NaNoWriMo 2012: Still Up in the Air

Textbook Romance was written during NaNo 2010.

Here it is, the end of October and Halloween is plainly in sight, and I still am waffling on NaNo. I have a couple ideas in mind, but nothing that has yanked me by the scruff of the neck towards signing up this year.

Wanna help?

Below are three of the general areas my project ideas fall into; if any of them reach out and grab you, comment to let me know, and it might stir up my enthusiasm.

Project A) Historical litfic novel, set in a 1950s American university campus; some "love story," but focusing on a bit of academic intrigue and social issues. (This one has been percolating for a long time, but I still haven't gotten a foothold in.)

Project B) A silly piece of space-set futuristic fluff, with a romantic plot. Of absolutely no redeeming social value, and not likely to ever be published - but it might be fun to write, and to share on the blog!

Project C) A contemporary m/f romance (not erotica), taking place on a small town movie set. There will be writers, actors, assorted devious industry people, and an irritating gossip blogger. (This is the most likely of the three to be published in my life time.)

Well, there you have it. All three have been somewhat plotted (though Project B is rather loose), and I could do any or none... I just lack motivation, and have a ton of Real Life work to do. Thus, still waffling three days before NaNo is set to begin.

What to do, what to do...?

My NaNo 2011 novel is still unfinished, in rough form, and may never see the light of day.

The Problem with Free

This is not a post ranting about all the free Kindle books, I promise. There are more than enough of those out there. Besides, I have no idea what I feel about them.

Instead, this is a random note about writing free projects, just for fun.

I've been working on a free short that I had planned on offering here, and on my website, as a little gift to my readers and a promotional item. Give readers a chance to read a nice, complete, short story (say, about 3-5,000 words), to see if maybe they'd like my other stuff. It seemed like a fine idea to me, and I'd still like to offer such a thing. I think.

I've also been toying with the idea of writing a free novel, bit by bit, and posting maybe a chapter a week here on my blog, or on my Tumblr blog. That also seemed like a fun thing, since I have a story idea in mind that I'm eager to play with. It's not something I'd be interested in writing for publication at the moment, but I'd like to do it, just for kicks.

My first concern is that I'd be talking to myself, I admit. I'm worried I'd lose interest if no one was reading, and I don't care to start projects I won't finish. However, I'm extremely tempted, and if I knew enough people would read it to make it worth my time, I might give in to that temptation.

But, here's the main concern - nothing escapes theft on the internet!

I'm not all that fussed about pirates, as I've said here before. Sure, I'd rather people buy or borrow my work legally, but I don't expend energy on the whole piracy thing. What I'm talking about here isn't about piracy. Since these stories would be free, I'd have no cause to complain if they got "pirated" by file sharing sites.

What ultimately makes posting freebies a tough decision is plagiarism. The constant threat of plagiarism feels like a gag. I don't want someone ripping off my fun, free, weekly serial from my blog, sticking their name on it, and trying to con people out of 99 cents on Amazon with it.

I've tried to tell myself, "Don't be so full of yourself. Who'd steal your rough little blog book?" Myself has not believed me. You and I both know, if we've paid attention to the web at all, there are content grinders out there who'd steal ninth grade history papers and pass them off as their own if they think they'd make some money off it.

Nothing is safe.

Recent stories about fanfic writers getting screwed over should be enough to give any of us pause. Not only do you lose your work, without credit, but someone else profits from it - this is particularly galling if you were offering it free of charge to begin with. It especially annoys me when people rip off fanfic writers, since they are writing out of sheer love of the work and for the enjoyment of their community. (I'm sure there are other, more concrete, benefits, as well, but I admire fanfic writers for toiling away without great hope of immediate compensation.)

Frankly, piracy is one thing, but plagiarism is where even someone as sedate as I am must draw the line. Especially if that plagiarism turned into passing off a free lark for money to unsuspecting customers on Amazon, who don't deserve to be robbed any more than I do.

Besides, I come from academics, where plagiarism is a cardinal sin, the taint of which is enough to sink a whole career. I can't shake that training, and I bring that along with me into my "night job" of writing fiction.

So, I'm torn about posting free content. And, thus, I remain undecided. So far, I have been very careful not to post too much of my work online, especially before it's been published, for the very reasons I've stated here. I don't even use online crit groups, just in case!

You can see why I'm reluctant to jump full on into the fire, right?

What are your thoughts? Does this ever stop you from posting free work? Are you seeing more or less free content online? Are there any safe ways to do it, or should I just go limp and let cheaters steal as they may? Do you have any war stories to share?

Do blogged novels even get enough attention to make the risk worth it? Or, maybe I am worrying needlessly. Is this a case where the greatest potential threat is not theft but obscurity?

