Porn Versus Erotica

You could google this and find out all sorts of information, but I figured I’d give my take. By all means, google it and see how others agree or disagree with me.

I write erotica. I don’t write porn and if my editors catch me one more time calling myself a smut writer, they’re likely to inflict serious bodily injury upon me and anyone who happens to be standing near me.

And that confused me.

What’s the big deal, right? A rose by any other name is still a rose, right? Besides, no one really thinks there’s no difference between porn and erotica, right? It’s a joke. No one would read what I write and call it porn or smut, would they?

What my limited exposure to the world of publishing hadn’t yet taught me, at the time of my confusion, is that most people do not realize there’s a HUGE difference between porn and erotica. My little joke did nothing more than help perpetuate that misunderstanding.

One of the unwritten duties of an erotica writer is to help educate the public about our genre. So, here’s an attempt at touching upon that duty.

Q: The length of the story determines whether it is porn or erotica, right?

A: Nope. Erotica, just like the men I write about, come in many shapes, sizes and ethnicities. Yes, “stroke stories” and porn stories do tend to be short. However, just like porn movies, they can drone on for hours while nimbly dodging anything close to plot.

While erotica stories do TEND to be longer than written porn, it’s possible to have a short story that really is erotica and not porn. It’s also possible to have erotic poetry and that tends to be quite short. There’s also a thing called “flash fiction” which are 100-500 word pieces and those publishers want erotica NOT porn.

Q: Oh! So it’s the level of explicitness that makes it porn or erotica?

A: Nope. Erotica ranges from being very explicit to “smoke and mirrors” or fade-to-black sex scenes. When you are looking at a publisher’s catalog make sure you check the rating of the story to ensure you’re buying something that suits your tastes.

A word of caution. Many publishers still list ANY M/M story in the highest or second highest rating. This is due to the subject matter. M/M writers and readers don’t like this, but we have to live with it. You might very well have a M/M story that’s quite tame, but listed as the highest rating. This is where author branding will help readers and authors connect.

I write very explicitly. My readerbase has come to expect this and if I were to change without valid reason, I would be burned in effigy. Never piss off a yaoi fangirl. We’re rabid on a good day.

Some erotica stories are so mild there’s a special category for them. That’s called “inspirational romance.” I should note that some people do not consider these stories to be erotica at all and plant them firmly under “romance.” I am not that familiar with this genre and my limited exposure indicates that “inspirational romance” tends to carry Christian themes, HEA, not-dark, and uplifting stories and very mild sex scenes usually a fade-to-black thing.

I remember asking another writer/editor with a lot more experience than I have what “inspirational romance” was. She didn’t know and finally said, “Prudish praying.”

Personally, I think that’s casting the genre in the wrong light, but I’ve never read an “inspirational romance.”

Q: So…um…the romantic element makes the story erotica and not porn?

A: Nope. Some romance is not erotic and some erotica is romantic and some erotica isn’t romantic and some porn isn’t romantic AND some….I could go on.

I write “erotic romance” which means there’s usually a plot or subplot that involves two or more characters falling in love. (Insert sweet and sickening “aww” here). However, there’s something that needs to be in the story for it to be “official” romance and that’s an HEA.

This is a point that’s HEAVILY debated, but when the “authorities” change their stance, I’ll change mine. (Personally, I WANT this changed.)

HEA is Happy Ever After. Sometimes it’s Happy For Now, but whatever the case, the story ends with the main couple together and happy. Maybe you’ve gone as far as to get them married or just have them living together, but the reader is left with the impression that this couple remains together after “The End.”

That’s why sometimes I say I’m an “erotica” writer instead of an “erotic romance” writer. I will write stories that are called “dark erotica” and those may or may not have a happy ending, may or may not have depressing themes, may or may not have a bad guy that wins, may or may not…I could go on. (LOL!)

Nice and confused about the genre “dark erotica”? Good. Welcome to the club. It’s one of those “know it when you see it” things. I have two WIPs (Work In Progress) which have been stamped “too dark for publication” by a few publishers and editors. I’ve found a potential home for one of them. *rubs hands together*

Q: So, if it doesn’t have anything to do with length (double entendre intended), explicitness or romance, what makes a story erotica and not porn?

