Ryan Field's Blog, page 550
June 19, 2011
A Very Happy Ending...of Sorts
Last December I posted about good friends of mine in publishing who had an eleven year old Scottish Terrier named Ginger and she wasn't doing well. After tons of treatments, and more set-backs than anyone ever imagined, she finally passed away and my friends were devastated. Needless to say, it was a long, long winter.But I just came back from their Carversville home, where I met the newest addition to their family. He's a four month old, extremely frisky, Welsh Terrier named Whiskey. And they couldn't be more thrilled. Of course nothing can ever replace Ginger, but life does continue to move forward, and we all have to move right along with it, creating our own happy endings wherever we can get them.
Intro to Field of Dreams...
Here's the intro I wrote to the new anthology I have coming out soon that contains a collection of my short stories. The title will be FIELD OF DREAMS, and I've included two short stories that are lost chapters from The Virgin Billionaire series and American Star.
One of the most challenging and fulfilling ways to write fiction is through the short story. For an author, it's a way to learn control and balance, a way to practice word economy, and a way to focus on character study no other medium can provide. For the reader, the short story is a way to escape into the relaxing realm of fiction without investing too much time in this extremely busy world. But with just as much intensity.
In this particular collection of Ravenous Romance stories, the balance is between love, relationships, and erotica. Though some are more emotional than others, there's an underlying theme of deep seated passion in all. And though some are more sexually daring and explorative than others, there's always a happy ending and always hope and promise for the future. In Rudy's New Kazoo, a handsome, gentle young man recently graduated from college takes on a job as a ranch hand, with a strong, alpha cowboy who is used to having things his own way. In Back in the Day, Paul and Blair celebrate their love-filled twenty year relationship by revisiting the old stomping grounds where they first met and fell in love. Milo, in His First Kiss, discovers the romantic thrill of kissing a man for the first time in his life, and Joe, in Dirty Little Boxer Boy, learns the true meaning of customer service when a handsome young doctor walks into the tanning salon where he works. There's also a story with two minor characters from The Virgin Billionaire series, Cory and Jasper, finding love on a cold snowy night. And there's a quirky story about the unexpected love between a transsexual and the handsome male star of a soap opera in, I Love Lou Ces'Lablanc.
As these characters embrace their individual circumstances, finding love in places they didn't expect and growing in ways they never could have imagined, the world becomes a much better place for all of them. And even though the journey isn't always easy, they learn how to become better people through the process.
One of the most challenging and fulfilling ways to write fiction is through the short story. For an author, it's a way to learn control and balance, a way to practice word economy, and a way to focus on character study no other medium can provide. For the reader, the short story is a way to escape into the relaxing realm of fiction without investing too much time in this extremely busy world. But with just as much intensity.
In this particular collection of Ravenous Romance stories, the balance is between love, relationships, and erotica. Though some are more emotional than others, there's an underlying theme of deep seated passion in all. And though some are more sexually daring and explorative than others, there's always a happy ending and always hope and promise for the future. In Rudy's New Kazoo, a handsome, gentle young man recently graduated from college takes on a job as a ranch hand, with a strong, alpha cowboy who is used to having things his own way. In Back in the Day, Paul and Blair celebrate their love-filled twenty year relationship by revisiting the old stomping grounds where they first met and fell in love. Milo, in His First Kiss, discovers the romantic thrill of kissing a man for the first time in his life, and Joe, in Dirty Little Boxer Boy, learns the true meaning of customer service when a handsome young doctor walks into the tanning salon where he works. There's also a story with two minor characters from The Virgin Billionaire series, Cory and Jasper, finding love on a cold snowy night. And there's a quirky story about the unexpected love between a transsexual and the handsome male star of a soap opera in, I Love Lou Ces'Lablanc.
As these characters embrace their individual circumstances, finding love in places they didn't expect and growing in ways they never could have imagined, the world becomes a much better place for all of them. And even though the journey isn't always easy, they learn how to become better people through the process.
Part Two: Paying to Read Blogs...
When I finished the previous post about paying to read blogs, I looked around and found this interesting post by Jonathan Fields (No relation). Here's what he has to say, and if you read the comment thread you'll find some interesting opinions.
