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Writing-GAF: Writing, Publishing, Selling |OT|
- Thread starter AngmarsKing701
- Start date
tiggerkiddo
Member
Any tips for writing erotica? I sure as hell don't know where to start...><
H.Protagonist
[-_-]/
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
No worries. I'll forgive you if you compile some tips/steps for the publishing under a pen name stage.
And I'll just keep your count on a separate chart. I don't know if anyone else is doing a 5 short stint instead of 3, but we can take it as a test case for that. Are you releasing 1 a week or more?
Oh, are you joining, tigger? Best place to start would be to read some. If you have a Kindle, do the KU trial and check out some of the books on offer. Otherwise, there are various sites online with similar fare.
Crash Station
Member
Won't say that wasn't on my mind, but the content is obviously VASTLY different ;d
No worries. I'll forgive you if you compile some tips/steps for the publishing under a pen name stage.
And I'll just keep your count on a separate chart. I don't know if anyone else is doing a 5 short stint instead of 3, but we can take it as a test case for that. Are you releasing 1 a week or more?
You got it!
I'm thinking I'll do 1 a week for the first two, then bundle them together a few days later, then release the third after that, then do a new bundle every few days, then the fourth, and so on.
Unless sirap doesn't recommend going crazy with the bundling or something, but I'm sure as hell going to cover every single one of those 29 combinations at some point (more if I go above 5).
Anyway, 2,600 words! Gonna hopefully have the 4th short finished tomorrow. Really wanted to get one done per day, but each one has mostly taken me 4
. Guess I just can't match sirap's productivity. Knocking out two of these a day is total nonsense to me.I've also heard from some writers who find value in taking a chapter from their favourite book and typing it out while thinking about the language, the story's rhythm, and how the author's techniques might be applied against their own writing. I've never tried it, but I've always thought it was an interesting concept.
tiggerkiddo
Member
No worries. I'll forgive you if you compile some tips/steps for the publishing under a pen name stage.
And I'll just keep your count on a separate chart. I don't know if anyone else is doing a 5 short stint instead of 3, but we can take it as a test case for that. Are you releasing 1 a week or more?
Oh, are you joining, tigger? Best place to start would be to read some. If you have a Kindle, do the KU trial and check out some of the books on offer. Otherwise, there are various sites online with similar fare.
I'm not sure, I'd like to give it a shot at least but writing erotica would be quite the challenge for me.
toddhunter
Member
Anybody tried Nimble Writer? It looks a bit like Scrivener and is new on steam of all places.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/348200/
http://store.steampowered.com/app/348200/
I could see someone using that if you're making a comic or something like Cloud Atlas. Otherwise it looks like a waste.
I've tried it before, but it's nowhere near as good as Scrivener (and doesn't look as good either, despite the fact that Scrivener is pretty ugly compared to other Mac word processors)
EDIT: Not many people know this, but Word actually has a navigation bar similar to Scrivener's binder (obviously not as good, but it's there)
http://www.techtoolsforwriters.com/how-to-make-word-behave-like-scrivener/
toddhunter
Member
Thanks.
timetokill
Banned
3500 words into story 2. Ended up having to take way too long of a "break" between stories so that I could get some other work done. Hopefully this stuff takes off so I can just do it full-time.
Fortunately this story has moved a lot more quickly to the "porn" parts of it. Already two bits of sexy time. I'm very curious to see how readers respond comparatively between the two, if I get readers at all that is
Fortunately this story has moved a lot more quickly to the "porn" parts of it. Already two bits of sexy time. I'm very curious to see how readers respond comparatively between the two, if I get readers at all that is
About a two weeks out from the release of Tide of Shadows and Other Stories, so I thought it might be interesting to give an update about my self-publishing adventures.
I'm working on "page" proofs right now. The final version of my manuscript is due to Amazon on Friday, so I'm giving each of the stories a last pass -- cleaning up and simplifying language, mostly -- before I package off what will be delivered on May 4 when the book is published. I'll also use this version as an eARC that I send out to various bloggers and reviewers in the hopes of getting some coverage.
In addition, I've lined up several promotional events that should help generate some buzz:
Also, cover art has been a huge selling point for me. Lots of readers telling me that they love it and are interested in reading the book because of it (with no prior knowledge of me or my blog.) I'm glad that the time I put into the cover is validated in that way.
We're getting into the home stretch, which is really just the end of pre-season. Lots of excitement and question marks ahead.
