Vixenwriter

Each book has its own challenges, its own flavor and each character has his or her own journey. By this I mean, I do not write say, Triad, over and over. Not every book is kinky, not every book will make you cry, not every book has car chases or stalkers or what have you.

I do this on purpose for a whole host of reasons. First of all, it’d be boring if I didn’t switch it up. I mean, for me as the writer, if I just wrote menages all the time, or BDSM books all the time, or dirty talkers, etc, I’d get burned out. And for readers too. Who wants to read the same thing but with different names?

Laid Bare is an emotional book. It’s that way on purpose and as a mom, for me, the very worst thing I can imagine is to lose a child. So Erin’s journey as a character is very personal to me as I wrote her. It’s also a very physical book – Part of the way Erin and Todd communicate on a very deep level is via sex. A key to how Ben fits in is different. The door is open because of sex, but he settles in for emotional reasons. He’s connected to them and comes to them in a different way than Erin and Todd.

All this is a long, roundabout way of saying, if you’re looking for Laid Bare over and over, that’s not going to happen. Yes, I have written more than one menage book and yes, there are things I have done before (I love me some damaged heroines), but every Lauren Dane book is not going to be a menage with heavy kink. Because every person, every couple or group is different and every story is unique to that group of people.

I love to write kinky, if that’s what the story calls for. But not every story does. Not every book can start with hot sex on page three and not every book with sex on page three is actually erotic.

What I love so much about reviews is that I can take any book and see a totally honest “This book was not hot enough” on the same page with “This book was the hottest thing I’ve read all year” Readers are like books – there are as many views and perspectives as there are shelves and pages. This is awesome to me.

I started out with a small press. I’ve written erotic romance for many years now and I like to think I do it well. I think women shouldn’t be ashamed of their sexuality and I try to reflect that on the page. But each woman is going to be different, so every character and storyline is too. I think we’ve gone pretty far over the edge in erotics if a fully described sex scene, multiple sex scenes over a book isn’t considered “hot” enough or not “true” erotic romance. Because to me, erotic isn’t in how many toys in the scene or how many people, or if there’s kink, but the level of connection between the people involved. I think we miss the point if all we do as authors and all we expect as readers is lots of sex that may or may not be right for the story and the characters. Erotic is not a flogger, or rope, or against a wall – erotic is that moment when the people in the scene are stripped down with that other person (not physically, but emotionally).

Sort of babbling on a Friday – but I suppose all boiled down – though I write sexy books, they’re all sexy in different ways. Sometimes a couple is combustible, they have sex a lot and so the book will have more sex on the page. Other books, it’s about tension and slow heat. How erotic each is, which a person prefers is going to differ depending on the person reading and the story itself. Shrug.

I don’t have a muse and I don’t believe in magic beans. But I do believe each book is organic – it needs to take its own direction and I don’t have a checklist when I write. Writing sex is complicated enough (I know people don’t always believe this, but writing sex is difficult!) so I can’t imagine doing it with a list of necessaries – oral by chapter one, doggie style, two girl on top, etc. I just don’t do that.

Sometimes you’re going to get a book along the lines of Laid Bare or Undercover (two of what I tend to think are my most explicit books) and others you might get a book like Making Chase, which is less graphic on the page, but IMO, no less erotic or sexy. I totally expect people to have favorites and buttons so they might seek out one over the other – I do too!

(this is one I wrote about a year ago and I think it’s good to repeat)

Yesterday while writing, IMing and surfing the intarwebs I saw an interesting post over at the FFF community about author blogs and advice on what we should and shouldn’t blog about. The original post was that an agent advised a client not to blog about getting rejected because of course, industry folks do blog surf and you don’t want to come off like, well someone who gets rejected. And in that comment stream, Jackie Kessler asked what the question, “what is the purpose of a blog?” which I think is an important question.

This is long and totally my opinion…

I tend to agree that authors should think about what they say on their blogs. In fact, I wish it happened more often than it does. An irrefutable truth – there are different standards applied to “public figures” of any kind. Yes, I would be held to a different response if I said the same things a reader blogger said. And to that I respond, “so what?” Because that is the reality and you can accept it and deal with it appropriately or you can be a twat and think you’re doing something important by shaking your fist at reality and saying whatever pops into your head without a thought for the consequences.

