Cardeno C.'s Blog, page 75

creative headspace by Riley Hart

Writing is hard.

Yes, we all know that. This isn't a post where I complain because I love what I do and I'm thankful every single day that I get to do it...but it's hard. It's different from the work I used to do. I could get distracted, and then get right back on track. It's different when I'm writing though. I easily get taken out of the creative headspace. When I'm in the zone and I get distracted by business stuff or drama or even my mom who wants to talk to me for twenty minutes about a show I don't watch, LOL, I can't always jump right back into what I was doing. By then I'm out of the zone and I have to find my way back into it again.

It makes the days very frustrating sometimes. I can be all ready to go in the morning, totally feeling it and ready to get some serious word count written, and then something happens and my creativity shuts down. That's when I spend the rest of the day swapping from Facebook, to Twitter, to email, the whole time telling myself that I need to get back to work.

I'm thinking about getting some books on how to keep myself focused. An author friend said it helped her and I figure it can't hurt!

That's one of my goals for this year...to find a way to keep myself in the zone, and to learn how to get right back into my writing headspace when I get pulled out.

Chatting about Coatal Magic with BA, Julia and Sean

 * julia waves
 [sean] hey there
 [sean] how is everyone
 <BA> hola
 <BA> hysterical
 <BA> the pre-con week is ALWAYS hysterical
 <BA> and wonderchicken over here had to have the root canal from HELL today
 [sean] ewwww
 [sean] root canals suck
 [sean] poor julia
 [sean] I am nearly packed for coastal magic
 <BA> oh fuck you
 <BA> fuck
 <BA> you
 [sean] lol
 <BA> I haven't even found the ditty bag
 [sean] I've never been to a con like this, I'm probably not bringing enough
 <BA> I'm bringing t-shirts and jeans
 <BA> flipflops
 <BA> and a gimme cap
 [sean] oh, I'm doing okay then
 <BA> possibly jammie pants
 [sean] t-shirts and shorts
 <julia> I had a root canal
 <julia> today
 <julia> I am not bending over until tomorrow
 <julia> thus
 <julia> no packing
 [sean] nods and hugs
 <julia> blrgh
 <julia> but
 <julia> we get to see you!
 [sean] nodnods
 [sean] and I get to see you
 [sean] *grins*
 [sean] did you guys get the note about the film for cinama craptastique?
 [sean] I've never heard of the movie
 <julia> we did
 <julia> O.o
 <julia> I find that Taylor Lautner boy intensely unattractive
 <julia> so I have not seen it
 [sean] is that's who's in it?
 <julia> all the better to Tweet to it!
  <julia> yep
 <julia> he was in Twilight, right?
 <BA> *grins*
 <julia> I am old and have not seen those movies, either
 <BA> Miss J looks at me and says, "It's more authentic if we haven't seen it, right?"
 <julia> hey that means I only have to watch it once
 <julia> let Damon Suede watch it 50 times
 [sean] heeee
 <julia> I do love Cinema Craptastique though
 <julia> Kiernan Kelly cracks me up every year
 <julia> and this year we get to be there!
 * sean nods
 <BA> I get to sit next to Kiernan
 <BA> she's my good twin
 <julia> heee
 <julia> yep
 <julia> I'll sit next to Amy Lane and be the other weirdo
 <julia> her words not mine ;)
 [sean] lol
 [sean] I'm just hoping the weather doesn't keep me from getting there
 <BA> is it bad?
 [sean] we've got a storm blowing in Tuesday night and the problem is it's going to move in as snow and then change to icing
 [sean] hopefully it'll be done well before I'm supposed to leave
 <BA> nods -- I hope so
 <BA> we're supposed to be cold but clear
 [sean] that's good
 [sean] hell, the storm may miss us like that heavy snowfall one the other week did
 <BA> nods -- considering the last time we tried to go to this con we got iced in
 [sean] we're in a valley and just as often the storms miss us entirely
 <BA> well, I'm ready
 <BA> by Wednesday night, I'll be in hysterics and needing bed
 [sean] I bet
 <BA> because we didn't know Tuesday was chemo day when we booked
 [sean] nods
 [sean] yeah, that sucks
 <BA> but I should be perky come Thursday
 [sean] that's good
 <julia> woo
 <julia> perky good
 <BA> nods
 <BA> Thursday and Friday should be great
 <BA> and Saturday I'll be coloring :D
 <julia> and signing books
 <julia> the booksigning is 5:30 to 7:30 pm in Daytona Beach
 <julia> plug
 [sean] heee
 [sean] it's that late in the day, eh?
 <BA> BOOKSIGNING
 <BA> LOVING ON READERS AND GETTING HUGS
 <BA> I love that part
 [sean] :)
 [sean] I'm looking forward to meeting readers
 <BA> You'll have a ball
 <BA> I'm looking forward to lots of visits
 <BA> okay, honey
 <BA> my pho is here
 <BA> and the dental wonder is snarling
 <BA> if I don't feed her, she's going to eat me
 <BA> O.O
 [sean] lol
 [sean] okay you guys
 <BA> I WILL SEE YOU DAY AFTER TOMORROW
 <BA> EEEEE!
 [sean] see you soon!
 [sean] yes!
 [sean] woot
 <BA> Love you babe
 <BA> *smooches and waves*
 [sean] love you
 [sean] :)
 [sean] bye guys