I'm working on "page" proofs right now. The final version of my manuscript is due to Amazon on Friday, so I'm giving each of the stories a last pass -- cleaning up and simplifying language, mostly -- before I package off what will be delivered on May 4 when the book is published. I'll also use this version as an eARC that I send out to various bloggers and reviewers in the hopes of getting some coverage.
In addition, I've lined up several promotional events that should help generate some buzz:
- Interview on SF Signal, a huge SFF blog that's won two Hugo Awards.
- Writer of the Day on /r/fantasy
- A review on SFF World
- Several guest posts/interviews on other blogs
- Goodreads giveaway
- /r/fantasy giveaway
Also, cover art has been a huge selling point for me. Lots of readers telling me that they love it and are interested in reading the book because of it (with no prior knowledge of me or my blog.) I'm glad that the time I put into the cover is validated in that way.
We're getting into the home stretch, which is really just the end of pre-season. Lots of excitement and question marks ahead.
Crash Station
Member
Short 4 complete at just under 4.6k words. I feel like I gave this a sort of "horror story" conclusion there, which of course makes it the most appealing one I've written so far to me, but probably no one else, soooo.......
Ah whatever, just 1 more to go. Hoping to have it finished by Saturday since I want to be doing the cover/formatting/blurb/keywords/etc at that point.
Ah whatever, just 1 more to go. Hoping to have it finished by Saturday since I want to be doing the cover/formatting/blurb/keywords/etc at that point.
Good luck.
Thanks, Ashes!
Also, Writing-GAF, let me know if these updates are interesting or not. It's fun to share this stuff with everyone, but I'd prefer to do so in a way that's helpful to the rest of the writers here!
FlowersisBritish
fleurs n'est pas britannique
I'm only 1200 words into the first short, so I doubt I'm going to make the deadline. Ah well. Watching you guys do it and seeing how well it works will encourage me to finish if not late
Same, I've kinda given up. But maybe I'll pull through at the end because I have given it a lot of thought and fun a lot of humor in my concept alone. probably not though...
Overwealm the senses. Tease. Tease. Tease.
It's interesting, but at the same time I'm trying to hate you to death for your success.
timetokill
Banned
It's good, keep it up.
AngmarsKing701
Member
Aidan, I really like your updates. Envious as fuck, mind you, but still really great to see how this is all coming together for you.
As for the challenge, the pollen has finally won and given me a full-blown sinus infection. Tough to write anything at all when my head feels like someone stuffed two dozen pairs of socks in there. Still sitting at 1500+ words and will be tough to hit the dates.
As for the challenge, the pollen has finally won and given me a full-blown sinus infection. Tough to write anything at all when my head feels like someone stuffed two dozen pairs of socks in there. Still sitting at 1500+ words and will be tough to hit the dates.
Freeza Under The Shower
Member
don't you mean "not trying to"...
Or are you literally trying to hate someone to death? Because you know, that would be interesting to see how that works out and all.
I mean that.
I get really competitive and have issues where people succeed where I don't : P
Thanks, all. I'll keep it up. Despite my 'success', it's all a huge learning experience for me and I already see areas for improvement the next time around. More lead time for early reviews, for instance.
I've got 42 pre-orders for the book, which puts me about 1/3 of the way to breaking even on the project. Honestly, I don't even know how to measure whether that's a good number or not. We'll see if the launch and Kindle Unlimited program can take me over the top. Twitter's generally led to 1-2 pre-orders each day that I do a bit of advertising (particularly if I include an image in the tweet.)
I do feel like I'm reach a point where my success as a blogger is making things slightly easier for me: I have contacts among bloggers and reviewers that are happy to help me out where they might not give an unknown self-pubbed author a second look. However, among the casual market -- like /r/fantasy, my success as a blogger hasn't really seemed to create any cache, and not a single website picked up news of the release when I announced it. It's definitely weird to be on this side of the grind.
I'd prefer not to be the test subject for this experiment.
I'd prefer not to be the test subject for this experiment.
AngmarsKing701
Member
^ :jnc
H.Protagonist
[-_-]/
Won't say that wasn't on my mind, but the content is obviously VASTLY different ;d
You got it!
I'm thinking I'll do 1 a week for the first two, then bundle them together a few days later, then release the third after that, then do a new bundle every few days, then the fourth, and so on.
Unless sirap doesn't recommend going crazy with the bundling or something, but I'm sure as hell going to cover every single one of those 29 combinations at some point (more if I go above 5).
Anyway, 2,600 words! Gonna hopefully have the 4th short finished tomorrow. Really wanted to get one done per day, but each one has mostly taken me 4
Awesome. Excited to see how it all goes, especially with the bundling. Keep me posted.