All I know is I wouldn't pay to read a blog, on the internet or on a Kindle...not even for .99. And I wouldn't advise a beginner with a Kindle e-reader either. We often take for granted that everyone knows the Internet. But that's not the case. A lot of people are just getting into reading e-books, and I'd hate to think how many of these beginners see a blog for sale on Kindle for .99 and don't know they can read the very same blog on the internet for free.
This one comment/question sums it all up for me: Could the FT paywall model ever work for a blog other than a mass news source?
And this is pretty much what I said in yesterday's post before I'd ever read Jonathan Fields's post: And, I wonder, too, what does that tell us about the state of the blogosphere?
Whose Blog Would You Pay to Read?
ShareAround the same time I shared my thoughts on the New York Times' decision to put up a paywall last week, Fred Wilson shared his thoughts:
I like the subscription model the FT (Financial Times) has been using for some time now. I may get the exact details wrong but its the idea that's important anyway. You can visit the ft.com domain something like nine times per month for free. They cookie you and when you stop by the tenth time in a month, they ask you to pay. And many do.
This model recognizes a few fundamental facts about the internet. First, you need to make your content available for search engines and social media linking. That drives as much as half or more of the visits these days. And if you have an ad model at all, and most newspapers do, then you need those visits and that audience.
Its also true that the 'drive by' visits will bring new audiences, some of whom will become loyal and ultimately paid audience members.
The other thing I like about the FT's model is that its an elegant implementation of freemium. The best freemium models allow anyone to use the service for free and then convert the most serious/frequent/power users to paying customers.
It's an interesting model, too, because it sidesteps the near impossible task of allocating which content is good enough to be paid for and which should be given away free, basing payment not on content, but on usage.
But, it also made me wonder…
Could the FT paywall model ever work for a blog other than a mass news source?
So, my question FOR YOU is -
Is there any blog, whether run by an individual or team of contributors, that you believe offers such astonishingly good and unique content you'd actually be willing to pay to be able to visit it more than 9 times a month?
I love many of the blogs I read, but, sad to say, I don't know if I'd pay to read any (attention brown-nosers, no need to name mine, I don't even think I'd pay to read it, lol!). Not that they don't add value, just not enough for me to pay for the privilege of opening my wallet after the ninth visit.
And, I wonder, too, what does that tell us about the state of the blogosphere?
What about you? Is there any blog you'd pay to be able to read every day?[image error]
All I know is I wouldn't pay to read a blog, on the internet or on a Kindle...not even for .99. And I wouldn't advise a beginner with a Kindle e-reader either. We often take for granted that everyone knows the Internet. But that's not the case. A lot of people are just getting into reading e-books, and I'd hate to think how many of these beginners see a blog for sale on Kindle for .99 and don't know they can read the very same blog on the internet for free.
This one comment/question sums it all up for me: Could the FT paywall model ever work for a blog other than a mass news source?
And this is pretty much what I said in yesterday's post before I'd ever read Jonathan Fields's post: And, I wonder, too, what does that tell us about the state of the blogosphere?
Whose Blog Would You Pay to Read?
ShareAround the same time I shared my thoughts on the New York Times' decision to put up a paywall last week, Fred Wilson shared his thoughts:
I like the subscription model the FT (Financial Times) has been using for some time now. I may get the exact details wrong but its the idea that's important anyway. You can visit the ft.com domain something like nine times per month for free. They cookie you and when you stop by the tenth time in a month, they ask you to pay. And many do.
This model recognizes a few fundamental facts about the internet. First, you need to make your content available for search engines and social media linking. That drives as much as half or more of the visits these days. And if you have an ad model at all, and most newspapers do, then you need those visits and that audience.
Its also true that the 'drive by' visits will bring new audiences, some of whom will become loyal and ultimately paid audience members.
The other thing I like about the FT's model is that its an elegant implementation of freemium. The best freemium models allow anyone to use the service for free and then convert the most serious/frequent/power users to paying customers.
It's an interesting model, too, because it sidesteps the near impossible task of allocating which content is good enough to be paid for and which should be given away free, basing payment not on content, but on usage.
But, it also made me wonder…
Could the FT paywall model ever work for a blog other than a mass news source?