I'll have to continue thinking about it, I guess. Right now, all I can say is that I'd love to, but I'm still sorting out the pros and cons. Any comments are more than welcome as I try to puzzle out my thoughts on this.

Paperback Update, and a Feedback Request! (Pretty Please?)

I'm pleased to announce that my new paperback anthology has been made official, and we're aiming, last I heard, for a September release (I had earlier misread the 9/12 as meaning October, but I was clearly loopy that day). The stories, my five 2011 stories from Rebel Ink plus a new sixth story, will also be released in ebook bundle!

I can now officially announce the title of the anthology.... Drum roll, please!

All I Want: The Anne Holly-Day Collection.

Ta da!

(Okay, that title makes me snicker, I admit it. I'm a goof; whadaya gonna do?)

The "working blurb":

What happens when a young violin prodigy sets his sights on the jock next door, a flighty witch thaws out a corporate stiff, or an uptown girl falls for a bartender? How about when a city slicker roughs it with a cowboy, a free spirited Spaniard seduces his calm and collected professor, or a fantasy writer teaches a no-nonsense doctor to see the magic around him?

Attraction, friction, and enough sparks to heat up the coldest winter!

Opposites attract under the spell of six different holidays in this collection of contemporary erotic romance stories from author Anne Holly, covering Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years Eve, Valentine’s Day and St Patrick’s Day.

Each story reflects the glow and lore of the holiday that inspired it, but the collection is bound together by a single thread – the joy of taking the plunge into sizzling romance.

Yeah, I know, it's got rhetorical questions in it, and many people have already told me I shouldn't have rhetorical questions in my blurb. Yes, that's one of several things I shall be banging my head against as I re-write it.

I'll be refining the blurb over the coming week or two to make it stronger. I'm flipping through Amazon pages like mad, trying to troll for ideas, and haunting my usual tips-for-writers websites. I will continue to hone this blurb into a razor-sharp marketing powerhouse. *ahem*

However, if you follow this blog, you might know this is not my favourite part of writing.

So, if you have any feedback/suggestions/comments whatsoever, I'd be obliged.

Help Needed: Textbook Romance? Anyone?

A little interlude here, if you'll permit. I need some help finalizing a title. I have contacted my editor and publisher, and they agree it's my decision and they like the title as is, so the question is back on me - what do I intend to officially entitle the novel currently known as "Textbook Romance."

Here's the "working" blurb:

Liberty wants freedom. Seth wants Liberty.

Between her flighty mother and a disastrous love affair from the past, professor and writer Liberty Sullivan has learned the lesson that chasing love is a waste. Only her freedom and her young son matter, and she’s built her career on proving it. But when she meets Seth, he challenges everything she thought she knew.

An ex-cop who’s making a new life for himself and his daughter, Seth Webster has every reason to play it safe, but when he meets his new professor with an anti-romance agenda he knows he will be the one to teach her a thing or two.

Perhaps the ties that bind may be the true path to Liberty, after all.

Truth be told, I'm okay with the title, as well. It's fine, serviceable, hasn't been too overused (it seems, as of now). It's kind of catchy, I guess, and applies... But, I'm still not 100% sold on it. What do you think? Could there be a better title out there for me?

Also, should be it "Textbook Romance" or "A Textbook Romance"? Now, I know that sounds petty, but damned if I can be decisive about that one, either.

So, if you have any thoughts, please share. I just want to make sure my novel has the best hat and shoes before it enters the world, and I can't really do any promo until I have the title issue resolved. :/

Thoughts? (Please!)

Feedback Needed: Him for the Holidays?

As my series for Rebel Ink Press starts to wind down, with three released and two more waiting in the wings, it's time to start thinking of them as a series, including promoting them as a group and coming up with a title for the paperback release in 2012. *squee*

This "series" isn't a series in the traditional sense - they don't have the same characters or the same setting. In some cases, their styles and subgenres are even different, though they are all short erotic-romances (or romantic-erotica). One is semi-paranormal, one is comedy, one is cowboy, a couple have May/December themes, and one is glam.

What connects them is that they all take place around a holiday, and all of them have mismatched couples, combining types of people who normally wouldn't have found each other - a cowboy and a city slicker, a jock and a virginal musician, a prof and a grad student, a bartender and a socialite, and a yuppie and a hippie-witch. All of them have heroes that I adore.

In thinking about titles, one of my rough attempts has kind of grown on me, which emphasizes the lovable heroes and the gift of finding love:

Him for the Holidays

So... What do you think? Catchy? Trite? Overdone? Predictable? Cute? Annoying?

I'm totally open to hearing your reactions, criticism, or other suggestions. I'd like to settle on one quite soon so I can start thinking of them as a group.

Thanks in advance!
AH