I'm actually pretty excited
Join the best erotica focused adult social network now
Login
Writing a Whole Novel...?
last reply
48 replies
11.4k views
0 watchers
2 likes
Active Ink Slinger
Finally looked up the Novels section, and realized at least one of my stories could reach Novel length. Can I re-categorize and re-submit stories for the Novel section? 
Coco Pop
but... but... i want fame and moneeeeyyy.
Active Ink Slinger
I think George Orwell got it more or less right:
“Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout with some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand.”
“Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout with some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand.”
Active Ink Slinger
Quote by browncoffee
but... but... i want fame and moneeeeyyy.
They will come. The difficult bit is getting your first novel published.
Oh, and knowing when it is finished.
News of ALL my novels (and where to get free copies) via charmbrights@yahoo.co.uk
Active Ink Slinger
Writing a novel is a very heavy lift. I thought I was doing one about three years ago, but then I broke out some pieces of it and published them on another site as short stories.
Eventually, I started doing series over there that probably will consist of maybe ten chapters at most. Perhaps when they are done, each series will be a sort of novella. I haven't done word counts yet, but supposedly novellas have 17,000 to 40,000 words. I will certainly will be in that range. Whether they will truly be readable as a continuous story is something I'm not sure of yet. Maybe they'll be like Winesburg, Ohio, which Sherwood, Anderson called "a group of tales." There is a central character in that who is followed over the course of about fifteen years.
Eventually, I started doing series over there that probably will consist of maybe ten chapters at most. Perhaps when they are done, each series will be a sort of novella. I haven't done word counts yet, but supposedly novellas have 17,000 to 40,000 words. I will certainly will be in that range. Whether they will truly be readable as a continuous story is something I'm not sure of yet. Maybe they'll be like Winesburg, Ohio, which Sherwood, Anderson called "a group of tales." There is a central character in that who is followed over the course of about fifteen years.
First Person Smartass
Quote by browncoffee
but... but... i want fame and moneeeeyyy.
If you want money and fame, be an actor or a singer.
Writing only makes you money if you can output one 'good' novel (100k word minimum,) every 4 to six months for years.
Morgan Hawke
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Purveyor of fine Smut.
Morgan Hawke's DarkErotica ~ My Website
DarkErotica Blog ~ My Writers' blog
"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."
Albert Einstein
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Purveyor of fine Smut.
Morgan Hawke's DarkErotica ~ My Website
DarkErotica Blog ~ My Writers' blog
"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."
Albert Einstein
Active Ink Slinger
Quote by MorganHawke
If you want money and fame, be an actor or a singer.
Writing only makes you money if you can output one 'good' novel (100k word minimum,) every 4 to six months for years.
In any creative endeavor, a day job is likely a necessity - except for those at the very top. The odds of becoming even a moderately successful actor or singer are very much stacked against you. It's also, unless you're maybe a Helen Mirren, very much a young person's game. Probably the best bet for acting is to be a character actor, not shoot for stardom. Stardom is fleeting; remember Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard?
First Person Smartass
Quote by LakeShoreLimited
In any creative endeavor, a day job is likely a necessity - except for those at the very top. The odds of becoming even a moderately successful actor or singer are very much stacked against you. It's also, unless you're maybe a Helen Mirren, very much a young person's game. Probably the best bet for acting is to be a character actor, not shoot for stardom. Stardom is fleeting; remember Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard?
EXACTLY!
-- Odd factoid: Did you know that a Music company contract and one from a Book publisher, (Mills & Boon/Harlequin and Dorchester's in particular,) are damned near identical? Namely, in the percentage of the 'net' the creator receives, and in the fine print.
Morgan Hawke
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Purveyor of fine Smut.
Morgan Hawke's DarkErotica ~ My Website
DarkErotica Blog ~ My Writers' blog
"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."
Albert Einstein
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Purveyor of fine Smut.
Morgan Hawke's DarkErotica ~ My Website
DarkErotica Blog ~ My Writers' blog
"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."