There are things you just don’t do. And I know that agitates people. I know people wish we could just be totally open about whatever agitates us, whatever strife we’re dealing with behind the scenes, etc. There are times when I wish that were so as well. But the fact is, this is a business for authors. Your name, how you act in public – these things are part of the whole package.

So, IMO, I do blog about rejection. Because guess what? EVERYONE gets rejected. This business is about perseverance and the ability to bounce back. It is. So when newbie authors read this blog I want them to know I get knocked around too. You don’t sell once and then bingo you sell everything you pitch forevermore. I mean, I’m sure some authors are just that fabulous and lucky, but most of us get rejected from time to time for a whole host of reasons.

The issue is – HOW you blog about the negatives in this business, not necessarily if you blog about them at all. So I’d never get up on this blog and bitch about a certain house or a certain editor or whine and piss and moan about how New York isn’t ready for me or I’m too edgy for New York or whatever. In my opinion, that’s simply unprofessional. Period. Even if an editor at a certain house said I ate kittens in puff pastry and wrote the worst drek ever – although dude, I think I’d have to laugh and at least joke about it with my friends because that would be a horribly awesome rejection. Anyway, I’m digressing (SHOCK!).

Writing about the writer’s life is part and parcel of why I blog. I started blogging before I sold my first book but over time, I’ve had to really think about how I speak, what I say and who I say it to. I’m a writer, this blog will be about my life, which includes writing. I don’t want to jam my books down your throats every three minutes, I don’t want to only be happy, I don’t want to whore myself. I’m a person so for me, when I think about what a blog is about, I think this blog is about my life. Sometimes I’m going to talk about my kids or my husband or the broken headlight I got at the grocery store. Other times I talk about editing or revising, sales and yep, rejections.

A blog should give readers/visitors a feel for who the blogger is so I think authors should think about that carefully. By that, I mean, think about how your content reflects upon you and what people take away about you from that. Is that how you want to be perceived?

Several months ago I read a blog entry where the author had been rejected by a certain house (one I write for actually, just to disclose that bias) and she spent quite a bit of time really dogging the house and the editor who rejected her. Another author replied in the comments several things I personally knew were untrue but the real issue is that to me, it ended up looking like sour grapes. Because when I read that I think, “EVERYONE gets rejected! Do you think you’re too special to be rejected? Are your words so sacred that any editor who reads then will be ensorceled by them and if not, they’re out to get you for some reason?” It gave me a very negative perspective on both the authors because it was vulgar. Now, I’m sure that author who’d been rejected was hurting. Rejection sucks. But there are appropriate ways to vent and it’s not on your blog naming names.

Also, filters and boundaries are important. There are things you’d say to your child’s teacher and things you’d say to your best friend – right? All kinds of things occur to me and yes, at times here I’m random and stream of consciousness but believe it or not, I am acutely aware of what’s appropriate. Occasionally, I’ll see author and sometimes industry blogs where completely inappropriate things are discussed and the owners of those blogs always seem so surprised when they get heat. If a professional uses her industry blog to bash another competitor I’m going to walk away with a negative feeling – AND SO WILL READERS. If an author uses her blog to whine about a review in great detail, I’m going to shake my head. Bad reviews are another thing that happens to EVERYONE. Suck it up and move on. Vent to your buddy on IM, eat some Ben and Jerry’s and don’t blog about it.

You can be goofy but still stay professional wrt this business. You can post pics of your dog’s new sweater or your new horse or the Halloween costume you made for your kid but I really find discussions of the size of your partner’s wedding tackle to be outside the scope of a professional writing blog. Again, just me. I write sex, but I think we can talk about it unashamedly and openly without crossing the line into TMI. I don’t want to hear about fungal infections either. Nor do I want to see bigoted stuff.

Whew! Okay so that’s totally long winded and 100% opinion. My point is – it’s all in the execution. There’s a time and a place for things. Sharing ups and downs of a writer’s life is interesting – I don’t only want to see sunshine and rainbows, some days you really just feel like laying on the couch and eating fried foods while watching Rock of Love. Shrug. We can be human, we are human, but like anyone else in any other professional situation, it’s how we choose to address things that makes all the difference.

