Have decided that I’d call today’s post, The Diary of a Madman, it seems to fit?
It’s been four or five years since I put out a small handful of self-published stories through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing and tried to market those alone. After a couple of years, I more of less gave up on them or the idea of publishing standalone stories and even removed two from publication. I continued to write longer novel and novella length stories, but I turned to e-zines, anthologies and even small magazines to gain exposure in the three genres that I write. In time, I made a few friends who were always more than willing to share a Facebook post or retweet something. In sharing these with their friends, my exposure grew. I did the same for them. Now—it seems—I’m right back to where I started, a new writer in an already overcrowded field of writers flogging their wares at every turn. This time, I have the help of a publisher for editing and cover art and I have the luxury of a much longer novella also being signed and coming—hopefully—soon? Maybe a little—publisher-push—as they have published a hell of a lot of stories? I might be able to ride the coattails of those that came before? Unlike writing under my real name and taking years to build some momentum, under the pen name with stories already signed, I put together a website along with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Google+ accounts in less than a month. The response on Facebook and Twitter, have been overwhelming with so many folks taking interest, but it’s still a big time draw. I had three stories in two anthologies released at the beginning of the month and I’ve said very little about them. Whereas I spent a little time in the evening answering mail or replying to an FB or Twitter post before…I’m now back to spending as much time as possible writing blog posts and keeping up the other social media accounts, checking email and watching the story’s sales raking on Amazon. It’s slipping by the way, as expected. You would think that I would have learned my lesson years ago, but hell; I guess that what we writers do, huh? Maybe we’re all just yearning for the punishment? Oh well, it’s been a fun month of July. Busy, but fun. And I have several more stories rolling out soon under both my name and TJ Adams. We’ll just have to wait and see what August and the months following bring. Yeah, I think, The Diary of a Madman, seems to fit? #amwriting #fiction
0 Comments
It looks like my first story with Solstice Publishing An Innocent Act is off and running and available at Amazon. This erotic short takes getting to know your neighbor to a whole new level.
#erotic #shortfiction My first story with Solstice Publishing An Innocent Act is now available at Amazon http://amzn.to/2aCtW0X ...the story is my first in the genre, the first with this publisher and the first under the pen name TJ Adams.
#erotic #short #fiction Hello all.
First…thank you, new friends and followers. It has been an amazing three weeks watching the numbers grow. I had been worried that I wouldn’t have any when the first story under TJ Adams was released. Solstice Publishing will be releasing the first story under this penname An Innocent Act in two days and I’m honestly stoked and just a bit afraid. Over the past few years, I’ve managed to get as many stories into anthologies and collections as I could, but this will be my first standalone story in some years. This morning, I returned the first story with Solstice Publishing under my name, Cinnamon Girl. I believe all of the editing to be finished now and I’ve seen the cover. There is still no release date, but that should be coming soon? I got the chance to see the cover for Pandora’s Box, the second story under the TJ Adams name with Solstice Publishing. I like this one. No editor has been assigned to the story as of yet and I would expect this one to hit the streets in a month or so? As editor is presently reading through a pair of 1930’s, prohibition era crime stories, Meet Me in Tulsa and Going Back to Dallas. I can’t to see the cover art and get these out. That’s it for now, but I’m sure that I’ll be burning up the internet come Friday morning and the release of An Innocent Act. #aninnocentact #erotic #fiction @solsticepublish Good Sunday all and thanks to everyone for friending, following, liking, sharing, retweeting, etc, etc.
After Pandora's Box my latest erotic crime novella was signed, it's been kind of a social media week for me. In just three weeks, I have more Facebook friends than I gathered in years of writing under my own name. The publisher can not explain it and just says that fans of the romance / erotic genre are that way? As TJ Adams Fiction is blowing through 700 friends on Facebook alone, I simply can not get around to say hi to each of you and you will just have to accept an occasional blog post. I have liked a ton of your pages and had short back and forths with a few of you. I've shared as many of your posts as is humanly possible, but there's no way I can for every one. Yes, I'm a little overwhelmed at the moment. Along with all of this, I have four stories in various stages of editing and I would like to write more (it's not happening at the moment). So...if you've made it this far. Thank You All. But keep in mind, that TJ Adams is only a pen name for the somewhat erotic fiction that I write at times. Just because I write in that genre doesn't mean that I'm looking for a fuck buddy or that I want to get into a conversation about my dick or want to subscribe to your porn channel, if that's your gig, unfriend or unfollow me now as I won't reply. It's not my thing. Thanks again all and enjoy what ever Sunday you have left. #supportindiewriters #indiefiction #erotic #Fiction We made it to Friday again. It’s my third Friday now as TJ Adams and it’s been fun so far.
