writing – Behind Closed Doors

#Reblog: Get Your Fingers Out of Your Ears and Listen Up! from @mtnmoxiegirl

The following is a portion of a blog that needs to go VIRAL. Much too often Indie and self published authors get accused of publishing poorly edited books. Either they didn’t bother to get an editor or thought their best friend from middle school could handle the job since they got all A’s in English back then. Well, news flash! That sort of thinking won’t cut it in this business. If you want to be taken seriously, you have to invest in yourself and in your work. Finding an experienced editor in your genre is a MUST. If you end up with one you clash with, then maybe you need to search for another. You need one who will be tough, but fair and help you put your best work out there. I did a blog post about it on Writer’s Words of Wisdom a few weeks ago. Click HERE to read that.

Today’s reblog is from Amber Lea Easton’s Kisses, Caresses and Whispers in the Night. Read it and take the advice to heart. Bad or self editing will earn you a horrible reputation as a writer. Great editing will teach you so much more than you ever thought you knew about your book, writing in general and yourself. What have you got to lose besides sales of your books?

~Tammy

Get Your Fingers Out of Your Ears and Listen Up!

In addition to being an author, I’m also an editor. I’ve heard it all or so it seems. Lately, I’ve been involved with some aspiring authors, though, who are astounding me with their inability to accept feedback of any kind. During the past few weeks, I’ve heard comments like “grammar doesn’t apply to fiction writing”…”I never listen to feedback, it’s my story and I’ll do with it as I please”…”that’s just your opinion” (yes, it is, but it’s based on a successful track record and years of experience)…”no one can tell me how to write”…”I’m self-published so am an expert in publishing”…”feedback is for the insecure.”
Nah-nah-nah-nah! It’s like dealing with pouting toddlers!

Well, I can’t listen anymore. I started out as a journalist too many years ago to admit. I had editors who would scream–literally scream with their faces turning red and veins bursting at their necks–and I knew I had to take it because I was paying my dues. At the television station I worked for, our news editor kicked a trash can across the room at least once a day. Did any of us dare utter any of the phrases above? Hell, no! Guess what? I learned along the way. I didn’t know it all.

For more of this blog click HERE

REVISITING Common Sense Etiquette Rules for Guest Appearances on Blogs

As you can guess from the title of today’s post, I’ve run across even more instances where authors are behaving badly. In some cases it’s not intentional. Life definitely does get in the way at times and destroys our carefully plotted out schedules, but other times…well, there is just no excuse for rude, inconsiderate behavior. One of my biggest pet peeves since I’ve entered into the publishing world and the vast blogosphere is how some folks handle guest appearances on another blog.

One would think that if an author requests a spot they would have visited the blog/website and see if they would be a good fit there BEFORE they request and secure a date. Well, this has become a HUGE problem as of late with a few of my adult blogs and even my PG rated ones. It looks like what’s happening is that a potential guest sees a posting somewhere that another author/blogger has openings for guest spots. Instead of checking out the site first, they immediately sign up for their preferred dates only to check out the site much later. This is usually around the time the the deadline for turning in their materials is at hand. NOW they decide they are uncomfortable with the rest of the subject matter on the blog in question.

Sending an email to the blog owner a day or two before your post is to go live after you’ve had TWO MONTHS to figure it all out really doesn’t put you in a very good light. I’m not upset that you don’t want to be associated with erotica or erotic romances. I’m a bit miffed that you waited so long to figure it out when all the guidelines are clearly posted on the blogs and the email sent to you clarifying the dates explained in great detail what is expected of a guest on my blogs. One of my adult sites is booked two to three months in advance, with a list of those willing to take any spot that suddenly opens. It’s not only a little rude to me and my fellow blog owners to take a spot that you really shouldn’t have, but it’s disrespectful to the others waiting patiently for their turn.

