I absolutely love this quote and song - I mean who can't be inspired by Eye of the Tiger by Survivor?

This year I set out with the goal to publish 50 good and quality titles.  Today I just uploaded book number 36.  In 11 months that is roughly three and a quarter books a month.  Meaning I might hit 40 this month if I continue at my current rate.  I insist on quality - and that unfortunately is holding a few of my titles up since while the story is good - the flow is still not where I want.  

Sometimes fighting for a title (hehe see what I did there?) is a huge battle.  And we can feel like we're getting socked in the gut to push it out.  Spending hours at the computer forcing your brain to pull creativity from deep within.   And with that goal in mind until the end of the year, I am going to be shortening blogs and let a few days go in between them - so don't be startled if they are fewer and farther between. 

Every author dreams of hitting it big.  Or of making a certain amount quickly and continually.  When I started out I was one of those dreamers, big thoughts, big dreams, constantly watching sales, hoping and hoping for that "big hit."

My husband - being a business and financially minded person - helped me set realistic goals, and take into account how much I wanted to make a month to be worth it, I very quickly made what I hoped to make by the end of my first quarter (honestly the first full month I knocked that outta the park).  My second quarter hit new marks, but my third faltered and I have found that I am still recovering from that.

Sometimes the best place for me to come up with ideas for writing is by laying in bed with insomnia.  For some reason at about midnight my brain just comes alive with ideas. 

I let my head wander through a land of dicks, pussies, panting, orgasms, and thoroughly naughty things.  I snuggle into my husband and let my mind play through dirty scenarios, imagining things that turn me on, and wondering at things I'm curious about.  I meet metaphysical characters in my head in the middle of the night, playing around with qualities, with quirks, flaws, and kinks.

In some way each of my characters is linked to me in those moments and it's from those characters that the stories are built, the ideas grow and mature.

Brainstorming is one of those things a lot of writers realize they should do but don't formally do.  Sitting down and letting your head wander with no distractions.  There are a lot of excellent brainstorming activities out there - anything from free writes, to setting the scene, to starting in the middle.  But sometimes you don't need the structure or sitting down and saying "Now I am brain storming."  

Letting yourself weave through ideas in a freestyle form can be more constructive than sitting down and attempting to force words out on the page.  

So the next time you have insomnia, are stuck on a long car ride, or are just plain bored, let your mind wander through sexy thoughts, and maybe you'll stumble on a sexy story. 

CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!  Its officially that time of year, my ultimate favorite.  So I thought I would tell you a Christmas story to kick start the season.

Last year in November, 2011, my husband and I were cuddled in bed, me playing Sudoku on my phone, him reading some sexy story on Literotica.  When he finished he rolled over and said, "I wish you would write some sexy stories, you tell a good story."  I smiled at him and would have dismissed it, but for some reason it stuck with me.

So I wrote a story, a sexy little story about a guy named Tom who was a voyeur and his neighbor Noel who was an exhibitionist.  I wrote it, edited it, and sent it to him.  He encouraged me to upload it to Literotica, so I did.  Two days after Christmas it was published.  My first online erotic story.

I was overwhelmed with comments, high ratings, 10,000 ratings in a week.  And it was with that encouragement that I thought, maybe this is the niche you should publish under.  I had intended sending it to a steamy porn publishing company like the few chapter books I'd collected on the drives across country.  

It was my good friend who suggested I publish it online.  In the beginning I was iffy - it sounded too good to be real.  And sometimes I think that it was, or is.  I am not making a ton of money - not at all the $500 a month I had hoped for and heard was doable.  But its a helpful amount, enough to pay a few bills, and give me a bit of play money for Christmas.

I went on to add another two chapters and bring Tom and Noel's story together and published it online on Amazon and Barnes and Noble for my second published erotica.

With Christmas coming and completely surrounding me I find the desire to write, the desire to play in my imagination like a perverted child coming to full fruition.  Hopefully time will allow for my sexy stories to meet you soon.  

I hope you have the best holiday season ever. 

Happy Holidays, may they be full of kinky hot fun in the chilling weather!

