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A New Year - GOODBYE 2013
Jan. 1st, 2014 08:18 pmGreetings folks. So another year is gone. Wha? Are you kidding me? I really cannot believe that 2013 is gone but hey, its 2014 so let's go!
Anyways, what did I manage to accomplish? I released 18 books, only two were novels. I also did a couple of shorts for anthologies too. What I noticed when I did my video for covers only 3 were released through pubs. A Special After Christmas Gift, Queer Fables, and Candyman. That brings me to my goal of subbing to other pubs. I was supposed to do 10. :/ I only subbed 3 and just one was a new pub I haven't been pubbed by. So that one still stands. The breakdown is 5 from Michael, 3 from Rawiya, and 2 from BL.
Writing wise I passed my 500k goal. Just barely too. 501K plus and only because I suffered writer's block in December. I didn't really think it could happen to me but after finishing I Love it Rough I did. My brain was exhausted, I was stressed from the EDJ and Christmas and it sent the muses into hiding. For nearly 2 weeks I didn't write anything. *grimaces* I started a short on 12/30 just to get out the kinks and I hope that works since I have a few things I want to write this month. Mainly some revisions and rewrites. There are stories that need to be revised for me to submit in the coming months. And I have some new stories I'd like to write this year.
I'll continue to write the Wretched for BL since its gaining some popularity. Someone asked me today when I was continuing. ;D Made me pretty happy. Also, edits on I Love it Rough this month for the 2/17 release. I have the twins story and I'd like to do a baseball anthology between the muses.
This year the writing goal is 325k. Why? Well, I figured 11 months at 25k a month = 275k plus Nano at 50k. That gives me more time to edit, revise, read, learn, research and promo. I'm pretty sure I'll pass that easily with the novels I have planned but I left it low so the daily pressure wouldn't be so high.
We shall see what happens especially when my 4th muse begins writing. I'm looking forward to the challenges and the new year.
Anyways, what did I manage to accomplish? I released 18 books, only two were novels. I also did a couple of shorts for anthologies too. What I noticed when I did my video for covers only 3 were released through pubs. A Special After Christmas Gift, Queer Fables, and Candyman. That brings me to my goal of subbing to other pubs. I was supposed to do 10. :/ I only subbed 3 and just one was a new pub I haven't been pubbed by. So that one still stands. The breakdown is 5 from Michael, 3 from Rawiya, and 2 from BL.
Writing wise I passed my 500k goal. Just barely too. 501K plus and only because I suffered writer's block in December. I didn't really think it could happen to me but after finishing I Love it Rough I did. My brain was exhausted, I was stressed from the EDJ and Christmas and it sent the muses into hiding. For nearly 2 weeks I didn't write anything. *grimaces* I started a short on 12/30 just to get out the kinks and I hope that works since I have a few things I want to write this month. Mainly some revisions and rewrites. There are stories that need to be revised for me to submit in the coming months. And I have some new stories I'd like to write this year.
I'll continue to write the Wretched for BL since its gaining some popularity. Someone asked me today when I was continuing. ;D Made me pretty happy. Also, edits on I Love it Rough this month for the 2/17 release. I have the twins story and I'd like to do a baseball anthology between the muses.
This year the writing goal is 325k. Why? Well, I figured 11 months at 25k a month = 275k plus Nano at 50k. That gives me more time to edit, revise, read, learn, research and promo. I'm pretty sure I'll pass that easily with the novels I have planned but I left it low so the daily pressure wouldn't be so high.
We shall see what happens especially when my 4th muse begins writing. I'm looking forward to the challenges and the new year.
Tags:
Wow! I haven't posted since my birthday? Damn...
Sorry!
I've been very active on the promo and blogging and of course writing but I'm taking a break to do edits on old stories and finish some that have yet to be done! Let's see if I can do the last 4 months in this post!
RELEASES: Vertigo in Jan, You Don't Ask and Time to Make the Donuts in Feb, Under the Gun in March, and Living in the Now in April.
CONTRACTS: 1 for a short in th Its Raining Men anthology
Accomplishments: Top 10 selling author at Rebel Ink for BL, Best erotica author at XOXO for Michael Mandrake in 2011
Books to come: Smooth Like Latte Rawiya May 2012 NNP
Losing My Inhibitions BL het June 2012 Rebel
Candyman BL August 2012 NNP
Sugar Daddy Rawiya Oct/Nov 2012 NNP
True Meaning 2 Michael M ???? XOXO
Self Pub project Dec 2012
Writing: 168K so far this year and counting. The goal is 480K. I think I'll pas that easily even without NANO
Edits: Vertigo 2, My Lieutenant 2, Lessons in Ink, African Sun
Finishing: Closely Guarded, Trois in Treble (Revise), Wild Horses
Series: You Don't Ask, Hardy and Day Under the Gun, Something New on the Menu
I think that about covers it! I have more book on the docket as well that I''ll start later. This year has been all about learning and perfecting the craft. Okay it will never be perfect, lets just say getting better! I need to remember to check in for ANYONE who was reading. If you were, thanks for being patient!