Got a topic you'd like us to tackle? Let us know!

You can find us on Twitter at @seanmichael09, @juliatalbot and @batortuga.

Sean’s website is http://www.seanmichaelwrites.com
Julia’s is http://www.juliatalbot.com
BA’s is http://www.batortuga.com

Facebook:
Sean -- https://www.facebook.com/SeanMichaelW...
Julia -- https://www.facebook.com/juliatalbotauthor
BA -- https://www.facebook.com/batortuga


Sean
smut fixes everything
where the naughty boys come... and play

The LGBT Pay Gap by Renae Kaye

Today I’m exercising my right to blog and making a comment on an article I stumbled across today:  here
This article has nothing to do with writing or when my next book is going to be out, so you may wish to turn off right now.  Sorry.  The brave may read on.
The article was written back in February 2015 about a paper an economist, Andrea La Nauze, from the University Melbourne wrote and published.  Now, I’m not an economist.  I went to university, but I studied Physics and Chemistry.  I have no qualifications on what I am about to say, apart from my own brain, and my own experience.
To summarise, the paper studied the gender wage gap and found the men receive 19% more average income than women.  This is terrible.  It’s wrong.  However, the author then went further and studied the average income in relation to that person’s orientation.  (Don’t ask me how the data was collected, all I did was read the article).  It found that straight men earn, between 8-18% more than gay men.  And surprisingly, gay woman earn, 0-13% more than straight women.
According to the article, La Nauze theorised that gay men are discriminated against (*gasp* big surprise), but when determining why gay women earn morethan their straight counterparts, she had the conclusion that employers preferred gay women, because they thought they would be less like to have children.
A solid theory.
But a little wobbly.
Now, I’m a firm believer in gay rights, but I’m also someone who has lived in the world and experienced it.  If this is the only reason La Nauze can find, then she hasn’t met enough people.  She maybe needs to come out from behind her books and numbers and say hello.
My theory is this: personality counts for a lot.
We’re all adults, and we’re hopefully intelligent enough to know that not allgay men are femme and less-than-masculine.  We also know that not all lesbians are butch.  Howeverthere is enough of them for the stereotype to ring true, and this could be skewing the results.  Gay men are more likely to have feminine traits, and lesbians are more likely to masculine traits.
And in my experience, men are different from women when asking for what they think they deserve.  Perhaps it is male-privilege striving forward.  Perhaps it is some natural trait men are born with, but as a whole, men seem to be more forward in asking for things like payrises and promotions.  There have been studies on it, and the studies have found, that during a job interview a male is more likely to exaggerate their experience, and a woman is more likely to underestimate her experience.
I know my husband, who is the shy one in our relationship, has marched off to work and demanded a payrise during an employee review.  I was horrified.  Me, who would easily get up on stage in front of hundreds of people and talk, who isn’t shy to speak her mind, and who talks to strangers in the grocery store, was horrified my husband was demanding to be paid a fair wage.  I’ve always been more likely to accept whatever they want to pay me, then grumble and grizzle behind my employer’s back.