A: Now, you’re asking the right question. Erotica has a fully developed story and completely fleshed out character designs.

Q: But, that’s what ALL stories are supposed to have—so what makes a story “erotic mystery” as opposed to regular mystery?

A: Once again, we’re getting into the good questions. Erotic mystery will contain sex scenes and sensual elements that a regular mystery won’t have.

Q: That’s can’t be right. I’ve read “regular” books that have sex scenes and they weren’t listed as erotica!

A: And that would be correct. Here’s the key. The sex in erotica cannot be removed. Important things such as character motivation changes, character development and plot points will happen DURING the sex scenes in erotica. If you skip over the sex, you’re missing out on important parts of the story. In short, skim the sex (and WHY would you do that?) and you’ll be confused.

Some authors will avoid the erotica label due to the believed stigma that comes with it. Other writers will embrace the label erotica, because we know sex sells. Get them with the sex and keep them with the story. Some “regular” authors are starting to label some of their titles as erotica to fuel their readerbases.

So, to recap…erotica has fully developed stories with carefully crafted characters and the sex scenes help move the story.

Porn…well…with porn you don’t get any of that. To be honest, the porn that I’ve read is basically a scene where the characters meet or already know each other, scratch their itches and move on. It’s just sex. There’s a reason why they’re called “stroke stories.” Also, it seems they’re full of telling and not showing. I remember one story where the “plot” was a guy who seemed to confirm his heterosexual status every third line while sneaking a tryst with another man. It actually included the line, “I moved into a 69 position and sucked him off.”

Wow…gee…umm….ice water anyone? Need to cool off after that? Anyone? Anyone at all? Umm…ok…it will be here if you need it.

The whole story went on like that and it was approximately 2,000 words or so. Whereas in “About to Sin” during the first 2,500 words, you get some hot sensuality; but you also, learn that Anand has a strong sense of ethics and that Father Daniel is a tortured soul.

Q: So erotica has a literary element that porn lacks?

A: Oh, now we’re getting into “literary erotica” and that’s…

Q: Please, no more genre talk. You’re making my head hurt. That’s just too confusing.

A: Sorry… in short, some erotica authors do consider themselves “literary authors” and some think that’s pretentious. Your best bet is to find out what the author labels himself/herself and go with that. Since I will vary on genre, I always label my stories.

And if you think genre is confusing on the reader’s end, just imagine what it’s like as a writer. So, I have this story that deals with dark themes, but it’s HEA and there’s romance, but there’s also…and so on. It’s enough to drive ya mad.

Here’s the simplest explanation of genre I can think of and I think it works quite nicely. All genre labels are is where the book would be shelved in a bookstore.


Q: Isn’t it really a battle of gender? Males write porn while females write erotica?

A: You have NO idea and I mean you have NO idea. I’ve met more “gender confused”, “transgendered” and “gender issued” people since I’ve started writing fulltime than I had my entire life. But, the stats do seem to indicate there are more biological females behind the keyboards than males. I don’t know how valid that information is.

Some writers will not reveal their real gender, some will and some don’t self-identify as female or male. Some publications REQUIRE male pennames. Some want gender neutral pennames. My target audience is yaoi fans and those readers tend to look for stories written by women. That’s why I’m comfortable revealing my gender.

I’m not comfortable putting either gender as being focused on porn or erotica. There’s way too much gender-bending going on and some of it intentionally.

The gender of the penname tells you nothing. I come from a yaoi background which is DOMINATED by female authors, artists and readers. Others come from backgrounds where women are viewed as incapable of writing M/M. I happen to find it quite funny when people talk about one author’s work being more valid than another because of gender AND they have the incorrect understanding of the author’s gender.

It seems I’ve confused a few readers too. Some people say I give very feminine font and some say, “If I didn’t know you, I’d sworn that was written by a gay man.”

I consider both of those a compliment.

Do they know this is up in the Sistine Chapel?

Ok, so I was out looking for things to help get me in the right frame of mind for writing. I came across some pictures of Michelangelo’s The Last Judgment and I zoomed in to get a better look.

The fresco in question, for those of you who don’t recognize the name.




And I discovered something in this section (upper right section of the whole piece).