Eureka! Finding the Voice - Update
Jul. 18th, 2011 08:01 amGreetings fans!
Welcome to Taboos and perversions and um, I'm really excited about my revelation this week.
Wow, took me forever to discover it.
*bangs head on a desk*
Anyway, having 3 pseudonyms its hard to keep up with voices or styles. I'll be blogging about this somewhere this week. Forgive me, I did 6 yesterday so I cannot recall which one it went to. 0.o
Just keep up with me on Literary Triad or Twitter and you'll see.
anyways, yeah so, as me and the Wicked gal were working on You Don't Ask i figured out what all 3 of them like to write as well as their voices.
Do you recall a post I did sometime ago about splitting them up as far as genre?
Well, just throw that out. Its one of the fab things about being a writer is you discover more about yourself and your craft and since I have 3 personalities, I need to find the correct styles for all 3.
Now, Michael first - Michael is my gay man, loves doing stories about manlove right? As do the others. However, my gay man will only do tales where the men are already comfortable being gay. they are looking for that special someone and well the voice? Michael is eloquent, long winded, has a dry sense of humor.
Rawiya Also loves gay male fiction/romance will do MMF, hetero as well. She is my more sensual voice, might spend a bit more time with the characters in the bedroom. The way she speaks is more romance novel like. I discovered this while writing her most recent stories, lessons in Ink and the new subcall story Perfect Day. Rawiya also like stories where the men in her tales are still unsure and part of their tension is finally discovering themselves and how much they love one another. She loves that struggle
BL she does everything with humor as you know. She'll also tackle anything, more so than Rawiya. Her voice is a lot more of the wham bam type. Some rough sex with bondage or control element. Some sensuality but more of the extreme goes into the types she writes.
Now, all will use the styles if the characters and or story ask for it. For example, in A Second Chance by MM, his character Daniel Declerc is a smart ass.More of a BL character but it fit the tone of the story and brought it to life.
In AS, Michael gets more sensual for his love scenes, using Rawiyas style because it is an erotica romance.
Get it?
LOL I know, its hilarious but I feel this is what will help me when I submit as well as what subcalls or storylines appeal to me. Now I truly know which one will write what but there will always be a little bit of all in each one if necessary.
****
UPDATE
Oh yeah, recall the order of priority I put up last week. *throws paper behind back* Scrap that
Here is the one that should stick!
You Dont Ask/BL - 20K in, EEK almost done. Should be done today and will be in edits the rest of the wk b4 it goes to the publisher I have written 12k on this story since last Tuesday
Lessons in Ink/Rawiya - Next to be finished. 2 more parts to write then edits
Trois/Rawiya Real close but I have changes to make. so I'm making this 3rd
True Meaning 2/MM Not nearly done but I feel I should get it done by mid august
Taming Wild Horses/MM About 10k in.
Sugar Daddy/Rawiya Just sent the Synopsis for this to my publisher. One of them anyway. We'll see if she'll like the idea
Closely Guarded/MM You recall this was supposed to be for a call. Wont wk! I wont make it. More writing to be done and I need to really focus on this one.
AS/MM 30k in. I see it at halfway. I havent worked in it in a while. I do plan to get back to it this week.
Mi Familia/MM 20k in. I do see this close to halfway done. I wk on this weekly since its followed on my blog and on Gaydemon and Literotica
Alrighty then...so...there you have it! I have also figured I wont be doing this again. To keep the voices st8, I just cant have this much going on at once. If I have 3 MM stories, meaning Michael going on, I really cant work on the others effectively.
Thanks for listening to my rambles!
Welcome to Taboos and perversions and um, I'm really excited about my revelation this week.
Wow, took me forever to discover it.
*bangs head on a desk*
Anyway, having 3 pseudonyms its hard to keep up with voices or styles. I'll be blogging about this somewhere this week. Forgive me, I did 6 yesterday so I cannot recall which one it went to. 0.o
Just keep up with me on Literary Triad or Twitter and you'll see.
anyways, yeah so, as me and the Wicked gal were working on You Don't Ask i figured out what all 3 of them like to write as well as their voices.
Do you recall a post I did sometime ago about splitting them up as far as genre?
Well, just throw that out. Its one of the fab things about being a writer is you discover more about yourself and your craft and since I have 3 personalities, I need to find the correct styles for all 3.
Now, Michael first - Michael is my gay man, loves doing stories about manlove right? As do the others. However, my gay man will only do tales where the men are already comfortable being gay. they are looking for that special someone and well the voice? Michael is eloquent, long winded, has a dry sense of humor.
