Ryan Field's Blog, page 567

Don't Cancel All My Children: Networkfail

I read an article this morning about ABC having plans to cancel the long running soap, All My Children. You can read the article here, and I've posted it below for those who are too damn lazy to click (like me sometimes).

All I can say is I hope ABC rethinks this decision. Part of the reason ratings are low could be because a lot of people (like me) are watching shows like All My Children at night on soapnet. And if I can't watch it on soapnet at night, I'll DVR it. I don't know if this counts as ratings, but it should. The other reason ratings might be low is because the soap industry needs a little shake-up right now. It's tired. I always thought soaps and romance novels had many similarities. But romance novels have been evolving for the past ten years and soaps haven't changed much in forty years. In fact, the soaps of forty years ago were often more erotic than they are today. And, frankly, I think one of the reasons people watch soaps is for the erotica and escapism, not cheese.

So ABC, you haven't been doing well at keeping up with the times. Actually none of the three networks have been doing very well. (Why do you guys think American Idol is still so f%#king popular? There's nothing else for people to watch.) All you have to do is look back at the Jay Leno prime time nightmare and you'll see a perfect example of Networkfail. People want escapism and they want erotica. You've already got good storylines, now you need a little sex that's tastefully done. Try giving it to them with the soaps and your ratings will soar. I can't tell you how many times I've watched a soap this year and thought, wow, that could have such a hot scene if only...

A daytime landscape without Erica Kane? Say it ain't so! A source close to 'All My Children' has confirmed to TV Squad the series is in jeopardy.ABC could make an announcement regarding the fate of 'All My Children' as soon as today or tomorrow. Despite it being a bigger brand, the soap's sagging ratings have put 'AMC' on the chopping block.If 'AMC' is canceled, ABC could move 'One Life to Live' to California.In recent weeks 'AMC' has delivered record lows in Nielsen ratings. According to Deadline, the soap came in last in the key demographic of women 18–49. It was seen by 463,000 viewers in that demo, down 34 percent compared to last year. The series also came in last in total viewers, grabbing 2.32 million. 'One Life to Live' had 2.36 million during the week of March 7.Since its debut 41 years ago, the series has been a launching ground for many stars including Sarah Michelle Gellar and Amanda Seyfried. Recent Oscar-winner Melissa Leo also had a brief stint on the soap.Viewers will remember Kelly Ripa as Hayley long before she became the co-host of 'Live! With Regis and Kelly.' 'AMC' has also been home to Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of the most familiar faces in TV, for more than 30 years. Lucci is the only original cast member still on the series.If 'AMC' bites the dust, ABC could follow the lead of CBS and replace the long-running soap with a game or talk show. CBS replaced 'As the World Turns' with 'The Talk' this season, and 'Guiding Light,' previously the longest running drama in TV history, with 'Let's Make a Deal' in 2009.Stay tuned to TV Squad for more updates 'All My Children.'

Interview with Harvey Klinger From The Gatekeeper's Post

Here's a recent interview with Harvey Klinger, literary agent, from The Gatekeeper's Post, a new publishing blog I've talked about before. I think it's not only interesting, but right on target.

So check out the link. With all the talk about where publishing is going these days, I think there are some valid points made in this interview.

My Take On .99 E-books and the Type of Reader They Attract...

First, before I even get into the post, I'd like to thank every single reader who has ever purchased one of my e-books for .99. Whenever anyone takes money out of their wallet and buys one of my books, I'm grateful and I hope I didn't disappoint them. For me, as an author, it's as simple as that.

Now that that's out of the way, I wanted to mention a blog post I read the other day about low-balling, pricing e-books at .99, and what type of reader this attracts. I don't know the author in the post, I haven't read this author's work, and I doubt I ever will. I respect this author's right to an opinion, but I can't say I wasn't stunned when I read this post. I'm not even posting a link to the blog post because I don't want to start anything with this author, and because I find it hard to take her very seriously. Not to mention the fact that I think she'll regret her post and I'd rather be civil and not call anymore attention to it.

In a sentence, she believes pricing e-books at .99 is low-balling and that this attracts the wrong kind of reader. I'm still unclear as to what the "wrong" kind or reader is because I didn't read any solid statistics nor did I read any factual examples. I did, however, read a lot of opinion...a lot of blah, blah, blah. And that's fine. It's her opinion and she has every right to share it openly. But I also read a lot of insulting comments about who the "wrong" readers are, and frankly, I was left wondering why this author would even go this far in public. As a reader, I found it insulting. And, unfortunately, I guess that since I actually scan the web for .99 e-books myself sometimes, I'm the "wrong" kind of reader.