Just a quick break from writing to pop in and post.

In all the talk about promotion online and with author groups, one thing I feel is neglected is: What is the PURPOSE of promotion?

I think it’s really important to ask yourself that question as an author. There is no end to the amount of time and money you can spend on promotion. But most of us don’t have an unlimited supply of either, moreover, it’s important to be smart with your time and money so what I do with each book is create a plan for that book. I lay out how much things will cost and go into details and timelines so I can keep it all straight. I find I spend way less money and time if I do this up front so I’m not rushing around at the last minute doing triage.

But the basis for all this work is what I am trying to promote – my writing. It spans more than one story, it’s about what I will write, what I have written and what’s out just now.

In my opinion (and that’s all this is, there’s no one true way or I’d be selling you all DVDs or whatever) – Promotion is never only about that book. If you try to think on it that way, I am not sure you’d ever get your “money’s worth” from it. It’s impossible to quantify either way – but I believe promotion should be far more long term and big picture, just like a career. Promotion, while it is about that book, should be about the author.

What I mean by that is your career is more than about one book. Sure, you want that book to do well and sure, to benefit the author, the book needs to do well. But, to narrow your focus is to leave out some of your most powerful tools.

You’re hopefully growing a reader base, giving them a reason to come back to you again, to seek out your backlist, etc. Approaching promotion with a concrete idea of what promotion is and should be, and of how you’ll use it to get yourself out there without spamming, wasting money like water or being totally ineffective – will give you a direction. Later on you can see what seemed to be effective and what wasn’t. (and here I’d like to interject that recommending your own book to me at goodreads or sending me eleventy billion invites to be your fan are not effective. This is counterproductive and it makes MY job harder because everyone distrusts authors on facebook so I’m painted with that same brush even though I’d never do that)

I’ve noticed authors grumbling when they are asked to do marketing plans. I do a marketing plan for each book and I include things like chats, guest blogging, contests, etc as well as ads. A marketing plan can help you focus on the target, it can help you think on just what that target/goal is.

I believe promotion is not only helpful to an author, especially one trying to build a solid, long term career, but necessary. I know other authors disagree with this and the world is a wondrous place filled with all sorts of ideas and beliefs, that one is not mine. BUT, I believe promotion is done so haphazardly by a lot of authors that they dread it even more than they have to if it’s done with more care.

And that’s my Wednesday post. I’m off to write now.

Every author gets stuck. Sometimes it’s that niggling feeling that your opening is all wrong or the pacing is messed up, other times you get just plain old stuck. You sit in front of your computer and stare at the words. Type in three or five more. Maybe a paragraph, and then stop because it is not working.

So what to do then?

We’ve all got our “go to” activities – for me, I find several things help:

1) mindless activity – ironing is my big one. The rhythmic movement, the sound of the steam, the scent of the shirt as I work – it loosens things in my head and enables me to plot without overthinking it. Dishes and scrubbing of things like bathtubs are good too. But not toilets – this just agitates me because I live in a house with the penis posse and, well I don’t need to go on. Excercise bike – plot and shrink my thighs all at the same time.

2) going on a drive. This is not mindless in the same way because you have to pay attention to more things, but at the same time, the time when I’m on my way to pick kids up and I’m alone is hugely important. I get a lot of work done in that 20 minutes – that’s the time when I seem to work on a scene and how it will flow into the next.

3) Brainstorming/talking it over with my husband or my writerly friends. This is always hugely helpful because I can just sort of riff and they’ll toss things out or just listen and give their opinion. Sometimes you start talking to explain the story to someone and you realize as you’re talking how stupid it sounds. That moment, while unpleasant for a moment, is important because it’s something you can fix!

4) Music or movies – stuff that can enable my brain to lose itself in the pattern – it’s like my brain is working so hard on the problem that it’s harder to see but when I’m sort of relaxed and focused elsewhere and I don’t have to overthink, it all sort of untangles.

These are just a few. The thing is, this is the sort of problem that snags writers and you can’t give up and let go to move on because there will always be that point in every book. The key is working through, getting past. Because problems CAN be fixed but you can’t just give up.

