eBook Reading and Writing

 Many thanks to Maya Reynolds for bringing this Detroit Free press article by Marta Salij to our attention.

For the record, romance novels (not just erotic romance) now account for 39% of all fiction sold and 55% of all mass market paperbacks sold. That’s a huge number. $1.2 billion in sales for 2004.
I know some people like to sneer at romance, but it’s hard to argue with $1.2 billion in sales.

One of the interesting things about the article was that it gave the history of the e-publisher that started the trend in erotic romance. I’ve referred to this story in the past, but it bears repeating in terms of providing inspiration.
Back in the late ’90s,

Tina Engler was a single mom of two daughters living in Tampa, Florida and trying to get a contract for her romance novels. Unfortunately, she couldn’t find a traditional publisher to buy her work because it was so explicit. Traditional publishers were convinced that women would not want to read such detailed sexual descriptions…

Has your writing been sitting on some editor’s slush pile for a year? Do you have a novel gathering dust in the drawer? Do you just know that your characters will touch the hearts of readers if you could just get their story into their hands? You are not alone.

Here’s a bit of the Detroit Free Press article…

“When people look at me, they’re stunned I write it,” Denby says. “I’m your typical, middle-aged, suburban Detroit mother-looking-type person.”

In 2001, the 40-year-old married mother of seven decided to try to write “category” romance, shorter books by Silhouette or Harlequin that come out in batches monthly. But she couldn’t nail the specific requirements of each line.

She was still writing “sweet” romances — so chaste they seldom feature a kiss until the last page — when she came across Ellora’s Cave, then a little-known online publisher of erotica that wasn’t yet recognized by the Romance Writers of America. RWA is the main organization for romance writers, with 9,500 members.

Denby read Christine Warren’s “Fantasy Fix,” a sort of bawdy “Waiting to Exhale” with vampires and bondage.

“And I thought, ‘I can do this,’ ” she says.

And how: She’s written or contributed to 15 books for Ellora’s Cave since, along with a couple for Echelon Press and a couple of more mainstream romances under the name Sydney Laine Allan…”

Looking for more information about Romance eBook publishing? Check out Realms of Love for romance author chats, Aspen Mountain Press for an awesome eBook editor and What Women Read for romance eBook news and reviews. 

The authors from Aspen Mountain Press will be chatting at Realms of Love, Monday August 28 at 9 PM Eastern/6 PM Pacific. There will be a give-away of Ingrid Darzin’s hilarious murder mystery No Crime Like The Present.

Be sure to check out Aspen Mountain Press for the latest releases by Diane Charles Linford, Jade Rivers and Laura Baumbach and more.

Other regularly scheduled chats at Realms of Love include Phaze Books, Romance Excerpts Only and Lizzie T. Leaf and Friends. Lizzie’s guest will be Jane Leopold Quinn for the September chat. Mechele Armstrong and Flesa Black will be chatting here soon.

What did Athena think of the Deadly Sins series from Changeling Press? Read all about it in the Reviews section at RoL.

Erotica: A Creative Genre Adventure

Lucynda Storey and Cher Gorman will be presenting Erotica: A Creative Genre Adventure, an hour long workshop on writing erotica. The course is a part of the Colorado Gold Writer’s Conference sponsored by Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers.Cher Gorman is a 2006 EPPIE award finalist with her debut novel, Wolf Island. Lucynda Storey has seven full length novels and two novellas published tp date. Always sensual, some are so hot they’ll “Cynge” your fingers.

The class is Sunday, September 10th beginning at 10:30 AM at The Renaissance Denver Hotel (I-70 and Quebec) in beautiful Denver, Colorado.

Realms of Love and Phaze Books are excited to announce the monthly Phaze Books Author Chat at Realms of Love.Phaze Books is a publisher of Romantic and Women’s Erotica in eBook and print. Realms of Love is a community of Romance readers and writers featuring romance reviews, news and writer chats.

The chat will be held the third Monday of every month. The inaugural chat is August 21 at 9 PM Eastern/ 6 PM Pacific.

The August chat features authors Alessia Brio, Will Belegon, Robin Slick, and Leigh Ellwood. Lucynda Storey will be the hostess for the event.

Authors Alessia Brio and Will Belegon have teamed up for the August release of Amichu, the further adventures of Mandy and Bruce. They are headed to South America for another trek into the amorously unknown.