Recently I had to have a course of two needles every week for 23 weeks.  The nurse at the local doctor’s surgery had to give them to me.  She had some trainee nurses come in and shadow her work for two weeks each.  There were four different students who I saw – the third was male, while the other three were females.  I was astounded at the difference between the young women, and the young man.  Of course, this could purely be their personality, but I tend to think that this is where the differences between men and women show up.  The nurse, Jeanette, explained to each trainee how to draw up the needles.  She explained why I was having the needles, how to record the information, where to inject it on the body, etc.  The three girls stood back and watched, nodding as Jeanette explained.  The guy? Well, he was in the thick of it.  He fired off a couple of questions at me, and then asked Jeanette if he could have a turn in drawing up the fluid.  He was all eager to stab me as well.  (The bastard.)
This is my experience in most of my life.  The females tend to stand back, watch, allow others to go first, and accept what is given.  The men demand more.  They will speak up if the service at a restaurant isn’t good enough.  They will take the item back to the store and demand a refund.  They will tell the unwanted doorknocker to take a hike.
If you’re a female, and you’re sitting, reading this and saying, “I do those things - I stand up for myself,” then well done.  But answer this honestly: is this the norm for your friends, family and neighbours?  How many women you have worked with, gone to school with, seen in the grocery store accept what is given to them and never murmur a complaint?
So, do we think that the gay men who have the more feminine traits may also accept without complaint?  And do we think that the lesbians who are receiving higher than the norm, and are skewing the results, are they simply standing up for their rights and asking for a better wage?
And do we think perhaps gay men are attracted to occupations that straight men seldom do – the ones that are low paid, but high reward?  I know childcare assistants are some of the lowest paid in Australia, along with housekeepers, laundry workers, hairdressers, waiters, pharmacy assistants and checkout operators.  All occupations that seem to be disproportionally filled by women.
Is it perhaps the gay women who are less attracted to these jobs and pursue careers as medical professionals, mining professionals, and engineers?
So Andrea La Nauze points the finger at the employer, and shouts that they are being discriminatory.  Probably they are, because we all know there is a gender pay gap and an ethnic pay gap, so there’s a guarantee to be some discrimination out there.  But is the employer the only one at fault?
Perhaps we need to value our girls more, and tell them that they do deserve the same wage, and you have the right to say so.  Perhaps we need to tell our gay young men that they don’t need to accept less, and that being gay doesn’t mean you have to apologise.  And perhaps we need to tell our employers to listen to the little man.
For me?  Am I surprised that a gap exists?  No.  But I was surprised at by how much it existed



How to contact Renae:Email:  renaekaye@iinet.net.auWebsite:  www.renaekaye.weebly.comFB:  www.facebook.com/renae.kaye.9Twitter:  @renaekkaye

Saying Goodbye by Felice Stevens

No, not from the blog. You're stuck with me for as long as I'm lucky enough to stay.

Some of you may know I had a release yesterday. Second to None, Book 3 of The Breakfast Club series released yesterday and was to be the last book in the series. The three main men now have found their love and happiness and that should be that.

Right?


Well....maybe. You see, people have asked me about other characters (Adam, the young firefighter in Beyond the Surface, I'm looking at you), and wanted to know if I had any plans for him.  Other characters also have their fans. 