So, my question FOR YOU is -
Is there any blog, whether run by an individual or team of contributors, that you believe offers such astonishingly good and unique content you'd actually be willing to pay to be able to visit it more than 9 times a month?
I love many of the blogs I read, but, sad to say, I don't know if I'd pay to read any (attention brown-nosers, no need to name mine, I don't even think I'd pay to read it, lol!). Not that they don't add value, just not enough for me to pay for the privilege of opening my wallet after the ninth visit.
And, I wonder, too, what does that tell us about the state of the blogosphere?
What about you? Is there any blog you'd pay to be able to read every day?[image error]
June 18, 2011
Why Pay to Read a Blog on Kindle When You Can Read it For Free on the Internet?
There's no denying we're living in hard times now. Last night on the evening news I saw people line up for miles just to get a full tank of gas at ten cents a gallon. It was a promotional thing offered by a large company. And as the people were filling their tanks, I watched their grateful faces closely. I've never seen so many genuine, thrilled smiles on the evening news. For once, the regular people were getting a break...their own mini stimulus...instead of big banks and large corporations.
One of the things I've always loved about blogs are they are free. Agree with them or not, wonderful literary agents have been blogging publishing advice for years...advice that's helped millions of authors learn how to query, how to write a decent book description, and how to be a publishing professional. Janet Reid is one of these bloggers: she doesn't charge a dime. Lori Perkins is another agent who blogs for free, offering her many years of advice.
I wouldn't think of charging anyone to read my blog. I'd rather stop blogging altogether than charge people to read mine. I've even made a note of this on my sidebar!! Advertising is another story. I don't do it here on my blog, but I don't care one way or the other about what other bloggers do when it comes to ads. If you're a small personal blogger and you want to do ads, have a blast. I don't think they work, and we're only talking about making pennies, but they don't hurt anyone.
But I recently saw a small personal blogger charging people .99 on amazon to read their blog on Kindle. And I mean a small blogger, not a large news service or someone famous. I'm assuming the only way to read a blog on kindle is by charging for it...at least I hope that's the case. But this is an assumption and I could be wrong. And if I were going to charge people to read my blog on Kindle, I'd charge one cent instead of .99. And I'd give them a huge, huge break in the spirit of personal blogging. And if someone asked me to charge .99 to read my blog on Kindle, I'd tell them, "You can read my blog on the internet for free. Give that .99 to your favorite charity instead."
For me, and millions of other personal bloggers, blogging isn't about making money on readers. I know .99 isn't a huge amount. But it's cheesy, and it reminds me of agents who charge reading fees. Personal blogging is about informing readers, entertaining readers, and tracking the daily changes in all of our lives. Especially with small blogs, where amateur bloggers like me share everything from our opinions on books, our own new book releases, and our thoughts on how goddamn tacky it is to charge people to read blogs.
And why anyone would pay .99 to read a personal blog on a Kindle passes me by. Small, personal blogs are free all over the Internet; you don't need to pay a dime for them. And the bloggers like me who write them are more than happy to entertain you without charging you as much as a dime. And if you do have to pay, there'd better be something extremely professional and spectacular about them. And I'm thinking along the lines of a famous bestselling author sharing their personal thoughts, not someone like me who's just writing what comes to him first thing in the morning.
I honestly hope this isn't going to be a new trend in blogging. I hope it's just a few opportunistic personal bloggers...with illusions of granduer...trying to cash in on the ever so popular .99 Kindle thing that's been making the headlines everywhere these past few months. Because if paying for small, personal blogs...on Kindle or anywhere else...is going to catch on, personal blogging will never be the same again.
If I'm missing something here, please feel free to enlighten me on the comment thread. Because I honestly don't get why anyone would pay anything to read something they can get for free.[image error]
One of the things I've always loved about blogs are they are free. Agree with them or not, wonderful literary agents have been blogging publishing advice for years...advice that's helped millions of authors learn how to query, how to write a decent book description, and how to be a publishing professional. Janet Reid is one of these bloggers: she doesn't charge a dime. Lori Perkins is another agent who blogs for free, offering her many years of advice.
