Category Archives: writing

THE BIG REVEAL: BIG CONTRACT NEWS!!

Posted on by Author Cat Johnson

I’ve been sitting on some news for a while now. Really good news. News that still gives me a thrill when I think about it. It’s been very tempting to say something before now. What stopped me initially was disbelief that it would amount to anything. Then my superstition that keeps me from announcing anything until the ink is on the contract. But now the time has come…for me to set the scene for you. I’m a writer–you didn’t think I’d come right out and just tell you without a long drawn out story, now did you?

Twas just before Christmas and in my little house… I was procrastinating because I was supposed to be writing. So, like all good procratinators, uh, I mean authors, I took a little time to check and empty the spam folder in my email account. But among the discount insurance and drugs guaranteed to make penises grow, one email stood out. Maybe the name was familiar to me because I’ve seen it around the web. Maybe it was the subject line which read “Your Agent”. Either way, this junk mail looked different enough to make me open it rather than trash it with the others.

It basically said that this person had been on my web site, had read my free short story 8 Second Ride, and had loved the mix of humor and sexuality. It was just what they’d been looking for and would I like to submit a proposal to them? Or should they contact my agent instead? Then it was signed Alicia Condon, Editorial Director Brava with a phone number.

Now I’ve been called a naysayer before. I’m a New Yorker and I don’t trust anyone. Besides, this kind of stuff doesn’t happen in this business. It’s been drilled into my head since my first RT Convention in 2007 when I was a starry-eyed newbie that New York publishers do not come knocking on your door. You have to submit to them, then get rejected, then submit again and maybe if you’re lucky, after a year or two, they’ll let you revise that manuscript and resubmit. Then maybe you’ll get an offer of a contract, maybe, if you’re lucky and in the right place at the right time and the editor you started submitting to years ago doesn’t leave the publisher first.

Given all that, I of course thought this email was fake. Why? I don’t know. It’s not like those scammers in Nigeria who try to get you to wire them money would be pretending to be an editor at Kensington Publishing, but what the hell did I know? My heart was pounding so hard at the thought that this might be real–and how amazing that was–that I couldn’t think straight.

I copied and forwarded the text to a coworker in the biz, figuring she’d know and tell me if this was a scam or not. Which is when she told me, of course Alicia Condon was real. We met her last year at RT. By that time I had already Googled Kensington and found her name and a matching phone number on the Kensington site so I knew she was real, but what I couldn’t comprehend was how she’d found little old me? Had she googled “Western Authors” and my site came up? That could be it but the fact she’d pawed through the many pages of my site and found a story to download and read was still pretty amazing. Then there was that other little glitch… the ‘should we contact your agent’ line.

I don’t have an agent. I don’t have an agent for the same reason I hadn’t been submitting to NY publishers–who the hell has the time? I can’t keep up with the books I’ve promised to my current publishers. Forget about write something new on spec and have it wallow in a slush pile somewhere for months or years. But I was sure as hell willing to write a proposal for Kensington, since they’d been kind enough to ask and all. I checked out the subs guides and found they’d need a 5-page synopsis and the first three chapters of a 80K word novel. GULP. 80K? Okay, I could do this. I’ve written 63K before. 80K was only 17K more and that was only like a short story. No problem.  BUT would she want it from me still when she found out I didn’t have an agent? I emailed and asked, and the answer was yes.

At this point the only people I’d told were my one coworker, and one other author who had a Kensington Brava contract, because I wanted her take on this. I expanded that small circle to one other person–the significant other, mainly so he’d leave me alone when I side-lined one impossibly tight deadline to write this proposal. He was warned there’d be no cooking, no cleaning and probably one cranky author, but he was more than happy to help me because though he’s not a reader, even he knew this was a huge deal. First I came up with an idea, and fleshed it out enough to send to her and see if she’d be interested in seeing a full proposal for it. She was interested.