Got any tips of your own for dealing with a block?

I’ve said it before but I’ll repeat – I’m not an expert, I just know what works for me and what doesn’t. I’ve watched a lot of authors promote their work over the years and you know the one thing that always stands out as a huge fail is overly aggressive, in your face, spam promotion.

I’ve spoken about this before but you know, judging by the volume of author spam I get at Facebook, myspace and in my inbox here at home, it needs to be said again.

There is a difference between effective promotion and standing an inch away from someone yelling at them to buy your book. Effective promotion is often subtle. Author spam is not subtle, nor is it effective.

Here are some examples: At goodreads I frequently get books recommended to me. Most of the time it’s stuff I’d never read, but whatever, people like to share their preferences and I’m not bothered by that. What I am bothered by are authors who recommend their own books to me. Authors who recommend their own books to me REPEATEDLY, while using phrases like, “my book is a thrilling mix of eroticism and mystery!” or whatever.

I find authors who recommend their own books to me to not only be sort of sad, but also annoying. This is not effective promotion. Oh I know, there’s always one woman in your local chapter or on your loop who says how she sold eleventy million books that way. And you know what? I’ve never heard of them. If this was an effective way to conduct yourself, don’t you think Nora Roberts would do it?

The problem is manifold. First it makes everyone wary of having authors in their groups or on their pages because one dbag gets in there and pimps the ever loving crap out of their book in every single conversation. We all suffer for that because now I feel hesitant to enter any group with big, capitalized warnings about author promotions being banned. Not because I’d do that, but because I’ve got to prove that I’m not that jerk instead of getting to know the group and being a regular member.

This spills outward, especially with ebooks. It’s difficult enough to educate people that digital books are real books and they are good, well edited and worth reading. But when you’ve got all these spammers out there, it paints us all with that brush and that pisses me off.

I started out ignoring the various invites and book recs until I began to drown in them. Then I started unfollowing and unfriending and then the same people would simply invite me to be their friend two days later. Over and over again until I had to block or ban them.

Lots of people like to use professionalism in sentences to look good. I wish more people would simply ACT professionally. Things that come to your house or email that you didn’t ask for when they’re advertising a product are called what? Spam. That’s right. And whether it’s some sort of drug to make your penis bigger or an announcement of part 14 of your werecow series from poodlebutt press, it’s all the same. SPAM.

Successful authors do not act this way.

I know it seems insurmountable, this promotion deal. It seems mysterious and expensive and totally beyond a mere mortal’s ability – but it’s part of the gig. So you can decide at the outset to do everything you do with professionalism or at the very least, not invoking the fury of eight hundred people a day via facebook or myspace. You can watch what other authors you admire do, see how they conduct themselves. Are there things they do that you could give your own spin to and try a few times? When you begin to do something at myspace or facebook, you can pause and ask yourself if by saying, “well it would take me a lot longer if I actually chose who I invited carefully” if you’re really trying to build a career, which involves the goodwill of readers and others, or if you’re just punking out and taking the lazy way. If you are doing the latter, be prepared for authors and readers to be pissed at you, be prepared to be that author readers talk about having to block, or that author other authors roll their eyes over because you invited them to your facebook fan page YET AGAIN.

Here’s a basic tip: If I wanted to join your fan page, I would do that. I would seek it out myself. You inviting me to your fan page a dozen times in two months will not make me want to join your fan page on the 13th invite. No, it will make me block you and not ever feel much inclined to buy your books or rec them to another human being. Now, I could be alone in this attitude, but I don’t think so. I think many in our community are sick and tired of this in your face promotion. We’re not selling used cars on television in 1974.

We’re creative people and I am completely confident that we can come up with new and interesting ways to promote without making everyone cringe when they see our names.

Since I missed Sunday, I thought I’d sneak in a quick one today. I thought I’d discuss something not technical, but attitudinal.

Writing is wonderful, frustrating, rewarding, creative and special. It pleases me even when I’m up against a story problem because working through it successfully is part of the fun (yes, I’m weird). Publishing though? Well that’s another story.