I do think there is a time when enough is enough and the time is right for the series to end. I asked this question in The M/M Daily Grind, the new group I'm part of with six other gay romance authors, (Riley Hart, Cardeno C. Ella Frank, Lane Hayne, Christina Lee and N. r. Walker) and readers had all different answers, ranging from people who like stand alones, to those who said they can read a series with 20 books. Check us out!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/941204085967883/

For Valentine's Day I do have a novella for Zach and Same called What Lies Between Us which proves that no  matter how much in love you are, the road to happiness is never smooth. It releases February 14th.

Meanwhile, I hope you all enjoy Marcus and Tyler's story. It was one of my favorite stories to write.

Buy links::
:
Amazon:http://amzn.to/1OTBzgN

All Romance:https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-secondtonone-1973875-145.html

Kobo:https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/second-to-none-21

iTunes:https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1078818650

Ssying Goodbye by Felice Stevens

No, not from the blog. You're stuck with me for as long as I'm lucky enough to stay.

Some of you may know I had a release yesterday. Second to None, Book 3 of The Breakfast Club series released yesterday and was to be the last book in the series. The three main men now have found their love and happiness and that should be that.

Right?


Well....maybe. You see, people have asked me about other characters (Adam, the young firefighter in Beyond the Surface, I'm looking at you), and wanted to know if I had any plans for him.  Other characters also have their fans. 

I do think there is a time when enough is enough and the time is right for the series to end. I asked this question in The M/M Daily Grind, the new group I'm part of with six other gay romance authors, (Riley Hart, Cardeno C. Ella Frank, Lane Hayne, Christina Lee and N. r. Walker) and readers had all different answers, ranging from people who like stand alones, to those who said they can read a series with 20 books. Check us out!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/941204085967883/

For Valentine's Day I do have a novella for Zach and Same called What Lies Between Us which proves that no  matter how much in love you are, the road to happiness is never smooth. It releases February 14th.

Meanwhile, I hope you all enjoy Marcus and Tyler's story. It was one of my favorite stories to write.

Buy links::
:
Amazon:http://amzn.to/1OTBzgN

All Romance:https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-secondtonone-1973875-145.html

Kobo:https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/second-to-none-21

iTunes:https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1078818650

Ask Andrew - Where to Put the Sex in Books

Hi Andrew,

I have a question about sex in books. I've noticed that right around the 50% mark is when the MCs will have sex for the first time in most of the book I read, even if it's an established couple.  There are exceptions of course, but that's usually when it happens. Why is that?
Thanks,Bonnie
Dear Bonnie
You are very right.  Most books that I've read fall into that same category.  Romance readers by and large have an expectation regarding what they read.  At the beginning of the book the characters must meet and get to know one another.  If there's an established couple, there has to be something that is threatening their relationship or keeping them apart.  They need to get to know one another, build attraction, and share a first kiss.  From there the tension between them grows until they break down and finally give in to the attraction that's pulling at them.  Of course it can't end there and there has to be additional tension, maybe even something to pull them apart. 
Most romances are a find of fantasy and we like them to feel real to us while we're reading them.  So at the beginning of the story we're establishing the characters, introducing the conflict and setting, as well as building whatever world they live in.  All of that takes words and pages in the story that readers hopefully don't really notice within the framework of the plot and relationship.  Besides, part of what pulls the reader are the vaious buildups in the story and one of those is invariably toward sex.  Not every story falls into this pattern.  Some have sex earlier and use the ramificaitons of that as part of the tension.  Others are more erotic and sex earlier is part of that type of story.  But this is what I've found. 
I hope I helpedHugs and LoveAndrew

Ask Andrew is your chance to ask questions of a gay romance author.  The questions can be about the writing process in general, writing sex scenes, gay men, sex, characters in romance, characters having sex... okay you probably get the picture.    I promise to answer your questions as frankly and with as much humor as I possibly can.