It's a challenge for most of us to write, I think, but it's also a fun little endeavor that might pave the way to something interesting. Everyone here writes, but sometimes you need a little push to actually publish your work and get something onto the market. You could take it as pure publishing experience, at the least.
I'm only 1200 words into the first short, so I doubt I'm going to make the deadline. Ah well. Watching you guys do it and seeing how well it works will encourage me to finish if not late
For you guys, and anyone else struggling to finish the shorts, I recommend still doing the challenge, but just as one short. This gives you loads more time to get one finished and do all the little details (blurb, cover, etc.). I think you should still stick to the May 9th date for being publish ready (without a deadline it would be too easy to let things languish), but this'll give you a bit of breathing space. In the end, it's not really the hard dates that are important or the number, but to publish something unusual and have fun seeing where it goes. I think once you hit that publish button and get that first sale or borrow, you'll find your motivation rekindled. Or you'll just be amused that you're now a published erotica author. Either one is fun. So don't give up(!), just scale back.
I'm very interested in nitty gritty publishing details, and any marketing strategies. You're an unusual case because you already have a significant following and the award to push your sales, but I'd still like to hear details of the process, especially if you can share any insight to strategies that haven't been explored here yet. That aside, it's always nice to see a Writing GAF peep succeed, so carry on.
AngmarsKing701
Member
H.Pro thanks for the pep talk! I definitely plan on following through on this, and in fact my brain being the weird place it is, has already figured my fingers will polish off the thoughts it's produced for this first set of shorts and has started working on a second set with more modern proclivities. It's also been bored by how easy it is to think about sex and has started thinking about shorts in other genres.
So despite a head full of pollen-infused snot, my brain has been working. The rest of me needs to catch up.
So despite a head full of pollen-infused snot, my brain has been working. The rest of me needs to catch up.
Crash Station
Member
Yep, will post my results here, though the bundling won't start until after the contest deadline.
Only just started the 5th short. Might end up making it shorter and just come up with page extenders here and there since I'm not really motivated enough to get to 4.5k words.
Also considering going to 6 shorts because with all the bundling combinations I can make out of that, I can do a weekly release (lol) for more than a year straight. If I do though, it won't be until after I release the first short.
Awesome. Excited to see how it all goes, especially with the bundling. Keep me posted.
It's a challenge for most of us to write, I think, but it's also a fun little endeavor that might pave the way to something interesting. Everyone here writes, but sometimes you need a little push to actually publish your work and get something onto the market. You could take it as pure publishing experience, at the least.
For you guys, and anyone else struggling to finish the shorts, I recommend still doing the challenge, but just as one short. This gives you loads more time to get one finished and do all the little details (blurb, cover, etc.). I think you should still stick to the May 9th date for being publish ready (without a deadline it would be too easy to let things languish), but this'll give you a bit of breathing space. In the end, it's not really the hard dates that are important or the number, but to publish something unusual and have fun seeing where it goes. I think once you hit that publish button and get that first sale or borrow, you'll find your motivation rekindled. Or you'll just be amused that you're now a published erotica author. Either one is fun. So don't give up(!), just scale back.
I'm very interested in nitty gritty publishing details, and any marketing strategies. You're an unusual case because you already have a significant following and the award to push your sales, but I'd still like to hear details of the process, especially if you can share any insight to strategies that haven't been explored here yet. That aside, it's always nice to see a Writing GAF peep succeed, so carry on.
Oh, this is good to know, we're not rejected from the challenge for failing to finish all three by the deadline! I've written the first half of two of them; no prizes for guessing where I stalled. But I'm still aiming to finish them, hopefully on time and in good order.
Yeah, the updates are great, thanks for sharing all this.
timetokill
Banned
What's stopping you there? Embarrassment?
I think the most difficult thing about it is keeping it interesting. I've only written two and I can already see that's going to be a challenge long-term, since you're writing very similar scenes over and over again.
AngmarsKing701
Member
Yeah at some point you're like a carpenter, just nailing things into place or screwing them down.
NipplesAndToes23
Member
I think I fucked up with writing my current story. Initially I had two characters get locked up and I didn't want them to stay their forever as I planned for them to be integral throughout the whole story and now I've freed them, but I don't think it's believable in how they were freed.
I feel like I have to rewrite the whole situation, but I don't know how to do it. I've been stuck on this for more than a month.
I feel like I have to rewrite the whole situation, but I don't know how to do it. I've been stuck on this for more than a month.
Conkersbadfurday
Member
Editing on the current project is going pretty swell. Made some major changes/cuts to one section, and it's better for it.
