Can You Write Two Books at the Same Time?

Hello Fellow Writers!

Love that comic by Dave Coverly. It tells how I'm feeling at this moment! Um, figuratively, that is.

My self-imposed internet restriction has gone smashingly well. I don't even need all the time I allotted myself. The trick has really been to avoid constantly checking my email inbox. Three times a day and I'm good! There's no way people can say that I don't get back quickly if I go online thrice daily, right?

Last night I finished writing an erotic novella tentatively titled "Chastity Belt". One of the main characters, Casey, gets involved in a menage with the couple in Chastity Belt. But Casey deserves her own HEA, so I'm thinking about presenting Chastity Belt as Book One in The Gentlemen's Club series, (the GC is the name of the exclusive BDSM-flavored club the book is set in) - and Book Two would star Casey as the heroine. Whaddya think?

Of course that means now I *really* want to get started on Casey's story. But I've also got this epic book roaming through my head that I think really needs to get out and get on paper...um, keyboard. In my head, this book is tentatively titled "Protecting Emily". And it's a *big* book. Longer than anything I've ever written. So I probably need to get some sort of outline going.

Part of me thinks - hey, outline Protecting Emily while you write Casey's as-of-yet untitled story! But I just don't think I can write two books at the same time. Can you?

A Website I'll actually Update

Hello Fellow Writers!

I've redone my ShoshannaEvers.com site because the old one, while flashy and fun, was slow and impossible for me to easily maintain. The new one is easy peasy! And I think it's more user friendly too. I *know* it's more Shoshanna friendly!

While I wait to hear back from Jilly (my editor at Ellora's Cave) about Hollywood Spank, I've been hard at work on another novella tentatively titled Chastity Belt. And um, yes, the belt does come off ;) It is an erotic romance after all!

I got to pick my Quickie cover for Ginger Snap, the erotic Christmas story I sold to Ellora's Cave. For the Quickies you get to choose from about 40ish standard covers that they just add your title and name to. Not as much fun as having a custom cover designed for you, but it's *always* nice to see your name on the cover of a book, so I'm still excited :)

Yesterday I realized I wasted hours - yup, hours - online, with very little to show for it. So starting today I am on a self-imposed internet restriction. I will go online once in the morning, once in the afternoon, and once before bed, for an hour max each time. That should be plenty of time to check and answer email, read blogs, write this blog, maintain my new website, research random stuff for fun, and visit my various (and numerous!) Yahoo groups and forums. Oh, and check Facebook and Twitter!

Three hours total a day should be more than enough time, but I'm already panicking about it. Not to worry. It'll be fine. Right?

And as an added side benefit, I'll have more time to write.
Wish me luck, and good luck to you too!

When Do You Need a Literary Agent?

Hello Fellow Writers!

I've been a busy writer bee lately. I signed the contract with Ellora's Cave for a Christmas themed Quickie titled Ginger Snap, and I resubmitted Hollywood Spank to my editor. Fingers crossed that she buys it!

I also went back to my Taste of Candy erotic romance and decided it could work as a Quickie as well (a Quickie is what Ellora's Cave calls 10k-15k fast-paced erotic romances) so I sent that off to one of my beta-readers to see what she thinks before I submit it to my editor. I want to wait until I get a yay or nay on Hollywood Spank before I submit Taste of Candy, too.

Now I need to get to work on the next project. I have my Chastity Belt book to work on - that went by the wayside when I was doing Punishing the Art Thief edits. So I want to reconnect with that piece.

At what point, I'm wondering, do I need a literary agent? I imagine that now that I've got two books published with Ellora's Cave it might be easier to get my foot in the door, but I'm also wondering if it's a bit premature for me to start handing over 15% (or more) of my royalties.

But then I think - there's probably so much that could be done, that I'm not doing because I don't know any better! An agent could help with that. I love Ellora's Cave (whenever I want to read something hot they are the first place I hit up) but I know that some EC authors write for other publishers as well. I'm not quite sure how that works since EC options your next book when you sign their contract. So that's another thing I suppose an agent could help me with - figuring out all the fine print.

Having a literary agent is one way to avoid the slush pile. That picture above is of an untouched pile of slush in the corner of a publisher's office. An agent gets you past that and onto an editor's desk.

From Agent Query about why we need agents:

Literary agents have connections you don’t. Good literary agents are one-degree-of-separation away from the editors who decide “to buy or not to buy.” Good literary agents are tuned into the literary trends. They know which publishing imprints publish which kinds of books. They hobnob with those editors over lunch. They’re like mini-gods running the literary universe. For better or for worse, they serve as the first gatekeepers in the screening process. Okay, it’s true. The literary agent “hierarchy” adds to the bottleneck. Too many writers competing for the attention of a small pool of movers and shakers. But write a fabulous timely book, and you’ll shoot right through.

Do you have a literary agent? Do you want one?

This week I'll be writing a synopsis for Hollywood Spank - I'll need it if my editor decides to buy it, because all the contracts have a cover page with the synopsis of the book on it. So I'll write the synopsis in the hopes that I'll be needing it :) I'm also going to get back into Chastity Belt (um, not into an actual chastity belt, just into the manuscript!).

And... I may just start doing some research on which literary agents are looking for erotica.
Wish me luck and good luck to you too!