I don’t want to alter the pic in any way, so I’m not circling it, but…

In the center do you see the dude clinging to the column?

Now, shift your eye down and to the right.



Yes. That is what you think it is. Yes, they do look more intimate than the straight couple that’s beside them.

Proof that Michelangelo was a yaoi fanboy.

We better not point out to the Vatican that they have gay men on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. They’d probably paint over it.

Oh, and don’t look at me like that. It’s not weird to look at fine art as inspiration for writing. I know another erotica writer who writes to choir music.

Website from where I snagged the pictures

8 Random Things (another one)

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Dust off that font.

Many epublishers are sending out “critical need” notices for m/m stories. We can’t write it fast enough. I’m not kidding you.

Normally, things go like this. You write a story. You polish it and then you send it out. The other day, I had a publisher come to me asking for a piece.

M/M is on fire now, but that doesn’t mean you can slap anything up on the screen and call it done. You also have to know the house you’re sending it to.

Do NOT send a happy fluffy story to Velvet Mafia. Phaze, as of last time I read their guidelines, specifically requested that there be NO submissions involving priests or nuns. There’s another publisher, the name escapes me right now, that states they do not want the word “cunt” in any submissions. FB and EC have very specific house styles and, no matter how well the piece is written, if it doesn’t meld with their house style, you can forget it. According to the editors I’ve spoken to, most rejections are not due to bad writing, but that the piece doesn’t fit the house.

Chippewa/LAP wants yaoi submissions. For those of you who don’t know, there’s a difference between yaoi (my normal genre) and other types of m/m erotic fiction. There are other publishing houses seeking yaoi. If a house wants yaoi, then they want yaoi.

And, keep an eye on your word count. If a publishing house caps themselves at 90k don’t send them a 115k word piece. If they bottom out at 10k don’t send them a 5k piece. I spoke to a guy the other day whose AGENT submitted a piece that broke the top word count for a publishing house. That agent should have never considered that particular house. Period.

Also, know what erotica is before you give it a go. An erotic story is not a “stroke story.” Oh yes, erotica is hot, but it’s also a full story with developed characters and this pesky thing called plot.

“Critical Need” does not mean desperate.

With all of that stated, if you’ve been thinking about dipping a toe in the waters of m/m now might be a good time.

Purple Prose

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

About to Sin--UPDATED!

Erotic Dreams Publishing has updated About to Sin. This closes out the second chapter. The thrid chapter should beging on the 22nd.

If you get a chance to read it, I hope you enjoy it.

Updates!

The fanfiction for About to Sin has been posted. I've updated my website with information about About to Sin and the fanfiction.

I so freaking THRILLED to have fanfiction! ^_^

Updated Page

Romantic just not for all? WTF!

Dusk Peterson brought something to my attention that ticked me off.

Hyatt Hotel Targets M/M Author

They WANT you to attend the convention. They WANT your money, but they won't stand up for you at all. Bullshit. Bullshit--plain and simple.

The Author's Own Words

Time to brag!

I checked my e-mail when I got home from Mom’s house and WOO-HOO! I’d been sent a piece of fanfiction!

Yes! About to Sin has inspired fanfiction!

*happy dance*

*big o’le happy dance*

I know some authors out there find fanfiction to be some kind of serious affront and yes, it is, technically, a copyright violation. If other authors want to be pissed, then so be it.

I am going to be thrilled and honored that someone found my story so inspiring and moving that they felt the need to write fanfiction. I’m also going to be blown away by it.

I probably shouldn’t do this, but I’m trying to encourage her to post it on AFF (adult fanfiction). If she does, I’ll share the link.

13 Things on My Desk

This is a cool little meme. It gives a glimpse of the writer behind the words.

I stole this from Nicholas.

1)4 coffee mugs
2)One neglected cup of water
3)Bottle of Tums
4)Mail
5)Backscratcher
6)Smokes
7)Ashtray
8)Cell phone
9)A black wooden box that contains a necklace (I move it to my tower when I’m working so hubby knows to not bother me.)
10)A stack of recovery disks that I still haven’t put away from my last crash.
11)Two coasters
12)My computer (keyboard, monitor, trackball and tower)
13)Wrist pad beneath my keyboard

And that’s it. That’s all that’s on my desk. I have a few things sitting on top of my tower, but that’s it.