So if you have a question, please send it to andrewgreybooks@comcast.net.  This is different from my usual email so your questions don't get lost.  I will answer one question a week.

Please remember this is meant to be all in fun.  (I was going to say good, clean fun, but who wants that.)    So send me your questions and let's see what mischief we can get into.

Visit Andrew on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/andrewgreybooks  and you can join Andrew's fan group All The Way With Andrew Grey.

Follow him on Twitter:  @andrewgreybooks

Visit Andrew's web site:  www,andrewgreybooks.com

A Werewolf, A Dragon and a Vampire Walk Into a Bar by BA, Julia and Sean

Today is the first installment of a story we're writing together for Cafe Risque. Hopefully we'll get an installment up once a month.

A Werewolf, A Dragon and A Vampire Walk Into A Bar
A paranormal romp by BA, Julia and Sean

Copper Williams headed into the little ramshackle bar, drawn by the throbbing beat of old school soul music. It wasn’t country music, but he knew all the words and the sound promised that there wasn’t a single thing hip or modern about the joint.

He just needed a beer, maybe a little company or a little fistfight in the parking lot. However it went, what the fuck did he care? Lone wolves took what they could and that was the way of things. Pack law sucked if it worked against you. It sucked harder if your animal self had this unfortunate habit of chasing the cattle and your pack had a herd in Montana.

He pulled the brim of his hat lower on his brow and shouldered his way in.

Food, fuck, fight or any of the above.

There weren’t very many people in the place yet, but the ones who were there were all guys. Every last fucking one of them. Bingo. It was his kind of place. He went over to the bar, sitting next to a huge guy with a broad back and shaggy blond hair. The guy turned to glance at him as he sat, eyes the color of smoke.

Copper dipped his chin, then ordered a Bud from the bartender. “Y’all got food here?”

“Depends on what you’re eating, puppy.”

“I’ve got a steak appetite and a hamburger budget. What are my options?”

“Get him a steak,” the blond said, voice deep and growly. “With all the fixings.”

The growl slid down his spine and landed like a steel fishing weight in his balls. “Well, aren’t you a dear?”

That earned him a snort. “Not a deer.” He got a long, slow look, head to toe and back up again. “I eat deer for dinner.”

“Me too. Deer. Elk. Chickens. I’m pretty easy.”

“Yeah?” There was a spark of interest, deep in the smoky eyes. “How easy?”

“Easy enough to know that a steak between friends might lead to biting.”

His new friend nodded slowly. “I like biting. I like it a lot.” He was treated to a toothy grin that more than proved that this guy certainly had the teeth for biting.

He rumbled softly into the foam on his beer, telling his cock to take it easy. They had time.

“You come here often?” his new bar partner asked.

“No sir. This here’s my first time. I been traveling.” Traveling. That was a nice way to say banished, wasn’t it?

“Travelling. Huh. Have you come far?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’ve been all over.”

“I used to travel a lot. When the world was… simpler. Quieter.”

“I’m still learning about the world. My p...I was pretty damn isolated.”

“I like isolation. But sometimes you just need to find someone and… not be alone.” The deep growly voice got deeper and growlier, the lovely eyes darker.

“I…” Copper blinked, watching the reflection of himself, his need, deep inside those eyes. Oh, man. Let this one be into fucking, not fighting. He could totally roll over and show his belly.


Tune in next month for the next installment!


Got a topic you'd like us to tackle? Let us know!

You can find us on Twitter at @seanmichael09, @juliatalbot and @batortuga.

