I remember like it was yesterday. It was January 6, 2013. I was talking on the phone with a friend and we joking about writing a book. It was nothing new to me because I have been told for years that I should write a book. After I hung up the phone, I decided to play around with the idea of writing. I started jotting down characters name, ages and occupations. Whether they were married, had children and so on.
The next morning, I went to work and mentioned that I was thinking of writing a book to a coworker. She was just as thrilled as I was with the idea. As I was speaking with her, I began to think "Wow! I may be able to do this, but what in the world would I write about?" Still contemplating, I decided to pick up the phone and call my sister. Her excitement for me made me realize I could probably write at least one.
I went home that night and started jotting until I came up with 5 groups of characters. I then thought to myself 'I can write 5 short stories with the characters, but what about?' Then it hit me, what do I enjoy 'think' I know a lot about but most of all what do I know about that I would find interesting. Sex! The touch of a man on my body, the scent, and on and on I began to think. I thought to myself how I feel my desires are not normal but some other people may have some of the same desires. I decided I would like to share some of my desires (along with some made up desires). I began to search the internet for information on how to actually 'write' a book and then stopped instantly. I pulled up Word and just started typing.
Once I started to write, I COULD NOT STOP! Idea after idea flowed through my mind. I felt so good bringing my ideas to life. I felt as though I were within the story touching these people, kissing them, hugging them, as well as fussing and arguing with them. I would burst out laughing, and be serious all at the same time at certain times of writing. Before I knew it, it was time for me to go to work.
I went to work with absolutely no sleep. I was so excited to get back to the laptop and write, being fatigue did not even hit me...until later.
The writing process was an experience I will never forget. The highs and the lows. 'Will people like my book? Is it too graphic? Are there too many sex scenes? How can I go to church after writing this type of book? How can I market this to some of my peers who are against what I am writing about?' My lows were very low! I almost gave up because of the way I was feeling. My sister and friends kept telling me to continue to push. Right after I hit my low, I hit a writers block. WHAT?! I had no idea what was going on with me. I just knew that the ideas stopped coming and I was lost. Once again I hit the internet to find out what I was experiencing..Writers Block. I couldn't believe it. I mean I have not been writing for years, only a few months. I took a week to get it together. All of a sudden, the thoughts started coming back and I was back to writing.
I finished my book in April 2013 and off it went to editing. I purchased my website, logo, book cover and copyrights all in the same timeframe. I was beyond excited. Then the problems with the editor, not corresponding as they should with delays. Let me just say I almost gave up AGAIN because of all the problems I had with the company I hired. They were extremely polite about the errors they caused and did everything possible to try and correct them, but I was a firecracker.
While the book was at edit and layout. I started the marketing process. "Or what I thought was marketing." Let me just say that I started late :). I did get ads on a couple of websites and get flyers out in 5 states though. I received my first proof and sat down to read it. I thought, "Wow, this is really good". My second proof came and I published immediately. My book Dilemmas Part 1 (African-American Adult Erotica) went live on June 1, 2013 and my eBook went love on June 18, 2013. Both days were very exciting to me.
I am proud of my work thus far and working on a second book. (Haven't started Part 2 of Dilemmas just yet). My numbers are steady right now and I am not so much worried about the dollar as I am about people liking what they read. I hope my books allow people to enjoy their sexual desires (safely) and maybe get some new ideas as well. (Trust me it is not PG ;))
I hope you have enjoyed my first blog post! I hope that new aspiring authors are able to get some ideas on how to get started with becoming an author from this blog as well.
More to come...
Happy Reading
LJ
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