day, including editing. If I give up on this before it's done I might literally shoot myself in the foot to teach myself a lesson. Is there a separate thread for feedback?
And, there's no getting off this train. Stick to the plan and you'll be gold. Feedback-wise, there's no separate thread. Just drop it in or link it. Everyone's just discussing in here, so you're in the right place.
Published my first longer work (46k) with my erotic pen name, Cassandra Logan, and the downloads have already exceeded any other first day with my shorter works. I've had 4 purchases and 16 borrows in less than 24 hours. I've also had two people sign up for my mailing list. Pretty excited, just need to keep the motivation up, finish the sequel, and publish within thirty days.
Using CosmicBlizzards advice I tweaked all of my keywords, it hasn't helped my older works yet, but it could be the reason for the increased downloads on my new book.
Just thought I'd give an update, cause, yeah, I'm excited. lol
Unfortunately, they probably have the least demand over most if not all creative industries by virtue of there being so goddamn many of them. I imagine that's why going indie with Amazon/Createspace is so damn alluring, even for people hoping to take their stories to other mediums like movies/comics/games/etc. No need to "break in" or anything like that.
If there are so many of them, I don't understand why they're not giving them work. I've seen the same job postings on some company sites that I saw eight months ago because you can see the date it was posted.
Is that indie self-publish really worth it though? I know I'm repeating myself, but I've been tempted and I've heard from people who are more versed in the industry that I am that it can lock you out of getting an agent or traditional publisher later on if those sales aren't looking phenomenal.
If there are so many of them, I don't understand why they're not giving them work. I've seen the same job postings on some company sites that I saw eight months ago because you can see the date it was posted.
Is that indie self-publish really worth it though? I know I'm repeating myself, but I've been tempted and I've heard from people who are more versed in the industry that I am that it can lock you out of getting an agent or traditional publisher later on if those sales aren't looking phenomenal.
If there are so many of them, I don't understand why they're not giving them work. I've seen the same job postings on some company sites that I saw eight months ago because you can see the date it was posted.
Is that indie self-publish really worth it though? I know I'm repeating myself, but I've been tempted and I've heard from people who are more versed in the industry that I am that it can lock you out of getting an agent or traditional publisher later on if those sales aren't looking phenomenal.
Ultimately, I realized two things: a) I've written things that I believe are good enough to find readers, and b) I don't need someone else to validate their worth. I also go into some detail about why I don't feel like I'm leaving too much (or any) money on the table by self-publishing.
Is that indie self-publish really worth it though? I know I'm repeating myself, but I've been tempted and I've heard from people who are more versed in the industry that I am that it can lock you out of getting an agent or traditional publisher later on if those sales aren't looking phenomenal.
Ultimately, I realized two things: a) I've written things that I believe are good enough to find readers, and b) I don't need someone else to validate their worth. I also go into some detail about why I don't feel like I'm leaving too much (or any) money on the table by self-publishing.
Ultimately, I realized two things: a) I've written things that I believe are good enough to find readers, and b) I don't need someone else to validate their worth. I also go into some detail about why I don't feel like I'm leaving too much (or any) money on the table by self-publishing.
I read it, but I'm trying to get a car and get out of my mother's house. An agent and a publisher have access to stuff I do not. I'm also trying to get my name out there so I can get a job in the game industry. By the looks of things, people don't want you if you don't already have some notable cred, which looks like you do since you have a Hugo Award.
I read it, but I'm trying to get a car and get out of my mother's house. An agent and a publisher have access to stuff I do not. I'm also trying to get my name out there so I can get a job in the game industry. By the looks of things, people don't want you if you don't already have some notable cred, which looks like you do since you have a Hugo Award.
Unfortunately, the writing market has no lack of people trying to get in, so generally it should be approached as a side hobby/occupation where making money is a bonus, not an expectation. I think it'd be better to take a regular job and develop your writing on the side than hope it'll help make your move any time soon. It's very tough to establish cred at the start, but since you seem passionate about it, I'm sure you'll get there if you keep chipping away at it.
To add: For self-publishing, I also heard about the blacklisting thing, but it seems kind of extreme to be true... I don't think it's a negative to go the self-publishing route, at any rate, especially if you've already tried agents/publishers. Best chance is to get it out there somehow, right?
Just wanted to say thanks for these. Really insightful on where the market is right now, to the point that I'm definitely going to change my publishing strategy a bit.