Alicia told me the offices were basically shutting down for the holidays, but she’d like to present the proposal at the first editorial meeting right after the new year. Holy crap, this was really happening. I researched and wrote my fingers off, basically sliding through the holidays with as little effort as I could get away with. We had no Christmas tree, but I did get the wreaths up and the mantle decorated. There were no Christmas cards but thanks to online shopping, there were presents, and some of them were even wrapped (thank God for gift bags). But I did it. I got the synopsis and the first 3 Chapters written and sent off by the time they opened again after the new year. all without my friends or family (aside from the hubby) knowing why I was so rushed and stressed all the time.

It was while writing the proposal that I expanded my inner circle of confidants by one–an Army Reservist and student I know at Oklahoma State University who was kind enough to help me with the details for my setting, which I’d chosen to be Oklahoma because of my contacts there. Still, I could count the people who knew about this on one hand. That’s how superstitious I am about jinxing things by spilling the beans early. Besides, I still didn’t think she’d offer me a contract. Especially not after I saw in publishing deals that editor Alicia Condon had just offered a 3-book deal to a different contemporary cowboy author. That’s it, I thought. I was a backup plan while they were negotiating with this other author’s agent. But I proceeded as if this hadn’t happened. I’d rather live with the rejection than with the regret of having never tried. (Boy, that’s philosophical of me. huh?)

Fast forward a week or two after I submitted the proposal. We’re now in January, I’m working to make that other deadline still, while there is yet another book I owed Samhain still hanging over my head and needing to be completed, when my email alert chimes and I see the name Alicia Condon pop up. I literally sat there and gave myself a pep talk before I allowed myself to read that email. It went something like this, and yes, I said it out loud to me and the cats.

“It will be okay. No matter what is in that email, it’s fine. It was amazing she even contacted me and I should be very proud of that, even if she didn’t like the proposal.”

Turns out I didn’t need the pep talk. She wanted to offer me a 3-book contract for a series built around my proposal. Was there a phone number she could reach me at to discuss? So after I screamed, and IMd my cohort/coworker the news, I emailed her my number and the phone rang almost immediately. I was shaking while taking notes because I knew I wouldn’t remember a thing after I hung up if I didn’t. I kept a cool enough head to make sure she knew I had a prior relationship and responsibilities (including 2 ongoing series) with Samhain Publishing, whom I fully intend to continue with because I love them there, but that was fine with her and the contract was amended accordingly. At that point, after hanging up and while folding laundry, I grabbed the phone and I expanded my inner circle to Mom, mother-in-law and my aunt. I told my 4 best friends too, excited that maybe NOW they would stop calling me a porn writer and asking what I do all day. No such luck–they never heard of Kensington and since I’ve had literally dozens of contracts in the past and as many books published, they truly didn’t get why I was excited about this one in particular. I guess fate has put them in my life to keep me humble. I guess I should be grateful… anyway…

So that’s it.  The contract is signed and barring a ‘force majeure’ my first contemporary western novel tentatively titled ONE NIGHT WITH A COWBOY (OKLAHOMA NIGHTS SERIES, BOOK 1) will be released by Brava in April of 2013. I am now a Brava author, and for all those who are wondering if my books will be in bookstores, the answer is yes they will, and in eBook as well.

Oh, one more tidbit–the answer to my question of how the hell she stumbled upon my website to begin with… It turns out two of her salespeople (the folks who go out to the Books-A-Millions and the Barnes and Nobles of the world to try to sell them the new season’s crop of books being put out by Kensington) told her to check me out. How amazing is that?

What has this taught me? Always put out your best work, even if it is a free read for download on your website. AND always check your spam folder!!

Cat

Teasing You with Some Tidbits

Posted on by Author Cat Johnson

I’m at that point where I’m bogged down in the soggy middle of this work in progress. If I can get over the hump, the ending will fly, I’m sure, but until then each and every word feels like it has to be pulled out of me like a large headed child. So…let me tell you a little bit about this WiP in hopes that getting you excited about it will get me excited about it, because my little sidebar status meter, though helpful, just isn’t doing it for me right now.

A good indication about what’s in a book is what research the author does to write it, so for FLANKED (Studs in Spurs, Book 5) I have looked into the following topics…

Body Piercing (specifically nipple, clit & hood)

Tattoos

Marriage License Laws in various states in the US

Centrifugal Force in bull riding

Building a Tree Stand for deer hunting

Shoulder injuries requiring surgery in bull riders

Health insurance

The sports medicine crew in the arena at bull rides

So, does that give you some kind of hint as to what Garret James, the hottie pro bull rider from my Studs in Spurs series, might be up to in his upcoming book? I hope so! Now, back to writing. About 19K left to write to finish this big-headed baby up and send it away to my editor. Now THAT is exciting.