Writing is all in your hands. It’s on your schedule, in your head, on your page. Publishing is pretty much NOT in your hands at all. Publishing is mercurial. It’s sometimes totally insane and often capricious and these things are always a challenge to me. Because I am a person who likes to power through things and make them happen. Publishing doesn’t work this way.

So truly, it’s easy to fall into a negative space with your thoughts and attitude. I’m certainly no mary sunshine (especially when I’m dieting, being hungry makes me cranky!). However, I believe in a big way that attidude is important.

An eeyore attitude does nothing for you. Nothing. It won’t make you sell faster, it won’t make anyone like your manuscript more, it won’t make writing your book come faster either. It will annoy people around you, put people off in general and infect your life with negativity.

A good rant here and there is important. Fire to your belly and gets things off your chest. Moping? Not so much. I’m not saying I don’t mope, I do. I have rough days where I want to whine and mope and wallow. But I try not to give in to that because a bad attitude is infectious, it gets worse and settles in until your world view turns negative.

Writers, like anyone else, need to be conscious of this and take steps to reject the road to debbie downerville. Look at your posts at your blog or livejournal or twitter – how often do your posts sound like you’re feeling sorry for yourself? If it’s often, or even halfway often, stop. Take a step back and focus on something positive.

A positive attitude makes your life better. It makes people want to be around you and while it really won’t have any bearing on getting an answer from an editor quicker, it will make the wait easier not only for you, but for everyone around you.

Stop searching for pets from people by putting yourself down. When I see authors doing that, “oh woe, my writing must suck because I got this review” or whatever, I begin to believe them after I see it a dozen times. When I need validation, I seek it openly. I read old reviews, I talk to my husband or my friends. I focus on the things that are good and right, I focus on how far I’ve come and I try to go along that way. It’s okay to seek comfort from your friends, I just think it’s better if if comes honestly and openly instead of your friends feeling manipulated into saying, “yeah, yeah, you’re awesome”

Anyhoodle, nothing earth shattering, just yer basic put on a happy face type post.

There’s a lot of talk about the RWA’s PAN eligibility rules. I’m not going to address that, not really. Listen, I see on one of my loops constant angry grumblilng about the RWA. People bitter and unhappy with them and in the end, my thought is, “I wouldn’t belong to an organization that made me feel so horrible and resentful all the time.” I wouldn’t. IMO, you need to decide if the RWA (or any other organization) is right for you and meets your needs. If it doesn’t, you can attempt to change it from the inside, you can rail at the unfairness of it while staying and doing nothing, or you can say F’it I’m outta here. I think the first and last are fine decisions, the second drives me crazy.

Anyhoodle, enough of that! This is my attempt at the first approach.

What I wanted to talk about is the idea that being career minded, with respect to the National RWA board, means an advance, even one as minor as a grand and no other way.

My feeling is that the RWA is woefully ignorant of any other publishing mode but the traditional one. I do not believe those on the Board are jealous or threatened by epublishing. In fact when that statement comes up it makes me roll my eyes so hard I get a strain. They don’t understand it and when you don’t understand something, you tend to feel it’s wrong or inferior.

I’m a career oriented author. I’ve been career oriented since I wrote my first book and I continue to be. I hold myself to high standards and I hold my editor and publisher to high standards as well. I complete my books on time, I edit them in a timely fashion and I promote effectively and regularly. Whether I get an advance of a thousand dollars or more or whether I get paid monthly, my attitude is the same. This is my job, this is my career and it is beyond insulting that a few people who don’t understand anything about epublishing to judge my approach when they don’t know me.

If we were to attach “career oriented” to money – I must interject here that I’ve made more than my largest NY advance in one month on one ebook title and I’ve done that more than once. I rarely talk about money because I think it’s a private thing and also, it can create issues between authors. But I’d like to say I personally don’t find an advance any more “career oriented” than monthly royalties. There are things I’d give up in a contract with an advance that I wouldn’t to an epublishing contract, but making those choices also makes me career oriented.

Here’s how an advance works – your agent pitches the book. Author waits. A long time usually. If editor wants to buy it they make an offer. Negotiation takes place and you accept. Author writes book and waits for contract. In some cases, months more. I know authors who have been done with the book and hit a deadline without a contract (or money). It hasn’t happened to me, but these authors write for very large houses. You sign, it goes away wherever and then you get a portion of your advance. Not all of it.