Sean’s website is http://www.seanmichaelwrites.com
Julia’s is http://www.juliatalbot.com
BA’s is http://www.batortuga.com

Facebook:
Sean -- https://www.facebook.com/SeanMichaelWrites
Julia -- https://www.facebook.com/juliatalbotauthor
BA -- https://www.facebook.com/batortuga


Sean
smut fixes everything
where the naughty boys come... and play

So You Want To Be A Full-Time Writer, by Renae Kaye

I feel a little silly writing this blog, because I don’t feel I’m in the position to give anyone advice.  However the comments keep coming at me and I think I need to clarify a few things to people who talk about writing full-time with stars twinkling in their eyes.  This topic is for writers with dreams and for readers with questions.Besides, I needed a blog topic for Café Risqué.  (I’m terrible with topics!)  This sounded like a good idea.
I recently pointed out to someone the authors who have “folded” in the last 12 months – the authors who have either hung up their keyboards, or those who have said they need to go back to “real work” to pay the bills.  Those are the sad stories.  But at the other end of the spectrum, we have some great authors who have recently posted that they're going for the “big dream” and are giving up their EDJ (Evil Day Job) in order to write full-time.
I would also like to declare that I don’t consider myself to be a full-time writer.  It’s hard to judge, because I have no other income, but I evaluate it on the fact that if I wasn’t writing, I wouldn’t be working full-time (ie working in another job outside the home).  My #1 responsibility and job is looking after the children and the house.  I am the primary carer for my children and I’m responsible for about 80% of the chores that keep a household of four running.  Some weeks I would put in full-time hours (and more) to writing, but other weeks I’m busy with the house and children and barely manage two hours a day.
Is it possible to be a full-time writer?
Of course.
But it depends on you.  There are a lot of variables that go into declaring yourself a full-time writer.  Let’s break it down.
Income
Ugh.  I really hate talking about money.  But this has to be the biggest stumbling block to being a full-time author, for the overwhelming majority of us have bills to pay that need an income to pay them.  There are a few independently wealthy writers out there, but on the whole they don’t do a lot of writing because usually they’re at the beach (in Barbados) or shopping (at Saks) or organising the household (because 12 servants and 6 gardeners sometimes need organising).
Writers usually like to be paid for their work. 
But what you consider is a salary, may not everyone’s equivalent.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics tells me that the average Australian full-time income is around $77,000pa (around 53k USD or 38k GBP).
The average for the US is 52k USD and for the UK 26k GBP.  However, the average Thai income for the year is around 5,000 USD, in Brazil it’s 12,000 USD, and one report I looked at put South African yearly income at an average of 2,000 USD.
Of course none of these figures take into account taxation, cost of living and how many people this income supports.  The figures simply illustrate that my level of income may be different to yours.  And that’swhat YOU need to think about when you consider a full-time writing position.
So maybe you live rent free in a cottage that your parents own, have a productive vegetable garden and solar power for electricity, and don’t go out because there’s nowhere to go.  You could easily get by on $8,000 a year.  Or perhaps you have six children, two of who have disabilities and large medical bills, and you also support your elderly parents in a high rent unit. 
The point is that you need to make the call (and perhaps the adjustments) as to how much is enough for you.
Time
Oh, time.  You precious, precious time.
I love reading and would love to have the time to read all those books I’ve bought.
I love crafty stuff and would love to have the time to finish that quilt, sew those clothes, do that needle-point, update those scrapbooks… if only I had the time.
I love gardening, and if I had the time I would be growing so much more because it’s free food.
Time…
I wish I had more of it.  But everyone has the same amount of time in their day.  But not everyone has the same amount of free time.
So you live in your lonely cottage owned by your parents, take about 30 minutes a day to weed the carrots and plant some more beans, and then sit down and write for 10 hours a day, only stopping for pee breaks and tea breaks.  Oh, I envy you!
Or perhaps you have the sole care of those six kids (two who have disabilities) and you race around most days, trying to get the washing done while supervising homework and making doctors appointments.  Your mother is ill again, and you’re worried, while your sister has just phoned, crying that her boyfriend walked out on her after she told him she’s pregnant.  She can’t pay the rent without him and wants to move in with you.  You long for that hour between 11pm and midnight that you sit up and write those furious words instead of getting that much needed sleep.