I can honestly say it's been a long time since I've disagreed with anyone so much, especially the part about "wrong" readers. I don't think readers can be categorized and placed into boxes. I know, speaking as a reader now, I can't be put in a box. I buy .99 e-books, I shop for e-book bargains, and I still buy e-books that go as high as twenty dollars sometimes if I really want the book. (I'm reading John Irving's, Twisted River e-book right now and I think I paid around 17.00 for it...but it's John Irving, not Betty Z. Summers who self-publishes her own books. In this case I want her book considerably cheaper, and frankly I don't want to hear her complaining about it.) And I think most readers are like me in this sense, especially when it comes to buying e-books. We want them cheaper and we don't care about anything else.

Speaking as an author now, I don't have any choices about how my books are priced. I leave this up to the publisher and I never interfere. I trust all the publishers I work with, because they've been doing this for a long time. And when one of my publishers prices one of my e-books at .99, I know there's a good reason. And when those .99 e-books sell, as I stated above but I'll repeat one more time, I'm grateful to every single reader who made the purchase. I consider all my readers the "right" kind of readers.

I've always felt that building a solid career as an author has a great deal to do with gaining the reader's trust and respecting the reader's opinion. And I don't think I'd lose if I bet that most readers would agree with me that .99 e-books are a good thing for both authors and readers, especially when an author's career is still on the rise. I know all e-books can't be priced at .99, but once in a while it's nice to give the reader a break. And it's just as nice to give the author a break so he or she can build a readership with a reasonably priced book.

A Typical Exchange With An Editor

Yesterday I received an e-mail late in the afternoon from an editor I've worked with many times on Cleis Press books. He's quirky and always interesting. And because I've been working so hard on contracted books for e-publishers, I haven't submitted much to him in the past three years. But once a relationship is established with an editor, it usually lasts forever. And an exchange like this is never a surprise to me.



Editor: Hey Ryan, do you have a short story that's 1200 words or less for an upcoming anthology I'm editing?



Me: I'll check and get back.



Me, two hours later after hunting through my files: Hey, just checked and came up with this story. I've attached it. It's a little longer than what you wanted, about 2500 words, but feel free to cut it down if you want. And you don't have to ask; just edit away. Seriously. The story has been sitting in my files for years and I'd forgotten about it.



Editor, early this morning: Hey Ryan, I have good news and bad. I can't use the story you sent because it's too long. But I can use it for another book I'm working on. Is this okay? Let me know.



Me: Feel free to use it. No problem. Talk to you soon. And sorry I couldn't help out with the other book.

Release Day: You Missed a Spot, Big Guy

Here's all the information about the book, taken directly from Allromanceebooks.com. It can be purchased at the publishers web site, too, www.loveyoudivine.com, an most other online sites where e-books are sold.


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You Missed a Spot Big GuyBy: Ryan Field Other books by Ryan FieldPublished By: loveyoudivineISBN # 5043_1015
Word Count: 5036Heat Index
Available in: Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Reader, HTML, Mobipocket (.prc), Rocket, Epub
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About the bookWhen a cute college guy named Rick takes a part time job keeping house for a newly divorced construction worker named David who has a ten year old son, Rick isn't shy about wearing his tightest pants, his shortest shorts, and his most revealing underwear. Although Rick's not certain whether or not David will care about what he's wearing, Rick's heart beats faster each time he gazes at David's strong legs and heavy construction boots. When Rick steals quick glances at David's tool belt, his knees go weak. And when the right circumstances occur and Rick can't hold back his feelings for David any longer he seizes the opportunity to blatantly seduce him with cunning instincts.But David reacts in a way Rick hadn't predicted. And though Rick isn't sure at first about whether or not he'll keep his part time job, he doesn't mind taking good care of his big strong construction worker dad while he's still employed there.

New Release: March 18th...YOU MISSED A SPOT, BIG GUY

Sometimes in publishing the stars are all aligned and everything works out just right. And that's the way it's been with this book...so far. No one's reviewed it yet, so there's always room for a glitch (smile).

YOU MISSED A SPOT, BIG GUY will be released on March 18th, this Friday. I'll post more links when I get them. It's a short story stand alone e-book that runs 5,000 words, it's m/m erotica with a touch of romance, and it has a very happy ending with hope for the future. Another version of this story was once published in an erotic anthology by a print publisher. I can't recall the name of the anthology right now. But this newly released version is longer, has more of my own personal touches that were originally edited out of the one for the print publisher, and I hope it has more emotion.

And I'd like to thank everyone at my publisher, loveyoudivine.com, for allowing me the chance to publish my short stories as stand alone e-books. I've been writing and publishing short stories for many years. But they've always been included in anthologies and collections. Thanks to loveyoudivine I'm now able to release these stories on their own. And thanks to the readers who have been supporting me since I started doing this. You guys are my boss, I never take your comments for granted, and you've been speaking very loudly in the past five years and I've been trying hard to listen.

It's Really Me, Not a Robot, a Student At Northwestern, or a Pen Name

After someone pointed me to a link yesterday about my identity, I decided to write this quick post and put it in writing once again. Sometimes I feel like Oprah Winfrey when she tells the world she's not gay.