As one of my fellow Siren authors has said on many occasions, “You are not a special snowflake.” ~Tyber Dalton

None of us are. We all have real life intruding on our writing schedules, juggle evil day jobs, families, and households to run and still have to find time to put together our own blog posts before setting up the guest spots. That’s why we write the guidelines to help all parties involved put out the best post we can together. The whole point of offering our blogs up to other authors is to HELP them promote themselves and their work. An added bonus is that it brings more traffic to our pages and both of us gain new fans and friends.

So why on earth would you want to mess that up by not doing your homework first?

I’m not picking on those authors who don’t write erotica or erotic romance by any means. I’ve had problems with those in the “non erotic” genres actually request to be on my adult blogs because a) they liked the names of those blogs better than the PG ones, b) they want to appeal to a more adult crowd even though their books are clearly for the young adult crowd, or c) they WANT to be associated with the “cool” crowd and say their books are erotic and really they aren’t even close. As you can guess, the last excuse really burns my britches.

If you want to write erotica an erotic romance then Do. It. Stop trying to turn your book with one or two barely sensual scenes into something it’s not. If you want the label, you better add the heat or you will be laughed at by readers who are looking for the explicit details you’ve left to the imagination. The same can be said for readers who want to feel all risque and tell folks they are reading erotica when in actuality they wouldn’t be able to finish the first chapters of many of the best selling erotic romance authors out there…the REAL ones who have many, many books under their belts. Those who’ve earned those labels and didn’t have them handed to them by the media.

Back to the topic at hand…

Do yourself a favor. The next time you see a posting somewhere about available guest spots, take the few extra moments to visit the blog and read through it. Take a look at several of the posts there to get an idea what is expected of you. If the guidelines say “No straight promo,” then by golly be sure you send them more than just promotional materials for your new release. If you’re unclear of what you need to do, ASK before you finalize any dates. If you can’t figure it out from the guidelines, the posts of other guests and repeated emails from the blog host, then you should graciously back out and give the spot up to someone who can figure it out.

Meet all deadlines. If you have a problem and are unable to get your post to the host on time, then let them know. You can be rescheduled for a more convenient time for both of you. Don’t leave the blog owner with an empty spot when they were counting on you to fill it.

Don’t be a DIVA! You are the one who asked for a spot on the blog. It doesn’t matter to me or anyone else that you have 17 books published since 1985 if you can’t follow simple, detailed instructions. We are not forcing you to be a guest on our sites. If you don’t wish to be, then don’t ask in the first place. You are not doing anyone any favors by acting as if you are the one being inconvenienced. Oh and you might not want to slam your perspective host’s genre by calling it “blatant porn.” That’s just a tad tacky. LOL!

Lighten up! Have fun with guest spots on other blogs and in turn invite them to be guests on yours. We need to bond together more instead of tear each other down. I’m guilty of it from time to time as well. Let’s all promise to move forward and lift each other up instead of tear each other down.

Who’s with me?

~Tammy

@DianeRinella and Her #MatchMaker Site for #Authors and #Bloggers

Hello my lovelies! I’m excited to announce a brand new site set up by author Diane Rinella. It’s sort of like an match maker site where authors and bloggers can post a little bit about themselves and their work and let folks know what books they write or are willing to review. It’s a way for people to set up blog tours and guest spots between authors and bloggers who have the same interests.

As someone who writes erotica and erotic romance, most of my blog space has been devoted to the adult genres. Unfortunately there have been a few authors who’ve signed up for spots on one or more of my adult blogs, only to back out at the last minute because they’re uncomfortable being associated with the more adult themes. Well, just having very specific and explicit guidelines posted on my blogs hasn’t been enough to stop this sort of thing. I’ve even had people outright accuse me of not informing them of the adult content on my blogs.

Yes. You read that right. I was just as shocked as you are now. I’m not sure how much more I can do to avoid issues like that, but Diane’s site is definitely a helping hand. She set up an event on Facebook where she talks about what information she needs from authors and bloggers wishing to be listed on her site, Author and Blogger Exchange.