Let’s just use 10K for an example because it’s easy to break down and I hate math (also remembering that every contract is different and these breakdowns are just an example):

You get 2500 for signing and acceptance of the proposal – you get this minus the fee your agent takes. I’ve received this money anywhere from a month after signing to six months after signing.

Then you turn in the book and you get 4000 for delivery and acceptance of the manuscript

Upon publication you get the remaining 3500

Now this entire process, getting paid that original 10K can take up to two years. And it can take up to two years more to start earning royalties because of how the pay schedule works)

Meanwhile with epublishing:

I turn in book/proposal to my editor. She takes anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months depending on her schedule. If she buys we talk about when I can turn in the completed book and she puts me into the schedule.

So say I contract the book in June and I turn it in in October and it comes out in December. In January I’ll get a check for more than any 1K advance. And then each month afterward I continue to earn. Within the year it takes to see the entire advance from NY, I’ve made that and more on that title and once it goes to print with Samhain for instance, I receive twice yearly print checks that make me very happy.

These two processes are not superior and inferior – they are simply different. I find plusses and minuses to each so I find them complimentary and do them both. There are many authors who continue to write for small/epublishers while they write for NY (I’m one of them but not the only one by any stretch). I take my career very seriously. I work very hard. Promotion tends to be different to account for the differences in medium but it’s the job of any career minded author to understand that and account for that.

In essence though, I enjoy what I do. I do it to the best of my ability and I continue to build my career and my name with each book I put out. That’s career oriented.

But really, it’s not only about money because as many of us know from experience, there’s a hell of a lot of rejection in this business. Sometimes you write and write and write and no one wants to buy.

In an RWR last year I read an article about authors who’d written and submitted for upwards of a dozen years before selling. That takes heart. That takes courage and that is career oriented. In those dozen years those authors made no money from writing at all as they didn’t sell, but to say you have to get an advance check of 1K before you’re “career oriented” or that an advance makes you a “writer” worth of support by the RWA as a writer’s organization is simply offensive and ignorant.

The RWA needs to set standards on some level. I understand that. I understand that in an organization of over 9,000 with different approaches, styles and levels of success there’s no one rule that will make everyone happy.

However, writers should understand that there’s no one approach to career. Some writers write novellas. Some write 700 page historical romance tomes that are rich with detail. Some write short stories for magazines and a lot haven’t sold yet but continue to try to. None of these approaches is more important or worthy than the other. We are all writers.

With epublishing, I’ll say yes, there are a lot of authors who don’t make a lot of money. They don’t get much exposure and they sell to companies with poor reputations and they’ll sell 4 copies instead of 1000 that first month (or whatever). It is my belief that those authors who jump at a quick sale with a start up to get a sale and without thinking about all the important things like how much you can sell with a company no one has heard of, should bear responsibility for poor choices. It is also my belief that if the RWA was more open and willing to understand other career paths, this could be addressed by the RWA and SHOULD be.

Educating noobs on what patience means in a business where waiting is the norm rather than the exception, should be part of the services the members get and it seems to be with some of the local chapters, but serving authors shouldln’t just be about teaching them how to write tension or how to outline, it should also be how to manage their businesses, how to keep good records for taxes, how to choose agents and editors and how to look at ANY potential publisher and decide if saying yes to get a quick sale is worth it or if you should wait, continue to hone your craft and sell to a publisher who will get your work out before a larger audience.

In the end, I’ll stay a member of the RWA because I think it’s a worthy organization full of creative, dynamic people who if given the chance can work together and make positive change. They do things I disagree with, like this recent RITA controversy – Rules people, rules should be CLEAR. Just say what mass produced means, stop hiding rule changes and give a refund to those people who were disqualified. These are your members, this is our organization – we can and should make it known when directions are taken that are confusing or just plain wrong.

