Writerly Ways
Oct. 20th, 2024 08:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cornerofmadnessI'll tell you all about the Renn fest tomorrow. I figured it is time to touch on this writing topic I've been trying to do for months but since it's been a week of politically related posts it's time. I started having thoughts about a year ago about this and then about 4-6 weeks ago someone on Rainbow Snippets that I participate in as Jana said something to the effect that 'the far right want to imprison us for writing LGBT stories.' Have to admit I had a bit of a spin out over that comment because like I said it's been in my head since These Haunted Hills dropped.
It's not actually that out there. We all know about McCarthyism (or at least we SHOULD if we're here in the States). And one of the things we're voting on in OH is a measure that wants to make it an offense to even teach about abortion (which I have to do when I talk about ectopic pregnancies) there's some who want to make it a sex offense (ditto librarians/teachers allowing young people to read LGBT books).
Could it happen? I don't think it could quite as easily as it did in the 50s because there wasn't much in the way of LGBT rep then. If I look at Goodreads giveaways a good quarter if not more every day are LGBT (or at least have LGBT+ characters in them) Someone else (Here on DW I think or was it Bluesky??) that was part of panel at World con talking about is this the gayest era in fiction? I'm going with yes. In the 90s when I first wrote my gay vampires Arrigo and Luc (who were in New Orleans at the time because I make bad choices) the big book of open markets (I can't even remember the name of that book now, pre-internet obviously) and MANY of them had threats in them about 'do not do homosexual characters or you'll get blackballed.'
I remember when Mercedes Lackey used her privilege as a bestselling author to have Vanyel, one of the first modern gay characters in Fantasy I remember seeing and everyone was going 'she's ruined herself.' 'No one will touch her now.' They were luckily wrong (but I am not sure how much the blow back hurt her sales at the time.)
Now I was considering retiring as Jana to begin with after how badly my last two novels tanked. I didn't expect Soldiers of the Sun to do great since it's niche but then Blood Red Roulette failed. I didn't get it. (Now Arrigo and Luc were in Vegas). Vampires are still popular. The cover was stellar. It flatlined and I'm not sure if it truly did because that's when all the Dreamspinner drama started and I had to wonder if I had been lied to.
But These Haunted Hills hasn't done well (another popular theme, another amazing cover). So do I republish those old Dreamspinner books? Do I do it myself? I have talented artist friends I could commission for covers but honestly my sales have been so bad even with a publisher that I wouldn't even make back what I paid for a cover.
So I'm here wondering do I try to republish? Do I try to write the sequel to These Haunted Hills (which was requested)? Do I walk away especially with the political environment? Is that cowardly? (probably) I don't know but I DO know it's kept me from writing anything as Jana for almost 2 years now. (gay fanfic I'm churning out like I have no care in the world).
OPEN CALL
Shatter the Sun: Queer Tales of Untold Adventure.
Flashpoint Science Fiction 2024 Drabble Open Window
Cosmic Roots And Eldritch Shores November 2024
The Lost Poetry Club Season 1 Episode 9
Dishsoap Quarterly: Now Seeking Submissions
49 Romance Publishers Open to Direct Submissions
From Around the Web
7 Great Gifts for Aspiring Writers
3 Secrets Every SFF Writer Should Know
3 Ways Writers Can Instantly Spot Telling
Susan J Morris: Five Things I Learned Writing Strange Beasts
How To Find More Book Buyers
Affect vs. Effect: How to Choose the Right Word
How to Write a Book Series
From Betty
How to Make Unhappiness Into Effective Stakes
How Much Agency Can Marginalized Characters Have?
How to Write Irresistible Character Relationships
3 Ways Writers Can Instantly Spot Telling
Three Ways You’re Losing Your Reader’s Trust
Character Secret Thesaurus Entry: Monitoring Someone Without Their Knowledge
Connective tissue is wildly underrated in storytelling
It's not actually that out there. We all know about McCarthyism (or at least we SHOULD if we're here in the States). And one of the things we're voting on in OH is a measure that wants to make it an offense to even teach about abortion (which I have to do when I talk about ectopic pregnancies) there's some who want to make it a sex offense (ditto librarians/teachers allowing young people to read LGBT books).
