Laura Thomas (@Laura_Raptor) is a writer living and working in Canada. Previously, she has published a full-length novel, but has changed her focus to the short form novella, especially in the Erotica genre. Laura has created a productive workflow and lifestyle that allows her to publish up to three stories per week to online and via electronic platforms like the Amazon Kindle.
Check out Laura under her pen name, Selena Storm, (@Selena_Storm) where you can find about 40 titles.
Show Notes & Links
Apologies to Joel Duggan, our first international guestLaura lives in Hamilton, OntarioVirginia WadeEL JamesNovels are 80,000 words; lately Laura’s works are 5000-7000 (better returns for the genre)How stories are bornLaura is inspired by things that interest herFor some people, kink/fetish comes first; Laura does the opposite finding the setting firstThere’s only so many ways to say “he put this in that.”“I felt like I was north of The Wall” (a reference to the winter of 2013-14 and A Song of Ice and Fire)Wrestlemania, inspired some of the content in her booksLaura does her own cover designLaura’s husband is a comic artist“New York Publishing”Harry Potter by JK RowlingFifty Shades of Grey by EL JamesThe Hunger Games by Suzanne CollinsLaura self-publishes her stuff because publishers take too much moneyScott Sigler, author and self-publisher, also goes it aloneThe New York Times Bestseller ListVanity PrintingNational Novel-Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) should be succeeded by National Novel-Editing Month“The days of the celebrity author are done.”The Long Tail by Chris Anderson, and the “Hit Model”Publish or Perish (not just for professors)Laura publishes 3 short stories per weekThe Claiming of Sleeping Beauty, and The Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by “A. N. Roquelaure.” (actually Anne Rice)Silvia Day, prolific author in romance/eroticaCosmopolitan, a communal effort for graphics, photography, print, etc.Laura & her husband have a podcast, The Untitled Mike & Laura ProjectGhost AdventuresBigfoot Erotica and other books by Virginia Wade“There’s no such thing as an overnight success.”Tools
A smart phone, for recording thoughts/ideas on the goLiving room PC, for streaming videos and Google Docs, etc.MS WordAmazon (Amazon Canada)SmashwordsBarnes & Noble (in Britain, but not yet Canada)Twitter is the number 1 platform for communicating/promotingTumblrDeviantArt (for book covers with some text explanation)GoodReads, hit or miss from a promotion point of viewAudible, and their star-ratingKDP Select, for KindleReddit, if you find the right communitiesTechniques
Use a crummy computer to avoid distractions while writingUse a different computer in a different setting to see a document with fresh eyesAs the document evolves, use an e-reader to keep things freshFormat the text for each format, following guidelines for each publishing platform and deviceWrite three books to sell as a bundle (buy two get the third free)Try disconnecting from the Internet to actually get something doneHabits
Create a morning routine, as you would for a jobKeep the “lunch break” briefTreat writing — and promotions — like a full-time jobSome kind of media (like television) in the background
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