After I don't even want to think about how many copy/pasted links were put into place, I am pleased to announce that both my own Dreams of Control site and the Unspeakable Publications site now have online bookstores where you can find links to order all my books conveniently arranged in one place and organized by book and e-tailer. I hope you find it useful!
Dreams of Control online bookstore:
http://www.dreamsofcontrol.com/Dreams_of_Control/Online_Bookstore/Online_Bookstore.html
Unspeakable Publications online bookstore:
http://www.unspeakablepublications.com/Unspeakable_Publications/Online_Bookstore/Online_Bookstore.html
As always, thanks and enjoy!
The blog of Marc Cabot, author of the Dreams of Control erotic mind control series. Topics: Writing, e-publishing, hypnosis, hypnoerotica, erotic mind control, sex, general geekery.
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Just In Time for Christmas - A Heartwarming Tale of Lust and Demonic Mind Control!
For the person who has everything - and still wants more - Unspeakable Publications presents Hell to Pay, Marc Cabot's newest story in the Dreams of Control universe. The longest Dreams of Control novella yet, Hell to Pay is a dark, erotic romance of obsession, desire, and redemption.
From the back cover:
When adventurous Simon Marshall is picked up in a Prague nightclub by the beautiful Irena, all he wants is to get lucky. He does... but his luck is that instead of Irena killing him and stealing his soul, she leaves him with the knowledge that he's a real magician and a handful of ancient spellbooks.
The books offer the promise of unspeakable power and unimaginable pleasure, most of it embodied in Lily the succubus. Her charms are irresistible but if he wants to sample them, he'll have to make a deal. She may be easy, but she isn't cheap. And the price is beyond imagining...
Available on Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and other fine e-tailers. Links are below, or just search for "Hell to Pay" and "Marc Cabot" on your e-bookstore of choice. As always, thanks for reading and enjoy!
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Hell-To-Pay-ebook/dp/B00ASBYPUC/
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hell-to-pay-marc-cabot/1045487591
Others coming soon!
From the back cover:
When adventurous Simon Marshall is picked up in a Prague nightclub by the beautiful Irena, all he wants is to get lucky. He does... but his luck is that instead of Irena killing him and stealing his soul, she leaves him with the knowledge that he's a real magician and a handful of ancient spellbooks.
The books offer the promise of unspeakable power and unimaginable pleasure, most of it embodied in Lily the succubus. Her charms are irresistible but if he wants to sample them, he'll have to make a deal. She may be easy, but she isn't cheap. And the price is beyond imagining...
Available on Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and other fine e-tailers. Links are below, or just search for "Hell to Pay" and "Marc Cabot" on your e-bookstore of choice. As always, thanks for reading and enjoy!
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Hell-To-Pay-ebook/dp/B00ASBYPUC/
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hell-to-pay-marc-cabot/1045487591
Others coming soon!
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Yet Another Update
While I still have high hopes for What He Wants, another story jumped in line ahead of it. That happens sometimes. This one's a supernatural story of magic, demons, and unexpected plot twists called Hell To Pay. It should be done by next weekend as it's going very fast. I'm also experimenting with a new cover design which still has the same basic theme as my previous covers but is a little more dynamic. As always comments are appreciated.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Alas...
Although sales were very good, we did not break the monthly sales volume record and so there will be no free story this month. You have only yourselves to blame!
But seriously, thanks for buying. I will have at least one new, very large Dreams of Control book published in the next two weeks and usually when a novella comes out there are some strong sales. So keep checking back!
But seriously, thanks for buying. I will have at least one new, very large Dreams of Control book published in the next two weeks and usually when a novella comes out there are some strong sales. So keep checking back!
Sunday, November 18, 2012
What With One Thing And Another...
... I'm a little off my usual bi-weekly publishing schedule. The new book is coming along really well; it can't decide how long it wants to be, though. I'm probably going to try to keep it a novella. I apologize for being late: I really do try to keep things flowing. It'll be worth it, you'll see!
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Thank-You Story is Up!
Well, it's in publication review right now at Amazon, B&N, and Kobo. It is live on Smashwords. I'll post links when it goes live on the other sites. Here's the cover, a link to Smashwords and teaser text:
Get On a Roll at smashwords.com: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/251824
Sean Dunston is a professional artist who uses amateur models to make reference pictures for his digital paintings. After dropping one of his photo strobes on the floor during a shoot, he finds to his amazement that it has somehow become a hypnosis machine. Anyone who stares at it too long slips into an odd trance where everything they hear becomes the literal truth.
Sean's a nice guy, but he's no saint. After all, nobody will do anything in hypnosis that they really don't want to do... right? And if the gorgeous alternative models he photographs really want to makes some erotic art, what's wrong with that?
Note: This short story is my way of thanking my readers for their ongoing support. If you like it, please try some of my longer works or my novel Maestro. Thanks and enjoy!
Get On a Roll at smashwords.com: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/251824
Sean Dunston is a professional artist who uses amateur models to make reference pictures for his digital paintings. After dropping one of his photo strobes on the floor during a shoot, he finds to his amazement that it has somehow become a hypnosis machine. Anyone who stares at it too long slips into an odd trance where everything they hear becomes the literal truth.
Sean's a nice guy, but he's no saint. After all, nobody will do anything in hypnosis that they really don't want to do... right? And if the gorgeous alternative models he photographs really want to makes some erotic art, what's wrong with that?
Note: This short story is my way of thanking my readers for their ongoing support. If you like it, please try some of my longer works or my novel Maestro. Thanks and enjoy!
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Made It! Another Record Month.
Actually, it wasn't even that close, although frankly since Unspeakable Publications released multiple new books AND gained access to a new selling venue (Kobo) I think we're being somewhat generous here. :)
In any event, we did exceed our all-time unit sales volume, again, so there will be a new free short story sometime this month. It will be another installment in the His Lucky Break series. However, given that we continue to release new books constantly and unlike a traditional publisher we don't take backlist books out of print, if we just released a free book every month we'd soon have a LOT of free books, and that isn't how you make it in show business. So the rule is after this month, every time a new free book comes out, one of the previously-free books becomes a non-free book. Fair? I think so. And I'm runnin' this rodeo.
Of course, our sincere thanks to our readers, who are the ones who make this all happen. I am very grateful and appreciative that more and more of you pay money you worked hard to get to enjoy my stories and those of our other author (hopefully soon authors.) I really appreciate it.
Thanks and enjoy!
M
In any event, we did exceed our all-time unit sales volume, again, so there will be a new free short story sometime this month. It will be another installment in the His Lucky Break series. However, given that we continue to release new books constantly and unlike a traditional publisher we don't take backlist books out of print, if we just released a free book every month we'd soon have a LOT of free books, and that isn't how you make it in show business. So the rule is after this month, every time a new free book comes out, one of the previously-free books becomes a non-free book. Fair? I think so. And I'm runnin' this rodeo.
Of course, our sincere thanks to our readers, who are the ones who make this all happen. I am very grateful and appreciative that more and more of you pay money you worked hard to get to enjoy my stories and those of our other author (hopefully soon authors.) I really appreciate it.
Thanks and enjoy!
M
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Another Record Breaking Month...?
The figures aren't all in yet, but it looks like Unspeakable Publications may have had yet another record-breaking month in terms of sales volume. (I'll know in another day or so.) If so... free story!
Not only does that make me happy in the greedy grasping capitalist sense, but the next free story (if not this month, then soon enough, I'm sure) will be about Sean and his mysteriously malfunctioning studio strobe, first encountered in His Lucky Break. That was fun to write and I'm looking forward to doing another little adventure for him. So buy books!
Not only does that make me happy in the greedy grasping capitalist sense, but the next free story (if not this month, then soon enough, I'm sure) will be about Sean and his mysteriously malfunctioning studio strobe, first encountered in His Lucky Break. That was fun to write and I'm looking forward to doing another little adventure for him. So buy books!
Sunday, October 21, 2012
FAQ/Summary on Independent Publishing
I wrote this on a message board, I but I liked it so much I thought I'd repost it here. :)
Here are my Basic Things You Should Know About Self-Publishing as I've picked up there and elsewhere. It's just basics on publishing itself: For instance, there's nothing here about cover design, promotion, plotting, genres, etc. This is "I have a story, I want to turn it into an e-book and sell it. What now?" If you see a mistake, please correct me: I'll fix the main post to reflect it.
Q: What's the difference between "self-publishing" and "independent" or "indie" publishing?