Authors? Look at the top of my site in the menu tabs. See the one marked NOVELS OF THE NOW AND FOREVER SERIES? If you click on that, it will take you to the page I set up to get summaries of the first two books of that series and in addition, I’ve included links to the first chapter of each book. Only through those links can you access those chapters. Now if a perspective blogger/reviewer is interested, they click on those links to investigate a bit further. If they are sure they want to read the book in exchange for a review, or would like to invite me to share my book and my work on their blog, then they send me and email. It’s that simple.

I can search for bloggers and reviewers on Diane’s site too. It makes things a hell of a lot easier and there aren’t any misunderstandings. We start off on the same page right from the start.

So go ahead and check out the Facebook page and the Author and Blogger Exchange. You’ll be glad you did!

~Tammy

Dealing With A Bit of Writer’s Block…or am I?

I’ve been having a bit of a time getting back to work on the Now and Forever series. At first look it would seem that I have writer’s block, but that’s not entirely true. I think what’s happening is that I have so many different stories flying around in my brain and so many different characters demanding to be heard, that I’m on sensory overload.

How do other authors do it? How do they handle all of their real life responsibilities and still manage to crank out a book every few months or less? I don’t want to go a year between books, but at this rate, that’s what’s going to happen. Now magnify it all by three and you have my world. Why? I have three pen names now and multiple works in progress (WIPs) with each one of them. There isn’t enough time in the day for me to get all of that done and work on myself.

I’ve let my health slide in the middle of all of this and it’s set me so far behind on things, some of which I’m extremely embarrassed about. I still have to send out all of the prize packages to the winners of the various blog hops and contests I did over December and there is one winner who won during last year’s Easter Hop who still hasn’t received her handcrafted rabbits. I’ve had to make those bunnies four times now and so far I’ve kept the last group hidden from the prying eyes of little nieces who I can never say no to.

To make it up to this wonderfully patient winner (Jean P. this is about you!), I’ve made a few extra goodies to go along with her prize package as well has the paperback versions of all of my books. Just the ones so far? Yep and all the ones in this series as well as the poetry. She deserves it. Not only has she been so patient while I’ve muddled through all of my personal issues, she continues to join in on all of the hops and post. This is the only way I know how to thank her.

I’m thinking that I just have to schedule specific time for my writing and stick to that schedule even if it means getting up before dawn. Many of you know I am not a morning person and would prefer to sleep in and stay up until the wee hours of the morning. Unfortunately, that is getting me nowhere fast. I have to make changes in order for this all to work AND for me to realize my dream of running my own publishing house…Sassy Vixen Publishing.

Well, I had better be off and get some sleep. Tomorrow starts the new schedule. It’s more than a bit scary, but exciting too. My dream of being a successful writer depends on me finding a way to make it all work.

Thank you all for coming along with me on this journey!

~Tammy

Want to Share Your Writer’s Words of Wisdom?

On my sister blog Not Enough Time in the Day, I participate in a weekly feature called Writer’s Words of Wisdom. It’s a group of authors who wish to share what they’ve learned on their journey to become published traditionally and the self published route. I’ve learned so much from this group already from Triberr to using Pinterest for promotions. I’ve shared what I’ve found works for me with designing swag and promotions to the fun Add This buttons for blogs.

Are you an author who would like to share your wisdom with new authors? There are two ways you can go about doing it with our group. You can join us on Facebook and sign up to do your own weekly post, or you could sign up with me for a guest spot on Not Enough Time in the Day. You can do as many spots as you’d like or just a one time deal. Either way, you get to give back a little to help support other authors.

Here’s the link to my post for this week. You can search the blog for the others I’ve done to see if WWoW would be something you’d like to do. Here’s the Facebook Page for you to check out as well.

Leave a comment below if you’d like to do a guest spot on my blog and I’ll contact you to work out the details.

Happy Writing and Brightest Blessings to you all!