*looks at coffee mugs*

Three of these really need to go to the kitchen.

The Five Senses.

Sight, smell, taste, touch, sound—we experience them every moment of every day with some notable exceptions (D/deaf, blind, etc.) And our characters experience them too.

But, do your readers?

We type in two dimensions (height and width), but we need to write in four (height, width, depth and time). Within those four dimensions, we have all five senses.

All writers have comfort zones when it comes to writing the senses. My major comfort zone is sight. If I’m not careful, I’ll give my readers a whole lot of visuals and very little everything else. Taste and smell are my most difficult areas.

When I think about describing a taste or a smell, how do you do that? How do you really show your readers the sweet smell of honeysuckle on the breeze? Or the warm robust aroma of a cup of coffee? Or perhaps it’s a rancid scent of death or the salty taste of a lover’s skin.

What’s helped me is when I take a sip of my coffee, I take a note of how it tastes. A long hard mental note.

*sips*

The aroma of the chocolate flavored coffee hit her nose before the liquid touched her lips. Although the coffee had turned tepid, the scent still hinted at warmth. Whatever the manufacturer used to for chocolate flavoring, reminded her of a distant Hershey bar. The smell, overlaid with sweet, carried an undercurrent of bitterness.

The tan nectar of life flowed over her lips and flooded her tongue. The acidic bite of the mid-grade coffee tingled upon her tongue and the lingering sweetness made her wonder if she added too much sugar to this cup.

Hmm…better, but still needs a bit of work. I got a little purple there for a moment.

Regardless of the type of scene, all four senses are engaged with our characters and, consequently, all four senses need to be engaged with the reader. Anything short of that, and you’re cheating your reader. They key to writing with all four senses is observing with all four of them.

So, you want to be a writer?

I’ve had several people come to me and ask me how one goes about becoming a writer. The simple answer is that you write a book and get it accepted by a publisher.

Actually, that’s not the simple answer. That’s the only answer.

If you’re really focused on being an author, let me give you a few words of warning.

During the first step, you’ll be in one of two places in your life. You’ll either be working a job that pays the bills until the royalty checks come in or you’ll be fortunate enough to (be fired, on unemployment, living off a family trust, living off family, or whatever) be writing full time.

Most likely you’ll be working some kind of job. This means you will have to squeeze in writing whenever you can. When you get home for your 9-5 and you’re tired, you’ll have to reach within yourself and find the right mindset to write. And this will need to happen in between feeding the kids/cat/dog, doing laundry, spending time with the kids, making dinner, getting the gum out of your youngest’s hair, getting the dog out of the trash, taking the trash out, dealing with the phone calls for your oldest child, going to the grocery store, doctor appointments, therapist appointments, chatting with friends, dinner with your mother-in-law and all of the other wonderful things we call life.

If you’re lucky and you don’t have a regular 9-5, you’ll have a bit more time to get distracted by all the wonderful moving images on TV, internet, and life outside your window.

Months if not years will go by and your novel will finally take some kind of form. Then, you’ll tell yourself that it’s crap and you’ll walk away from it.

Then, you’ll think that maybe, just maybe, it’s not totally crap or that you might be able to fix it.

More time will pass and you’ll finally get to “The End.”

After which, you’ll be forced to nit-pick your beloved novel that contains your heart and soul. You’ll polish it, edit it, cut it, tweak it, fix it and finally, finally, you’ll reach a point where you might consider submitting it to a publisher.

That’s when you realize you have to…

1)Figure out the genre of your book that’s so deep and innovative that it breaks all genre boundaries. Your novel is oh-so-original that it can’t possibly be shoe-horned into a genre label. The publishing industry will be forced to recognize your genius by creating whole new genre’s just for you.

2)Get a reality check and realize none of that is true.

3)No, really it isn’t.

4)Really.

5)Yes, even your novel.

6)You’ll take a hit to your pride and realize that genre labels really do fit your story.

7)Find and create a list of publishers that handle your genre.

