Check it out: my new post at the fantastic WriteSex site just went up. Here's a tease (for the rest you'll have to go to the site):
There’s no doubt about it, things are really tough right now: aside from the depression/recession that seems to be killing publishers daily—and making life even harder for writers—there’s the too-often- painful transition from print to digital books, and the problem of getting yourself heard in a world full of other authors screaming for attention.
So it’s only natural that writers would feel a lot of pressure to write books and stories to fit what they think is the flavor-of-the-moment, to work only to spec.
So, should you do it? In my opinion the answer is a definitive, absolute, certain … kind of.
Before getting too far into it, I should back up a tiny bit and say that stories are very different—no duh—critters than novels. Aside from the obvious length thing, the big difference between the two is that with stories getting the out into the world usually depends on if you’re writing for a specific anthology, Web site, and such. If that’s the case then, absolutely, you should work to try and meet the guidelines set by the publisher or editor.
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4 comments:
I followed the link and read the article. I remember reading this in your book "How To Write and Sell Erotica." The thing that hit home the most (to me, anyway) in this article were your statements about trying to write to "the flavor of the day." I'm new to writing stories with erotic elements. Well, I guess I shouldn't say I'm new. I've done it all my life, but just recently realized it was okay, and that there is a market for it. Anyway, I fell into the trap of trying to write shorter and shorter works I thought the buying public would want, and with each story, I found myself getting lost just a little more. thanks to your articles, and your informative and motivating book, I'm now going back to writing stories for the joy of it rather than the money.
Mr Ellison, your comments struck a responsive chord with me. Your statement about just recently realizing that it was okay to write erotica is what has happened to me. I've dabbled and written stories for years that I've only shared with a few of my closest friends, who also share my decadent tastes. But now...now I come to learn that there is a brave new world out there of others like me. It is my hope to one day join the ranks of published authors such as yourself.
Mr. Ellison, thanks for posting your comment because I too have just now come to realize that it's Ok to write erotica. Hopefully, very soon I will be able to join the ranks of published authors such as yourself.
WOW -- thanks so much for your comments. I can't begin to tell you how much it means to me that you liked the column and the book! Writing, far too often, can be a very lonely thing -- which is why I appreciate people leaving comments.
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