Writing full-time once again relies on you.  What can youmanage?  Yeah.  I know it’s hard.  Here you wanted a simple answer, but the answer isn’t simple.
And you will need to remember that very few writers manage to work from 8am-5pm, and then clock off. 
Support
This is a bit of a multi-pronged point.  A full-time writer usually gets very little support – from family, friends and other authors.
Oh, I’m not saying people are mean (not usually).  Just more that you don’t get the same level of support that you get in a normal job.  There’s no boss saying, “Job well done, mate,” at the end of the day.  There’s no one saying “Great, thanks Renae” each time you finish another page.  There’s no Xmas party, end of week drinks or team building days – unless you organise it.
People in your family and friends circle will often treat it as a hobby, not a job.  I know my mother doesn’t mean to – but she will sometimes drop into my house in the middle of my “work day” and stay 2 hours.  That you need to work at writing doesn’t cross their mind.  No one is offering to pick up my kids from school because I’m busy.  My husband doesn’t think that he maybe needs to do a little more this week because I have a deadline.  Your support level is dramatically reduced when you’re a full-time author.  Because basically you only need to work for an hour a day – right?  And the rest of the time is shopping and watching TV?
To write full-time is a thankless job… until the book releases.  You have to have the guts and the oomph to do the lonely months in order to get the accolades.  (Hopefully!)
Down time and vacation days
I’ve done this writing gig for a couple of years now.  I’m “self-employed.”  The more I work, the more I get paid.  I know the routine.  My father was self-employed for the entirety of my childhood.  My brothers are self-employed now.  I see the struggle between earning money and having a life.
With a regular job, you usually have set hours, public holidays (bank holidays as they’re known in some countries), sick days and vacation days.  Sometimes these go out the window with a writer.  We’re never sick enough to have a day off.  We use the holidays as extra days to work.  And even our vacations are spent writing.
And weekend?  What’s one of them?
Is there another way to spell “burn out”?
If you plan to write full-time, make sure you factor in some down time.  You may say, “I can write a novel every 2 months, so that means 6 per year to publish.” Nope.  What about the days you’re sick?  What about a week off around Christmas, and that week on the cruise you’ve booked?
In Australia as a full-time employee, we get 4 weeks annual leave, up to two weeks of sick leave, and 10 days that are public holidays.  That’s 8 weeks per year that we don’t work, out of 52.  If you’re working on a novel every 2 months, perhaps you need to look at 5 novels a year to take into account the down time you need.
Lean periods
It’s a fact of life – sometimes our books just don’t sell.  Sometimes you’re delayed getting that next novel out.  Sometimes Amazon is late paying you.
Writing is not a guaranteed income.  This is basic maths.  But sometimes it’s easy to forget.  And sometimes the lean period is not just a month or two.  To be a full-time writer, you need to either have support (ie another income in the house) or know that your books will sell.  I’m a bit of an extremist-alarmist.  I’m a worst-case-scenario thinker.  So I immediately point out the pitfalls in any new venture.  With full-time writing, you’d better have a backup plan. 
It could be that you put away 20% of each pay cheque “just in case” the next pay isn’t as plump.  As long as you have a plan…
Organisation and promotions
Know thyself.  I think every person should have a good look at themselves and know their strengths and weaknesses.
If you’re going to be a writer full-time, there are going to have to be two things you need to do and be good at… or at least passable. 
Firstly you need to be organised.  Not only in your writing, but the paperwork behind being a writer.  Contracts, taxation, keeping track of payments, making sure you’re getting paid correctly, etc.  Most successful writers I know analyse the market and their track their sales figures to some degree.
Then there is the promotion side of it.  I don’t know any successful author who doesn’t do promo.  You need (at minimum) to maintain a website, have one other social media, and get reviews for your stories.
If this doesn’t sound like you, I would suggest you own your weakness and find a way around it.  Perhaps your Significant Other can be your organisation?  Perhaps you can PAY someone to do it for you? 
Self-employment costs
I’m not talking about expenses you need to pay such as copyright and editing services.  There are costs associated with employing yourself.  They’re usually pretty minimal, but they can add up if you’re on a budget.
When I stopped full-time work to have a baby, I was amazed at how my utilities costs skyrocketed.  True, we now had an extra person in the house, but he was tiny.  But then I realised something. 
I was home all day.