As a holiday gift for my readers and a thank you in this time of Thanksgiving, I will be awarding one lucky reader with a $10 gift certificate to Barnes and Noble or Amazon.  Simply leave your name and email address as a comment on this blog post and Wed, the 21st at 6 pm MST I will choose a lucky winner! 

I'll admit - like most writers I have my ups and downs in writing.  Those days where you just can't seem to think imaginatively and that horrible thing called Writer's Block shows up with a vengeance. 

Every once in a while something will inspire a writer to delve into a topic, a soul, a world they instantly link to, usually one they had not thought of before, had not spent much time with, or even disliked.  

Its been a while since I've linked anything to One-Handed Writers, my personal favorite of erotica author sites for tips and fun blogs, but yesterday's seemed worth a mention.  

The article was on Niche erotica and appealing to the masses, written by Selena Kitt. 

I love niche erotica - for varying reasons, one its the spice of life, two you are exploring different aspects of the sexual relationship, and three its fun to experiment - both with the. . . erm. . . research and portraying it to my readers.  Plus, they allow me to delve into my own fantasies to a depth I sometimes haven't before.  

For example Deep is based on many series of rape fantasies I have had since discovering sexuality.  Well, even before I understood I was discovering it, before I even know what a clit was, or that the term pussy also meant a woman's parts.  

As an erotic indie author I'm continually torn between the desire to announce my occupation to every single person I know - and most I don't know - and keeping that part of me locked up in the darkest corner of the closet.  There are many things I have discovered about BEING an author however, and so I thought I would share them with you. 

1.) Double check yourself in emails, on Facebook posts, and in any sort of written correspondence.  You never know who will be a stickler for grammar and who may doubt purchasing your book in the future should they not think you are a well written person. 

2.) When someone asks what you do, chuckle and tell the truth.  Its a part of you and you'd be surprised how many closet erotic readers there are!  We have a Thanksgiving Potluck with our friends every year and this year we got on the subject of 50 Shades.  And out came my job.  I handed out some business cards that night.  (I must admit while this works great for strangers and friends and many family members - I still have a few people that don't know what I write.  It may kill Grammy for her to know... haha.  So use your judgement.)  If you have two jobs tell them about your writing career first - there is usually more to talk about, and its likely where your passion is.

3.)  Have business cards.  The good news is their relatively cheap - the bad news is you really don't know how well its spreading or if people are buying because of your business card.  I know I personally have handed out several of my cards since I got them three months ago and I am a stay at home mom, I don't get out much haha.  But its always nice when you are chatting with someone and they take interest in what you do to follow up with a business card.  

4.)  Put your best foot forward in first impressions.  When you're going out avoid wearing your grunge.  I'm not saying you need to be in full-sex clothes every time you leave the house - but rarely if ever go out in yuck.  You never know if you'll be recognized or if someone will ask.  I've given out so many cards at the grocery store by chatting with the clerk. I've had others overhear me and my hubby talking.  Letting them see that you look like a professional instead of a bumkin may influence them to buy.  Who would you rather buy from?

Sales are one of those things that will never follow a formula.  For a writer they vary so drastically from person to person and a story that has been liked "more than that best seller" may be overlooked for years, even if they did the exact same things as the other author.

When I decided to try to publish my erotic works for sale, and mentioned it to my good friend he sent me a link to a forum about selling sex books.  There were hundreds of comments, and I spent the entire day going through it in depth, learning the "tricks of the trade."  But the $3000 a month has never come for me.  I consider it a good month when I break $200 a month.  But I must admit I'm building.  Semi-steadily.  

Over and over I hear comments of people saying they want to publish only on Amazon because its "where the money is at" and yet B&N has always been equal for me, and lately its been fighting to take lead.  

Another perk is my sales on B&N have always been steady, in June when I took my long break for family and personal reasons and didn't put anything new out, my sales dropped by a few bucks on B&N, still achieving at least 3/4 of my sales.  On Amazon?  It dropped more than half.

Writers want the knowledge that when they're struck by writer's block, the muse is courting a story that doesn't fit in your genre, or they have an emergency come up and writing is set aside for a bit that they will still bring in income.  The shoddy hit or miss of my Amazon sales ensure that I'll for sure keep my writing off the KDP Select program due to the steady and strong numbers on B&N.