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--- Writing Porn For Fun and Profit! --- ========================================= Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! As a vegetarian, I've been bragging that I went out and slew the great Squash Beast for our feast. Not entirely accurate, as there were no squash in attendance this year, but hey, we all still had fun. The holidays (any of 'em, but specifically from Halloween to the New Year) do wreak havoc on my work schedule, however. My most productive time is the six hours that the kids are at school and what with days off and school functions my output really suffers! Oh, well, I console myself with the fact that in less than ten years they'll have flown the coop and I'll have unlimited time to write... I've got a couple of new markets for you this week. Along with an excerpt on pseudonyms from my book and a call for your input on that same subject. Kevin Tipple's got some good news in Goings On as well as an article - The Sorry State of Porno Today - and I'll tackle Market Hunting in Q and A. Some of the editors I deal with have agreed to answer some questions so I'm hoping to start providing an interview with each newsletter soon. If you know of anyone (editor? writer?) who might like to share their hard earned wisdom, please let me know.
Katy
GIRLPHORIA.COM: PO Box 787 - Talbott, Tennessee 37877. editor@girlphoria.com
Website: www.girlphoria.com. CONTACT: Lauren M. Lynley, Editor-in-chief or Oceania, Designer/Editor. Free quarterly (maybe monthly by mid-2000) pro feminist ezine featuring broad range of articles, fiction and photo reportage on the subject of female sex and sexuality. Approximately 75% free-lance written. Actively seeks new writers, photographers and artists. Generally responds 1-2 weeks. Purchases no rights, content providers retain all rights to submissions. Publishes manuscripts in the next issue after submission. To obtain guidelines visit site at www.girlphoria.com and click on Submission Guidelines located in the Table Of Contents page. Submit by sending any
relevant text, photos etc to: editor@girlphoria.com. ublishers: How can readers obtain your catalogue? N/A
CURRENT NEEDS: We are looking for new material relating to female sex and sexuality as well as political commentary, entertainment articles and reviews, women in sports or any other topic that would be of interest to the sexually liberated woman.
PAYMENT: We currently do not pay writers as we are a new publication. We hope to be able to do so in future.
WORD COUNT DETAILS: No limits.
PHOTOS/ART requirements: Photos and/or artwork is preferable but not
necessary.
ACCEPT REPRINTS?: Yes.
HINTS: We are not looking for standard male-centric porn. The content
should reflect the female POV. We are looking to expand from strictly sex
into other areas including politics, women in sport and entertainment. We
like to receive content that is fresh and has a bit of an edge. As for
format please use only one space between sentences, single-spaced with
double lines between paragraphs. Also please be sure that spelling is
checked (English, American and Australian spelling is acceptable). For
text, please insert into the body of e-mail and describe any photo/art/graph
attachments you wish to accompany the piece before you send it. If we
accept your piece we will e-mail you with a request for artwork, bio etc. Instead of the meek inheriting the earth, it has become the mindless. No, I am not talking about the voting problems in Florida (more than enough guilt to go around for everybody there), I am talking about those of us who buy or rent adult videos and the like. It is time to make our voices heard that we will no longer accept junk. Today it seems that as if anyone with a stray camera that can find a woman gets his or her video on the market. Billed as “amateur tapes” these videos flood the market and people actually seem to like them. As an aspect of personal expression that is fine, but it is sad that the concept seems to have taken over the industry. For the most part, gone are the days of a video having a plot or storyline. And totally forget character development. Now, companies are turning out videos right and left with the amateur style format. Cheap and easily made over the course of an afternoon or at best a couple of days, they have all the style and substance of a Mike Tyson hook to the face. You know the drill if you have seen anything at all recently. Some woman pops up on screen (after all those annoying phone sex ads) and says something stunningly stupid as “Hi, my name is Stacy and I just turned 21 and I couldn’t wait to make this movie. So, watch me as I get naked with (fill in the name of the actor).” Or some drivel along these lines. Said female prepares herself in the bathroom, all the while filmed as she flirts with the camera. Somehow, this is supposed to make the viewer more involved in the video. How, I have no idea. I have a severe desire to yell at her to watch what the hell she is doing. Then, she goes out and gives another brief interview, poses solo in various positions, then seductively strips out of her clothing. Then, of course, a male star appears and the act commences. Numerous positions are successfully attempted accompanied by much screaming and groaning. All the while, the woman is repeatedly facing the camera, playing to it, as if that will really draw us into the moment. Once we have obligatory messy proof that everyone has had a good time, the male star is interviewed for his reaction. Not once have I ever heard the guy say anything negative. It is always along the lines of he never had better as the woman smiles stupidly for the camera. Enough! The fact that everyone lasts far longer than normal people is expected. What annoys me is the sheer mindless stupidity of it all. The premise is nothing more than-- I am naked, you are naked, and lets go. It has all the subtly of a PBS documentary about the