Rawiya Also loves gay male fiction/romance will do MMF, hetero as well. She is my more sensual voice, might spend a bit more time with the characters in the bedroom. The way she speaks is more romance novel like. I discovered this while writing her most recent stories, lessons in Ink and the new subcall story Perfect Day. Rawiya also like stories where the men in her tales are still unsure and part of their tension is finally discovering themselves and how much they love one another. She loves that struggle
BL she does everything with humor as you know. She'll also tackle anything, more so than Rawiya. Her voice is a lot more of the wham bam type. Some rough sex with bondage or control element. Some sensuality but more of the extreme goes into the types she writes.
Now, all will use the styles if the characters and or story ask for it. For example, in A Second Chance by MM, his character Daniel Declerc is a smart ass.More of a BL character but it fit the tone of the story and brought it to life.
In AS, Michael gets more sensual for his love scenes, using Rawiyas style because it is an erotica romance.
Get it?
LOL I know, its hilarious but I feel this is what will help me when I submit as well as what subcalls or storylines appeal to me. Now I truly know which one will write what but there will always be a little bit of all in each one if necessary.
****
UPDATE
Oh yeah, recall the order of priority I put up last week. *throws paper behind back* Scrap that
Here is the one that should stick!
You Dont Ask/BL - 20K in, EEK almost done. Should be done today and will be in edits the rest of the wk b4 it goes to the publisher I have written 12k on this story since last Tuesday
Lessons in Ink/Rawiya - Next to be finished. 2 more parts to write then edits
Trois/Rawiya Real close but I have changes to make. so I'm making this 3rd
True Meaning 2/MM Not nearly done but I feel I should get it done by mid august
Taming Wild Horses/MM About 10k in.
Sugar Daddy/Rawiya Just sent the Synopsis for this to my publisher. One of them anyway. We'll see if she'll like the idea
Closely Guarded/MM You recall this was supposed to be for a call. Wont wk! I wont make it. More writing to be done and I need to really focus on this one.
AS/MM 30k in. I see it at halfway. I havent worked in it in a while. I do plan to get back to it this week.
Mi Familia/MM 20k in. I do see this close to halfway done. I wk on this weekly since its followed on my blog and on Gaydemon and Literotica
Alrighty then...so...there you have it! I have also figured I wont be doing this again. To keep the voices st8, I just cant have this much going on at once. If I have 3 MM stories, meaning Michael going on, I really cant work on the others effectively.
Thanks for listening to my rambles!
Hello!
I always have a pic to go along with my thoughts and since I really could not find one, I settled on my man, David Taylor.
Okay, enough about him, what is my latest revelation on this long journey to being good writer?
Well, its a multitude of things that I do to drive my fave editor crazy but the biggest things is writing a fiction story like a play. :P
What does that mean? Well, telling the reader every little thing that happens and not focusing on the emotions and of the characters. Do you really need to know the actual steps of Sire and him hobbling grabbing his cane? No, you can assume that because hes crippled and esp if Ive mentioned it once, that yes, he needs a walking stick.
(Sire is from Binding Justice)
When did I discover this?
Getting my edits back from my fave editor and him telling me, I don't need as much backstory as I need you conveying your characters emotions and the actual action in the story. VERY TRUE
Show me, dont tell me! His hands reaching for Sire, his cock stiffening the moment Sire returned the kiss. ETC.
Why the hell am I guilty of this? Not sure. I think I had this grasped when I wrote in first person and making the transition to third had been more difficult because I, as the author, want the reader to be informed. However, all the useless shit is not needed. Some back story is good but not every single stinking detail.
Thats the main one but another is, not keeping an accurate number on words in chapters. They should be somewhat uniform. He says 3k on each and with the help of another fellow author, I discovered my transitions between chapters aren't all that smooth. She said, to keep the continuous flow going and not have such a hard beginning to the next chapter. She also said the same as my editor said, too much telling instead of showing.
So kids, what have I learned? All the above of course and I know I can only get better. Its the reason why I believe taking a fiction writing class would be beneficial. I'm also grabbing a book today by my ed's good friend and fellow author, M Christian, How to Write Erotica.
You may ask, why am I doing this? Well, because I want my books to be better and for my editors to have less work. This will not only help me in the long run but when I do venture to self-pub which I will do in the next 2 years., I want to write the best books I can.
The plan is to enhance my style and not lose it. Being published is a big deal but as writers, in order to sell books we must strive to get better.
I also plan to read a lot more which Ive done. I finished one fellow authors bk this weekend and started another that I should be done with today. I don't plan to write till late tonight or early morn, tomorrow because I have some FF biz to take care of!
;) Alright, thats it.. thanks for listening!