A: One of them starts with "self" and one of them starts with "independent." Self-publishing has a bad rep because prior to e-publishing most self-published books were published by for-fee "vanity" publishers: you paid them (handsomely) to print the books and then it was your job to sell them, which hardly anybody ever did. It was used mostly by people whose books weren't good enough and/or didn't meet the other requirements and preferences of traditional publishing houses (E.G. Random House, Simon & Schuster, etc. Also known as "tradpub" or "Big Six.") So when e-publishing really started to take off many of its users referred to it as "independent" or "indie" publishing to avoid the bad connotations of self-publishing. Same thing.
Q: What are the basic e-publishers and how do I get books onto them?
A: The biggest ones in terms of customer base are: A) Amazon.com, B) Barnes & Noble, C) Smashwords, and D) the iTunes Bookstore aka iBooks. Other large epublishers are Kobo, Diesel and Sony. Here is a quick breakdown of how to get on each one and what the rules for using them are:
Amazon: Join Kindle Direct Publishing at http://kdp.amazon.com. Writers from any country served by Amazon's main national sites can join. Payment is by check or through direct deposit as you prefer. Does not require an International Standard Book Number or ISBN: if you submit a book without one, they will assign their own number, called an ASIN. Accepts a variety of e-book formats.
Barnes & Noble: Join PubIt at http://pubit.barnesandnoble.com. Writers who are US citizens and have a US bank account have no restrictions: writers who are not US citizens must either have a US bank account or make other arrangements to be paid. Non-US citizens may have to provide various tax information before they can be paid. Accepts a variety of e-book formats. Does not require an ISBN: will assign an internal number. OR: Distribute to B&N through Smashwords.
Smashwords: Join Smashwords at http://www.smashwords.com. Accepts ONLY .doc (Microsoft Word) files. (No .docx.) Smashwords sells direct and also redistributes to multiple e-book resale sites. Provides free ISBN and allows their use for re-distributed sales. (In other words, this is how you get on iTunes bookstore without buying an ISBN.) Things to note about Smashwords redistribution:
A) You have to wait for the affiliate to pay Smashwords and then you get paid on your next cycle. It can take a long time for the royalty to make it back to you. If you can it makes more sense to sell direct since you'll i) get paid faster and ii) not have to give Smashwords their cut.
B) Smashwords' channel distribution page indicates that they distribute to Amazon, and you have to opt out of it like any other reseller. However, AS OF THIS WRITING, Smashwords does NOT distribute to Amazon. That's the plan, but it is not yet implemented and there is no estimated implementation date. Your works will NOT go onto Amazon if you don't publish them through KDP.
C) Smashwords distributes to Kobo but AS OF THIS WRITING there is a LONG lag - weeks or months - before the books are received and published by Kobo. Anecdotal reports indicate Smashwords says the problem is Kobo's receiving is backed up. But in any event if you want to get on Kobo in any reasonable amount of time you'll need to publish direct.
D) Smashwords distributes to iTunes Bookstore, but Apple reviews each title manually and this can also take weeks. However, this is true whether you publish direct or through Smashwords and if you use Smashwords you won't have to buy an ISBN. (Apple requires them: Apple does not provide them. They are very expensive to buy in small quantities.)
Kobo: Join Kobo Writing Life at http://writinglife.kobobooks.com. Kobo allows signups from other countries, and pays direct to any bank with the proper electronic payment information. Kobo accepts a variety of ebook formats but their .doc spec was written by someone dying of an LSD overdose and you should upload ePubs. Requires an ISBN but will give you one free. OR: Distribute to Kobo through Smashwords.
Diesel: Diesel doesn't seem to accept direct submissions from indie publishers. Distribute to them through Smashwords. Diesel also has an erotic-specific bookstore site. If your book is romance or erotica, it will automatically get sold there as well. (If you mark it "Adult Content" on Smashwords, it seems like it automatically goes to this site.)
Sony: Sony does not accept direct indie publisher submissions. Distribute to them through Smashwords or Author Central (which I know nothing about.)
Apple: You can distribute direct to Apple but you need your own ISBN which you paid for. You are not allowed to use the ISBN from another publisher for direct resale. Since this is the case and ISBN in small quantities are prohibitively expensive, I've never looked into selling direct through Apple. Distribute to them through Smashwords. Note that Apple has very strict requirements, relatively speaking, for cover and title propriety. Profanity may be starred out in text titles and covers may be rejected if they are too risque.
Q: Why are you making such a big deal about ISBN?
A: ISBN are REQUIRED for books to be sold on some websites (like iTunes Bookstore/iBooks) and through print distribution. They are unique to the EDITION of the book: one single "book" can have a dozen ISBN. For ISBN purposes print books and e-books are different editions even when identical: you cannot use your e-book's ISBN on the print edition or vice versa. It is against the rules of the free ISBN distributors to re-use their ISBN for e-books that are published directly through other sites. You might get caught, you might not. If you do, you might get sanctioned, you might not. But those ARE the rules and you agree to them when you accept the free ISBN. See below "Sample Easy Publishing Workflow" for ways to use free ISBN without breaking any rules (or confusing editions.) ISBN are distributed online in quantities from one to a million: however, the price for buying a small quantity of them is extremely high. AS OF THIS WRITING, it does not make economic sense to buy your own ISBN when with some shuffling you can cover all requirements for free.
Q: How do I get my texts ready for e-publishing?
A: The e-publishers have specs on their sites: follow them. My suggestion is that you do the following:
1) Write your manuscript in Microsoft Word or an equivalent program. Use a template which you know Smashwords will accept. Smashwords has a free style guide which is quite readable and explains most typical publishing situations, including how to exercise what it calls "The Nuclear Option." If you set up your template correctly you shouldn't have to do this to each document, but you almost certainly will have to do it to your first one at some point to get it to a clean template state.
2) When you're ready to publish, publish your .doc to Smashwords. Many people will talk about using Smashwords' converted files for direct publishing to other sites. THIS IS A VIOLATION OF THE TERMS OF SERVICE. Besides, there's a way that's almost as easy and much more flexible.
3) For every other site, use the free open-source programs Sigil or Calibre to convert your .doc to an .epub (which is the standard e-book document file format.) It's not hard. Then upload your .epub to Amazon, B&N, Kobo, etc.
Q: How do I get my covers ready for e-publishing?
A: The publishers have specs: follow them. There's all kinds of advice on making covers online and I will not pick a side/preferred format/philosophy, but I will point out that a) you should have some kind of cover picture and b) you should not use the default cover pictures that the e-publishers offer. (CreateSpace offers a small selection, but each and every one of them says, "I couldn't find a picture relevant to my book" to a reader who's been using Amazon for any length of time.) Cover photos can be licensed very cheaply from places like canstockphoto.com or dreamstime.com.
Q: How can I get my books in physical print and into bookstores?
A: There are several POD ("Print on Demand") publishing services, the most popular of which seem to be CreateSpace (an Amazon company) and LightningSource. Whichever service you use, keep in mind one thing: in publishing money flows TOWARD the content creator, not AWAY. If you're paying for something it should be something somebody else created, like cover art. You should not be paying a fee to publish your books or print copies. (Although you should expect to pay a discounted price for galleys or to do direct sales.) Find a POD service you like, and use it. As far as bookstores, CreateSpace offers (AT THE TIME OF THIS WRITING) expanded distribution through wholesale for a flat fee of $25/book. If you choose to do this, your book goes into Books In Print (CreateSpace gives away free ISBN) and into a system that most bookstores can order through. Alternatively you can sell direct, but how you do that is beyond the scope of this post.
Q: How much should my book cost?
A: That answer is above my pay grade. All I'll say is that people don't value things they don't pay a reasonable price for. Dean Wesley Smith (see below) has several excellent blog posts on pricing.
Q: This is all too confusing. What's a Sample Easy Publishing Workflow to get my e-books out there?
A:
1) Write a book. Write it in Microsoft Word.
2) Sign up for a free Smashwords account.
3) Get the Smashwords Style Guide and use it to format your file. Keep running it through Smashwords' auto-converter (affectionately known as the Meatgrinder) until it passes the automatic review.
4) Once your book is accepted by Smashwords, use the ISBN manager to request a free ISBN for it, which will allow it to be distributed to Apple, Kobo, etc. through Smashwords. Go to the Channel Manager on Smashwords (you can access it on the left side of the screen when you're in your Dashboard) and turn OFF distribution to Amazon.com. If you're going to publish direct to Kobo and/or B&N, turn them off too. Leave the rest on. You have to save your changes with the big button at the bottom of the list.