And to my sisters and brothers in epublishing, I challenge you all who are members of the RWA to be full members. I know it feels like at times we’re supposed to sit at the kids table in the back. But why let yourselves be relegated to that status? Eleanor Roosevelt once said that “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent” and while I think there are gradations of truth to that comment, I think it’s very much true here. I don’t care if people who don’t know me judge me because I write erotic or because I write ebooks. I care what my editors think and I care what my readers think. No member of the RWA is more or less worthy of belonging than I am. This all starts and ends with me and you, and you over there, and you too. Stand up and speak – another favorite quote, this one from Maggie Kuhn, is “Speak Your Mind Even If Your Voice Shakes”

As long as we remain civil and coherent, we create our own power. Any organization is only as dynamic as her members. I truly believe most of the authors in the RWA do not feel epublishing is inferior, I think they don’t know much about it. Approaching with that in mind can make some important ground in 2009. The atmosphere is ripe for education. So let’s do it.

Firstly, I learned yesterday in the wake of my gorgeous cover news that I’d contracted the follow up to Laid Bare to Berkley Heat for a January 2010 release! I don’t have a title for it as of yet, but it’ll feature Erin’s oldest brother Brody, the guy who did all the inkwork on her!

And because I haven’t talked music in a few days…

This is my Stripclub Tracklist for No Reservations. There are two major scenes in the book that take place in a strip club in the book. This is what I listen to when I write them.

Here’s a tiny snippet: One of his hands slid up her belly and she opened her eyes and tipped her head forward to look. So much desire there, raw, on the surface. It snagged her, caught her breath and pulled a gasp from low in her gut.

I’m here at the Emerald City RWA Conference and having an hour of blissful alone-ness! But as I’m at a writing conference, I thought a writing type post would be appropriate.

There’s been some talk online about contracts and option clauses so here’s my opinion on it (keeping in mind that everyone has different approaches to their career so this is just my opinion)

I would never sign an epublishing contract with an options clause in it. Never. Horrible clauses in contracts don’t make me hyperventillate. It doesn’t make me panicky. Nor does it make me stupid for not making that particular choice. That makes me an author who isn’t signing away her future rights without consideration. Period.

My NY publishing contracts have had options in them. I also get an advance from my NY publishing contracts which means they’ve given me consideration and have loaded some money into me as an author before I’ve delivered the final book to them. With print, options make sense. With epublishing, to me, it doesn’t. Most certainly, I enjoy writing for Samhain, an epublisher. I like the freedom to write across genres, I like the timelines, which are shorter and I like writing things that aren’t selling to NY right now like werewolves. I have every intention to continue writing for Samhain in addition to writing for “traditional” publishing houses.

The strongest position an author can have with respect to contract negotiations is the willingness to walk away. (and I heard this yesterday in a workshop Angie gave as well and she’s right). There are things I gave up in contracts when I was a newbie that I would not give up now. That’s about relative power and the more power you have, the more ability you have to negotiate, LOL. That’s a basic reality in any business situation.

When you get an offer from a publisher, it’s very exciting. Selling a book is awesome. But read your contract before you sign it. Think about what you want in the long term as well as in the short term. Are there things you can give up? Are there things you won’t budge on? Keep that in mind. Look at the contract – what is the rights term? As in, how long will the publisher own your book? Can you get it back? If so, what’s the process? If the rocess is completely unreasonable, it’s as good as never getting it back.

Are there options? Do they ask for narrow or broad options? DO they want to see every work of erotic paranormal romance over 80K or everything you write?

Do they take rights they’ll never use? I have contracts with print rights in them. At the time I signed them, print was a reality but now? Not so much and those rights are languishing. I can’t get them back because I took a what was right then and trusted that it would continue to be so. It’s my own fault but as it stands right now, I’d never sign those rights away again without severe negotiation of the contract. However, that didn’t happen so I walked away. I walked away because there are other publishers in the world and it wasn’t worth it to me to simply give away something I might want later on. Your mileage may vary, but I’m using this example to make a point.