8)Realize that you have to create a submission package that includes: a cover letter, synopsis, part/all of the manuscript. You’ll argue with the screen about how you should be able to tell the publishers to read your manuscript and let it speak for itself. You’ll get frustrated and angry about having to take your X number of words novel—that thing you put your heart and soul into—and beat the crap out of it until you break every writing convention and TELL the story in a synopsis.

9)Finally, you have your submission package ready and you start to shake. Your breath goes short and sweat rolls down your back. You look at your composed e-mail and try to work up the nerve to click send. Hours go by. You pace for a while. You give yourself a pep talk. And, finally, you squeeze your eyes closed and you send your baby off to those evil manuscript eating people called publishers.

10)You wait.

11)You wait some more.

12)You wait even longer.

13)You get rejected. Sometimes in very rude ways and sometimes for idiotic reasons. You cry, scream and tell everyone you know how stupid Publisher X is.

14)You go to your next publisher on the list.

15)You tweak the MS (manuscript) to fit their house style. You change margins, indentions, where the page numbers are, and what marks to use for a scene break.

16)You submit and this time it’s a little bit easier.

17)You get rejected.

18)You submit again and yawn while you do it.

19)You get rejected and this goes on and on. Until…

20)You get accepted.

As a side note: I should mention that submission hell (as we so lovingly call it) isn’t necessarily bad. Full Circle, Selling Foxx, Tainted Past and By Invitation Only were accepted by the first publisher that received them. With About to Sin, the publisher tracked me down and asked me to turn it into a series. So, yes, it can happen the first time out of the chute.

Then, editing starts.

You’ll spend the next few months hearing about (mostly) what’s wrong with your pride and joy. Pick your battles here. This is very important. Yes, you can push back against an editor, but if you fight them too much you’ll risk getting a reputation as a PITA (pain in the ass) author. If you really do disagree with your editor tell them so and tell them why. But, pick your battles.

It’s a well-known fact that I don’t like dialog tags and I especially don’t like the word “said.” My editors will put that in my stuff. I don’t fight them on that. It’s a little thing and a personal pet peeve. I will fight them on using the masculine forms of blond and brunet (versus blonde and brunette). I will fight for occasional bits of verbiage. But, I won’t fight over a stupid dialog tag. There are other things where I’ll push back, but for the most part, I try to defer to their experience.

Once the editing is done, you realize that your pride and joy that you tried so hard to polish was quite rough and now you have a golden novel that’s waiting for readers.

This is where the real hard work kicks in. Yes, writing the novel is the easiest part. This is where you start networking and marketing. It’s not enough to write the novel, you must sell it. You get on every board you can find, join every yahoo group you can snag, learn about promo items, loop chats, live chats, and book signings.

You register your copy right with the copy right office. You DO register it, don’t you? You’d better.

Finally, readers and reviewers grab your manuscript.

You wait for feedback that never comes. (This is another place where I’m lucky. I have a very dedicated and awesome readerbase and many of them drop me lines telling me what they thought of my story.) A few reviewers hate you and a few love you.

You continue your marketing and networking efforts.

Then, the first royalty check comes in.

You cry.

A lot.

You just realized the kid working at McDonald’s makes more money than you. You just spent X number of months/years working for way less than minimum wage.

Yes. Expect to be broke.

I know, I know, King isn’t broke and Rice isn’t broke. Well, you’re not King and you’re not Rice. And you don’t want to be. You want to be yourself with your own style, but you do want their royalty checks.

After you realize that you’re not quitting your day job for a while, you experience a stroke of insanity and start the process all over again.

And that’s how you become a writer.

About to Sin--Published!

Erotic Dreams will be publishing “About to Sin” and they’ve started the series this month. The series is so long that they’ll be presenting it in 2,500 word segments either once a week or every other week (I’ll let you know when the timeline has been finalized.)

This story and some others are available to read FOR FREE! (Please, don’t ask me how they can let readers read for free, but still pay their writers. I can’t figure that one out.) You will need to register with the website, but that’s free too.

To read the fiction:
Go here Erotic Dreams , register, log in, click “fiction” and enjoy!

Summary:

A chance meeting between an out-and-proud ER doctor and a closeted Catholic Priest leads to life changing decisions, confusion and love.