5) Upload your file to Amazon's KDP website. It will accept Word files if you don't want to mess with conversion. The only thing you have to change is to take out the "Published at Smashwords" line which Smashwords' auto-converter requires to be present on the first page of your book. (If your ebook fails conversion and the error has something to do with the first page, make sure you are including the copyright information it requires. Details are in the Style Guide.)
6) Let Smashwords distribute to B&N, Kobo, etc. At heart if you publish on a) Amazon and b) Smashwords, you will eventually hit the vast majority of the e-book retail sector.
7) Profit!
Q: That's still too hard. How can I just get a real publisher to publish my book?
A: The same way you get to Carnegie Hall: Practice, practice, practice, kissing a lot of ass, and having the Devil's own luck. Tradpub is in a furor of change and uncertainty that makes the whole music file-sharing fiasco look like a Sunday picnic. The big publishers are not going away (as a group. Some will fail.) But they are going through hard times and they are grasping at every straw. Hopping on board a leaky lifeboat is not a long-term survival strategy when you can make your own, better boat. But, if you want to go that route, there are any number of books and websites about how to do it. Buy yourself a copy of Writer's Market (you can get last year's, which is plenty good enough, at Half Price Books or other used bookstores) and start looking for publishers and/or agents who sound like they might like your work. FOLLOW THEIR SUBMISSION GUIDELINES. They really, really mean it.
Q: Where can I learn more about being an independent publisher?
All over the freaking place. The best blog I have seen, bar none, is Dean Wesley Smith's, at http://www.deanwesleysmith.com. He links to his wife's site a lot: if you want to go direct, it's http://www.kriswrites.com. They both link to a lot of other sites. Start there and work your way out. Sarah Hoyt's blog is also wonderful but isn't focussed on publishing (she just talks about it from time to time.) When she does talk publishing it's worth listening to. Here's a good example: http://accordingtohoyt.com/2012/10/08/how-to-indie-publish-on-the-cheap/ I would avoid the Kindleboards (the community message boards on Amazon's KDP site.) They have a very low barrier to entry and there is a lot of nonsense posted there. Until you know how to tell when somebody knows what they are talking about, stay away from people who might not know what they are talking about. (That doesn't include me. I know what I'm talking about. Always trust Centauri.)
Q: Hey, wait a minute! I write erotica. Can I get in trouble for publishing pornography?
A: While the author of this post is a lawyer, nothing in it should be interpreted as legal advice. Consult an attorney licensed in your jurisdiction and familiar with the relevant law before making legal decisions.
That being said, in the US the First Amendment protects everything that isn't "obscene." It's pretty damn hard to accidentally write a text (without pictures) that a modern court will consider obscene. (It can be done: this is not a challenge. As an example underage sex for titillation purposes will do it without much trouble.) Other countries have laws that vary widely. What you really need to worry about is the publishers' rules, since they can and will nix your book for including content they don't like. The main ones are underage sex, true incest (hence the popularity of "stepcest," sex between stepchildren and other stepchildren/stepparents) and bestiality. Given the flood of content and lack of manual review, the only way to really get caught is to get reported by a disgruntled viewer, but that can and does happen. Read the rules for each publisher and make your own decisions accordingly.
Here are my Basic Things You Should Know About Self-Publishing as I've picked up there and elsewhere. It's just basics on publishing itself: For instance, there's nothing here about cover design, promotion, plotting, genres, etc. This is "I have a story, I want to turn it into an e-book and sell it. What now?" If you see a mistake, please correct me: I'll fix the main post to reflect it.
Q: What's the difference between "self-publishing" and "independent" or "indie" publishing?
A: One of them starts with "self" and one of them starts with "independent." Self-publishing has a bad rep because prior to e-publishing most self-published books were published by for-fee "vanity" publishers: you paid them (handsomely) to print the books and then it was your job to sell them, which hardly anybody ever did. It was used mostly by people whose books weren't good enough and/or didn't meet the other requirements and preferences of traditional publishing houses (E.G. Random House, Simon & Schuster, etc. Also known as "tradpub" or "Big Six.") So when e-publishing really started to take off many of its users referred to it as "independent" or "indie" publishing to avoid the bad connotations of self-publishing. Same thing.
Q: What are the basic e-publishers and how do I get books onto them?
A: The biggest ones in terms of customer base are: A) Amazon.com, B) Barnes & Noble, C) Smashwords, and D) the iTunes Bookstore aka iBooks. Other large epublishers are Kobo, Diesel and Sony. Here is a quick breakdown of how to get on each one and what the rules for using them are:
A) You have to wait for the affiliate to pay Smashwords and then you get paid on your next cycle. It can take a long time for the royalty to make it back to you. If you can it makes more sense to sell direct since you'll i) get paid faster and ii) not have to give Smashwords their cut.
B) Smashwords' channel distribution page indicates that they distribute to Amazon, and you have to opt out of it like any other reseller. However, AS OF THIS WRITING, Smashwords does NOT distribute to Amazon. That's the plan, but it is not yet implemented and there is no estimated implementation date. Your works will NOT go onto Amazon if you don't publish them through KDP.
C) Smashwords distributes to Kobo but AS OF THIS WRITING there is a LONG lag - weeks or months - before the books are received and published by Kobo. Anecdotal reports indicate Smashwords says the problem is Kobo's receiving is backed up. But in any event if you want to get on Kobo in any reasonable amount of time you'll need to publish direct.
D) Smashwords distributes to iTunes Bookstore, but Apple reviews each title manually and this can also take weeks. However, this is true whether you publish direct or through Smashwords and if you use Smashwords you won't have to buy an ISBN. (Apple requires them: Apple does not provide them. They are very expensive to buy in small quantities.)
Q: Why are you making such a big deal about ISBN?
A: ISBN are REQUIRED for books to be sold on some websites (like iTunes Bookstore/iBooks) and through print distribution. They are unique to the EDITION of the book: one single "book" can have a dozen ISBN. For ISBN purposes print books and e-books are different editions even when identical: you cannot use your e-book's ISBN on the print edition or vice versa. It is against the rules of the free ISBN distributors to re-use their ISBN for e-books that are published directly through other sites. You might get caught, you might not. If you do, you might get sanctioned, you might not. But those ARE the rules and you agree to them when you accept the free ISBN. See below "Sample Easy Publishing Workflow" for ways to use free ISBN without breaking any rules (or confusing editions.) ISBN are distributed online in quantities from one to a million: however, the price for buying a small quantity of them is extremely high. AS OF THIS WRITING, it does not make economic sense to buy your own ISBN when with some shuffling you can cover all requirements for free.
Q: How do I get my texts ready for e-publishing?
A: The e-publishers have specs on their sites: follow them. My suggestion is that you do the following:
1) Write your manuscript in Microsoft Word or an equivalent program. Use a template which you know Smashwords will accept. Smashwords has a free style guide which is quite readable and explains most typical publishing situations, including how to exercise what it calls "The Nuclear Option." If you set up your template correctly you shouldn't have to do this to each document, but you almost certainly will have to do it to your first one at some point to get it to a clean template state.
2) When you're ready to publish, publish your .doc to Smashwords. Many people will talk about using Smashwords' converted files for direct publishing to other sites. THIS IS A VIOLATION OF THE TERMS OF SERVICE. Besides, there's a way that's almost as easy and much more flexible.
3) For every other site, use the free open-source programs Sigil or Calibre to convert your .doc to an .epub (which is the standard e-book document file format.) It's not hard. Then upload your .epub to Amazon, B&N, Kobo, etc.
Q: How do I get my covers ready for e-publishing?
A: The publishers have specs: follow them. There's all kinds of advice on making covers online and I will not pick a side/preferred format/philosophy, but I will point out that a) you should have some kind of cover picture and b) you should not use the default cover pictures that the e-publishers offer. (CreateSpace offers a small selection, but each and every one of them says, "I couldn't find a picture relevant to my book" to a reader who's been using Amazon for any length of time.) Cover photos can be licensed very cheaply from places like canstockphoto.com or dreamstime.com.
Q: How can I get my books in physical print and into bookstores?
A: There are several POD ("Print on Demand") publishing services, the most popular of which seem to be CreateSpace (an Amazon company) and LightningSource. Whichever service you use, keep in mind one thing: in publishing money flows TOWARD the content creator, not AWAY. If you're paying for something it should be something somebody else created, like cover art. You should not be paying a fee to publish your books or print copies. (Although you should expect to pay a discounted price for galleys or to do direct sales.) Find a POD service you like, and use it. As far as bookstores, CreateSpace offers (AT THE TIME OF THIS WRITING) expanded distribution through wholesale for a flat fee of $25/book. If you choose to do this, your book goes into Books In Print (CreateSpace gives away free ISBN) and into a system that most bookstores can order through. Alternatively you can sell direct, but how you do that is beyond the scope of this post.
