The Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing But the Truth

 

Handsome hubby putting up the new number plaque.

We're slowly settling into our new home, and we have tons of home improvement projects to do. Of course life goes on in the publishing world as well, and things aren't getting any prettier there, either.

As a freelance editor  (click here for my editorial services), I come across a lot of  manuscripts which remind me of pesky home improvement projects. It's possible that a "house" might be able to come about utilizing the material involved, but it's going to take a lot of  "sweat equity" as they say on PBS TV's This Old House. The "home" isn't going to be complete and livable (readable) without some blood, sweat and tears. You might even have to listen very closely to your "architect" (editor), who is trying hard to help you build a sturdy "home" and not a ramshackle shed that blows apart in a strong wind (or critic's harsh review), or else all your hard work might be for naught.

Dropping the extended home improvement analogy, what I'm trying to say is this: The truth of why your manuscript isn't working may hurt. It can hurt a lot. In my opinion,  it's far better for an author to know the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth upfront. How else can an author make intelligent decisions and receive the guidance he/she needs to craft a strong story without knowing the truth?

This doesn't seem to be the going thing in the electronically published world right now. You can't get an agent or editor to take on your book--it's not your book's problem! You just need to pay Amazon or whoever to self-publish your work and ta da! Instant millionaire! The tragic thing is that many of these self-published works aren't quite ready for prime time, even if the self-published author paid someone (or didn't) to proofread for typos, misspellings, and other grammatical gaffes. The ideas behind these works aren't ready, or they've been done before a billion times. Yes, the truth hurts. Your idea might just suck.

Worse yet, your idea might be highly offensive--or libelous. What good is it if you ignore an editor's advice when he/she warns you of possible litigation if you don't back off grinding your ax into your ex-girlfriend, employer, brother-in-law? You publish a book that offends people and makes you look like a grudge-carrying, mean-spirited bully. What is the purpose in doing something so childish and cruel?

Writing is a private act, but publishing is a public act. Never forget that once your words are in print (electronic or on paper) you can't take them back. Always keep your target audience in mind. Who are your readers? What are their expectations? And, more importantly, do you have more readers in mind that just you and your mom?

In all your writings practice objectivity and balance--and listen to your freelance editor when he/she tells you the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. You pay a professional to give you professional advice. Listen to it. Learn from it. Live with it. Grow.

For more information on how to become successfully published, check out my funny how-NOT-to writer's guide (written under my "real" name), available in print from Smiling Assassin Productions. Or drop me an email. I don't bite. Really, I don't. Promise. But I warn you, I'll tell you the truth. Unvarnished. It's how I roll.

Brandi is Sealed with a Kiss...

I posted over at author Robin Badillo's Sealed with a Kiss blog this week promoting the latest release, Brandi Whyne and Her Incredibly Erotic Adventures: Chapter 6--Kidnapped by Time Bandits. Check out her gorgeous blog site here:

http://robinbadillo.blogspot.com/?zx=b0073cb64c21ea7b
And enjoy the cool tunes playing in the background. (Sweet!)

 

The tiny url links that I previously posted to individual titles in the Brandi Whyne series may take you to the front page of eXtasy Books instead. A

recent change in servers sort of voided the links. If you type in "Celine Chatillon" in the search box under author (on right top corner of the front page) that will take you to a listing of my stories. I apologize for any inconvenience. Brandi promises to get the whip out and make me update all the old links soon... Unfortunately, she knows I enjoy a good spanking too much. ;)

Don't forget you can get a free ebook of outrageously erotic excerpts from the Brandi Whyne series simply by dropping me an email. celinechatillon @ hotmail.com

Boy Meets Girl No More?

Each month it increasingly becomes more difficult knowing what to write, in the erotic-romance arena, at least. I have plenty of ideas for stories, but they all seem to possess a fatal flaw according to some publishers. I wanna write love stories with a hero and heroine as opposed to a love story with two heroes.

Don't get me wrong--I'm very glad to see that there's a wide variety of authors and publishers out there providing stories that m/m fans wish to read. More power to you all! It's just that I'm not one of those authors/readers who wants to add to the glut of m/m fiction currently in the e-book erotic-romance market. I'd rather create the fiction I prefer to read myself; that is, boy meets girl or girl meets boy, they have lots and lots of hot sex and then go on to live happily ever after or at least happily for now.

Is there something wrong with me? Am I old-fashioned? I don't know. I've tried to come up with a m/m story idea that's not been done a million times before, but I'm not that inspired I guess. But if you described a hot-blooded male (alien or human) and a hot-blooded female (alien or human) to me, a million storylines would pop into my head. It's just that easy.

