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This is number forty in the blog series, “My Life in Erotica.” I encourage you to join my Patreon community to support my writing.
I'll also mention that as of this posting, my Sunday chapter of Over Exposure has not yet cleared the posting queue. It is currently list as "Submission Processing." It happens sometimes. The chapter will be up soon, I'm certain.
“YIKES!”
That’s internet alarmist-speak for “This person thinks his work is worth being paid for. Avoid!”
I made a point in my last post that the important things to me in writing erotica were:
1. Get readers to read what I’ve written.
2. Engage with readers and get feedback.
3. Write lots of different kinds of things.
I also said, “I realized that my heart wasn’t in the idea of writing for money.” So, why the heck do I sell my books?
When I burned out in theatre in 1978, I started my career writing and publishing technical manuals and training material. Times were hard. I wanted to be a novelist and possibly a playwright. But I needed money. Something about paying rent and eating. I was fond of both. My one marketable skillset, honed during my graduate studies and previous jobs in film, was my ability to type 100+ words per minute on a Selectric typewriter. When I presented that credential to a temporary agency and they tested me to confirm, I was immediately sent out on a replacement secretary position for a home manufacturer.
I’d been at the company for a week or two when one of the company executives passed my desk. He turned around and came back to me and accusingly said, “You aren’t really a secretary. What do you really do?”
With the first test of big balls I didn’t know I had, I responded, “I’m a writer.”
“Good! Come to my office. I have a job for you.”
Who knew getting a job as a writer was so easy?
I was met at his office by a director of sales and they laid out a writing assignment for a three-volume sales training manual and paid me close to $6,000 over the next six months to write and produce it! In 1978, that was a lot of money!
I was hooked. I could get money for writing about subjects I technically knew nothing about. They paid me to learn the steps of the sales process, the construction process, and the financing, so I could in turn teach it to sales people who knew even less about it than I did.
That started a journey into writing and publishing that has continued to this day, though the characteristics have changed significantly. It was always, “Learn something so thoroughly you can teach it, and then write about it.” It’s funny, but even in writing erotica, I’ve had to learn art, racquetball, cooking, television and movie production, photography, government, real estate, ranching, music, history, autism, basketball, martial arts, military ranks and government pay scales, theatre, paganism, Greek mythology, world history, and much more. I had to learn the subjects well enough that I could talk about them convincingly in a story (though I’m still caught out by real subject matter experts on many stories).
So, writing erotica was much like writing the technical manuals and training material for other subjects. But I was doing it for free. I posted my stories at StoriesOnline as serials and anyone who wanted to could read them. People started contacting me—unsolicited—asking me how they could contribute to my writing fund. I accepted donations and after a great deal of encouragement, began to produce eBooks and even some paperbacks.
I discovered that nearly all my donations and sales came from people who had already read all or part of the story online for free. People were willing to pay for my stories! But I also remembered when I started reading erotica on ASSTR and from there was introduced to SOL, I didn’t have any spare money. The idea of paying to read a sex story was insane. I was going through loss of job/income, divorce, and unsettlement. I couldn’t ‘waste’ money on a feelgood story.
The more I wrote and the more I was introduced to my readers—including over 400 respondents to a survey—the more I realized that the vast majority of my readers were in the same boat. Unable or unwilling to pay for stories. Just like I had been. So, I made a pledge that all my stories would be available for people to read online for free. Period.
That did not preclude me from selling eBooks and paperbacks through other channels. To this day, 90% of my sales are to people who have either read or are reading the story online for free. The same is true of my Patreon members. I do not feel dependent on those sales and contributions for survival—as I once felt about my technical and non-fiction writing—but they do enhance my quality of life, as the only other income I have is social security.
In the publishing world, my erotica is authored by Devon Layne. My online moniker for those stories is aroslav. My literary fiction, mystery, and thriller is authored by my alter ego Nathan Everett. My online moniker for those stories is Wayzgoose. You can find all my stories available for free online reading, and I renew my pledge to continue that practice. Nearly all my stories are also available through major eBook distributors. My patrons receive my new eBooks for free, in advance of their public release.
I’m a little behind on getting blog posts written in advance, but my intent is to continue the series next week with an analysis of what works and what doesn’t work in my erotica. I think I’ll title this one, “To thine own self be true.”
This is number thirty-nine in the blog series, “My Life in Erotica.”
So, how do I celebrate the end of NaNoWriMo 2023? My 2023 novel has not left me devastated or depressed. Readers will probably be happy about that, too. But writing a story with a really happy ending is very much in mind. And I have a few of those stories ready to be finished.
I’m in the mood to have a little magic in my life. I think my editors will like the change of pace a bit, too. The first series of stories I began back in the late 1970s was “The Props Master” series. But before I finished it, I became wrapped up earning a living and writing non-fiction. So, I think it is time to complete “The Props Master” book four, Child of Earth.
["YES! - editor Pixel the Cat]
The entire first three volumes of “The Props Master” were focused on ‘the real world’ in which some mystical things seemed to happen. Those who believed saw the magic. Those who didn’t merely saw coincidence. In Child of Earth, it will be far more difficult to ignore the supernatural occurrences as anything other than supernatural. That will be how I celebrate NaNoWriMo 2023 TGIO. I’ll start writing it this week.
I’m aware that my blog about My Life in Erotica has not had much to do with erotica the past two months, but has rather been generally about writing. Well, writing good erotica requires the same disciplines that any good writing does. But next week, I’ll get back to looking at erotica more specifically with “Profit and Non-Profit.”
This is number thirty-eight in the blog series, “My Life in Erotica.” I encourage you to join my Patreon community so I can afford to keep writing.