Q: How much should my book cost?
A: That answer is above my pay grade. All I'll say is that people don't value things they don't pay a reasonable price for. Dean Wesley Smith (see below) has several excellent blog posts on pricing.
Q: This is all too confusing. What's a Sample Easy Publishing Workflow to get my e-books out there?
A:
1) Write a book. Write it in Microsoft Word.
2) Sign up for a free Smashwords account.
3) Get the Smashwords Style Guide and use it to format your file. Keep running it through Smashwords' auto-converter (affectionately known as the Meatgrinder) until it passes the automatic review.
4) Once your book is accepted by Smashwords, use the ISBN manager to request a free ISBN for it, which will allow it to be distributed to Apple, Kobo, etc. through Smashwords. Go to the Channel Manager on Smashwords (you can access it on the left side of the screen when you're in your Dashboard) and turn OFF distribution to Amazon.com. If you're going to publish direct to Kobo and/or B&N, turn them off too. Leave the rest on. You have to save your changes with the big button at the bottom of the list.
5) Upload your file to Amazon's KDP website. It will accept Word files if you don't want to mess with conversion. The only thing you have to change is to take out the "Published at Smashwords" line which Smashwords' auto-converter requires to be present on the first page of your book. (If your ebook fails conversion and the error has something to do with the first page, make sure you are including the copyright information it requires. Details are in the Style Guide.)
6) Let Smashwords distribute to B&N, Kobo, etc. At heart if you publish on a) Amazon and b) Smashwords, you will eventually hit the vast majority of the e-book retail sector.
7) Profit!
Q: That's still too hard. How can I just get a real publisher to publish my book?
A: The same way you get to Carnegie Hall: Practice, practice, practice, kissing a lot of ass, and having the Devil's own luck. Tradpub is in a furor of change and uncertainty that makes the whole music file-sharing fiasco look like a Sunday picnic. The big publishers are not going away (as a group. Some will fail.) But they are going through hard times and they are grasping at every straw. Hopping on board a leaky lifeboat is not a long-term survival strategy when you can make your own, better boat. But, if you want to go that route, there are any number of books and websites about how to do it. Buy yourself a copy of Writer's Market (you can get last year's, which is plenty good enough, at Half Price Books or other used bookstores) and start looking for publishers and/or agents who sound like they might like your work. FOLLOW THEIR SUBMISSION GUIDELINES. They really, really mean it.
Q: Where can I learn more about being an independent publisher?
All over the freaking place. The best blog I have seen, bar none, is Dean Wesley Smith's, at http://www.deanwesleysmith.com. He links to his wife's site a lot: if you want to go direct, it's http://www.kriswrites.com. They both link to a lot of other sites. Start there and work your way out. Sarah Hoyt's blog is also wonderful but isn't focussed on publishing (she just talks about it from time to time.) When she does talk publishing it's worth listening to. Here's a good example: http://accordingtohoyt.com/2012/10/08/how-to-indie-publish-on-the-cheap/ I would avoid the Kindleboards (the community message boards on Amazon's KDP site.) They have a very low barrier to entry and there is a lot of nonsense posted there. Until you know how to tell when somebody knows what they are talking about, stay away from people who might not know what they are talking about. (That doesn't include me. I know what I'm talking about. Always trust Centauri.)
Q: Hey, wait a minute! I write erotica. Can I get in trouble for publishing pornography?
A: While the author of this post is a lawyer, nothing in it should be interpreted as legal advice. Consult an attorney licensed in your jurisdiction and familiar with the relevant law before making legal decisions.
That being said, in the US the First Amendment protects everything that isn't "obscene." It's pretty damn hard to accidentally write a text (without pictures) that a modern court will consider obscene. (It can be done: this is not a challenge. As an example underage sex for titillation purposes will do it without much trouble.) Other countries have laws that vary widely. What you really need to worry about is the publishers' rules, since they can and will nix your book for including content they don't like. The main ones are underage sex, true incest (hence the popularity of "stepcest," sex between stepchildren and other stepchildren/stepparents) and bestiality. Given the flood of content and lack of manual review, the only way to really get caught is to get reported by a disgruntled viewer, but that can and does happen. Read the rules for each publisher and make your own decisions accordingly.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
New Anthology Up... and now available on Kobo!
Love Spells: Three Dreams of Control is now available as an ebook on the major publishers (or will be very shortly.) It's a magic-theme erotic mind control anthology incorporating A Matter of Trust, ...And All His Heart's Desires, and the critically-acclaimed* Awakening. Here's a link:
Back cover text:
Do you believe in Magic?
The second anthology in the "Dreams of Control" universe takes the reader on three mystical journeys where chance, fate, and will grant three very different men the power of control. Suddenly, any woman they want can be theirs, any way they want, any time they want. Afterward, their lives will forever be changed. Will they seek love or be ruled by lust?
Or do they really have to choose?
Collects the magically-themed erotic mind control novellas "A Matter of Trust," "...And All His Heart's Desires," and "Awakening."
Also, ALL of Unspeakable Publications' books, including all of the Dreams of Control stories, are now in the publishing queue at Kobo. No offense, Smashwords - my understanding is it's a backup on taking affiliate submissions at Kobo itself. But a fellow's got to do what a fellow's got to do.
Enjoy!
*By one critic, anyway! Thanks Pat!
Back cover text:
Do you believe in Magic?
The second anthology in the "Dreams of Control" universe takes the reader on three mystical journeys where chance, fate, and will grant three very different men the power of control. Suddenly, any woman they want can be theirs, any way they want, any time they want. Afterward, their lives will forever be changed. Will they seek love or be ruled by lust?
Or do they really have to choose?
Collects the magically-themed erotic mind control novellas "A Matter of Trust," "...And All His Heart's Desires," and "Awakening."
Also, ALL of Unspeakable Publications' books, including all of the Dreams of Control stories, are now in the publishing queue at Kobo. No offense, Smashwords - my understanding is it's a backup on taking affiliate submissions at Kobo itself. But a fellow's got to do what a fellow's got to do.
Enjoy!
*By one critic, anyway! Thanks Pat!
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Okay, Kobo: Let's Rumble
Smashwords apparently has a line of books to ship to Kobo backed up to somewhere around the orbit of Mars. Not anybody's fault, just the way it is. However, I'm way too impatient, so this week I learned to convert files for Kobo's "Writing Life" self-publishing system. The first one I did, Maestro, went live yesterday and it looks good, so this weekend I'll be converting the rest and putting them up. Koboites, I am coming for you!
Also today or tomorrow Love Spells: Three Dreams of Control will be going up in e-form. Enjoy!
Also today or tomorrow Love Spells: Three Dreams of Control will be going up in e-form. Enjoy!
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Dreams of Control Anthologies
Cheating a little bit here: the next two Dreams of Control books will be anthologies of existing stories. My laziness is your gain, however, because they will be priced such that buying the anthology is considerably cheaper than buying the individual stories!
The first one, Better Loving Through Chemistry, should be up today (it's already on Smashwords and is visible on Amazon by searching.) Here's a link:
In other news, Maestro and the two anthologies will be available in trade paperback! You can buy them here:
Maestro: https://www.createspace.com/4005028
Better Loving Through Chemistry: https://www.createspace.com/4009969
Love Spells: https://www.createspace.com/4010386
What? Love Spells, the second anthology including the critically acclaimed Awakening, is already available in paperback??? Yes, yes it is! So if you just gotta have it early, you can, and for only a dollar more than the e-book version. Enjoy!
The first one, Better Loving Through Chemistry, should be up today (it's already on Smashwords and is visible on Amazon by searching.) Here's a link:
In other news, Maestro and the two anthologies will be available in trade paperback! You can buy them here:
Maestro: https://www.createspace.com/4005028
Better Loving Through Chemistry: https://www.createspace.com/4009969
Love Spells: https://www.createspace.com/4010386
What? Love Spells, the second anthology including the critically acclaimed Awakening, is already available in paperback??? Yes, yes it is! So if you just gotta have it early, you can, and for only a dollar more than the e-book version. Enjoy!
Monday, October 1, 2012
Missed It By That/Much!
I am sorry to say that we did not break our sales volume record in September, so there will be no free story released this month. It was very close, but close only counts with horseshoes, hand grenades, and nuclear weapons, sorry. Since there will be two new books coming out in October as well as the first release of paperback versions, with any luck at all, there'll be a free story in November.
