Greetings loyal readers:
I think I’ve figured out a way we can both get something out of this blog. You want to read the sort of thing I write, I want to become popular enough to sell out and retire.
Well, eventually. I also want to write more popular stuff. What I write is a niche of a niche. Most people seem more interested in female domination fantasy than what I see as the (healthy) reality.
So, couple of options. One, I start writing the fantasy. Make up story names with “Blackmail” in the title, do forced feminization, strapon sex, write about chateaus and Baroness’ with armies of specially trained lobotomized robot sex eunuchs. Ponytails, lots of ponytails. Problem is, even that isn’t going to make me rich.
If I’m going to sell out, I’m going to sell out big.
So the other option is, write genre fiction, which has a broader audience, and keep the female domination relationship content. Anita Blake does quite well financially writing her particular version of vampire genre porn. Better than I do at least.
Problem is, that requires plot, structure, dialogue, things like that. You know, book stuff. Maybe even character development. I pretty much write sex stories. Sex stories are a giant cheat in a lot of literary problem areas. I need my readers to identify with a character. Well, my characters want to have sex. If my readers are reading my stuff, they’re probably thinking that way themselves. I need conflict. Okay, my character wants an orgasm. I need resolution. Fine, they resolve themselves into a wet spot on the sheets. You get the idea.
Did you know that when I started writing this blog, I liked to gag the male character because it made it easier to write dialogue? True story.
So I need to practice writing books. With plots. And stuff.
Gonna need feedback on that.
Wanna know one of the secrets of being a writer? Everyone wants feedback, hardly anyone ever wants to give it. And unless your friend is the rare person who will tell you when you’ve just shit a load of toner on a dead tree and need to go back to the drawing board, friends don’t make the best feedback audience. They’ve already probably got a lot of the same interests as you, and are more likely to see the good in your story.
You need angry, liquored up stranger feedback if you want to get better.
That which does not kill you might just teach you noun-pronoun agreement.
So I have this book I started. I figure I’ll put it on here, a chapter at a time as I get them done. These chapters will be longer than my usual stories, and I’ll probably try for one a week and hit one every other week (realistically). They will be connected to each other.
When the book is done, I’ll compile it into one big book and self-publish through lulu or some other PoD. I’m also going to offer electronic versions, because some of my favorite readers are overseas. I’d be glad to sell them dead tree versions as well, but I know international shipping can be brutal, and customs officers are a fickle lot. I want them to be able to get a copy if they want one.
I figure sales figures are as good a form of feedback as any. And if they’re good, they buy me beer. Bonus.
So that’s the plan. Might change, nothing is written in stone. But I’m going to drop the first chapter of the book I was working on in after I post this. It’s largely been done before, I was going to use it as an opening chapter / prologue.
Feel free to comment, it’s always welcome. Hopefully this will keep me interested and motivated to keep writing. The first book will just be porn. The second I’m hoping to do more genre fiction with a female domination… thing… thrown in. They say a writer needs to read and write, so that’s what I’m going to do.
Oh, the other possibility which has come up is audio recordings of the stuff I’ve written so far. I ain’t reading them, but I might have a lady (my own ma’am actually) who is willing to give it a try and see how it works out. I’d probably sell those at 99 cents apiece, if anyone is interested. Mostly as a means of just giving people a way to throw some money my way if they felt like it, but I need to look into hosting costs and logistics of selling mp3’s before that can happen.
Thanks everyone, feel free to offer thoughts or suggestions on the above. I firmly believe based on the comments I have some of the best readers of any porn blog out there, and really appreciate having you all on board.
V.
Little Submissions 
“You need angry, liquored up stranger feedback if you want to get better.”
Count me in!
*gets the liquor, waves a fist wildly*
Ferns
Merlot. Makes a reviewer mean. 🙂
I like this idea. Will be back to read your new text when I have more time. And am liquored up. *hic* What sort of things do you want feedback on? Pretty much anything which might occur to readers? Or are you looking for specific things, such as perspective, characterisation, suspense, continuity, word choices…?
In addition to using the blog for getting feedback, would you consider asking for beta readers in a fiction community?
Real life is also kicking my ass, but I’m hoping to keep up. Be glad to have you read whenever you like. 🙂
Any feedback is fine with me, from “Fantastic” to “Your characters aren’t believable” to “Moose drool.” I mean, it’s all useful. Specific is more useful but if things are or aren’t working generally, that’s also good to know. And some things I’m not going to change because that’s not the kind of porn I write. “Moar rape” just won’t get much traction.
Beta readers in a fiction community I’ve never thought about. Maybe? I dunno. I need a book first, I think.
I realise I’m a couple of years late in commenting on this post, but that’s because I’ve only just found your blog and have been sitting utterly captivated while working my way back through your archives.
I know you’ve not posted a lot here of late, and you probably have a ton of Real Life stuff keeping you busy. Still, I wanted to add a comment in the hopes that you do still get comment notifications from this blog.
Your writing is _without a doubt_ the best porn fiction I’ve read. Ever. Most stories I’ve come across have been what you described as the ‘female domination fantasy’, and reading them is just painful. The realistic version that you portray is far hotter. My favourite thing is how you show, in various small ways, how your characters actually _care_ about each other. I love that you can write about a seriously hot situation, and then have the characters do something goofy the next moment. I love that your stories have a feeling of fun about them, and that kind of lightheartedness makes them feel more realistic, and so they’re much easier for me to relate to.
If you’re still interested in getting feedback in order to improve your writing, I think Ranai had a good point about the beta readers in a fiction community. I read a lot of fanfic (the one place I _can_ find well-written kinky smut) and your writing is certainly comparable to some of my favourite fanfic writers. I think you might find it useful to involve yourself in that kind of community, where more attention is given to the writing _quality_ than perhaps is typical for pure BDSM fiction. Also I’ve found that writers that include BDSM in their fanfic tend to present it in a more realistic way (or realistic for the ‘verse they’re writing for) and you might find it helpful to see the readers’ reactions to those stories.
Hope this is helpful.
Lilith.
Thank you for the kind words and advice (which I do think is probably good advice btw). There’s always real life stuff, but I am writing again, just not kink or femdom. I’ve been thinking about coming back to this blog now that some of the holiday craziness is over, but to a certain extent I feel like I said all I had to say.
Kink should be fun, and is best when it’s between two people who feel mutual caring and attraction. Everything else I write here is just a variation on that theme, or something where I said to hell with it and just wrote straight up naughty bits porn.
Anyway, I’m still around, and I do still receive comments, and I’m glad you enjoyed reading through the archives. I still might start writing in it again, just have to wait for the right moment, whenever it might be.
It was helpful,
V.