Every toilet flush was now costing ME instead of my employer.  Every time I boiled the kettle for a coffee was now using MY electricity.  The air-con or the heater going all day was electricity we’d never used before.  The lights on during a cloudy day were my cost.
You will also be responsible for purchasing your own electronic gear, maybe a desk and chair (if you don’t want to end up with back problems) and your own ink and paper in the printer.
In Australia, employers are required by law to pay an extra 9.5% of our earnings into a superannuation fund (pension fund).  So if someone says they’re on a salary of $50,000 per year, then they get paid $50,000 (less tax of course) PLUS their employer deposits $4,750 into a super fund for them.  If you earn $50k by writing, you’re not getting this super.  I advise all my Australian writers to take 10% of their royalties and put in super.  So, really your income is $45k.  That money is a cost of your self-employment.
You should also realise your money is going to need to be taxed.  You can’t just accept the income from your publisher and think that you’re going to pocket it all.  When you work out how much you need to live on, and how much you are earning, make sure you factor in taxation at the correct rate.


So, in summary, being a full-time writer isn’t just about being able to write.  It’s a lifestyle choice.  Can you do it?  I don’t know.  The choice has to come from you.  The wonderful thing about writing is that it waits for you.
If you’re not ready to take the plunge just yet, then that’s okay.  If you want to try it out for six months until that new job offer starts – then go for it.  You want to try it as your main income and have those ten hours on the weekend as your backup plan, sounds like a great idea.  Go for it.  Good luck!  I’m cheering you the whole way.But thinking you can do it because your favourite author on Goodreads just announced she’s quit her EDJ?  What someone else can do shouldn’t be a part of your thinking.

How to contact Renae:Email:  renaekaye@iinet.net.auWebsite:  www.renaekaye.weebly.comFB:  www.facebook.com/renae.kaye.9Twitter:  @renaekkaye

Bracing For the Storm by Felice Stevens

They tell us here on the East Coast the storm will hit us tomorrow, Saturday and can dump anywhere from 3 to 6 to 8...up to 18 inches of snow. 

That's quite a deviation, don't you think? In my next life I want to come back as a weather person; it seems no one gives them flak if they get things wrong or make a miscalculation. They chalk it up to "last minute computer module changes."

Meanwhile the stores are crowded with people in a buying frenzy, clearing the shelves of bread, milk, eggs, cheese, and ever snack food known to man. Trying to find a frozen pizza in my neighborhood is like searching for gold. It's as though they believe they'll be hunkered down for a month and God-forbid someone should be without their favorite flavor of Haagen Daz.


Me? I'm content to sit in my apartment, watch the snow fall and read. I have books to read for the RITA contest (the RWA's national award for excellence) and I have my coffee. As long as the cable holds out, I'll be fine.


Hope you all have a lovely, safe weekend.

How do you ride out bad storms?

Twitter vs Facebook by Riley Hart

I spend a lot of time online (obviously). I love the connections I've made over the internet. I love interacting with fellow authors and readers. It's fun for me...but I also probably spend a little too much time online sometimes... and let's face it, part of time spent online is also for promotion. It's not the most fun part of being an author, but it's an important part.

I'm curious...do you spent more time on Twitter or Facebook? Why?

A goal of mine this year is to try and make the most out of what kind of promotion I do, so I'm curious what readers like. What catches your eye as far as promotion? How do you find new authors (social media, free reads, friends)?

Thanks for letting me pick your brain :)


Keep an eye out for the cover for SHIFTING GEARS. It should be revealed along with the release day soon!