Well, I'm sorry I didn't sell more books, but I'm not sorry I don't have to write a free story. I don't count those against my every-two-weeks publishing schedule. They're a pain. I do it for you, though! Because it's all about love. Well, love and mind-control.
Well, I'm sorry I didn't sell more books, but I'm not sorry I don't have to write a free story. I don't count those against my every-two-weeks publishing schedule. They're a pain. I do it for you, though! Because it's all about love. Well, love and mind-control.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
"Dreams of Control" Crosses Over Into Physical Universe!
No, not like that. At least not that I'm admitting. No, I am pleased to announce that my first novel, Maestro, is now available in a handsome trade paperback edition!
You can buy the book here... or just go look at the cover. :) Please click through on it if you're a mind - at least it will show interest and that's never a bad thing.
It has a new cover photo and should be everything all youhidebound primi literary traditionalists love in a good book.
Except maybe waterproof.
Enjoy!
It has a new cover photo and should be everything all you
Except maybe waterproof.
Enjoy!
Monday, September 24, 2012
Oops, They Did It Again
I read some advice the other day for writers who have blogs to the
effect of, "Don't write about writing. It's boring." There's something
to that, but I feel like putting down some thoughts about characters. If
it bores you, go buy one of my books and read that instead. They're not
boring! :)
WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW FOR "... AND ALL HIS HEART'S DESIRES." IF YOU DON'T LIKE TO HAVE THE ENDING OF A BOOK SPOILED BEFORE YOU READ IT, GO BUY IT AND READ IT BEFORE YOU CONTINUE.
I finished my next novella last night (NOTE: this was written about a week before the post was actually published to avoid spoiling an unreleased book.) and I was really surprised at where it ended up. It turned out to be a rather tender romantic ending between the main character and the woman who was created to be his antagonist. I thought for sure she was going to try to kill him, but she wouldn't do it. She believed in him and since she did, he turned into the kind of character that was worth believing in. I'm not too upset about this as it made for a really wonderful final scene in my opinion. "There are other powers in this world besides [Darkness] and evil," kind of thing.
I kind of wonder if this was some kind of subconscious response to my last two stories, which got a lot darker than I thought they would. I mean, I doubt I'll ever do really nasty (as in, say, mutilation or cannibalism or anything like that) scenes. But the themes of control that I explore in my stories often lead to some pretty dark places. Half the fun of control is overcoming resistance: without resistance, there is no victory. You could write a control story with freely given consent on all sides, but it would just be a kinky love story. There's nothing wrong with kinky love stories but that's not what I do. (Would you pay for 'em? I could start. Really. I could. But sales are gonna have to go up. :) )
And besides, one of the things that trips my particular trigger - and I know I'm not alone in this from discussions with others - is that sense of helplessness, that gradual realization by the controlled that they have lost control. That probably doesn't say anything good about my psyche, but none of us, as a wise woman once said, can help the way we're made. And I for one find that venting it through writing, taking control and using it ruthlessly, helps me maintain a more even keel in the real world. It probably works on the same principle that access to pornography actually makes sexual violence go down in a given environment. The less repression, the less buildup. The less buildup, the less neurosis or even psychosis that will develop in a given individual. Sure, we'll always have wackjobs who are just, for whatever reason, broken, and some of these wackjobs will have enormous pornography collections (or enormous Bible collections, or enormous Hello Kitty collections, or whatever.) But that is a symptom, not a cause.
Similarly, once I let out these impulses - which have always been inside me, I can't remember a time when impulses of domination and control weren't part of my sexuality - through writing or reading, I don't feel more inclined to do something unspeakable, I feel less inclined. Getting down and rolling around in it in my imagination lightens the tension.
And, back to my thoughts on characters, once I let out some of my darker tensions, I find myself going back to writing less brutal or selfish characters and producing stories which have happier endings. The Shape of Her Desires is a quasi-romance story: after I wrote that, I had an urge to produce something darker and more primal. So in At His Discretion the controller is an absolutely amoral (well, not entirely, but close) selfish bastard who doesn't care whose feelings he hurts as long as he gets what he wants. In fact, not only does he enjoy humiliating people, he enjoys making other people enjoy humiliating people. That's pretty darn low, on certain scales. But it came up a bit in A Matter of Trust in that while the controller in that story does celebrate his victory over his antagonist pretty viciously in some ways (somewhat justified by the facts that a) he's not entirely human and b) she had just tried to kill him) he still doesn't use his power to actively hurt her. In fact, he uses it to reduce the enormous consequences of her loss to her sanity.
And now it's come up quite a bit more in ...And All His Heart's Desires, my new story, in that it's his realization that he's misusing his power that convinces the main character that something is wrong in the first place. The main character and his antagonist just refused to accept the inevitability of corruption. It was almost like they were telling me, "No, no, it doesn't have to be this way. The power of control doesn't have to spiral down into darkness. People can rise up even above the ultimate temptation if they just believe they can." Whether that's actually true, I don't know. Lord Acton certainly didn't think so and his quote about absolute power gets quoted so much I have to think most people believe he was right. But sometimes the characters won't go along with it despite their creator, your humble correspondent, having a pretty jaundiced view of human nature. I find that kind of inspiring.
Thanks for reading... I'd love to hear comments from people either here or by email.
MC
WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW FOR "... AND ALL HIS HEART'S DESIRES." IF YOU DON'T LIKE TO HAVE THE ENDING OF A BOOK SPOILED BEFORE YOU READ IT, GO BUY IT AND READ IT BEFORE YOU CONTINUE.
I finished my next novella last night (NOTE: this was written about a week before the post was actually published to avoid spoiling an unreleased book.) and I was really surprised at where it ended up. It turned out to be a rather tender romantic ending between the main character and the woman who was created to be his antagonist. I thought for sure she was going to try to kill him, but she wouldn't do it. She believed in him and since she did, he turned into the kind of character that was worth believing in. I'm not too upset about this as it made for a really wonderful final scene in my opinion. "There are other powers in this world besides [Darkness] and evil," kind of thing.
I kind of wonder if this was some kind of subconscious response to my last two stories, which got a lot darker than I thought they would. I mean, I doubt I'll ever do really nasty (as in, say, mutilation or cannibalism or anything like that) scenes. But the themes of control that I explore in my stories often lead to some pretty dark places. Half the fun of control is overcoming resistance: without resistance, there is no victory. You could write a control story with freely given consent on all sides, but it would just be a kinky love story. There's nothing wrong with kinky love stories but that's not what I do. (Would you pay for 'em? I could start. Really. I could. But sales are gonna have to go up. :) )
And besides, one of the things that trips my particular trigger - and I know I'm not alone in this from discussions with others - is that sense of helplessness, that gradual realization by the controlled that they have lost control. That probably doesn't say anything good about my psyche, but none of us, as a wise woman once said, can help the way we're made. And I for one find that venting it through writing, taking control and using it ruthlessly, helps me maintain a more even keel in the real world. It probably works on the same principle that access to pornography actually makes sexual violence go down in a given environment. The less repression, the less buildup. The less buildup, the less neurosis or even psychosis that will develop in a given individual. Sure, we'll always have wackjobs who are just, for whatever reason, broken, and some of these wackjobs will have enormous pornography collections (or enormous Bible collections, or enormous Hello Kitty collections, or whatever.) But that is a symptom, not a cause.
Similarly, once I let out these impulses - which have always been inside me, I can't remember a time when impulses of domination and control weren't part of my sexuality - through writing or reading, I don't feel more inclined to do something unspeakable, I feel less inclined. Getting down and rolling around in it in my imagination lightens the tension.
And, back to my thoughts on characters, once I let out some of my darker tensions, I find myself going back to writing less brutal or selfish characters and producing stories which have happier endings. The Shape of Her Desires is a quasi-romance story: after I wrote that, I had an urge to produce something darker and more primal. So in At His Discretion the controller is an absolutely amoral (well, not entirely, but close) selfish bastard who doesn't care whose feelings he hurts as long as he gets what he wants. In fact, not only does he enjoy humiliating people, he enjoys making other people enjoy humiliating people. That's pretty darn low, on certain scales. But it came up a bit in A Matter of Trust in that while the controller in that story does celebrate his victory over his antagonist pretty viciously in some ways (somewhat justified by the facts that a) he's not entirely human and b) she had just tried to kill him) he still doesn't use his power to actively hurt her. In fact, he uses it to reduce the enormous consequences of her loss to her sanity.