I wouldn't think of charging anyone to read my blog. I'd rather stop blogging altogether than charge people to read mine. I've even made a note of this on my sidebar!! Advertising is another story. I don't do it here on my blog, but I don't care one way or the other about what other bloggers do when it comes to ads. If you're a small personal blogger and you want to do ads, have a blast. I don't think they work, and we're only talking about making pennies, but they don't hurt anyone.
But I recently saw a small personal blogger charging people .99 on amazon to read their blog on Kindle. And I mean a small blogger, not a large news service or someone famous. I'm assuming the only way to read a blog on kindle is by charging for it...at least I hope that's the case. But this is an assumption and I could be wrong. And if I were going to charge people to read my blog on Kindle, I'd charge one cent instead of .99. And I'd give them a huge, huge break in the spirit of personal blogging. And if someone asked me to charge .99 to read my blog on Kindle, I'd tell them, "You can read my blog on the internet for free. Give that .99 to your favorite charity instead."
For me, and millions of other personal bloggers, blogging isn't about making money on readers. I know .99 isn't a huge amount. But it's cheesy, and it reminds me of agents who charge reading fees. Personal blogging is about informing readers, entertaining readers, and tracking the daily changes in all of our lives. Especially with small blogs, where amateur bloggers like me share everything from our opinions on books, our own new book releases, and our thoughts on how goddamn tacky it is to charge people to read blogs.
And why anyone would pay .99 to read a personal blog on a Kindle passes me by. Small, personal blogs are free all over the Internet; you don't need to pay a dime for them. And the bloggers like me who write them are more than happy to entertain you without charging you as much as a dime. And if you do have to pay, there'd better be something extremely professional and spectacular about them. And I'm thinking along the lines of a famous bestselling author sharing their personal thoughts, not someone like me who's just writing what comes to him first thing in the morning.
I honestly hope this isn't going to be a new trend in blogging. I hope it's just a few opportunistic personal bloggers...with illusions of granduer...trying to cash in on the ever so popular .99 Kindle thing that's been making the headlines everywhere these past few months. Because if paying for small, personal blogs...on Kindle or anywhere else...is going to catch on, personal blogging will never be the same again.
If I'm missing something here, please feel free to enlighten me on the comment thread. Because I honestly don't get why anyone would pay anything to read something they can get for free.[image error]
Another Nice Review for STRAWBERRIES AND CREAM AT THE PLAZA
I was pleasantly surprised tonight when I opened an e-mail from coffee time romance regarding another review for STRAWBERRIES AND CREAM AT THE PLAZA.
This was one of those short stories I didn't expect to get much attention. There's no sex in it, it focuses more on love and romance than anything I've ever written before, and the characters are simple, ordinary people who fall in love for the first time. I like to know that I can write anything in any genre, with or without sex, gay or straight. And though this book didn't sell nearly as many copies as my other books, It's been an extremely rewarding experience for me. And one day, if I ever decide to write anything mainstream under a pen name, I'm going to use this book as my muse.
It seems to be hitting a spot with some reviewers, and I'm extremely thankful to them for these reviews. Especially thankful to Lototy at Coffee Time Romance. And the interesting thing is there was another m/m romance released with a similar name around the same time I released this story. It's interesting because my story was originally published in an anthology many years ago by, I think, Alyson Books under a different title.
Here's the link to the review, and here's the review below.
STRAWBERRIES AND CREAM AT THE PLAZA
RYAN FIELD
ISBN: 978-1-60054-486-6
May 2010
loveyoudivine Alterotica
www.loveyoudivine.com
E-Book
$2.00
20 Pages
M/M Romance
Rating: 4 Cups
The life of a freelance writer can get pretty lonely, and Kellan is realizing just how much he has let the world pass him by.
He just writes about life on his blog, and Jason Patriot settles for nothing less than total honesty.
Making the decision to get back into the dating game is not as easy as it would seem, but Kellan knows the only way to have a real relationship is to get out there. He comes across Jason's blog during research for his latest article, and feels like this is someone he would really like to meet. Their impromptu date segues into hours of talking, sharing, and totally enjoying each other's company, but Kellan fears if things go too fast too soon, they could damage what looks to be a wonderful beginning.