700 words into the 4th short. I'm actually a tiny bit worried about this one since it's kind of sadistic (in a bizarre way of course). On the other hand, it's still not the most bizarre of the 5 I'll be releasing, so whatever.
In other news, I scrapped (or shelved depending on how things go) the Katamari-inspired short by virtue of it being impossible to convey in words and fuckin nonsense overall to anyone that isn't an insane person like me.
Edit: 1,400 words. Sex is about to start, but not tonight.
Since I want to start releasing (lol) these next Monday, I may just end up going past 5 shorts, especially now that I'm getting a reasonable work schedule for the week. Not much money to buy the games I want, so might as well while I have the time.
Just finished outlining 3 books for the smut challenge. I'm having a lot more fun that I thought I'd have with this niche, so the books will probably evolve into something longer.
Also, I'm now a believer in Vellum. I've always had problems with formatting, and this solves everything. It's so good I'll probably write the whole book in it, even though it was made for formatting/publishing.
It doesn't really stop shining unless you want your narrator to be talking from beyond the total destruction of Earth or something.
also: OS X only.... sigh. I don't care about Apple products, and I'm not going to buy a macbook just to have something that should be just as easy to make for Windows (or Linux). Platform exclusivity is bullshit in this day and age.
That said, I'm honestly surprised there wasn't another decent WYSIWYG editor / converter before. Seems so obvious to have, instead of having to opt for Word + Mobipocket Creator...
edit:
come to think of it, I think that whole sentence should be present tense, not past tense. And this exact problem of "what tense is it?" is why I got frustrated with third person writing. Because you can't say "he sees a truck" unless you're writing a parody of sorts. And time can literally shift per sentence (or subsection), as it's a direct part of the POV you're using.
( in terms of first person, I would always select present tense, since there is not much point in delaying the telling from the time of happening, unless it's a long flashback or something, but that creates more problems because memory is poor at best)
Just finished outlining 3 books for the smut challenge. I'm having a lot more fun that I thought I'd have with this niche, so the books will probably evolve into something longer.
Also, I'm now a believer in Vellum. I've always had problems with formatting, and this solves everything. It's so good I'll probably write the whole book in it, even though it was made for formatting/publishing.
It doesn't really stop shining unless you want your narrator to be talking from beyond the total destruction of Earth or something.
also: OS X only.... sigh. I don't care about Apple products, and I'm not going to buy a macbook just to have something that should be just as easy to make for Windows (or Linux). Platform exclusivity is bullshit in this day and age.
That said, I'm honestly surprised there wasn't another decent WYSIWYG editor / converter before. Seems so obvious to have, instead of having to opt for Word + Mobipocket Creator...
Thanks! I have trouble with that sentence, shines, shined, shone. Might just remove it in the edit (then again, it is smut...)
If it wasn't for all these cool writing apps on OSX, I would just stick to my Chromebook Pixel which is still my favorite writing machine. It's too bad that all the good stuff is on Mac (Ulysses, Vellum, iA Writer)
But a lot of my friends like Jutoh for publishing, and that's on windows.
700 words into the 4th short. I'm actually a tiny bit worried about this one since it's kind of sadistic (in a bizarre way of course). On the other hand, it's still not the most bizarre of the 5 I'll be releasing, so whatever.
In other news, I scrapped (or shelved depending on how things go) the Katamari-inspired short by virtue of it being impossible to convey in words and fuckin nonsense overall to anyone that isn't an insane person like me.
Edit: 1,400 words. Sex is about to start, but not tonight.
Since I want to start releasing (lol) these next Monday, I may just end up going past 5 shorts, especially now that I'm getting a reasonable work schedule for the week. Not much money to buy the games I want, so might as well while I have the time.
So you're not going to release same date as everyone else for the challenge? You can do as you like, of course, but it'll skew the results a bit if you have a leg up on everyone else.
So you're not going to release same date as everyone else for the challenge? You can do as you like, of course, but it'll skew the results a bit if you have a leg up on everyone else.
I was thinking that, but yeah, I'd like to start this little experiment as soon as possible for a variety of reasons. I might even do it sooner than next Monday.
I feel bad about being that guy that jumps the gun and stuff, so you can take me out of the challenge or count me separately if you want. I'm kind of doing it differently as it is. Sorry