~Tammy

New Cover for My Second Book of Poetry

I’m so excited! I’ve been working on the vampire inspired poetry off and on for a while now and it looks like I should be finished with the rough draft this week. Hopefully the edits will go smooth enough so I can release it on January 1st…just like the first book of poetry. Whoohoo!

I was going back and forth with the title as I wanted this book to be a companion to The Kayne Legacy series much like Follow Me: Poetry from the Heart and Soul is for my Now and Forever series. So after battling with myself for a few hours once again last night, I decided on using the title of one of the poems in the collection. In fact, it was the very first one I wrote for this book. Courtship of the Vampyre: Poetry Inspired by the Guardians of the Night is the full title. Here is the cover I designed for it. Let me know what you all think!

Sinfully Sassy Sundays with The Vixen is at Four Seduced Muses

Hello everyone!

I wanted to remind folks that I do co-host another blog

with three of my fellow Siren authors Maya DeLeina, Nicole Morgan, and May Water. Together we call ourselves Four Seduced Muses. We decided to start a blog that showcases the steamier side of erotic romance and erotica. No topic is really taboo. The point is to make it hot and spicy and for adults only.

To clarify, this forum is definitely not going to be a place for othe

rs to show off their porn sites. We’ve had a few “anonymous” posters trying to get their links up. Usually these end up in our spam folder, but if you happen to see one of the comments that slip through, DON’T click on any of their links and report the comment to one of us and we will have it deleted.

My weekly feature is called Sinfully Sassy Sundays with The Vixen. This week I’m talking about fun foods to incorporate into sex play time. There are many to consider and many to avoid. I didn’t go into the ones to avoid at this time. If you want to have that discussion, we can do it in the comments section either here or there. Suffice it to say, the foods that you are allergic to you should stay away from. Some spices will burn on the skin and shouldn’t be applied to the delicate tissue of your genitalia.

Do your research, talk with your partner about it and above all have fun with it. If you aren’t having fun and enjoying the time with your partner, there is no point in doing it.

Go ahead and check out our blog. We have special guests on Monday, Wednesday and Saturdays and the other four days belong to the Muses. We’ve talked about some hot topics so far. Let us know what you think and if there is anything you’d like to see discussed in the future.

Blessed Be

~Tammy

First Round of Edits for The Island…

I was really looking forward to the first round of edits for The Island. Not only did I run through that manuscript multiple times with a critical eye, I wanted to be sure the lessons I learned from editing For the Love of Quinn came through. I didn’t want to see anymore of those little comment balloons pointing out the ever dreaded head hopping. Oh and don’t get me started with my overuse of the ellipses…

See what I mean?

So imagine my surprise when I opened up the file sent back from my publisher and editor to find very few corrections done to the entire thing! Not only that, but the editor gave me such wonderful words of encouragement stating that I handled the shifts between the characters points of view and also the flashbacks “deftly.” She said my story was “seamless.” Yep. SEAMLESS! I can tell you there was a lot of celebrating around our household that evening.

Today I made the few corrections needed and chose and adult and story excerpt to send back to my publisher. The last time they ended up going with a different adult excerpt, but it’s all good. I had trouble picking the story excerpt this time. I wanted to give a teaser without giving too much away right off the bat. Hopefully it will be the one they like too. I’ll let you know when they put the excerpts up on my Siren author page.

There should be one more round of edits, cover art approval and then the final copy approval all within the next few weeks. November is just around the corner!

I’ve been busy working on The Surrender of Julia throughout all of this too. Since that one has scenes that are also in The Island I have to be sure they flow well and that I don’t change anything other than it’s all going to be through Julia’s eyes now.

Watch for updates and teasers from both books over the next few weeks. Once I get the cover, I’ll get started on the video trailer. I have a rough idea of what I want to have in the video, but it has to go along with the cover. I’ve chosen the music. Now to find the “perfect” images to tell Jake and Quinn’s story.

Until next time, my friends. Brightest Blessings!