Do they answer your questions in a professional timeframe? The answer doesn’t have to be one you like, but do they speak to you like a professional? Do they make a huge rights grab? (foreign rights, subsidiary rights, print, etc). How do you feel about it? Do your homework! Google the terms to see what subsidiary and secondary rights mean and what you’re signing away. (For instance, Berkley sold Undercover to Doubleday, Book of the Month and Rhapsody book clubs! Undercover will have a bookclub edition which gives me all sorts of new exposure. It’s really exciting and something I think is of benefit to me. But a small publisher may not have the connections to get you that kind of deal – if they ask, ask yourself if you’re okay with signing away rights that may never be used)

There are other publishers, boys and girls. Sometimes it may be your best option and all things being equal, you might sign a contract that’s less than perfect because your position isn’t enough to get the perfect contract. At the same time, your career isn’t just for today, it’s, hopefully, going to last years and years so you need to think about it that way.

I’m a lawyer and this stuff is totally confusing to me! My NY contracts are way more complicated so thank goodness I have an agent who knows the ins and outs of contracts. If you have questions with your contract, I’d suggest taking the contract to a literary rights attorney and having them take a look. I know people balk at the money but this stuff, in the long term, will cost you more than you can imagine if you sign something you hadn’t quite bargained for.

Your publisher isn’t your best friend or your family. BUT, they should want to grow you as an author. OF course they want to make money from you, they’re in business. But there’s a difference between a business relationship which makes a profit and signing something that doesn’t benefit you nearly as much as it could.

There’s no need to sign a contract right away. Take the time to know what you’re signing.

Disclaimer thingy: THERE IS NO ONE TRUE WAY with writing. Don’t let anyone tell you that. There is only what works for me and what works for you. So read the following with that understanding. we all do this differently.

I was thinking about process earlier today and about how my writing process had changed over the years. It used to be that I wrote, tinkered, wrote, tinkered. I edited a lot as I wrote. It worked for me because in the beginning I didn’t have deadlines and I subbed with fulls so it wasn’t a problem.

Over time though, I began to write on deadlines and sell on partials, which meant my time had to be managed differently to meet my obligations. I frequently had different projects at different stages going at once (so I’d be writing a book and then I’d get a revision note on something else or first or second round edits on yet something else, etc). So in January of this year I decided I’d stop going back in process and editing as I went. I decided I’d force myself to power through and deal with edits in my second draft stage. Anything longer than a novella and I’ll make notes as I go but I won’t let myself adjust over and over unless it’s totally necessary to the story arc or pacing.

I gotta say, despite some painful, headdesk moments with first drafts, it’s worked exceptionally well for me. When I wrote Relentless I had several really agonizing writerly moments of doubt. But I made myself keep writing and when I finished and began the second draft stage, I realized the book was better for me powering through. The story was better than I’d imagined as I had my “ohmigod this book is the biggest piece of suck to ever hit sucktown” moments. I had my notes and my edits for the second draft so that when I smoothed and sent the third draft to crit, I was able to streamline the process and apply the crit and create a final draft I was totally proud of. And in the end, I think Relentless is the best thing I’ve written in a really long time.

I’ve come to realize, for me anyway, the heart of any book and the writing of it is all about the epiphany moment. You can’t rush it, tinkering and going back won’t bring it sooner (and sometimes it delays it). Writing a book is technical, yes. You have a framework of any story. Pacing, the heart of who your characters are and why they do the things they do. But it’s sort of shadowy and like pulling teeth in certain places until you reach the stage where you suddenly *get* your characters. You understand why they are who they are and things loosen and the writing is different. Easier in many ways because you’ve connected with the story in a way you hadn’t before. You will inevitably get stuck here and there and feel you suck, but once you have that “AHA!” moment and the book is in technicolor, you’ve hit your stride and it makes sense in a way it didn’t before.

Once I have the “OH!” moment I can easily adjust what I wrote before when I do my second draft but no amount of going back and tinkering will bring that moment any faster. I’m convinced it happens when it’s supposed to happen in each story. Sometimes early, sometimes later.

It sounds mystical and I suppose to a certain extent is is magic in the way that the writing process is magical on some level. But writing is work. You have to sit your butt in the chair and do it even through the hard parts, the dark parts when you don’t know what the hell is going on or how to make the book better. Sometimes you write and in the second draft you might just delete the whole thing. But going back for more than a little touch interrupts the flow and it encourages you to dither around in the first half when you need to just write the book and THEN you can go back.

Who knows what I might try next year! Whole chapter outlines? Um, probably not, LOL.