Could it happen? I don't think it could quite as easily as it did in the 50s because there wasn't much in the way of LGBT rep then. If I look at Goodreads giveaways a good quarter if not more every day are LGBT (or at least have LGBT+ characters in them) Someone else (Here on DW I think or was it Bluesky??) that was part of panel at World con talking about is this the gayest era in fiction? I'm going with yes. In the 90s when I first wrote my gay vampires Arrigo and Luc (who were in New Orleans at the time because I make bad choices) the big book of open markets (I can't even remember the name of that book now, pre-internet obviously) and MANY of them had threats in them about 'do not do homosexual characters or you'll get blackballed.'
I remember when Mercedes Lackey used her privilege as a bestselling author to have Vanyel, one of the first modern gay characters in Fantasy I remember seeing and everyone was going 'she's ruined herself.' 'No one will touch her now.' They were luckily wrong (but I am not sure how much the blow back hurt her sales at the time.)
Now I was considering retiring as Jana to begin with after how badly my last two novels tanked. I didn't expect Soldiers of the Sun to do great since it's niche but then Blood Red Roulette failed. I didn't get it. (Now Arrigo and Luc were in Vegas). Vampires are still popular. The cover was stellar. It flatlined and I'm not sure if it truly did because that's when all the Dreamspinner drama started and I had to wonder if I had been lied to.
But These Haunted Hills hasn't done well (another popular theme, another amazing cover). So do I republish those old Dreamspinner books? Do I do it myself? I have talented artist friends I could commission for covers but honestly my sales have been so bad even with a publisher that I wouldn't even make back what I paid for a cover.
So I'm here wondering do I try to republish? Do I try to write the sequel to These Haunted Hills (which was requested)? Do I walk away especially with the political environment? Is that cowardly? (probably) I don't know but I DO know it's kept me from writing anything as Jana for almost 2 years now. (gay fanfic I'm churning out like I have no care in the world).
OPEN CALL
Shatter the Sun: Queer Tales of Untold Adventure.
Flashpoint Science Fiction 2024 Drabble Open Window
Cosmic Roots And Eldritch Shores November 2024
The Lost Poetry Club Season 1 Episode 9
Dishsoap Quarterly: Now Seeking Submissions
49 Romance Publishers Open to Direct Submissions
From Around the Web
7 Great Gifts for Aspiring Writers
3 Secrets Every SFF Writer Should Know
3 Ways Writers Can Instantly Spot Telling
Susan J Morris: Five Things I Learned Writing Strange Beasts
How To Find More Book Buyers
Affect vs. Effect: How to Choose the Right Word
How to Write a Book Series
From Betty
How to Make Unhappiness Into Effective Stakes
How Much Agency Can Marginalized Characters Have?
How to Write Irresistible Character Relationships
3 Ways Writers Can Instantly Spot Telling
Three Ways You’re Losing Your Reader’s Trust
Character Secret Thesaurus Entry: Monitoring Someone Without Their Knowledge
Connective tissue is wildly underrated in storytelling
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no subject
Date: 2024-10-22 06:01 am (UTC)Your dilemma is a tough one. Maybe run it past other folks in the LGBT romance community, to see what they have to say about the state of publishing there? (And ask about less expensive cover options while you're at it. Stock photos can be pretty cheap.)
I do recall that there was some readerly boycotting of Dreamspinner at that time, so that might have affected your sales.
I guess what I would ask myself in such a situation is: Am I doing this for the money? If so, explore all the money options: going wide, KU, subscription fiction, etc. Or, if you don't mind risk, you could do a hybrid free/pay model, where you serialize for free online but have people pay subscriptions for early access.
All this takes work and marketing savvy, of course. If all you want is readers for your Jana novels, you could serialize them at AO3.
As for the present societal backlash against LGBT folks, I can't make any predictions there; our society has become too 1984. I never thought I'd live in a USA where birth control was under threat.
no subject
Date: 2024-10-23 03:20 am (UTC)There was definite reader boycotting (not enough of it because they're still out)
I think what keeps me from self pubbing is I simply don't have the time to dedicate to it.
honestly I've been expecting the birth control thing for years. I keep telling my students (as I have to explain how it works as part of reproductive physiology) that my mom's sister was already born before it was legal to buy a damn condom.
no subject
Date: 2024-10-23 08:24 am (UTC)So maybe consider an online posting? I'm sure your readers would be tickled pink.
no subject
Date: 2024-10-24 03:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-10-24 06:50 am (UTC)Definitely a lot to think about! I think the important thing is to keep one's stories available to readers, in whatever fashion works best for you.
no subject
Date: 2024-10-25 03:33 pm (UTC)