Shawna Hunter's Blog - Posts Tagged "writers-life"
Ce la vie I suppose
Isn't publishing fun?
No, no publishing is probably the most brutal thing an author can go through.
Case in point. I have a 120k MASTERPIECE of a Lesbian thriller/erotica novel that I languished over for a year sitting in publisher limbo. 3 have rejected it, 2 have ghosted me. If one of those ghosts doesn't email me back by Friday I'm going to the sixth publisher to try to get that book out there.
The worst part? That book is the 7th in the Brooke's Hollow universe. It's meant to kick off a major three story arc that will fundamentally change my kinky small town and blow my readers socks off.
But, as I said, it's in publisher limbo so (like all of you) I have to wait, and wait, and wait....and I freaking HATE waiting. So to keep myself busy I've been writing other works. As I don't know what changes a publisher may make to my Brooke's Hollow book, however, I can't really start in on the planned books 8 and 9 (and, before you ask, I can't afford editing and cover art to self publish. I'm broke) so what to write?
Well first I decided to amuse myself with a silly fairy comedy story. It was envisioned as a collection of short stories but I couldn't help giving it an overarching narrative and a few week later I had a book. The best part? It got picked up by the first publisher I sent it to! That's right my actual 7th book will be the little diversion book I wrote while waiting to hear from publishers!
Sucks right? Well you know what sucks worse? This is the SECOND time this has happened! Submission Backstory was written while I was waiting to hear from publishers about Their Meddling Aunt! That's the world of publishing for you. Work hard, pour your heart and soul into something and get nowhere but pump something out in a couple weeks and oh it's great.
I mean it is great, it's actually a really fun read but it's frustrating you know?
Ah well, at least I've got another non-Brooke's Hollow standalone I'm working on while I wait for more publishers on the story I took seriously and I've got the prep work for promoting this book when its released in a few weeks. That'll keep me sane. Because I'm not giving up and if that means a bunch of shorter, fun little books in the mean time then so be it.
Fairies, Sword and Slavery adventures, hell maybe I'll write some superhero sex. Why not have some fun? While I wait to reveal a story that will take your breathe away.
No, no publishing is probably the most brutal thing an author can go through.
Case in point. I have a 120k MASTERPIECE of a Lesbian thriller/erotica novel that I languished over for a year sitting in publisher limbo. 3 have rejected it, 2 have ghosted me. If one of those ghosts doesn't email me back by Friday I'm going to the sixth publisher to try to get that book out there.
The worst part? That book is the 7th in the Brooke's Hollow universe. It's meant to kick off a major three story arc that will fundamentally change my kinky small town and blow my readers socks off.
But, as I said, it's in publisher limbo so (like all of you) I have to wait, and wait, and wait....and I freaking HATE waiting. So to keep myself busy I've been writing other works. As I don't know what changes a publisher may make to my Brooke's Hollow book, however, I can't really start in on the planned books 8 and 9 (and, before you ask, I can't afford editing and cover art to self publish. I'm broke) so what to write?
Well first I decided to amuse myself with a silly fairy comedy story. It was envisioned as a collection of short stories but I couldn't help giving it an overarching narrative and a few week later I had a book. The best part? It got picked up by the first publisher I sent it to! That's right my actual 7th book will be the little diversion book I wrote while waiting to hear from publishers!
Sucks right? Well you know what sucks worse? This is the SECOND time this has happened! Submission Backstory was written while I was waiting to hear from publishers about Their Meddling Aunt! That's the world of publishing for you. Work hard, pour your heart and soul into something and get nowhere but pump something out in a couple weeks and oh it's great.
I mean it is great, it's actually a really fun read but it's frustrating you know?
Ah well, at least I've got another non-Brooke's Hollow standalone I'm working on while I wait for more publishers on the story I took seriously and I've got the prep work for promoting this book when its released in a few weeks. That'll keep me sane. Because I'm not giving up and if that means a bunch of shorter, fun little books in the mean time then so be it.
Fairies, Sword and Slavery adventures, hell maybe I'll write some superhero sex. Why not have some fun? While I wait to reveal a story that will take your breathe away.