Much like the blog Jason writes, this story is creative, honest, and entirely realistic. This just feels exactly what it is like to meet someone new, have that tingle of attraction, and hope those feelings are reciprocated. There is nothing complicated or convoluted about Jason and Kellan, and it only makes you want to know more. I love the simplicity and straightforward approach this story takes, and am as always overjoyed to read anything by Mr. Field.
Lototy
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance & More[image error]
June 17, 2011
Field of Dreams...
It's been a busier week than normal. I was pulling together an anthology of short stories, and getting a novella/novelette...there are so many varying definitions on this...together for ravenous romance. On top of this, I've been working on my next short story for love you divine, and starting a new book in the Virgin Billionaire series about the Virgin Billionaire's dream house.
The anthology is going to be titled, FIELD OF DREAMS. Here's the back cover copy. And I'll post more about the release date soon. I've been in hundreds of anthologies in the past twenty years, with my own name and pen names. So many I don't even remember them all. But this is the first time I've ever had one of my own.
In Ryan Field's Field of Dreams, the central theme revolves around the celebration of love, passion, and romance, where the main characters are either already deeply in love with each other, or on the verge of falling in love. From the story about a handsome young man who falls in love with a rugged cowboy, to the story about two young men who were best friends in high school and wind up falling in love with each other several years later, the focus is on relationships and moving forward. And though these relationships aren't always conventional, they are always emotional. The characters are all either searching for something better or thankful they've already found it. For some, love has been there all along and they only needed to look around to see it clearly. For others, the love is new and fresh, with nothing but promise and hope for the future. There's even a love story about a vampire who has been searching for love for many years, and winds up finding it in one of the most unlikely places.
And like with most things in life that involve love and relationships, the journey toward a happy ending isn't always easy. Sometimes there are obstacles to overcome, and other times there are fears that need to be faced. But the love is always worth the sacrifice in the end.
The anthology is going to be titled, FIELD OF DREAMS. Here's the back cover copy. And I'll post more about the release date soon. I've been in hundreds of anthologies in the past twenty years, with my own name and pen names. So many I don't even remember them all. But this is the first time I've ever had one of my own.
In Ryan Field's Field of Dreams, the central theme revolves around the celebration of love, passion, and romance, where the main characters are either already deeply in love with each other, or on the verge of falling in love. From the story about a handsome young man who falls in love with a rugged cowboy, to the story about two young men who were best friends in high school and wind up falling in love with each other several years later, the focus is on relationships and moving forward. And though these relationships aren't always conventional, they are always emotional. The characters are all either searching for something better or thankful they've already found it. For some, love has been there all along and they only needed to look around to see it clearly. For others, the love is new and fresh, with nothing but promise and hope for the future. There's even a love story about a vampire who has been searching for love for many years, and winds up finding it in one of the most unlikely places.
And like with most things in life that involve love and relationships, the journey toward a happy ending isn't always easy. Sometimes there are obstacles to overcome, and other times there are fears that need to be faced. But the love is always worth the sacrifice in the end.
June 16, 2011
Feeling Stumped, Need Advice, Check Out This Live Stream For Instant Solutions
Here's the link. I pilfered this from another blog, but I figured I'd share in case people haven't seen it yet.
http://instantcreativesolutions.com/
http://instantcreativesolutions.com/
Two of My Favorite Poems...
I've never been very poetic. For the most part, poetry puts me to sleep faster than a broadway musical (or an author who takes things way too seriously). But I do have two favorites I'd like to share:
"There was an old fellow named Sidney,
Who drank til he ruined a kidney.
It shriveled and shrank,
He drank and he drank.
but he had his fun doing it, didn't he?"
"What'll you have, said the waiter,
As he stood there picking his nose,
A hard boiled egg, you sonofabitch,
You can't put your finger on those."
"There was an old fellow named Sidney,
Who drank til he ruined a kidney.
It shriveled and shrank,
He drank and he drank.
but he had his fun doing it, didn't he?"
"What'll you have, said the waiter,
As he stood there picking his nose,
A hard boiled egg, you sonofabitch,
You can't put your finger on those."
Words of Encouragement...
I have a good friend who is dealing with cancer, chemo, and radiation right now. While I was looking for something inspirational to send her, I found this and decided to share.
Sometimes we all need a reminder...
Sometimes we all need a reminder...