Albert Einstein
Active Ink Slinger
Quote by PervyStoryteller
I think George Orwell got it more or less right:
“Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout with some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand.”
I thought of a novel once, but then I broke it into short stories (some of which are not on this site). If I string them into a series eventually, I'll have a novella, I guess. But I also have the flexibility of having overlapping series with some of the same characters but on varying timelines. I'm not locked into having a book that has only one plot.
Active Ink Slinger
Quote by MorganHawke
If you want money and fame, be an actor or a singer.
Agree with everything you say, Morgan, except this. I am a musician, and work and and off in theatre / performing arts. There is a tiny minority of famous rich performers - but most are underpaid, overworked and unacknowledged. I am fortunate to be able to scrape a living, by concentrating on a couple of niche markets. But most of us are, like writers, unknown and poor. Conclusion: if you want money and fame, don't become an actor or a singer!
GrushaVashnadze's best stories:
Alison Goes to London (RR) - "love this... fun, and funny, and sexy" (sprite)
The Cursed Cunt (RR) - "holyyyyy sheeeiiit.... Your writing is fucking fantastic" (CarltonStJames)
A Worthless Filthy Fucking Smoking Trash Cunt Whore (RR) - "Brilliantly done. Of course." (naughtyannie)
Snow White and the Seven Dildos (RR) - "Fuck. It's perfect.... honestly genius and so fucking well executed." (VioletVixen)
Metamorphoses (RR) - "so imaginative and entertaining" (saucymh)
And There Came Two Angels to Sodom - "What a deliciously worded story! So juicy, so raunchy" (el_henke)
Fuck-Talk (with VioletVixen) - "Jeez. I feel rendered wordless by how much clever fucking fun this is" (Jaymal)
First Person Smartass
Quote by GrushaVashnadze
Agree with everything you say, Morgan, except this. I am a musician, and work and and off in theatre / performing arts. There is a tiny minority of famous rich performers - but most are underpaid, overworked and unacknowledged. I am fortunate to be able to scrape a living, by concentrating on a couple of niche markets. But most of us are, like writers, unknown and poor. Conclusion: if you want money and fame, don't become an actor or a singer!
Well...! There goes that avenue to fame and money too, I guess.
-- You must be quite talented to actually make a living off your skills. Bravo!
Morgan Hawke
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Purveyor of fine Smut.
Morgan Hawke's DarkErotica ~ My Website
DarkErotica Blog ~ My Writers' blog
"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."
Albert Einstein
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Purveyor of fine Smut.
Morgan Hawke's DarkErotica ~ My Website
DarkErotica Blog ~ My Writers' blog
"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."
Albert Einstein
Active Ink Slinger
Quote by MorganHawke
-- You must be quite talented to actually make a living off your skills. Bravo!
You are very kind, Morgan. But I think it's rather as you say about writing: a bit of talent is just the beginning. Then there's the practice, determination, self-analysis, self-promotion - and good luck is also handy. I think all the creative arts work in similar ways. I am just as in awe at your success - and your brilliance - as a writer!
GrushaVashnadze's best stories:
Alison Goes to London (RR) - "love this... fun, and funny, and sexy" (sprite)
The Cursed Cunt (RR) - "holyyyyy sheeeiiit.... Your writing is fucking fantastic" (CarltonStJames)
A Worthless Filthy Fucking Smoking Trash Cunt Whore (RR) - "Brilliantly done. Of course." (naughtyannie)
Snow White and the Seven Dildos (RR) - "Fuck. It's perfect.... honestly genius and so fucking well executed." (VioletVixen)
Metamorphoses (RR) - "so imaginative and entertaining" (saucymh)
And There Came Two Angels to Sodom - "What a deliciously worded story! So juicy, so raunchy" (el_henke)
Fuck-Talk (with VioletVixen) - "Jeez. I feel rendered wordless by how much clever fucking fun this is" (Jaymal)
First Person Smartass
Quote by GrushaVashnadze
You are very kind, Morgan. But I think it's rather as you say about writing: a bit of talent is just the beginning. Then there's the practice, determination, self-analysis, self-promotion - and good luck is also handy. I think all the creative arts work in similar ways. I am just as in awe at your success - and your brilliance - as a writer!