Next Friday…I get to pass out the news that my first short story in erotica has hit the street, but for now, I’ll just leave you with the girls. Have a good weekend all. Many thanks go out to all of the new friends and followers both here, on Facebook and Twitter. I’d love to get by and visit will all of you, but it’s just not possible at this time. My pen name of TJ Adams has existed for two weeks now and I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a little overwhelmed with the explosion of friends and likes and such that I have seen in the past few nights and have resorted to updating the blog from work at lunch.
Those nights BTW, are taken up by accepting friend requests and liking as many pages as I possibly can, along with quick notes responding to your comments and sharing a few of your posts.. This comes on top of shepherding six new stories through the process of getting published. In the past, this may not have been such a big deal as a lot of the small crime guys accept a story a do a little editing on their side and that’s it. Maybe nothing more than a simple contract to sign or a quick edit before publication? Unlike getting a story accepted for an anthology (and I love being included in those with so many talented writers), the task of getting the stories out there and hopefully getting a few to read and possibly review them will fall onto me and me alone. There won’t be a dozen or so others to help with getting them out into the world and frankly…I’m scared to death that I won’t do a very good job of it? So, if you notice one of my postings on Facebook or Twitter (and you don't mind), I’d appreciate the Hell out of a share or re-tweet in helping me to get the word out. As you can probably figure, it means everything to an indie writer. #supportindiewriters #amwriting #indiefiction This morning saw the acceptance of a sixth story during the month of July, with an erotic / crime story Pandora’s Box being picked up by Solstice Publishing.
If you’ve been stopping in here, you know by now that TJ Adams is only a pen name and came about when a very accidental erotic short An Innocent Act found a home. Several of the small crime publishers that I’ve been working with have folded over the past few months, which gave me a sizable handful of my submissions back. In my head, I had been roughing out a crime story where a young woman loses a friend to the streets and takes a job at a small town strip club in search of answers. I had previously submitted a short zombie-apocalypse piece under the title Pandora’s Box. When the publisher went ass-up, I was free to use the title for something else and working with a publisher that would read erotica…I let the story go where it naturally wanted to go without holding back. Pandora was the perfect (stage / street) name for the young woman circling back through the dark alleys of my mind and the new novella Pandora’s Box was born. At 25k, this one should be long enough to sink your teeth in vs An Innocent Act at only 7100 words, which has a much sweeter feel to it. Think crime here as Pandora’s Box is a dark, gritty story that takes place on streets most of us will never visit. An Innocent Act the erotic short will be out July 29th and I would imagine the longer short Cinnamon Girl will follow 2-3 weeks behind? A Murder of Crows the short psychological thriller will be included in a horror anthology due out just before Halloween and the two 1930’s crime novellas Meet Me in Tulsa and Going Back to Dallas are starting to move forward with the Meet Me in Tulsa receiving its first read through at the present time. If the past is any indicator, I would expect to see the short novella Pandora’s Box hitting the street late August or early September? Stay tuned. #erotic #crime #fiction @solsticepublish Ten days now until we get a look at my first and very accidental erotic short story An Innocent Act from Solstice Publishing, I’m getting kind of excited.
#aninnocentact @solsticepublish Good Sunday morning to you.