Excerpt:

It'd been a good night at "Swill 'N' Chill" so far. The DJ seemed to on his game with the music. James, the bartender, wasn't fucking up the drinks, and a come-hither bottom-boy spent the past two hours checking me out. By this point, I'd had a few good laughs, a lot of good drinks, and some pretty good dance partners, including Mr. Too Cute For His Own Good.

As the third remix of "It's Raining Men" blasted the speakers, I made my way to the bathroom. It's a good song, but I'd heard my fill of it. Enough was enough. The bass beat vibrated the walls in the unisex-but-mostly-used-by-men bathroom. What was it with gay bars and their unisex bathrooms? Or maybe it was the patrons who didn't bother heeding the sign on the door.

After tending to my business, I washed my hands and checked myself in the mirror. I'm no spring chicken and most of the twinks here tend to bore me intellectually. That's fine. I don't come here for the conversation. When they're moaning below me, I don't care that they started high school while I studied A&P in med school.
I narrowed my eyes and studied a spot on my black mesh shirt. Did some twit spill their beer on me? I pinched my shirt and looked down. What the hell was that? It didn't smell like beer. A little circle of darkened black. This shit better come out or someone was getting their ass beat.

Still pissed about the enigmatic stain, I stepped back and bumped into someone. "Pardon," I muttered just before looking up.

Oh holy hell.

"Father Daniel?"

I have the best readers--correction

The wonderful woman who sent me the gift, has informed me that it is a sake set! How cool is THAT?

I have the best readers!

From time to readers will send gifts to writers. It might be something as simple as a birthday card or a note telling us how much they enjoyed your story.

One of my readers, Dynamint, as she is called on LiveJournal attended the Hounen festival in Japan. This festival is commonly called “the penis festival.”

For more information on this fertility festival check out this link.

This is the package she sent me.



A penis (with a face vase), a vulva bowl, a penis incense holder and coupled vulva and penis candies! These will be treasured indeed! Since I’ve started writing, I’ve received a variety of gifts from coffee to gift cards and from porn to jewelry now I have ceramic penises and vulvas!

My First Rejection Letter.

I pulled nearly everything out of my shed and started going through it. Some things needed to be pitched and some things came inside the house. While rummaging down memory lane, I found what would have to be my first rejection letter.

I’d queried them and they rejected me. They were really rather nice and told me that they thought I was “probably a good writer for someone who wasn’t quite yet thirteen.” The woman who typed the letter went on to explain that all stories presented to them must come through an agent and that they wished me the best in my writing endeavors and life.

On the upside, she told me that I could use the Star Trek characters for anything that wasn’t for pay, but if it were to be published I’d have to get it licensed.

Now, if only my current rejection letters were that nice. Maybe, I should start telling publishers I’m twelve. Oh, wait, that won’t work well for erotica would it?

Looking for an old friend and writer!

The erotica writing world is small. It seems as if everyone knows everyone else and reputation, good, bad or indifferent, travels faster than introductions.

And yet, I can’t track down a particular writer.

Jennifer and I attended the same college, Christopher Newport University, during my freshman year. She was a English major and at the time I leaned toward history. I laughed and talked to her more than I attended class and it showed in my grades.

She was extremely influential in my life. More influential than she’d ever realize. Jennifer was the first Democrat and feminist I’d ever met—college student by day, stripper at night and erotic writer for SMUT magazine during her free time. I know that some people do not think that stripping and being feminist can exist in the same person. She made it work and she told me one time, “What’s more empowering than seeing men give me the most valuable thing in our society, money, for looking at me in what could be considered a bikini? They grovel. They really grovel.” (We lived in a state that where strippers were and still are not allowed to get fully naked.)

She loved Rocky and Bullwinkle (her secret passion) and bondage (her not-so-secret passion). While introducing me to the gloriousness of Vermont Maple Sugar Candy, she’d tell me stories about Republicans that I’d never heard before. I was raised in the Republican household and hadn’t yet found my own political affiliation.

Jennifer wrote under her real name telling me, “If I write something, I want full credit for it. I want everyone I know to know I wrote this.” She defined what it meant to me to be a sexy, confident, intelligent woman.

After she graduated, she tried to get her Master’s Degree in Alabama. A good ole boy told her, “Ya know, you’re pretty enough that you don’t need college to get a husband.” And she came back to Virginia for her MS.