And now it's come up quite a bit more in ...And All His Heart's Desires, my new story, in that it's his realization that he's misusing his power that convinces the main character that something is wrong in the first place. The main character and his antagonist just refused to accept the inevitability of corruption. It was almost like they were telling me, "No, no, it doesn't have to be this way. The power of control doesn't have to spiral down into darkness. People can rise up even above the ultimate temptation if they just believe they can." Whether that's actually true, I don't know. Lord Acton certainly didn't think so and his quote about absolute power gets quoted so much I have to think most people believe he was right. But sometimes the characters won't go along with it despite their creator, your humble correspondent, having a pretty jaundiced view of human nature. I find that kind of inspiring.
Thanks for reading... I'd love to hear comments from people either here or by email.
MC
Saturday, September 22, 2012
And All His Heart's Desires now available for reading!
My tenth erotic book, ... And All His Heart's Desires, is now available for purchase on Smashwords. (It's been uploaded to Amazon and Barnes and Noble - it should be available there within several hours.)
It's a surprisingly romantic story (it surprised me) about an archaeologist who discovers a lost temple in India. Pretty standard Adventure Story material... but this is the Dreams of Control universe. You know it's not going to be that simple.
Back cover blurb:
Archaeologist Jonathan Chambliss has made the find of a lifetime - a lost temple of Rati, the Indian goddess of sex. But what he finds inside will change him forever. Touched by the power of Rati Herself, no woman can resist him... not that they want to! From beautiful Bengali women to shy but passionate American librarians, Doctor Chambliss can literally have his pick.
Now it's a race against time for a beautiful and mysterious woman who knows Jonathan's secret. Will he choose the power of Rati, or the love of merely-mortal Punita? Or... does he have to choose at all?
Note that later today a post about characters and the writing process that contains a fairly major spoiler for this book will go live on this blog. You have been warned!
Click on the picture or this text to go to the Smashwords page for ... And All His Heart's Desires
It's a surprisingly romantic story (it surprised me) about an archaeologist who discovers a lost temple in India. Pretty standard Adventure Story material... but this is the Dreams of Control universe. You know it's not going to be that simple.
Back cover blurb:
Archaeologist Jonathan Chambliss has made the find of a lifetime - a lost temple of Rati, the Indian goddess of sex. But what he finds inside will change him forever. Touched by the power of Rati Herself, no woman can resist him... not that they want to! From beautiful Bengali women to shy but passionate American librarians, Doctor Chambliss can literally have his pick.
Now it's a race against time for a beautiful and mysterious woman who knows Jonathan's secret. Will he choose the power of Rati, or the love of merely-mortal Punita? Or... does he have to choose at all?
Note that later today a post about characters and the writing process that contains a fairly major spoiler for this book will go live on this blog. You have been warned!
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Teaser Promo!
I finished my next novella, ...And All His Heart's Desires, last night, but it can't go up for sale until next weekend. It'll be available Saturday. It's a romantic story of supernatural mind control, the kind kids like! As a special bonus, it has hot librarian sex. NOBODY can resist hot librarian sex. And I mean nobody.
I just wrote a long blog post about characters and mind control themes, but it has a pretty major spoiler for ...And All His Heart's Desires, so I took it down for now. It'll go up next Monday after the book goes live.
See you soon!
MC
I just wrote a long blog post about characters and mind control themes, but it has a pretty major spoiler for ...And All His Heart's Desires, so I took it down for now. It'll go up next Monday after the book goes live.
See you soon!
MC
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Now, 33% More Smut!
Just a quick note: my first three books - Maestro, Awakening, and The Reunion - are now off KDP Select lockout and can be purchases at Barnes and Noble and Smashwords. Click the links in the right-hand column to go to these fine retailers and pick them up today!
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Thanks, and Enjoy!
As promised, a hot little story called Caught In His Web is now available on Smashwords, for free, to thank our readers for Unspeakable Publications' best sales month ever in August! Click the picture or the link to download it or just read it online.
Every month that we break our all time sales record for paid titles sold (no, it doesn't count to download five hundred copies of His Lucky Break and other free titles, sorry. :) ) I'll publish a free short story set in the Dreams of Control universe. I'm pretty happy with this one and it's very open ended. We may see more of Hiddendepths in days to come... IF you keep buying the books.
Thanks again for your support, and enjoy the book!
Every month that we break our all time sales record for paid titles sold (no, it doesn't count to download five hundred copies of His Lucky Break and other free titles, sorry. :) ) I'll publish a free short story set in the Dreams of Control universe. I'm pretty happy with this one and it's very open ended. We may see more of Hiddendepths in days to come... IF you keep buying the books.
Thanks again for your support, and enjoy the book!
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
A Quick Heads Up
Please note that I am standardizing the price of all my books: except for His Lucky Break, which will remain free, and Maestro, which is a full-length novel and will remain at $3.95, all of them will be priced at $2.99 by tomorrow. So if you see the price is still lower today, buy it now!
Monday, August 27, 2012
Who Do You Trust?
I am pleased to announce that my newest book, A Matter of Trust, is now available for purchase on Smashwords.com and at Barnes and Noble's online store. (For once, they beat Amazon. It'll be up on Amazon today if nothing happens: I'll update the links accordingly. It's up on Amazon! See below.) It will also be available on the iTunes bookstore and other e-tailers as soon as it processes through. Click the picture or the link below to buy the book!
Here's the back cover text:
Stefan Antonescu, one of the world's rare and secretive true magicians, finds an unexpected visit from old acquaintance Cassiopeia Angelis setting them on the trail of a long-lost and legendary charm, the Silver Tongue. Soon, both Stefan and Cassiopeia find their ability to slake their lusts on beautiful mortals like the gorgeous Marica enhanced tenfold by their rediscovery of the spell that powered the Silver Tongue, the Invocation of Truth. But magicians are never satisfied... and now the sometime friends, oftentime lovers, and occasional deadly rivals are on a collision course as they struggle to reach the Stone of Truth and the ultimate power over others that it can grant those who dare to find it.
In addition to a stirring adventure story, this erotic novella in the Dreams of Control series contains scenes of erotic mind control, menage a trois, magically enhanced sex, and lesbian lovemaking.
I'm really happy with this book - at 24,000 words it's an honest novella and has an exciting modern-fantasy adventure story to justify all the hot erotic mind-controlled sex you love in the Dreams of Control universe. (If I do say so myself.) And all at no extra charge!
Enjoy!
Here's the back cover text:
Stefan Antonescu, one of the world's rare and secretive true magicians, finds an unexpected visit from old acquaintance Cassiopeia Angelis setting them on the trail of a long-lost and legendary charm, the Silver Tongue. Soon, both Stefan and Cassiopeia find their ability to slake their lusts on beautiful mortals like the gorgeous Marica enhanced tenfold by their rediscovery of the spell that powered the Silver Tongue, the Invocation of Truth. But magicians are never satisfied... and now the sometime friends, oftentime lovers, and occasional deadly rivals are on a collision course as they struggle to reach the Stone of Truth and the ultimate power over others that it can grant those who dare to find it.
In addition to a stirring adventure story, this erotic novella in the Dreams of Control series contains scenes of erotic mind control, menage a trois, magically enhanced sex, and lesbian lovemaking.
I'm really happy with this book - at 24,000 words it's an honest novella and has an exciting modern-fantasy adventure story to justify all the hot erotic mind-controlled sex you love in the Dreams of Control universe. (If I do say so myself.) And all at no extra charge!
Enjoy!
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Wow!
As of today Unspeakable Publications has had its best sales month EVER and it's only the 18th! Thank you so much to all of my readers. To celebrate, I'm introducing a "Best Month Ever = Best Reward Ever" tradition. From now on, in any month when we break our sales volume record (absolute number of books sold) I'll write a FREE short story and post it by the end of the next month.
Is this what they call "fan service?" :)
Is this what they call "fan service?" :)
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Book Covers and the Barely Sane Writer
Here's how crazy I am:
Making the cover is the second step in the process of writing a book for me, after blocking out the storyline and selecting a title, because whoever is on the cover has to BE IN THE STORY. Furthermore, whatever they're doing has to be relevant to something they do in the story. Since I mostly use stock-ish images of women in not highly recognizable situations, this isn't as hard as it might be, but if they're doing something with their clothes or they have a certain expression or whatever, it has to be in the story. I can not have a story whose cover image doesn't relate to something that happens during the story. (This is one reason I'm trying to learn Poser.)