I've had one cup of coffee while I took my mom into town for her weekly grocery shopping and I'm starting to think that I'd better grind up some beans for a pot here at home? I'd be curious to hear from you writers of romance or erotic fiction that might also write crime or western or horror. If you've been following me here, you know that I've been able to call myself an erotic writer for what...about twelve days now? That came about after my accidental story An Innocent Act. So...I've got a lot of questions bouncing around in my empty head. What I'd like to know is your opinion of the other genre fiction publishers vs. romance or erotic genre publishers, if you've written for both? Do you think one is more responsive, courteous, professional? For years, I have submitted stories and added them to a submission spreadsheet that I keep to track submissions....saving the info, I think Well...I should be hearing back in six month or a year? When I subbed An Innocent Act, I got word of the rejection the following morning? That publisher said the story was not a good fit for them, but insisted that I keep trying with that story? The second sub, was greeted with a contract the following morning. Now, I only have these two publishers to base my thoughts on here, but they were both blazing fast in responding? Why would small crime publishing houses let a story sit for months before reading? Are there more crime or horror writers? Is there more volume? It seems to me that romance is the hottest selling fiction genre, so I would think there are way more writers submitting romance and erotic stuff vs crime and horror? Your thoughts? So it's Friday, huh? I guess TGIF would be in order?
It doesn't matter for me much as I work six days a week...so Friday and Saturday kind of blur. Anyway...I'm starting to realize that my new publisher works Monday thru Thursday, as I never hear anything on Friday and that's OK with me. My first erotic short--An Innocent Act--is now in the can, with all editing finished and awaiting the release date of July 29th. A second story (longer than a short and shorter than a novella) Cinnamon Girl is well along in editing and I should hear something next week. A pair of 1930's crime novella's are awaiting an editor and I would imagine we are working on those next week? So with no other news--other than I have three stories in the last two Dead Guns Press anthologies--I'll just leave you with one of the Flapper Girls to keep you company. In the morning’s mail was a quick note from the publisher advising that An Innocent Act will hit the streets on July 29th.
It’s been kind of a crazy month for that little story. Submitted, rejected, submitted again and accepted. Honestly, I would not have resubmitted the story if not for the encouragement from the publisher that turned it down the first time as this is not my thing. After three rounds of editing, I’ve gotten to see the final formatting and it looks great. You of course have gotten to see the cover reveal. I really hope the old gal does well, as it’s my first attempt at erotic fiction. I’ll be honest; it’s been a crazy month in general for me. In June I received an email from a publisher that I have worked with in the past. The note returned to me a story that had been on hold for an upcoming anthology. A few weeks later news came, that another indie publisher had called it quits, the third this summer? I must have a dozen and a half stories submitted in various lengths, everything from short anthology submissions to novellas to a couple of novel length stories, but the news came as a blow to me. It’s the short story acceptances that keep things going around here until I can find a home for one of the longer stories. One crime anthology has just hit the street and I have two westerns in another this week, but that was it for me, if none of the others came forward. I do expect to be in another charity anthology out of England, but that will be late this year and well into next, if anything like the previous version. If none of the other submissions were accepted (and the industry moves at a snail’s pace) that would be it, nada, nothing. Then when things seemed to be at their worst, that odd little story finds a home and another publisher to fill the void left by a couple of others. The last week has been a good one, with five stories getting accepted, two of those being novella length. It’s been several years since I’ve had a story out there all alone and not sharing the pages with a dozen other writers. Don’t get me wrong, I think anthologies are a great way to build up readership and camaraderie with other writers—if nothing else, there are others to help push the thing—but it’s a little scary being out there alone again. None of this is either here or there, but I really do hope the little story does well. Look for An Innocent Act from Solstice Publishing to be available July 29th. I hope that you’ll read it and look forward to any feedback. It looks like July 29th will be the day that we get to see just how far Francine Carter will go.
This being my first time with this publisher, I don't know if they will have any give away features? I’m sure that it will be available through Amazon and I could gift the story through the big A if nothing else? Give me a couple of weeks to figure this one out and I will come up with a way to get a few copies out there if you have any interest in reading it. OK...so I think that I might have to slow down and just do the Flapper Girls on Friday?
We'll call it Flapper Friday or something like that? When i first started into this pen name stuff...I needed something to hold the places. I Googled Vintage women reading and found all of these wonderful photos. I didn't realize they would get that racy back then, but I love them and feel like I have to use them with the new prohibition era stories coming out soon. Enjoy Well, it looks as though my erotic short An Innocent Act, is making its way forward. I've got one last chance to get the words right and have seen both the cover reveal and the inside after the first round of editing and formatting.
The inside treatment is on par or better than anything I've been published in so far. The cover art...well? I would imagine that we're out and available for purchase in the next few weeks? I'll keep you posted. |
TJ AdamsIs the pen name of a California author Archives
August 2018
|