Dunno why I'm posting this at all, but oh well.
Draft three will be done by Sunday.
Dunno why I'm posting this at all, but oh well.
Draft three will be done by Sunday.
FlowersisBritish
fleurs n'est pas britannique
I am of the personal opinion we should all be keeping each other updated on our projects. Good job, there is something wonderful bout being able to cut you piece. It's tough, but you know it makes it better.
I've been getting a lot more stories in a publication rotation. Soon i'm gonna go through my writing challenge pieces and editing those. Trying to keep the forward momentum going.
toddhunter
Member
Don't be shy about posting updates. The thought that someone, somewhere is working on something and is actually making progress is heartening.
Elfforkusu
Member
.
At the very least, updates serve as a reminder to the rest of us to get off our asses and write!
Oh god, going back and adding details and stuff to chapters is hard. Mostly because when you write something it's written with that and things later in mind. So you have to be careful with the small stuff you do add not contradicting later chapters that might not need as much editing.
Conkersbadfurday
Member
Thanks guys :3 Ya'll are awesome.
The whole thing is fucking with my head, even though what I'm now editing is a novella and not a 400 page beast.
It's been strange, because I haven't been cutting that much. When I was editing my novel, I cut like 30k words out of the damn thing, and I feel like I haven't done enough of that here. It's almost stressful, not finding things I find to be pure shit.
The whole thing is fucking with my head, even though what I'm now editing is a novella and not a 400 page beast.
NipplesAndToes23
Member
I stopped trying to get a publisher for my first book because I was told on another forum that 150,000 words is too long for a first time author. Does anyone else find this to hold any merit?
It's the reason why I've started a new book with intent to be a lot shorter. I think I'm only going to go for about 15 chapters this time if I can get past this part.
It's the reason why I've started a new book with intent to be a lot shorter. I think I'm only going to go for about 15 chapters this time if I can get past this part.
Maybe you can edit it down or find a good stopping point to split it up into two books?
Conkersbadfurday
Member
I dunno about "for a first time author thing", but when I was searching for agents and publishers, a lot of them wanted 90k words and maxed out at like 110k words. Sucks because I'm around 130k words myself, so I had to rule alot of places out simply because my book was too long.
Nevermind that I cut out like 30k words
NipplesAndToes23
Member
Nah, I don't cut shit for the sake of it. Truth be told after my revelation this year, it needs some rewriting that'll make it longer.
I can understand. Perhaps a stopping point, though it's really difficult to do something like that. And a series of books might be harder to pitch than a super long one anyway.
Crash Station
Member
Only a bit over 1k into the 5th short since stuff came up, so good chance I won't have this done by the end of Saturday like I wanted to.
Still sticking with the plan to get everything ready for a Monday release with the first short. If things don't work as planned, I'll probably be PMing you, timetokill.
In other news, got feedback from the first beta-reader to finish the third novel. He says it's by far the best thing I have ever written and can stand alongside some of the better things he's read on Kindle. Major confidence boost get!
Still sticking with the plan to get everything ready for a Monday release with the first short. If things don't work as planned, I'll probably be PMing you, timetokill.
In other news, got feedback from the first beta-reader to finish the third novel. He says it's by far the best thing I have ever written and can stand alongside some of the better things he's read on Kindle. Major confidence boost get!
timetokill
Banned
Cool, let me know. Kudos on the feedback btw!
Seems on topic to me!
I kinda put together a standing desk, actually, so my chair is one of those tall versions. Trying to avoid being as sedentary as I am, considering everything I do is computer-based.
AngmarsKing701
Member
I have a built in high desk myself but I'm looking for a chair. I dragged one of our kitchen counter height bar stools in but it's not terribly comfortable, especially for extended sit downs. I think I need some sort of drafting chair but would love to know what others are using in a similar setup.
Conkersbadfurday
Member
Can't remember if I asked this or not but: I'm writing a character who is in high school, and as such, she doesn't think of her parents as "Gerald and Eve" but "mom and dad." This makes sense to me, but it's caused some cumbersome language.
"Sam's parents did X" "Sam's mother" "Sam's father" etc.
For one thing, it's a high repetition of Sam's name, and given she's the protag, her name is already used a lot.
I guess, what's the rule here? Should I just call her parents by their first names?
Story is written in third person subjective.
"Sam's parents did X" "Sam's mother" "Sam's father" etc.
For one thing, it's a high repetition of Sam's name, and given she's the protag, her name is already used a lot.
I guess, what's the rule here? Should I just call her parents by their first names?
Story is written in third person subjective.