The story I started today, A Matter of Trust, has a male character (of course.) I now know what he looks like, because I licensed a stock photo with a couple in it. He looks like the man in the photograph! I wouldn't have picked the photo if I couldn't work with it at all, but it certainly solidified his appearance. (And also inspired a minor plot point having to do with how relatively young he looks.) Furthermore, the person has to be a significant character, and preferably appear early in the story. The person on the cover of At His Discretion is the second woman (Ekaterina) who appears in the story, not the first, and believe it or not, that bugs me a little, but the picture was so hot that I just couldn't resist it. :) The second woman who appears in Maestro (Maya) is also the character on the cover of that book, but that one I commissioned and none of the blonde models showed up, so it wasn't for lack of trying.
I'm also using a pretty graphic image on this new one (no actual naughty bits visible thanks to some Photoshopping - some sites won't post graphic covers) as the overwhelming consensus is that the nudier your cover, the better it sells. But I personally don't care whether a cover image isn't all that graphic... this is the other side of my insanity: I try to guess what the story is like based on the cover. I love the cover of At His Discretion even though all you can see is a little bit of bra, because to me it's all about the expression and the pose.
So, if you wondered, that's why Unspeakable Publishing publications have the highest standards of integrity when it comes to what-you-see-is-what-you-get. Because I'm nuts.
Making the cover is the second step in the process of writing a book for me, after blocking out the storyline and selecting a title, because whoever is on the cover has to BE IN THE STORY. Furthermore, whatever they're doing has to be relevant to something they do in the story. Since I mostly use stock-ish images of women in not highly recognizable situations, this isn't as hard as it might be, but if they're doing something with their clothes or they have a certain expression or whatever, it has to be in the story. I can not have a story whose cover image doesn't relate to something that happens during the story. (This is one reason I'm trying to learn Poser.)
The story I started today, A Matter of Trust, has a male character (of course.) I now know what he looks like, because I licensed a stock photo with a couple in it. He looks like the man in the photograph! I wouldn't have picked the photo if I couldn't work with it at all, but it certainly solidified his appearance. (And also inspired a minor plot point having to do with how relatively young he looks.) Furthermore, the person has to be a significant character, and preferably appear early in the story. The person on the cover of At His Discretion is the second woman (Ekaterina) who appears in the story, not the first, and believe it or not, that bugs me a little, but the picture was so hot that I just couldn't resist it. :) The second woman who appears in Maestro (Maya) is also the character on the cover of that book, but that one I commissioned and none of the blonde models showed up, so it wasn't for lack of trying.
I'm also using a pretty graphic image on this new one (no actual naughty bits visible thanks to some Photoshopping - some sites won't post graphic covers) as the overwhelming consensus is that the nudier your cover, the better it sells. But I personally don't care whether a cover image isn't all that graphic... this is the other side of my insanity: I try to guess what the story is like based on the cover. I love the cover of At His Discretion even though all you can see is a little bit of bra, because to me it's all about the expression and the pose.
So, if you wondered, that's why Unspeakable Publishing publications have the highest standards of integrity when it comes to what-you-see-is-what-you-get. Because I'm nuts.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
"At His Discretion" Now Available for Purchase!
I am pleased to announce that my seventh published work, At His Discretion, is now available for purchase on Smashwords.com! It will be up on Amazon and Barnes and Noble by tomorrow absent problems when you read this, and on the iTunes bookstore within a few weeks. You can click on the picture or the link to go to the Smashwords page for the book, or the lower links for Amazon or Barnes and Noble:
Amazon: http://amzn.com/B008WP4ZCO
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/at-his-discretion-marc-cabot/1112474303?ean=2940014866507
This is a somewhat darker story than my usual: while there's no brutality and everyone ends up enjoying themselves, the not-so-good Doctor Parker has a little more fun with his scheme than his unwilling subjects do, at least at first. If a sense of helpless dread in a vict... I mean, subject really flips your switches, this is the story for you. Here's the back-cover text:
For years Doctor Adrian Parker has plotted and schemed to get access to the resources of industry-leading drug manufacturer Proxidine Pharmaceuticals. They already make the best habit-control drugs in the world, but Doctor Parker has a different, less noble goal. At last his access to their database of psycho-active chemicals has enabled him to perfect a willpower-supression drug.
His first test subjects are Samantha, a gorgeous African-American woman with a body to die for, and Ekaterina, the receptionist at his lab facility with the face of an angel. Like any new drug, Doctor Parker's creation is going to require extensive field trials. And he intends to be very, very thorough in his testing...
I always need reviewers: if you promise to post a review (can be good or bad, I don't ask for editorial control) I will send you a coupon for a FREE copy of the book! Thanks and enjoy.
Amazon: http://amzn.com/B008WP4ZCO
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/at-his-discretion-marc-cabot/1112474303?ean=2940014866507
This is a somewhat darker story than my usual: while there's no brutality and everyone ends up enjoying themselves, the not-so-good Doctor Parker has a little more fun with his scheme than his unwilling subjects do, at least at first. If a sense of helpless dread in a vict... I mean, subject really flips your switches, this is the story for you. Here's the back-cover text:
For years Doctor Adrian Parker has plotted and schemed to get access to the resources of industry-leading drug manufacturer Proxidine Pharmaceuticals. They already make the best habit-control drugs in the world, but Doctor Parker has a different, less noble goal. At last his access to their database of psycho-active chemicals has enabled him to perfect a willpower-supression drug.
His first test subjects are Samantha, a gorgeous African-American woman with a body to die for, and Ekaterina, the receptionist at his lab facility with the face of an angel. Like any new drug, Doctor Parker's creation is going to require extensive field trials. And he intends to be very, very thorough in his testing...
I always need reviewers: if you promise to post a review (can be good or bad, I don't ask for editorial control) I will send you a coupon for a FREE copy of the book! Thanks and enjoy.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Brief Update for Today
Sorry, guys. Houseguests and insanity at the day job has postponed the completion of At His Discretion until at least Sunday. Keep checking in!
Friday, August 3, 2012
Just Checking In
Been busy at the day job and haven't had time to write this week, but I thought I'd give a shout-out to this really delightful blog about a hypnotic submissive. Definitely worth your attention!
http://hypno-sleepingirl.blogspot.com/
http://hypno-sleepingirl.blogspot.com/
Monday, July 30, 2012
Generosity? Or Marketing? Who cares, it's free!
So I had an idea for a very short story that could get right to, more or less, the messing around. While of course it is amazing I didn't feel like it really compared lengthwise to my other books, so although it's silly I felt like I shouldn't charge my regular price. And then I thought, "You know, lots of authors have free books that let people get a taste of their style and see if they like it."
So I wrote up the story and put it up for free!
It's called His Lucky Break and you can find it here:
It's also available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble, but since I won't put it in the KDP Select program I had to charge the minimum, 99 cents on those two outlets. It's a pretty tight little story for 99 cents, if you ask me, and even that's a pretty good deal. But you can read it for free (right from your web browser if you've a mind) on Smashwords. Just my way of saying, "Thanks! And hey, buy some more!"
Because while I am grateful that people buy my books and I'm glad to give them a little something extra, "The first one's free!" has always been good marketing advice.
Heh.
Heh.
Heh.
So I wrote up the story and put it up for free!
It's called His Lucky Break and you can find it here:
It's also available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble, but since I won't put it in the KDP Select program I had to charge the minimum, 99 cents on those two outlets. It's a pretty tight little story for 99 cents, if you ask me, and even that's a pretty good deal. But you can read it for free (right from your web browser if you've a mind) on Smashwords. Just my way of saying, "Thanks! And hey, buy some more!"
Because while I am grateful that people buy my books and I'm glad to give them a little something extra, "The first one's free!" has always been good marketing advice.
Heh.
Heh.
Heh.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
The Praise of the Praiseworthy is Above All Rewards.
The inimitable Pat Powers, master of Bondage Erotica at, well, http://www.bondagerotica.com, also maintains a must-read, nigh-daily update blog called Politically Sexy. He was kind enough to post an extensive review of my book Awakening. Even if you don't read my books, you should be reading his blog, because if you even FOUND my blog, you'll like his. Probably better. :)
Here's a direct link to the review: http://politicallysexy.blogspot.com/2012/07/dreams-of-control-awakening-book-review.html
Here's a direct link to the review: http://politicallysexy.blogspot.com/2012/07/dreams-of-control-awakening-book-review.html
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Unspeakable Publications: My Media Empire Groweth
Just a quick update - my first Premium catalog approval, for The Ultimate Icebreaker, has just gone through and another one, for The Shape of Her Desires, is pending. So soon they should be available on the iTunes Bookstore (or the iBooks store, or whatever it's called) as well as Kobo, Sony, and several others. According to the inimitable Delilah Fawkes, people with iPads love them some porn, and there aren't that many EMC books up on Apple's store yet, so here's hoping. :) I mean, I know I love me some porn, and I do have an iPad, but I've learned that in a lot of ways, you just can't go by me. :)
My other three books are in KDP Select lockout until mid-September. I haven't gotten a lot of extra boost from the KOLL, so they'll be moving to Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, and other fine etailers as soon as the lockout period expires. They will, of course, stay on Amazon as well, they just won't be exclusive there anymore.