Release Date: Sept 16th 2010!

Hello Fellow Writers!

I'm happy to announce that I've finished my edits on Punishing the Art Thief for Ellora's Cave and I now have an official release date: September 16th, 2010! Whoo hoo!

I've also created a Twitter account for myself. I know, the last thing I need is *another* social networking site to constantly check, but hey, that's the age we live in. So follow me on Twitter @ShoshannaEvers !

For anyone interested in reading the excerpt from Punishing the Art Thief, click here, and please let me know what you think. Thanks!

Now that I've made my initial revisions for Ginger Snap, my erotic Christmas "Quickie" for EC, I'm now free to make another round of revisions on Hollywood Spank and incorporate the notes my two beta-readers gave me. When I finish those notes I plan on resubmitting it to my editor at EC.

Wish me luck, and good luck to you too!
Yours Truly,
Shoshanna Evers (I know, I know.)

A Second Book Contract from Ellora's Cave!

Hello Fellow Writers,

Oh boy, I've got big news. I'm so excited I just had to share. Remember how I wrote a kinky Christmas story, hoping to be part of the Ellora's Cave "Merry Kinkmas" anthology they are coming out with this Christmas? Well, I just got word from my editor that my story "Ginger-Figged for Christmas" (tentative title) is not really fetishy or kinky enough for "Merry Kinkmas". Apparently ginger-figging is too common to be considered kinky! LOL

Bummer, right? Nope! She wants me to add a few things and said if I'm willing to do that then she'd like to offer me a contract on it as a stand-alone book.

And as I'm sure you can imagine, I'm willing! My editor has a real knack for knowing how to make a story shine, so her suggestions will come in handy when I start revising (and lengthening) my Christmas story.

The funny thing is, I was planning on spending this week reworking my WIP Hollywood Spank to include the revisions my beta-readers suggested, but now I'm putting Hollywood Spank aside to work on the Christmas story.

I am over-the-moon happy to have sold my second book. I'm kind of in shock that it actually happened :) Wish me luck revising tomorrow, and good luck to you too!
Yours Truly,
Shoshanna Evers

My Book Cover!

Hello Fellow Writers!

My book cover for Ellora's Cave Punishing the Art Thief has officially arrived. I'm so excited! It makes this whole publishing thing feel very very real. I think it looks pretty hot and I'm very pleased with the wonderful job the designer Reese Dante did.

I went to the Hudson Valley RWA monthly meeting last Saturday at the Palisades Mall. It was a good time as usual. I wish I could go more often but my work schedule (every other weekend) keeps me from going more often than not. I met another woman who writes erotica and she kindly beta-read my Christmas story for me, which I then submitted to my editor at Ellora's Cave. So fingers crossed on that one!

I also got my first round of edits for Punishing the Art Thief. I had to learn how to actually use Microsoft Word's review functions such as "track changes" and "comment" etc in order to complete the edits. My editor gave me a 4 week deadline, but I was so psyched to get started I gave the manuscript back to her in less than a week. What can I say, I'm raring to go!

Now that my Christmas story has been submitted and I finished my first round of edits on Punishing the Art Thief, I am waiting to hear back from another beta reader about my revisions on Hollywood Spank. We're meeting up on Monday night to go over it. Then I'll make some more changes and then resubmit it to my editor.

Wish me luck, and good luck to you too!
Yours Truly,
Shoshanna Evers

RWA Conference 2010!

Hello Fellow Writers!

I'm pretty much in the same boat as when I last blogged, ie waiting to hear back from my beta reader about my latest revise-and-resubmit for Ellora's Cave - Hollywood Spank, writing a kinky Christmas story for EC, waiting (patiently, right?) for my cover art for my contracted book with EC Punishing the Art Thief, and writing my weekly advice column for The Mahopac News. Chastity Belt is on hold until the Christmas story is submitted.

I know, I'm not spending enough time on my writing career ;)

The annual Romance Writers of America Conference is coming up, and I am so sad that I will not be able to attend. I'm hoping to hear all about it from those of you that are attending. If you look at their website and see all the famous names that will be making appearances, holding workshops, and doing Q&As, you will understand why people pay the money they do to be a part of that experience!

Hopefully I'll be able to go next year. And I am going to Ellora's Cave Romanticon 2010 in October, so that will be fun.

Here's what RWA has to say about it:

Every year, writers and industry professionals come from all over the world to attend Romance Writers of America’s Annual Conference. The Annual Conference is a four-day event filled with educational workshops, career enhancement, and community involvement.

At the conference, career-focused romance writers can anticipate:

• Education and information,
• Networking with fellow writers,
• Interaction with editors, agents, publishers, booksellers, and other romance publishing industry professionals.
  

The 2010 RWA Conference has been relocated to the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort in Orlando, Florida, from July 28–31, 2010. Visit the registration page to learn how you can join us at the 30th Annual Conference!

Wondering what to bring with you if you're going? They suggest you leave your manuscripts at home, because if you do snag an invite to submit your manuscript from an agent or editor, they won't be able to physically take it back with them - they want you to mail it to them. If they all took all the manuscripts they requested they would need an extra suitcase to carry them!

This week I plan on finishing my Christmas erotica story. Wish me luck, and good luck to you too!
Yours Truly,
Shoshanna Evers