Tag Archives: erotica

Editors like money too

Posted on by
Reply

I realize there’s next to no money in writing erotica, as I run an erotica website myself and make no money off of this project, but this is simply ridiculous. Here’s a copy of an email I just sent to Ellora’s Cave Publishing’s Editor-in-Chief, Kelli Collins, upon reading this unbelievable “job posting,” and its insultingly low payment.

Dear Ms. Collins,

I recently saw your ad on JournalismJobs.com in search of copy and content editors, but I believe there must be a typo in your posting. Does your company really only pay $0.0075 cents per word (i.e. less than 1 cent per word) for content editing, and $0.00175 per word for copy editing? This seems unbelievable, as you say the typical project is a minimum of 10,000 words, which by my account works out to a pay scale of $75 per book edited, content-wise, or $17.50 per book for copy editing.

Are you aware that this payscale is far below industry standards? According to Writers.ca, the website of the Professional Writers Association of Canada (PWAC), the average payment for editing is between $500 and $20,000 per project, or $30 to $60 per hour. These are figures that have not changed substantially over the past 30 years, and I would certainly hope that rates for professional editing would not have dropped so significantly!

Please let me know if these are, in fact, your rates for editing work, or if there has been some mistake, as I would certainly like to know why “the premier publisher of erotic romance novels” cannot, seemingly, offer their freelance editors a more competitive wage.

Sincerely,
Laura Roberts
–
Writer, editor, button tapper

http://buttontapper.com

If you’re going to pay people for their work, you should pay them at least the minimum by industry standards. If kids flipping burgers are guaranteed a minimum wage, then why shouldn’t writers and editors receive equally fair treatment? Ads like this make me mad, not just because it’s all about quantity over quality, but also because it shows just how little the person offering the job will respect the person who does the job. I don’t expect respect, but I do expect to be treated like a human being, rather than a wage slave. If I wanted that, I’d go take some office job pushing papers in a cubicle, à la Office Space.

What do you think?

Moving beyond the bedroom

Posted on by
Cartoon by Debbie Ridpath Ohi (via Inkygirl.com)

Cartoon by Debbie Ridpath Ohi (via Inkygirl.com)

I’ve been thinking about applying for an MFA program, lately, as it would afford me time to write a real novel. Not just a 30-day NaNoWriMo marathon novel, which is all about quantity over quality, but a real, honest-to-goodness time-consuming, thoughtfully-penned novel.

That, quite frankly, is both exhilarating and totally terrifying.

Part of the terrifying aspect is that, like any application for school, you’re supposed to write up a succinct cover letter detailing any awesome aspects you bring to the table, which would convince them that you’d be an asset and a credit to the program. You’re supposed to sell yourself. They want to know about honors you’ve achieved, fellowships/grants/scholarships you’ve been granted, people you’ve impressed.

Sometimes, I wonder whom I’ve really impressed, or what I have to show for the past two years of freelancing work. I’m not saying it hasn’t been fun, but it hasn’t exactly added up to the kind of career I used to dream about when I was a starry-eyed creative writing major. Mostly because I haven’t been doing much creative writing.

Hence my desire to keep up with my haiku-a-day project, to do NaNoWriMo, to take on the 3-day Novel Writing Contest, etc.

So I have been asked to think about my goals, my dreams, my future—as these little questions are meant to prod you to write something about those types of things—and I am wondering where I really aim to go these days. Although I certainly enjoy writing about sex, and probably will always have an interest (some might say obsession) with this area, it’s not necessarily the area I want to specialize in forever. It’s just one of many interests, and it’s very easy to get pigeonholed when you write a sex column and run an erotica website.

I guess what I’m saying is that I’d like to be someone with a life outside the bedroom, to not be boxed into my boudoir, no matter how comfy it may be. Now the only question is where to go from here?

Moving beyond the
bedroom can be challenging;
I like a challenge

Sexy writing workshop and haiku

Posted on by
1

In addition to reading being sexy, as detailed in yesterday’s post, writing is also super sexy. Which is why I’m taking it to the sexiest level possible and teaching a workshop about writing sexy stories! My “Saucy Smut” class is happening this Friday, October 9 at 6:30PM at Joy Toyz (4200 St-Laurent, suite 415), and will feature tips and tricks for anyone interested in learning how to get started writing erotica. This is for people who are purely in it for pleasure, as well as those looking to turn it into a career. The class itself is one night only, and costs $35 to attend ($30 if you’re a student).

In case you’re wondering what qualifies me to teach this class, please feel free to read some of my erotica at Black Heart Magazine, or online at Oysters & Chocolate, where I’m currently creating dirty astrology pieces for every sign of the zodiac. This month’s installment is Libra.

If you’ve ever wanted to write erotica, but wondered how to begin, c’mon out to Joy Toyz and find out! I promise to be gentle. You’ll also get extra credit if you’re read Inga Muscio’s fabulous book, Cunt, as I mentioned in this week’s Vixen. This extra credit may or may not come in candy form, as Halloween is fast approaching, and everybody loves sweet things.

And now, on to today’s sexy haiku, and the image that inspired it:

Photo by Ask The Geek

Photo by Ask The Geek

woman as object:
full lips, luscious bosom,
embracing herself

Oh, and in case you were wondering? That’s not me in the photo, although Ask The Geek has taken photos of me before. Maybe I’ll use them as inspiration in a future post when I’m feeling particularly vain!

P.S. A friend pointed out that my haiku today doesn’t follow the typical 5–7-5 format. This is true, but according to the definitions offered by the Haiku Society of America, I don’t think any of my haiku thus far actually qualify because they’re not about nature or natural imagery. Since I have never written about nature, nor do I intend to embrace this stuffily traditional definition of haiku, you could argue that I either write experimental or non-traditional haiku, or perhaps that I write senryu, which are “poem[s], structurally similar to haiku, that highlight the foibles of human nature, usually in a humorous or satiric way.” This is actually much more my type of poem, but I doubt any non-poets would know wtf I was talking about if I said I write senryu, so I’ll stick with the more common term haiku when explaining my daily obsession.