mating habits of a cheetah. Instead, let's convince the powers that be that we want quality in or erotica. We want a plot, storyline and character development along with full frontal nudity and graphic sex. We want stories to be told that just feature sex as a part, but not the only thing. In short, we the people demand quality today! We want videos of the old days in the style of the Marilyn Chamber’s movies. Movies like Insatiable that were definitely about sex, but also erotically told a story. Or more recently, The Witch’s Tale. Sure the special effects are a little cheesy, but the plot is good and the sex is red hot. The point is that there are quality videos out there that are actually worth something. So, take volume whatever back to the store and ask for the good stuff. If they don’t know what is good, you are going to the wrong place. Demand quality in this area, just as you would in your produce, your car repair, or anything else in your life. If we, the viewers and consumers, send a message, they will listen and change or be driven out of the marketplace. ©2000 Kevin R. Tipple
In addition to his published fiction, Kevin is the new e-book review editor for site Peacockblue at
http://www.peacockblue.com
--- Check out my column at http://www.AbsoluteWrite.com on - what else?! - writing porn. This week I talk about using dealing with other people's perceptions of porn. =========================================== Do you have to use a pseudonym? Not really. You can certainly choose to write under your own name. Plenty of porn authors, from writers of literary erotica to editors of major porn magazines, do. Some don't have any problem at all using their given name, they're proud of what they do and not ashamed to show it. Most writers of porn, though, choose fictitious monikers for a variety of reasons. There's the parent of three who'd rather that the other preschool dads not know what he does in his spare time. Or the businesswoman who doesn't want her boss to know that he's jerking off to a story written by his underling. There are the shy types who'd be embarrassed to have anyone know what they do (or fantasize about doing) behind closed doors. Or, more simply, there are those people that accept porn's controversial nature and are just not comfortable 'outing' themselves. Whatever the reason, if you do decide to use a pseudonym, have fun picking your name. Even though you could certainly use a different name each time, inventing your own marketable image can give you an edge as a writer. I like to think that it fosters reader identification. In this faceless, nameless world of porn, seeing a familiar name on a story can matter. Familiar is good, stupid is not. I'm not very fond of the obvious ones: Peter Hardd, Suzie Sleaze, Dick or Kitty anything. True, for some venues, especially those that manage to successfully spoof themselves, fun and outrageous names can work. But for all the others, stick to the simple. When I read porn I like to know that the author is not talking down to me, and a silly name smacks a little of sarcasm. But if that's your style - irreverent humor, say - by all means, pick something that indicates that. Choose a name that mirrors your style and projects the image you want to create. Creating that other persona for yourself is part of the fun. Personally I think of Katy (you didn't think that was my real name, now did you?!) as my alter ego. Or, rather, several of my alter egos. All of which include me on some level but are still separate. I love thinking of Katy as a distinct identity, it gives me a completely different self than my outward suburban one to play with. Besides, she writes these things, not me! There are writers who use several different pseudonyms; one for the lesbian confession, one for the hard-hearted womanizer, still another for the persecuted fetishist. I've got one I use for some of the stories I write from a man's perspective. Not all magazines will let you use your pseudonym, of course. Those that buy all rights will often choose a name for you. And not all stories have bylines, either, that true life confession signed by "Anonymous" certainly isn't going to have your name under the titillating title. It pays to check the magazine first and then submit your piece with bylines in mind. If you do use a pseudonym, type it directly under your story title. But in addition to your pseudonym, you must also put your real name and address on your manuscripts. Editors obviously need to know what name to put on the check. In the beginning of my career, it made me more than just a little nervous sending out stories with my pseudonym and my real name on them. Over time, and after dealing with plenty of professional and conscientious editors, I became more confidant. Of course then there was the day, just last month, when I opened up a copy of a magazine to see not only the title of my story, but my real name printed there as well. And no, I wasn't looking at an artsy little story, one that I could perhaps call erotica. No, this one, with my very unique name printed under it…this one was pure sleaze. Seems that the pseudonym got lost in the transfer between the new editor and the old one. After extreme embarrassment and much fretting over who might actually see it (my ex-husband?, my child's science teacher?) I finally reassured myself with the rather lame notion that anyone reading a magazine about how to have sex with 19-year-olds may have more reason than I do to stay underground. So yes, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it does happen. If you're going to write this stuff, sooner or later you very well might be 'outed' against your will. Can a porn writer ever be completely anonymous? I doubt it. There's always that chance that someone you don't want to find out, will. In my case I've just had to accept that as a part of the risks of writing porn, of which there are relatively few, and try not to take it too seriously.
