Hi everyone, I'm erotic author Mia Natasha, and today is my first post here on The Self Publishing Revolution. Apparently the erotica I write is very explicit, more so than the average. Which means that I have few options for publishing the work unless I do it on my own. I was lucky to find a fit with Selena Kitt and Excessica. Cinderella Club is actually doing well on Amazon.com right now because it is in the top 20 bestsellers in the category of rape. I know, I'm not sure if I should be embarrassed about that or not. I don't consider non-consent rape, because in my world the men are handsome and sexy and the women are unwilling at first but only because they feel too guilty to be willing. It's just a fantasy as all fiction is.
There are plenty of women who share the reluctance fantasy. I had read an article in Glamour magazine that said about 65% of the readers polled enjoyed daydreams involving capture-bondage. It's a way for we independant new millenium women to relinquish responsibilty in our heads. Not in real life. The problem is that the book lists under the BDSM spectrum and there are people who actually live that lifestyle who upon reviewing my book for content are all yuck, yuck.
Not everyone, thank god. It was a book that took two years to write - from one scene in a dream to 140,000 words of epic novel. Epic in the sense that I'm not a writer. Not even an English major. First generation American from an old country foreign family who has an art degree and paints for a living, thank you very much.
I'm living a dream, quite frankly, and self publishing is a big part of that. These reluctance stories have always circled my head. Shamefully, I was only thirteen when I wrote short stories in my room about girls who got kidnapped and boys who rescued them. There was no sex, mind you, but the content was always there. Is that weird? I always knew I would be a writer one day, even though I never pursued it until now and I had never been encouraged so that obviously made it harder.
My book is doing well. And so I've caught the bug. I have three other novels finished, two will be published later this year, one of which I have one chapter to go on. I should get back to it now so that I can make the deadline. Since Excessica is currently closed for submissions, the other one, Cinderella Thyme, Cinderella Club's sequel waits in limbo.
I'm not worried. I believe that everything happens when the timing is right and it will all work out. If you are the type of person who gets into ruts and doesn't think things will work out, I want you to think of me. Because this dream of mine shouldn't have happened. I wasn't even thinking about writing until I had that daydream of a woman (who looks like me, natch) sitting in a limousine. It came out of nowhere like a magical summons to get back onto the right path.
Now writing is here in addition to everything else I do, not instead of. Knowing that people all over the world are reading my book is such an unbelievable high, it really makes it all worth it. Getting a check every three months for a dream come true is not bad either. It certainly gets me motivated to write more. That and I have a sick work ethic.
Pleased to meet you. I plan to make this a regular gig so I'll pop off my glass slipper now and come back for it later - because that's what independant multitaskers do.
Here is the link to my blog - http://mianatasha-erotica.blogspot.com/?zx=418a7ac0ef1a045b
Hi, pleased to meet you too! :D I'm glad your book is doing well! I think there is a niche for every type of story - we just have to know where to look! And i guess, get lucky ;) No pun intended.
ReplyDeleteHi, Trisha, thanks for reading! The world of self-publishing seemed a scary place at first just like all things new do. In time, I notice that it gets smaller because you do find your place and make friends in the process -luck plays a role but mainly it's determination and perseverance.
ReplyDeleteIt's wonderful to hear another success story! I'll be venturing into the self-publishing scene in a couple of months with a paranormal romance novella, and every time I hear of a dream come true it gives me a boost. So thanks for my boost today, and best wishes for more sales & success. I'll have to check out your blog. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, J.R. It's not full-time job success but it has been a postitve experience so far. I can't think of a single part that was "bad".
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your journey. It really is such a bizarre feeling to know that something you wrote while sitting alone for hours on end on the sofa in your home is being read by someone as far away as Russia or Australia, or India. It's just mind-blowing!