Robin Slick’s latest is Buenos Noches, Justine, a “hilarious, sexy”story set in Buenoa Aires.

Leigh Ellwood’s current story is Dulce, about enjoying Caracas at three in the morning.

Never chatted at RoL? It’s a fun friendly group. Add in these Phaze authors and You? It’ll be even better.

Be at Realms of Love each third Monday of the month at 9 PM Eastern/ 6 PM Pacific for a real good time chatting with some great Romance Authors.

Realms of Love originally published the article Phaze Books Author Chat at Realms of Love 

Sandra, the Editor in Chief at Aspen Mountain Press, has passed along another of the articles she gives to her up and coming eBook writers. This writing tip article is about dialogue tags.

Sandra is getting a rep for being an editor who cares enough to send it back as many times as it takes to get it right. Her authors love her and the eBook stories at Aspen Mountain Press show the hard work and dedication Sandra and the authors have for their craft. 

Dialogue Tags

Long ago, when we were in elementary school we were taught how to properly write a sentence of dialogue.  Quotation marks were put at the beginning of the dialogue and when we got to the end we used a comma, end quotation marks and then we identified the speaker before putting an end mark to the whole sentence.  Our sentence of dialogue in the early stages of our writing went something like this:
“I’d like to go to the park today,” said Mary.

Later, once we had this particular form perfected we added the second speaker.  The dialogue then went something like this:

“I’d like to go to the park today,” said Mary.
“I heard it was going to rain.  I don’t think it’s a good idea,” said John.

“Rain, sprain, I want to go,” said Mary.

All in all, not bad for a third grader.  But, we are aiming for professional heights.   Identifiers are another of those special spices.  We only need them occasionally to keep track of who is speaking.  Once Mary and John have been introduced in the scene it isn’t necessary to use the identifier over and over.

When writing a scene of high emotional impact, interrupting the flow with identifiers steals a lot of energy and dilutes the impact.
There are ways to identify speakers without using ‘John said, Mary said.’  In the above example we can rewrite it to something like:

“I’d like to go to the park today,” said Mary.

“I heard it was going to rain today.”  John pushed the curtain back and looked out the window.  “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Rain, sprain, I want to go.”

We’ve identified the two speakers.  When we noted John, we gave him an action to break up the “he said, she said” type dialogue.  Without more than two speakers in the room we can easily follow the conversation.  Mary wants to go, John doesn’t.  Their dialogue will keep that argument going and we know which side each supports.  We could keep this exchange going for a time but after a while we need to break up the conversation just to keep our readers from getting lost or bored.

If we continued our chat with John and Mary we could add a bit of action.  How did Mary sound?  Whose point of view are we in?  What does the other look like to the point of view character?  What is the point of view character thinking?  Our simple dialogue could easily deepen.

“I want to go to the park,” said Mary.
“I heard it was going to rain today.”  John pushed the curtain back and looked out the window.  “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Rain, sprain, I want to go.”
John took in the frown on Mary’s face.  He’d do near anything than disappoint her, but the thought of catching a cold or being struck by lightning didn’t appeal to him either. And in Mary’s fragile condition and having just gotten over pneumonia.  No, on this he would stand his ground.  Mary was far to used to getting her way.  He turned toward her and held out his hand.  “Mary, love, there’s an excellent movie at the Mayan I’ve been wanting to take you to see.”

Relief spread through him when she stepped forward and placed her fragile hand in his.  This once, he’d succeeded.

“Really?  Oh do let’s go.  I love the movies.”

Without identifiers at all, though, we wouldn’t have any idea who was speaking, but given the attitudes and reactions of the characters in this short scene we’ve avoided many of them.  By adding internalization we’ve also learned more about the characters.  We’ve added in a tiny bit of back story without doing a history dump.  We know Mary is pregnant, had been seriously ill and has a tendency to get her way.  We could deepen this even more using John’s perspective.  Did she whine?  Retort with anger?  Sigh in disappointment?  We also know that John is not used to putting his foot down with this woman.  From the sound of it he’s a non-confrontational.  Mary probably has him tied around her fingers.  We can already see a hint of where each will have to change if the relationship is to be healthy and survive.
There is much more to dialogue than just identifiers.  Stay tuned for more hints on having your characters speak.

Homework:

Post a bit of dialogue you’ve written, then take the same dialogue and eliminate some of the identifiers.  Is it still clear who is speaking?  If not, add some action (choreography).  If necessary, add some internalization from the viewpoint character only.
 