****
Update
Binding Justice was edited and sent back. Had fellow author take a look she left lots of comments after I wk on it for fave editor. Hopefully we shall have a date soon.
WIP's
Vertigo (Two parts done, about to start the third on Wed)
African Sun (Keeps going)
My Lieutenant (Looking to finished by End of week)
Trois (Giving it a rest)
Mi Familia (Time to get them into adulthood)
Lessons in Ink (Stopped for a moment)
A Second Chance (For main publisher, expanding story for sole author book)
A Second Chance (For main publisher, expanding story for sole author book)
Let me know your thoughts and Thank you.
;)
Welcome to another weekly update at Taboos which is filled with my weekly revelations. As I make the journey from hobby writer to fanfic writer to author to good author to erm hopefully, so damn good at it I have fans! ;)
I have a couple but...
So, on this path where am I? I'm at author... :0
Now , you might say, why do I not consider myself a good author yet? Well, for one, I haven't put out enough meaty material. Meaning, novels. as you know, they are in the works!
Two, In my estimation, there is still more work to be done on putting together plots and organizing them along with the characters. No, that doesn't mean i'll get away from my style, which is "flying by the seat of my pants" but, I do need to begin defining the character roles and traits as to how they fit with the plot. And not just with novel works, with every work.
Lastly, and most importantly, finding the right place for the Triad, meaning, let them do a genre and stick with it.
Why you ask? Well, I thought I had their styles down but apparently I don't...
When a good friend and fellow author read one of my stories, Sweetest Taboo, she told me that we really didn't know enough about all the characters. That the scenes were too short and the chapters needed to be longer.
When seeing her email, I could conclude she was right. this may sound weird to you but all of the muses do have a style that they define their own and even though they are all in my head, they are starting to get mixed up, particularly, Michael and Rawiya who cross genres and really, I'd like them to stick with one and make their names that way. BL will cross genres because she will do more of the "wicked" stuff. More BDSM, some f/f, things that have you hot and bothered in a bad way...*laughs*
Michael should be the gay man, only doing gay male stories. He can be eloquent or down to earth. Writing like a man. Guys like it to the point
Rawiya should be doing M/f or M/M/F or M/F/M, anything involving the female more fem, more down to earth, a little humor but definitely writing like a woman. We like it to be visual, more backstory
BL, as I stated, will do the wicked which means she can do any. Things with bdsm, toys, voyerism, etc... Her style? More snarky...she is the bad ass. Going where the other two rarely go.
I recall this post where I defined them. Feeling Multiple and find that I've gotten away from where thy are supposed to be.
Michael is on track. AS is a perfect balance of eloquence and down to earth. The hetero sex is pretty good and lately, the story has taking a gay turn, so he feels comfy.
Bl is finding hers. the stories that beg for her to write them, speak to her. We just wrote a tale about a woman with a strap on. Came out really well.
Rawiya seems to be the one that is still finding herself. She's starting to write like Michael (evidenced in Sweetest and Trois) The "womanly" way of making the characters feel and love is not quite showing through. I need more of that and hope to get that back soon.
So, what's my conclusion? Define my muses and stick with their styles. The problem with having multiple pseudos is mixing them up and when you have this, you lose your readers. I mean, everyone wants to try new things but, in reality, in order to keep a fanbase, you need to stick to what you works best and is proper for you. Since my muses are two girls and a guy, I'd like to keep them defined and separate. Not only that, It will make it easier for the publishers I work with as I submit more of my work.
What happens to my work, you ask? Well, I finish what I have but I think Masquerade, for one, needs to be written in Michaels tone. So, I'll be redoing it. Of course, Michael will finish AS but it will be his first and last hetero. Rawiya will write her last 2 gay stories. The long versions of Sugar Daddy and That Thing that were recently accepted by STARbooks.
This, I feel, will be the best way to not get them mixed up anymore and it will be easier to tell the tone in the story as well as satisfy my readers...
*****
Updates
I'm still on the last WIP's but I did revise 3 shorts to be subbed to my main publisher. They'll be going out today.
WIPS
My Lieutenant
Lessons In Ink
Trois
African Sun
Mi Familia
Vertigo
This week, I'll be working hard on Vertigo, My Lieutenant, and be turning over Lessons in Ink to Michael.
Once I finish these, I'll be working on Sweetest and Trois
Mi Familia is going real well. Its getting readers at all locations. Most feedback coming from Gay Demon and Literotica
I'll continue on African Sun and since its with my fave editor, it has to stay in Michael's name because that is the only pseudo he is working with.
My goals are to have all the above except AS and Mi Familia done by the end of the month.
The fan fic muse is alive and well. I just finished one and I aim to do another before weeks end.
Well, that's all for now. Hope you got the gist of what I was saying. Being a writer you must find yourself and your niche.
I hope to get this straight as I continue the journey to being a successful author.