An erotica author's hardest task
Alright,
So I've got a real challenge ahead of me. I need to find review blogs that deal with erotica without charging a fee. I have advanced copies of Lust Fairy and I need to built buzz ahead of the Nov 7th release date BUT that buzz needs to come from reliable blogs and reviewers. So few will tough erotica, however, as if the genre were something to be ashamed of.
Wish me luck,
The hunt begins.
So I've got a real challenge ahead of me. I need to find review blogs that deal with erotica without charging a fee. I have advanced copies of Lust Fairy and I need to built buzz ahead of the Nov 7th release date BUT that buzz needs to come from reliable blogs and reviewers. So few will tough erotica, however, as if the genre were something to be ashamed of.
Wish me luck,
The hunt begins.
Zon kers
If you are from outside of the US (as I am) it may appear that many if not all of my books have vanished. They have not. They are all still available but Amazon has apparently made changes to force people to use their local amazon instead of the standard .com. What this means is that if you open my book in amazon.com and are in Canada you will be told it is unavailable. Do not fret. Just change .com to .ca and all formats/editions of the book will be available to you.
This is very frustrating and has not been made clear by Amazon. It is also, apparently, resulting in several glitches at the moment. I doubt it is a situation that will last long but I thought it best to make you all aware. I have 9 books available regardless of what my various Amazon pages say at this time.
This is very frustrating and has not been made clear by Amazon. It is also, apparently, resulting in several glitches at the moment. I doubt it is a situation that will last long but I thought it best to make you all aware. I have 9 books available regardless of what my various Amazon pages say at this time.
Owning Mistakes
Well, it's been a hot minute since I've written a blog post but that's mostly because I haven't really had much to say.
Lately I've been re-editing my last 3 books. Reviews, which I do read and appreciate, cited editing issues that had made it past the publishing process. Upon inspection there was a disconnect between myself and my new publishing company about how much editorial input the company should have. Many things I would have expected to be fixed were left in on the assumption that they were "stylistic" choices. I take responsibility for being too eager to publish and not taking the time to thoroughly triple and quadruple check.
Because of this oversight my books, although the stories are great, did not come out as strong as they should have. My readers deserve the best possible quality and so I have put my WIPs on hold to scour through my works and fix every mistake. Your emails and private messages alerting me to these errors have been invaluable and I can't thank you enough.
To that end, I finally have news! The updates to 6s and 7s and By Right of Conquest have been sent to the publisher who shares my concerns and is working hard to make the corrections and update the files across all media. A Girl Named Flower I am hard at work on and will be sent through asap.
Do not fear, however, The Kinky Destruction of Chantelle Sinclaire and Dom's Party (the next Brooke's Hollow book) are still in the works. I am not sure if I'll get either completed before 2020 but I will be damn sure that they will be of the highest quality when they are released.
Thank you all again for your kind words and patience with this process. Great, engaging and supportive readers make all the hard work and self-doubt of writing worth it and I am deeply grateful for each and every one of you.
Lately I've been re-editing my last 3 books. Reviews, which I do read and appreciate, cited editing issues that had made it past the publishing process. Upon inspection there was a disconnect between myself and my new publishing company about how much editorial input the company should have. Many things I would have expected to be fixed were left in on the assumption that they were "stylistic" choices. I take responsibility for being too eager to publish and not taking the time to thoroughly triple and quadruple check.
Because of this oversight my books, although the stories are great, did not come out as strong as they should have. My readers deserve the best possible quality and so I have put my WIPs on hold to scour through my works and fix every mistake. Your emails and private messages alerting me to these errors have been invaluable and I can't thank you enough.
To that end, I finally have news! The updates to 6s and 7s and By Right of Conquest have been sent to the publisher who shares my concerns and is working hard to make the corrections and update the files across all media. A Girl Named Flower I am hard at work on and will be sent through asap.
Do not fear, however, The Kinky Destruction of Chantelle Sinclaire and Dom's Party (the next Brooke's Hollow book) are still in the works. I am not sure if I'll get either completed before 2020 but I will be damn sure that they will be of the highest quality when they are released.
Thank you all again for your kind words and patience with this process. Great, engaging and supportive readers make all the hard work and self-doubt of writing worth it and I am deeply grateful for each and every one of you.