Sandra, the Editor in Chief at Aspen Mountain Press shared this list of eBook editor pet peeves. Writer, beware!  

Editors and agents have pet peeves.  Talk to enough editors and
agents and you discover they have several pet peeves in common.

Here are a few of them:

Dirty manuscripts (for those that don’t take electronic submissions)
Wordiness
Dialogue tags
Common place dialogue that doesn’t move the story forward
Information dumps
Incorrect use of periods of elipsis
Incorrect use of dashes
Not following house guidelines for submission procedures
Submitting material that is not suitable for the house
Over-inflated self-worth in a query
Synopsis/query that is difficult to read (too small type, smudged,
etc.),
Inconsistent point of view
Backstory
Weak characterization

(more…)

Lucynda Storey posted a good article about critique groups. She has had amazing success improving her writing using critique groups. Here’s the link to Lucynda’s Blog (it’s purple) and the good advice about critique groups for eBook writers is reprinted below:

Anyone serious about writing eventually asks the question, “What is a critique group? Should I belong to one?” Critique groups have the ability to be the bane of our existence or the support we wish we’d had for our writing all along. Belonging to a critique group is powerful, no doubt about it.
A critique group is simply a gathering of writers who work together to improve their writing by offering criticism. The most effective groups have a limited number of participants and some simple rules.
Groups with five to seven participants seem to be the most effective. This allows for everyone to look over the other participants’ writing and make comments on what they’ve read. Much larger and it’s difficult to get through the work on a timely basis. Smaller groups run into problems when one participant is ill or takes a vacation. Many small groups don’t feel the time investment for two or three is worth the distance they must travel to meet face-to-face.
Not all groups physically meet. With the widespread use of chat loops such as Yahoo or SmartGroups, critiques can be done via the Internet. These groups tend to run a bit larger because members critique at their leisure.
Simple rules are necessary to ensure the success of a critique group. One basic rule common to many groups is setting a minimum/maximum page count to critique. Most groups don’t go lower than a five-page minimum and others set a maximum at twenty. Each critique group has to experiment and see what best fits the individuals of the group and the time constraints.
Many groups operate under the rule of “get one, give one” critiques. If you put a twenty-page chapter into a group for critique and you get four writers to comment on your work, be prepared to do four different twenty-page critiques in return.
Time allotment is another rule successful critique groups work with. Many set aside the first fifteen to thirty minutes to catch up on one another’s family news. Often a group will divide the amount of time set aside by the number of critiquers present. Others have discovered adjusting the page maximum takes care of time restrictions.
Other guidelines and patterns that vary from group to group include: reading aloud; selection of meeting place; periodic retreats; and brainstorming sessions.
Yet, the question remains, should you belong to a critique group? In order to decide if a group is a good fit for you, you need to examine a few things in your life. Can you commit to the time needed to be a valuable critique group member? In addition to meeting time, many groups send the work to be critiqued via e-mail. Are you capable of using your computer to track changes, make comments and return critiques?
Can you take the heat? Often critiques bruise our egos. We don’t like to hear/see we’ve used a word wrong, don’t have the proper tense for our words, or be accused of head hopping. It stings when you realize your baby isn’t so perfect after all.
Are you capable of leaving personal feelings out of the work you critique? Members of a critique group are diverse. Diversity can be a strength and a weakness depending on how you take the genres others write. It’s possible to have a romantic suspense author, an erotica author, and a historical author all in the same group. Just because another writer’s stories are different than yours is not a reason to go on the attack and tear the story apart. The only legitimate critique is one where the giver is helping the wordsmith hone their craft.
Leaving a critique group can be much like going through a divorce. The people in your group have gotten to know you and your writing quite intimately. Select a group with care. Attend a few sessions on a trial basis before you commit yourself “to critique or not to critique.”
Note: I am involved in three critique groups. One meets weekly, another monthly, and another is strictly via the Internet. Feel free to contact me with your questions.

You can catch Cyn at Realms of Love and on her Yahoo Loop. Read news about Lucynda Storey’s eBook release Refugee, the follow up to Simply Irresistible at What Women Read.  

Ciar Cullen wrote an interesting post about author loops a while back.

Frankly, I don’t get eBook author loops. I receive several in digest and there is so much “me too” and “Good Morning” that going through the digests is tedious at best.