Edited to add: The Shape of Her Desires just went Premium. :)
All of my new books will be non-KDP exclusive and will, hopefully, become Premium after review and distributed to all of the Premium retailers.
My other three books are in KDP Select lockout until mid-September. I haven't gotten a lot of extra boost from the KOLL, so they'll be moving to Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, and other fine etailers as soon as the lockout period expires. They will, of course, stay on Amazon as well, they just won't be exclusive there anymore.
Edited to add: The Shape of Her Desires just went Premium. :)
All of my new books will be non-KDP exclusive and will, hopefully, become Premium after review and distributed to all of the Premium retailers.
Monday, July 23, 2012
I'm On A Roll...
The second "Dreams of Control" short* is now available for purchase at Smashwords.com! The Shape of Her Desires has the hot and slightly kinky sex you know and love in my works, but really emphasizes, especially given how fast the story moves, the method of control and the feeling of scary, helpless realization the people involved feel when they realized what's happened. (Although as usual in my books, nobody gets hurt. Who doesn't want to be. A little.) It's that building anticipation that really makes this story fun for me and I hope you like it too. Click the picture or the link below to get it. And if you act before the end of July, you'll get to take advantage of the "Summer/Winter Sale" at Smashwords. You can't afford not to buy this book now!
*Technically it's a short story although it's fifty percent longer than the first one... at NO EXTRA CHARGE!
*Technically it's a short story although it's fifty percent longer than the first one... at NO EXTRA CHARGE!
Sunday, July 22, 2012
A Note On Blogs I Follow
If you see a blog on my bloglist, it means one or both of two things:
1) The author of the blog writes interesting posts which are worth reading.
2) The author of the blog writes BDSM or Erotic Mind Control Erotica that I think people who read my blog might be interested in.
Hopefully it means both, but not always. And if it's #2, it doesn't necessarily mean it's erotica that I like. It's not an endorsement, just a "Hey, you might want to take a look at this." I'm a lot fussier than most people about what I'll read, but I know that that is true, so my link recommendations are somewhat less fussy. It'd be a funny old world if we were all the same, eh?
1) The author of the blog writes interesting posts which are worth reading.
2) The author of the blog writes BDSM or Erotic Mind Control Erotica that I think people who read my blog might be interested in.
Hopefully it means both, but not always. And if it's #2, it doesn't necessarily mean it's erotica that I like. It's not an endorsement, just a "Hey, you might want to take a look at this." I'm a lot fussier than most people about what I'll read, but I know that that is true, so my link recommendations are somewhat less fussy. It'd be a funny old world if we were all the same, eh?
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Back To Work...
This weekend I hope to finish the second Dreams of Control short, The Shape of Her Desires. The intro is already written... now I just have to write the good parts. :) Actually, that's the hardest part. As most writers would agree, I think, it's not too hard to come up with a story idea. The hard part is making the story.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Well, The Brotherhood Is All Well and Good, But...
Far, far be it from me to slam the work of another smutslinger.
However, that doesn't mean I didn't laugh uproariously at this review of the Fifty Shades trilogy by this other person.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11477648-fifty-shades-of-grey
It's hysterical. And the .gifs are amazing.
However, that doesn't mean I didn't laugh uproariously at this review of the Fifty Shades trilogy by this other person.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11477648-fifty-shades-of-grey
It's hysterical. And the .gifs are amazing.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
New Book, Discount Price!
My new erotic mind-control story The Ultimate Icebreaker is now available on Smashwords.com. Link:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/205240
And from now until the end of July I'm participating in the Smashwords Summer/Winter Sale, so by using coupon code SSW25 you get an additional 25% off the already low, low price of $2.99!
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/205240
And from now until the end of July I'm participating in the Smashwords Summer/Winter Sale, so by using coupon code SSW25 you get an additional 25% off the already low, low price of $2.99!
About The Book: Awakening
And now, my first "about the book" post.
This is Awakening, the first of the Dreams of Control stories...
This is Awakening, the first of the Dreams of Control stories...
(You can click on the picture to go to the Amazon page for the book.) Awakening was originally called This Is Not A Dream, which is a pretty good example of a spoiler-y title, since the main character spends about half the book convinced that he's dreaming. It started out, like all my books do, as an erotic fantasy of mine, and I wrote it just to get it out of my head and make it clearer and sharper. It was the first piece of "serious" erotica I ever wrote - although I was writing stories about people using supernatural powers to get sex by the time I was a sophomore in high school. Obviously I was always going to end up in the gutter. I'd blame my mother, but she's a saint, and I'm sure she often wonders what went wrong. :)
When I decided to try actually publishing my work, Awakening was the longest, best-edited piece I had. I reworked it to make the sex scenes a little more visual and graphic - I'm not the raunchiest writer in the world, and the stuff I write just for me tends to be as much symbolic as descriptive. I think it struck a nice balance as everyone I used as a test reader said that the sex was, and I quote, "hot." (Trivia note: Awakening has more sex scenes, relative to the length of the book, than any other story I've written so far. Maestro has more, but it's twice as long.)
One of the hardest things was deciding what to put on the cover. I have an "Internet friend" who's a fabulous photographer (His name's Marc, too - small world. See his work at http://www.unspeakabledreams.com/. And yes, I shamelessly stole the name of my publishing company from him. In my defense, he stole it from Shel Silverstein.) We bumped into each other on a forum for fans of erotic mind control and I asked him if he had any good pictures I could use. The main character of the book likes his helpless victims smiling and happy, and when I saw the photo of the smiling girl pulling her top off and looking at the viewer, I said, "That's it. That's exactly what they look like." So sometimes things just fall in your lap. As I like to say, "When you're a nice guy, nice things happen to you."
Awakening was published in August of 2011 (wow, it's almost been a year already.) Although you can't tell from the number of reviews*, it's sold pretty well. Now if I could just get it linked to 50 Shades somehow... Alas, probably won't happen. But according to a very detailed thread I ran across the other day, sales increase geometrically with the number of books you have available. Since I only have a few (and only had two for several months) I'm pleased with how well it's done so far. I plan to write more this year and hopefully will start seeing that multiplier effect soon!
Comments and questions about Awakening, how I decided to publish my work, and how I went about it are welcome. I'll be going into more detail about that as I go along, although it's ground that has been exhaustively covered so I doubt I'll do any full-scale "How To" pieces. Unless somebody asks nice. :)
___
*Reviewers wanted - free copy of one of my books if you'll promise to leave one! Some conditions apply, email marc@dreamsofcontrol.com for details. :)
Monday, July 16, 2012
Welcome To My Unspeakable Dreams...
I'm Marc Cabot, author of the Dreams of Control series of erotic mind control stories, as well as The Reunion, a tale of erotic discovery. Information on Dreams of Control can be found at my website, dreamsofcontrol.com, and you can see all my books on Amazon at Marc Cabot's Author Page.
I have a really interesting day job which unfortunately I can't talk about. :) But I've been writing for a long time: the stories get into my head, and they won't let me rest until they get out. I never thought anybody else would be all that interested in them, but after showing one to a friend, she urged me to publish them because other people would like them too. I've never been so happy to be wrong - people aren't just interested, they pay to read them! As the great Robert Heinlein said after selling his first story, "How long has this racket been going on, and why didn't anybody tell me about it sooner?"
Over the next few days, I'll publish short discussion posts about each of my books, and then start talking about what I'd like to do next. I always love to hear from people who've read my work or who are interested in the kind of stuff I write, so please feel free to leave comments or send me email at marc@dreamsofcontrol.com. Thanks for reading!
I have a really interesting day job which unfortunately I can't talk about. :) But I've been writing for a long time: the stories get into my head, and they won't let me rest until they get out. I never thought anybody else would be all that interested in them, but after showing one to a friend, she urged me to publish them because other people would like them too. I've never been so happy to be wrong - people aren't just interested, they pay to read them! As the great Robert Heinlein said after selling his first story, "How long has this racket been going on, and why didn't anybody tell me about it sooner?"
Over the next few days, I'll publish short discussion posts about each of my books, and then start talking about what I'd like to do next. I always love to hear from people who've read my work or who are interested in the kind of stuff I write, so please feel free to leave comments or send me email at marc@dreamsofcontrol.com. Thanks for reading!
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