For as much as I cared for her and as influential as he was in my life, I cannot recall her last name. If anyone knows anyone who fits the above description, please let me know. I’d love to talk to her again. If anyone knows a writer for SMUT magazine (circa 1993 and/or 1994 at least) with the first name of Jennifer, please tell me and I’ll try to track her down that way. Even if it’s 12 different Jennifers.

When I knew her, she was about 5’6” or 5’7”, maroon hair (possibly a natural brunet), had the body to be a well paid stripper and wasn’t afraid to speak her mind about a damn thing.

Good Enough?

A friend of mine threw a book at me the other day and said, “You write better than this, why aren’t you in print?”

Well, she’s a friend and that’s part of her job, right?

She threw another paperback at me. “This is another writer I know and I read her stuff because she’s a friend. I’d never tell her this, but you’re better.”

Ok, well, I’m helping her pack and move. She might be feeling obligated to boost my ego.

This went on for three hours. At first my reply was, “I have sex in my books. They won’t publish me.”

She threw one more book at me—one from the Anita Blake series. I was willing to shut up at that point, but she continued. I’ve not read a single book from that series and I know about the sex in it. The woman became a book-canon. Every time a book hit me, I heard her say, “Sex.”

Ducking behind boxes, I started checking the books and figuring out the publisher. Tossing them back at her, I countered, “Agent needed.”

Eventually the pulp assault stopped. “So,” she asked, “Why don’t you have an agent?”

I don’t know why I don’t have an agent. I haven’t tried to get one for one thing. I always figured that since I have no sales figures yet, I’d be crazy to approach an agent. Why would they care about me? Why would they be interested in me? Fact of the matter, in my mind, until I can point at sales figures and have some quantitative way of measuring myself, I’m not good enough for an agent. Not good enough to even try.

She grabbed my shoulders as I was trying to help her pack and she bore a hole through me with her eyes. “I read these books. I put them down and went about my day. I don’t ask them if they’ve written more because I need to know what happens.” She does that to me. Sometimes on an hourly basis. “You know me, Cup, I don’t care about the male physique. It does nothing for me and their hangy-downy parts smell like beets.” She hates beets. “But, I want to read your stories despite the sex.” Despite the sex? All this time I thought people read my stuff just for the sex. Then she paid me one of the biggest compliments I’d ever received. “I want to meet your characters. I want to hang out with them.” I write them that real? “I love Anand and Father Daniel’s tortured soul grabs me.” Whoa…she’s serious. “Even Scott, that sick bastard, I want to meet him.” She looked around the room and shook her head. “I don’t want to meet any of these.”

Thunk.

I remembered what one editor told me, “You’re better than you think you are.”

Another editor contacted me about one of the free stories I have on my website. He told me, “I wish I’d written that.”

Another writer and editor, who I absolutely adore and (kind of) idolize, told me, “You’re one of my favorite authors.” My titles aren’t even out yet. How can I be one of someone’s favorites? Much less one of the favorites for someone who is one of my favorites.

As writers, how do we separate ego stroking from genuine praise? How do we know when it’s time to start looking for an agent? These are questions I can’t answer.

I still don’t feel that I’m ready to run with the big dogs and their agents, but I don’t know why I feel this way. I think it has to due with sales figures, but some people get agents for their first books. This is an irrational concern.

At one point, I told myself I wasn’t good enough to get published. Now, I’m telling myself I’m not good enough to get an agent. I was wrong about getting published. Could I be wrong about getting an agent too?

Best name for lube EVER!

Anand, the doctor in my story "About to Sin", keeps a tube of Moist: Lube-On-The-Go on his keychain. However, at home, he's getting a tub of Boy Butter and I can NOT forget to give him a Squeeze Bottle too!

I hope these companies don't mind the free product placement! LOL!

That's all, back to work for me.

Synopsis Help

I hate writing synopses. I dread them and they terrify the crap out of me. I never feel that they are compelling or interesting.

Needless to say, I need a lot of help when it comes to honing my synopsis skills. They are a critical element to every submission package out there. I must and all other writers must learn to write these damnable things well.

Claire at the HEA Café has posted a workshop
that is extremely informative and helpful. I urge everyone to read what she’s posted.