And so is The Staircase of Dragon Jerico. Or at least it will be this week. There is always a sense of joy, accomplishment, and let-down when I reach the end of NaNoWriMo. Next week: “TGIO.”
This is number thirty-seven in the blog series, “My Life in Erotica.” I encourage you to join my Patreon community so I can afford to keep writing.
Well, the US Thanksgiving Holiday is coming this week. I’ve made a reservation at a local restaurant for my ‘traditional’ prime rib dinner. Thanksgiving’s also a time traditionally reserved for catching up on NaNoWriMo for those who are behind. Then we have the ever-popular “Sprint to the Finish.” Next week.
This is number thirty-six in the blog series, “My Life in Erotica.” I encourage you to join my Patreon community so I can afford to keep writing.
With The Staircase of Dragon Jerico, I have a little less leeway regarding how far off the main route I can wander. So, the developmental outline looks very different than the top level outline I disclosed just two weeks ago.
Act I
Chapter 1: Who Was the Artist? The story of the staircase in the Jerico household, and who slept with the lady of the house.
1. Everyone stops and stares at the staircase.
2. Legends abound regarding how Drake Jerico imagined he was descended from a mighty Celtic dragon.
3. A hundred years ago, Levi Jerico discovered a burglar in his home and shot him on the stairs.
4. A third world queen visited Jerico City and had her portrait painted on the stairs.
5. Thirty-five years ago, Jacqueline Jerico married Raymond Carver on the stairs.
6. 200 years ago, Isolde LeClerc was seduced on the stairs by Joseph Carver just days after she arrived at the house.
7. The line of descendants of the Jerico household are actually descended from Joseph Carver and Isolde LeClerc Jerico, not from Drake Jerico. Now they bear his name.
Chapter 2: An Unhappy Marriage. Happily-ever-after falls apart for Erin and Bruce Silver when Bruce has an affair.
1. Erin and Bruce have arrived in Jerico city and are excited to be house-hunting while Bruce starts his new job as an architectural draftsman at JeriCorp.
2. Finding the perfect place to raise a family.
3. Bruce meeting Shannon Duval and flirting.
4. A holiday meeting sends Bruce and Shannon to bed.
5. Royce Duval, president of JeriCorp, discovers them and immediately fires Bruce.
6. Trying to explain himself, Bruce quickly gives up on his marriage and deserts Erin. She files for divorce.
Chapter 3: The Other Woman. Shannon Duval regrets destroying Bruce’s marriage, even though her own husband, the president of the company, is stepping out on her.
1. Shannon and Royce argue and she points out his history of affairs.
2. He insists that the rule has always been ‘Not with anyone in the company.’
3. Shannon vows to get back at Royce for firing Bruce.
4. Shannon begins prowling for the best person with whom to get revenge and arrives at Preston Carver, the Chairman of the Board.
Chapter 4: The Top of the Pyramid. Preston Carver goes to his weekly dinner with mother at Jerico House.
1. Jacqueline resumes what is obviously an ongoing diatribe about getting Preston married.
2. Preston protests that he likes his life as a bachelor and all women want is his money.
3. Jacqueline presents an argument on the benefits of marrying a gold digger, as long as she understands the rules.
4. Jacqueline suggests a woman Preston should go out with and then insists she will arrange things.
Chapter 5: Survival of the Fittest. Erin determines to put her life together even if it means taking the lowliest jobs to get her through.
1. With Bruce abandoning her, Erin loses the house to the bank and has to file bankruptcy.
2. Erin moves into a rooming house and takes a job as a waitress in the local diner.
3. A nice and very quiet guy comes in every Thursday for lunch. She likes him.
4. Erin gets a response to her job applications and gets her hair done for an interview at JeriCorp.
Act II
Chapter 6: Creative Genius. Preston Carver, Chairman of JeriCorp, has another great idea for his company, but Royce Duval, the CEO, will get the credit, of course.
1. Preston puts together a proposal for a new development village, obsessed with the planning and drafting. He stays locked in his office/apartment for weeks.
2. Preston yells at his assistant who breaks down crying and quits.
3. Jacqueline insists Preston go out on a blind date with a woman she has selected, and “try things out.”
4. Preston’s date is disastrous and he returns to his office/apartment to get ready to explain the new development to Royce.
5. Preston yells for his assistant and when he gets no response, he calls HR and finds out she really did quit, but they are interviewing for a new assistant. He tells them what was wrong with the last one.
Chapter 7: A Step Up. Banking on her education, Erin takes a job as Assistant to the Chairman and is told that if she can last there six months, she’ll be moved to a position in marketing for the company.
1. Erin practices her interview techniques that have been unused for a couple of years.
2. She waits on the nice guy again and he wishes her luck on her interview.
3. She talks to HR at JeriCorp and is told the list of rules and duties she will need to fulfill the position. HR says he is “special.” Erin decides, “So, I’ll still be a waitress, but a better paid one.”
4. Erin accepts the position with the promise that if she can last six months, HR will find her another position in the company.
ETC.
The Save the Cat structure has three acts. As you can see from what what I’ve written here, there are more chapters already than what had been in the high-level outline. I’m sure that as I write it, there will be even more. But you can see, at this point, everything looks like it is working out just fine. Erin and Preston have established a relationship through the diner and now, unknown to both of them, she is about to become his personal assistant. Everything is set to fall apart in both of their lives!
In reality, as of today, I’ve written 10 chapters and I’m just a bit past this point in the outline. And here we are, only two weeks and 30,000 words into NaNoWriMo! Next week, “Why did I ever commit to this piece of garbage?”
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