First, if you need proof, contact Elisa Rolle, the m/m book reviewer. I've met Elisa in person, here in my home, two summers ago when she was traveling through the US. I'm sure she'll back me up.

I'm not a robot, I'm not a student at Northwestern (I think they have an athletic field named Ryan), and Ryan Field is not a pen name. Well, Ryan is my middle name because I don't like my first name. But everyone I know has been calling me Ryan for the past twenty years. So I don't consider this a pen name.

I've used pen names before for various reasons and I don't like doing it. It's hard to promote a book and keep it real with a pen name, for me, and I decided a long time ago that I'd use my real name when I was writing m/m fiction of any kind in order to keep it real.

The few photos I post around the internet are me as well. I don't use fake photos of anyone and I'm not trying to hide what I look like. I'll admit I don't take the best picture in the world. But it is me. And I wouldn't post a fake photo of myself.

I think a lot of this doubt about my identity comes about because I write fast. At least that's where the robot reference originated, but I'm still not sure about that one. I've been writing for almost twenty years, every single day of my life, and it's become part of my daily existence. I don't have to force myself to write. I just sit down and do it; this is what I was trained to do. Even when I was working full time in my businesses I wrote at least 1,000 words a day, which wasn't always easy. Up until I started working for e-publishers, I was in about twenty different anthologies a year. And all that practice paid off in the long run. Now I write anywhere from 3,000 to 4,000 words a day full time, and that makes it easy to write at least a novel a month. I've written novels in two weeks and that's just too stressful. But a novel a month is doable. I also only require about three or four hours of sleep each night. So I work longer hours than most people.

I know that many authors use pen names for their own reasons. And I respect those reasons (I wish they would use solid first names instead of initials...B.Z., E.D., and Y. R. really confuses me and I never remember them when it's time to buy their books. And people have trouble remembering names, forget about initials. But that's none of my business.) I also understand that because the Internet promotes anonymity it's often hard to trust who is real and who isn't. I thought I was connecting with a real person for a year, and then found out he was only using a pen name for publishing reasons. I know the owner and publisher of a small press and he uses pen names and fake identities for every single editor even though he's doing all the editing himself. In other words, it's all fake with this guy.

I think we're all skeptical by now. And I understand when people question my identity. But I can't put it any plainer than this. Pardon the cliche, but I am who I am.

Cover Preview: THE VIRGIN BILLIONAIRE: REVENGE

It's always a busy week when two new books are being released at the same time. This cover preview is for The Virgin Billionaire: Revenge, which is the fourth book in the best selling Virgin Billionaire series. Take a close look at the look in the model's eyes at the top of the cover. That's called revenge. And this revenge threatens everything Jase and Luis have worked to build so far.

NORMAL FOR ONCE, by Jonathan Stephens

I don't usually plug other books or authors here often. But this is a book (and author) I've been following for a couple of years now. I started reading Jonathan Stephens blog maybe five years ago and fell in love with his writing. I also enjoyed his personal posts and I've watched Jonathan and his wife, Lisa, grow from newlyweds to parents. We've talked about queries from time to time and I know he's a perfectionist. He's also a damn nice guy and he follows his heart when he writes.

Jonathan writes those rare YA novels that I think cross over into the mainstream. At least they do for me, and I think they will for others, too. And now he's published NORMAL FOR ONCE on amazon.

This is the kind of book I usually read when I'm not writing. And Jonathan is the kind of writer I prefer to read when I'm not writing. He nails it every single time with regard to writing style. And I always learn something. He knows what he's doing and it comes from within, not by watching what other authors are doing. In fact, I don't think I've come across a new writer with this much talent since I read Jaime Ford's, HOTEL AT THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET. And when I'm not writing, this is how I prefer to spend my spare time.

Here's a description of NORMAL FOR ONCE. Check it out and see what I'm talking about. And, just for the record, if this book does become the hit I think it will become, I take personal satisfaction in knowing that I was one of the first readers to realize what a great author Jonathan Stephens is.


If you wear a mask long enough, people think they know the real you.Abe's football skills have earned him the nickname "Psycho," but his actions make the name stick. Hard-hitting defensive lineman known for his hilarious pranks, Abe seems unaware his joking around is losing him friends. That is, until Matt gets so ticked he dares him to play things straight. As quarterback of the football team, Matt is no stranger to stress, but his game-day gambling and flown-the-coup father have strapped him with enough worries that he's lashing out at the people closest to him. The only person who "gets" Abe is Skye Brennan, Abe's best (girl)friend for years and the person he's dying to take things deeper with. Everyone else chalks him up as a prankster, but there's more to him than they give him credit for. A lesser friend might back down from Matt's challenge and move on, but not Abe. Not anymore.

Matt Dusk - The Way You Look Tonight - LIVE on TV

Can't get enough of this guy!!