Are there any good loops out there? Does anyone avoid the annoying behavior that Ciar Cullen peeves about?

Here are Ciar Cullen’s peeves about author loops:

1. My pet peeve: “I want _________, you can’t have him.” Fill in name of fictional hero in the blank. This can go on for a day or more. Annoying. Adolescent. Hate it.
2. One of us hates the short phrase battle: “Did too.” “Did not.” “Uh huh.” “Hot.” If I weren’t on ‘no mail’ I’d kill over that.
3. The writers who host contests in which everyone posts a number. More than once. Bad idea. Honestly.
4. The writers congratulating each other (yes, I’ll probably continue to do this). Cassandra Kane pointed out that writers generally feel an obligation to not look like bitches to the readers, and one way they can do that is be nice. Truthfully, except for a few good friends or someone new who’s struggling with a first release or something, I’m not internalizing someone else’s review or news. Example: I really like Michelle Pillow’s books. They’re right up my alley. She’s pretty much guaranteed to get good reviews. When that happens, do I need to write “nice job!” Does she have a database in which she enters responses to her good news? Unlikely. Would she hate me if I didn’t respond? Probably not. Would she notice? Hell no. Cassandra had a good idea—if you’re really happy for someone, write them an email. What a novel idea. Probably won’t do it.
5. Someone really hated the xposting of personal sagas. That doesn’t bother me much—folks do what they need to do. When I had something going on at home, the good wishes of loopmates helped me a lot. Birthday wishes don’t bother me either. Cards and money are better of course.
6. Here’s one that really gets to me: The self-appointed expert. The moderator (who isn’t the actual moderator). You know her (there are several of hers). They know about grammar, genres, agents, print publishing, epublishing, the cure for cancer, how to achieve world peace, and where Osama Bin Laden is hiding out. They do everything right, they never do anything wrong. And they have LOTS of pet peeves. I’m sure I’m giving them fodder here.
   

Came across a relatively new review site: Two Lips Reviews. I like their style. They have an interview with Emma Wildes this month. Here are some of the highlights:

Your writing seems to gradually become more and more risqué – what kinds of future naughtiness can your readers expect? 

 Ah, well, that’s quite a question Uhm, well, I’ve always had this harem girl fantasy …and lo and behold, Lord Robert Grayson just happened to be stopping by Northern Africa when the daughter of a powerful duke was up for sale…Arabian Pearl, which is the first book in the Brothers of the Absinthe Club, due out next year from Siren Publishing, is pretty darned naughty. When there is nothing to do but have sex…and you are even obligated to have sex or insult your host, the Sultan, you can get quite inventive.  

9.      Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?    

You simply have to be persistent. It sounds trite, but no one will come looking for the manuscript locked in your drawer, or stuck in a file on your computer. It is also important to listen to every bit of advice that comes your way. You don’t have to take it, but you should consider it. Confidence is necessary. Arrogance is self-defeating…

Paperback Writer has some very interesting blog posts. PBW regularly challenges readers to take specific action to become better writers. There are some great links to writer tips and tools on this blog too. The latest is an eBook Challenge 

From http://pbackwriter.blogspot.com

“However you feel about e-books, I think they can be great marketing tools for writers. I discovered that writing and self-publishing original stories, novellas and novels on my old web site was an effective way to give something back to my loyal readers. It also allowed the curious but unconvinced to sample my work without having to plunk down $6.99 or $22.95 upfront….

I’m also challenging all you writers out there to do the same: write and publish a new short story, novellette, novella, or novel of your own in e-book form* and post it for download on your weblog, web site, or any host site on October 31, 2006. I’m using Adobe .pdf format because that’s what I’ve always used. You’re free to use alternate formats, but I’d go with something that allows everyone to read it. Your e-book can also be any length and any genre; the only requirement is that you provide free access to it (it doesn’t have to be a permanent addition to your weblog; if you have file storage issues I suggest leaving it up for a week or two.)

What you get in return: When Halloween arrives I will post a list of links here on PBW to the e-books of everyone who completes the challenge. I will also pick twenty e-books at random from all those who participate in the challenge and give the authors a private critique of their work via e-mail (so if you ever wanted me to read something of yours, this would be a definite shot.)”
 

Wow! A link on a hot blog and the chance at a critique, all for finishing a story and giving it away free. Sounds like an opportunity to me.

Need a place to make your free story available for download? email thunder over at Realms of Love, he’s got bandwidth to burn.