Order It's A Dirty Job...Writing Porn for Fun and Profit here - http://www.KatyTerrega.com/orderebook.html =========================================== Voila! What a great idea for a new section! So....What Do You Think About Pseudonyms? Do you use one? Do you wonder if you should? Have you had a bad experience using either your own name or a pseudonym? Send me your thoughts and stories - along with whether or not you want me to print your real name! - and I'll post 'em. We'll have a forum. I'm looking forward to what everyone has to say on this and other subjects. Also, if you have ideas as to what else you'd like to see in this forum, let me know, I'd love to run one with each issue. =========================================== Writers are always asking me how to find markets for their particular story, or wondering which markets are good for beginning writers. I think of Market Hunting as the most critical step to selling your work and unfortunately it can be difficult. I started with Writer's Market, which has precious little for porn writers but can be a good jumping off place. Then there's the Erotica Readers Association , which has lots of info for the porn/erotica writer, including market listings. And there are my book(s), one "how-to" with markets, the other (on it's way) exclusively markets. My suggestion to all beginning writers is to do three things, all with an eye toward finding publications that buy the kinds of stories that you write. 1. Peruse the above resources. 2. Go to your local newstand with a pen and paper, jot down the addresses of any magazines that look as though they buy content, then send away for guidelines. 3. Search (and search and search) on the internet.
It's a tedius process, I know, but imperative if you want to sell your work! Send me your questions! I'll answer the most common and/or interesting ones here, and if I don't know the answer, I'll do my best to find a pro who does. =========================================== Thanks so much for sending me all of your articles and queries! The good news is that I have plenty to pick and choose from. The bad news is that, given the volume, I have to be a little pickier and choosier now and won't be able to use all of them. If I end up not using your article/essay/query, I'm sorry in advance! It might be for any one of a number of reasons, but it's often because I already have another article on a similar subject. But please don't hesitate to suggest a topic or send something whole. I'm still looking for essays/articles that will inspire and/or instruct other porn writers. Success stories, how to break into certain markets, unique views on the genre, etc. Around 800 words is good, although I'm flexible. Articles on specific markets are also good. There are so many sub genres of porn and it's hard to know the subtleties of each. If you've got a specialty, from BDSM to Watersports to Leg Sex to Amputeeism, feel free to share your knowledge. Right now I'm paying with a copy of the updated It's A Dirty Job...(plus credits) but as SOON as this site is self-supporting I'll be able to offer some cash. =========================================== And you have been, thank you! 'Course I haven't always been too prompt in answering these last couple of weeks. As I've said, I will definitely try to get to all e-mails ASAP, and that usually means within twenty four hours. But sometimes I'll let an email sit, intending to get back to it, and it'll get lost in my inbox. So if you haven't heard from me in a couple of days, EMAIL ME AGAIN! I probably screwed up and didn't get/see/notice your question or comment. Tell me what you want this newsletter to be, tell me what info you need to have, tell me what you like or (oh, alright) dislike about what's going on here. ============CLASSIFIEDS==================== ========================================== Writing Porn For Fun and Profit! Katy Terrega |