Thank you, sweetie!
-- As you said; Talent is a great place to begin, but it will only get you so far. The next step is figuring out How you did it, then taking the time to acquire the skills to ensure you can repeat it reliably.
As far as I'm concerned,
Talent is when you get it right By Accident.
Skill is when you get it right On Purpose.
Morgan Hawke
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Purveyor of fine Smut.
Morgan Hawke's DarkErotica ~ My Website
DarkErotica Blog ~ My Writers' blog
"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."
Albert Einstein
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Purveyor of fine Smut.
Morgan Hawke's DarkErotica ~ My Website
DarkErotica Blog ~ My Writers' blog
"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."
Albert Einstein
Active Ink Slinger
Quote by MorganHawke
Well...! There goes that avenue to fame and money too, I guess.
-- You must be quite talented to actually make a living off your skills. Bravo!
The supply outstrips the demand. I've heard that there are a huge number of people who want to be screenwriters. They flock to L.A., among other places. Many Americans have never read a novel or short story, but almost all of them have seen movies and television shows. I suspect they believe that writing, and then selling, a script must be easier than it really is.
Thus talent agencies, movie studios, and so forth have huge slush piles of unsolicited screenplay manuscripts.
Active Ink Slinger
Quote by MorganHawke
If you want money and fame, be an actor or a singer.
Writing only makes you money if you can output one 'good' novel (100k word minimum,) every 4 to six months for years.
I don't think you have to write quite that quickly, I've known a couple professionals who don't quite make that, but you have to be productive. I just finished a novel which is in edits, in two months. And my first readers say it's good. f
After that of course the problem is figuring out where to submit it, and it seems like that will take as much work as the writing.
First Person Smartass
Quote by DonnaCupcake
I don't think you have to write quite that quickly, I've known a couple professionals who don't quite make that, but you have to be productive. I just finished a novel which is in edits, in two months. And my first readers say it's good.
Having beta-readers is a fantastic way to keep your work interesting. Your first publishing house editor however, will change your world -- and I don't mean a line editor that only fixes grammar and typos. That experience changed everything for me, but most especially how I put my work on paper.
After that of course the problem is figuring out where to submit it, and it seems like that will take as much work as the writing.
Figuring out where to submit is easy.
-- 1) Find books that have the same type of content as your manuscript.
-- 2) Check who published those books that are like yours.
-- 3) Go to that publisher's website and Read their Submission Guidelines.
-- 3a) Make damned sure your manuscript follows those guidelines.
-- 4) Email a query letter ONLY to their website.
-- 5) Look for the next publisher that accepts the type of manuscripts that you wrote.
-- 6) Rinse and repeat until someone asks you to send a Partial; usually the first 4 chapters of your MS.
-- 7) Keep Going.
There's a rumor out there that says once you send a partial you should stop. That rumor is Bullshit. You don't need to stop until you have a CONTRACT.
Morgan Hawke
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Purveyor of fine Smut.
Morgan Hawke's DarkErotica ~ My Website
DarkErotica Blog ~ My Writers' blog
"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."
Albert Einstein
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Purveyor of fine Smut.
Morgan Hawke's DarkErotica ~ My Website
DarkErotica Blog ~ My Writers' blog
"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."
Albert Einstein
Chatterbox Blonde- Rumps Mystical Bartender
Morgan you are a Divine gift to those of us struggling in the trenches. Keep giving us your Wisdom.
Thank you so much.
Thank you so much.
Whatever was posted is always meant in love and respect never to offend.
I'm also highly likely to have posted this from a phone so there may be typos or odd word changes, auto correct can be a pain.
I've been listening to my kinky pencil here's my current work