On Writing-Part 3
I always enjoyed writing erotica, but it was usually done only to satisfy my urge to write. Over the years I'd accumulated a number of little scenarios, but had never actually written a book. I shared some of them with some on-line acquaintances, and one day one of them suggested that I try to get my work published. She even sent me the website of a publisher who might be interested. So I took a look.
Pink Flamingo was looking for novels in the 45,000-word range and the longest thing I had available was a 16,000-word item. I sent it to them, asking if they thought it would be worth expanding into a book. I got an affirmative answer.
At that point, I began to realize how much work was in front of me. It seemed at first that all I had to do was tack another 29,000 words on to what I'd already written. After a few days it was clear that a problem simply stated is not necessarily a problem simply solved. I had a number of hot sex scenes, but PF was also looking for plot and character development, so I couldn't just tack on more hot sex scenes. I had to look at the characters and decide what might happen next, what might motivate them, what kind of conflicts might arise and how those conflicts might be resolved. In retrospect, it might have been easier to go all the way back and start over, but I hate going backwards. So I forged ahead.
What I wound up doing was keeping that first part more or less intact, and making the remainder of the book about the main male dominant looking up the main female submissive two years afterwards. He hadn't been able to forget her, but she regarded what she and her friend Dianne had done previously as a one-time-only thing that she really didn't want to repeat. Except that...
Parts of the story seemed to write themselves, but it was still a long, hard slog. I got the story up to the required length and sent it in. Shortly afterwards, I received a request that I make the ending longer and spicier, which I did. Then there was a discussion over the title. The publisher didn't think that 'Vacation' was catchy enough. I couldn't think of a possible different title, and thought that the whole story revolved around just what a particular vacation had led to, so I insisted on keeping the original title. The publisher relented, finally, and asked if I was planning to write any more books for them.
Pink Flamingo was looking for novels in the 45,000-word range and the longest thing I had available was a 16,000-word item. I sent it to them, asking if they thought it would be worth expanding into a book. I got an affirmative answer.
At that point, I began to realize how much work was in front of me. It seemed at first that all I had to do was tack another 29,000 words on to what I'd already written. After a few days it was clear that a problem simply stated is not necessarily a problem simply solved. I had a number of hot sex scenes, but PF was also looking for plot and character development, so I couldn't just tack on more hot sex scenes. I had to look at the characters and decide what might happen next, what might motivate them, what kind of conflicts might arise and how those conflicts might be resolved. In retrospect, it might have been easier to go all the way back and start over, but I hate going backwards. So I forged ahead.
What I wound up doing was keeping that first part more or less intact, and making the remainder of the book about the main male dominant looking up the main female submissive two years afterwards. He hadn't been able to forget her, but she regarded what she and her friend Dianne had done previously as a one-time-only thing that she really didn't want to repeat. Except that...
Parts of the story seemed to write themselves, but it was still a long, hard slog. I got the story up to the required length and sent it in. Shortly afterwards, I received a request that I make the ending longer and spicier, which I did. Then there was a discussion over the title. The publisher didn't think that 'Vacation' was catchy enough. I couldn't think of a possible different title, and thought that the whole story revolved around just what a particular vacation had led to, so I insisted on keeping the original title. The publisher relented, finally, and asked if I was planning to write any more books for them.
No comments have been added yet.