What do you think? Should I throw in the towel and give up trying to write erotic-romance of any kind until I can hop on the m/m bandwagon? Or should I just wait and see if m/f, boy meets girl, romantic fiction makes a resurgence in the near future?

Readers please leave me some feedback in the comments below. Here are some questions I'm dying to know the answers to:

What do YOU like to read the best--m/m, m/f, f/f, all of the above?

Do you feel the glut of m/m erotic fiction is just a phase and will gradually die down or that it's here to stay and will further eclipse the m/f erotic fiction market?

Is it all about vampires, shapeshifters, werewolves, ghosts, demons, etc., or do readers occasionally like to read about human characters (contemporary, historical or futuristic)?

Should I focus on writing straight science fiction/fantasy and vere away from writing stories with erotic-romantic themes altogether?

Thanks for your comments. Drop me an email at celinechatillon @ hotmail.com (no spaces) and put "Free e-book" in the subject line, and I'll email you an "Outrageous Extended Excerpts from Brandi Whyne and Her Incredibly Erotic Adventures" PDF e-book as a thank you.

Support Judy Mays! Support Your Local Authors!

I know there's a lot of talk online about this story, and I don't want to give those who have maligned Ms. May any more press, so here's a link to my publisher's blog that gives a few more pertinent details:

http://extasybooks.net/essenceofextasy/

I hope most readers realize why writers often use pen names in the first place. No one wants to suffer this kind of grief over his/her art. For some reason, readers will buy (hopefully not pirate) and read our erotic-romances, but if they find out we're teachers in our day jobs... All of sudden we're suspect human beings.

I'd be more afraid of my kid's English teacher writing "true crime" or murder mysteries. Do you think these types of writers go around killing folks to gain "experience" to write their stories? If you find that idea ridiculous, then why should romance authors be accused of being "dangerous perverts"? Aren't we exercising our imaginations like mystery writers do? ;)

Please support Ms. May and all your favorite and local authors. Stand up for our "write" (right) to create stories the way we see fit. Stand up for the First Amendment's freedom of speech and expression. Together we can make the world a better place.

the eXtasy Books Holiday Party

Here's a couple of photos of the handmade gift I'm giving away for our eXtasy Books prize drawing...




A Gothic-inspired ring/jewelry box. The perfect spot for that special someone or yourself to hide a ring, a necklace or vampire fangs.



Join me at the eXtasy Holiday Party all day long, Saturday December 11th, and you could win a prize! More details at: http://www.extasybooks.com/ExtasyHolidaypage/extasyq.html

So stop in to the eX Factor Yahoogroup this Saturday and see what else you'll be able to win... Happy Holidays!

April Showers Bring May Flowers

The sun sets over Caister Castle--and so do I.

Another month has come and gone—and I didn’t get hardly anything I wanted to get done in March, done. For some reason, I just can’t give up sleeping, eating or taking daily showers. Those sorts of things really cut into your free time, you know—especially the sleeping.

I’m not getting any creative writing projects I’ve started finished. I’d had hoped to do so during my week off, but I just didn’t have the will to write more than a few pages on my work-in-progress. I’ll admit it, too—my heart simply isn’t into writing fiction lately. E-publishers are folding right and left it seems, taking some of my books along with them. I can’t afford to go to writing conferences and schmooze with the agents and editors from the big houses, so I can’t get a foot in the door by making a personal connection. And having a foot in the door seems to be the only way to gain the big guys’ attention these days.

Everyone with a computer seems to have written a book this past year. The submissions are flooding the slushpiles. You have to do something outrageous or illegal—or both—to get an editor’s attention. Just look at former governor Rod Blagojevich. He’s done both—and now he’s got his own radio talk show. You really wonder if becoming a criminal is where it’s at for becoming a best-selling author.

Oh, well. I can sit around and mope and groan, or I can crawl back into the saddle and get going again. Since I like horses, I’ll go the saddle route.

I think I’ll put the novel writing on hiatus until I’m unemployed at the end of May. Between trying to find another job and keeping the work I have currently, I don’t have energy to write creatively. I can write a short piece here or there (like my blogs), but the stamina to keep my concentration focused for 50,000 words or more isn’t there. I have to spend my free time sending out resumes and dealing with the rejection emails/snail mails. You think an editor’s rejection of your manuscript is bad? “Sorry, but we don’t want you to work for us,” is a lot worse, especially when your bills are due.

Lots of writers tell me this phase will pass, but I’m not so sure. It just feels like that if I give up writing fiction for a short while I’ll never return to it, and that’s tantamount to cutting out my heart. The good news is that my heart is in good hands. April may bring showers, but I’m hoping to have plenty of flowers by May when my fiancé arrives in the US. Then I’ll have another excuse for not writing—but it will be a much happier one!