Cat

The ABCs of an Erotic Romance Writer

Posted on by Author Cat Johnson

Ever wonder what all the acronyms and terms mean that we romance authors throw around? Here is a quick primer in the ABCs of Erotic Romance.

ARC- Advanced Review Copy (sometimes Advanced Reader Copy). It’s a copy of the book given prior to release usually to book reviewers.

HEA- Happily Ever After. Think fairy tales. It’s required by many of today’s romance publishers

HFN- Happy For Now. The hero and heroine don’t have to declare their undying love and get married, but there is a promise that they are at least happy…for now.

M/M – Male/Male gay-themed romance (or F/F would represent 2 women)

M/F/M – a heterosexual threesome where the Male/Female/Male characters all have sex together however there is no direct same-sex sexual interaction between the men.

M/M/F- a threesome where the Male/Male/Female character all have sex together during which the men also interact sexually with each other.

GBLT – a genre in romance incorporating Gay/Bisexual/Lesbian/Transexual themes.

BDSM – a genre in romance with Bondage and Discipline/Dominance and Submission/Sadism and Masochism elements.

D/s or D/S  D usually stands for the dominant partner (or Dom/ dom) in the BDSM.  S (or s) usually stands for the submissive partner in BDSM

Galley – before a book goes to print, we review the galley and look for not only typos that may have been missed in the editing and proofreading stages, but also for formatting issues, page numbers, correct headers and footers, etc.

WiP – Work in Progress. Whatever book I’m in the middle of writing at the time.

FLE- Final Line Editor. After my editor is done, a FLE goes through the book to find any grammar, spelling, continuity or story issues.

The Big Six – the 6 big publishing houses who own most of the imprints you’d recognize.

Agency Model – a big mess where the publishers and the booksellers are in debate as to who gets to set pricing on third party sites like Amazon.

Legacy Publishing – the way publishing was done forever before digital came along. Authors (usually through an agent) submit, if contracted they receive an advance which will either be earned out or not. This model depends a very few huge name authors to sell many books and carry the rest.

Digital First- a publisher who releases the book in eBook format first and possibly will release some in print later. Generally authors are paid in royalties on actual sales and not with any form of advance. This model depends on sales spread among many authors.

Vanity Press – Author pays a publisher to put out their book.

Author Mill – a vanity press thinly disguised as a publisher.  They accept all author submissions and charge a lot of money (either on the front end or the back end) for the author to release their book through them.

POD – Print on Demand. A technology where books are printed as ordered. Usually in Trade Paperback size.

Self-publishing – the author acts also as publisher for either eBook, print or both.

Slush Pile – where your unsolicited book submission goes to wait for someone at the publisher to read it hopefully sometime before you die.

The above are fairly universal in the industry. Specific to my Tweet stream/Facebook page you may see the following:

ARe – All Romance eBooks, LLC, a digital bookseller who own AllRomance.com, OmniLit.com and ARe Cafe.

AAD – Authors After Dark. A convention for booklovers and authors held annually.

RT – Romantic Times Book Reviews Magazine throws a booklovers convention annually which we usually refer to just as RT.

PBR – The Professional Bull Riders organization (not Pabst Blue Ribbon if it’s in my Tweets!)

PRCA – Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association

NOTE: this is based upon my opinions, experiences and understanding from having written professionally since 1988. I may be wrong. Apologies if I am.

HOT COMPETITION IN THE HOTTEST HERO CONTEST!

Posted on by Author Cat Johnson

Round #3 ends Wed., July 20, 11:59 PM CT

We’re in round #3 and my roping rodeo cowboy hero Wes has been running neck and neck against his competition this round in All Romance eBooks’ Summer’s Hottest Hero Contest. It’s 5 rounds of head to head battles between the reader nominated heroes in events such as best first kiss and best dinner invite/menu.

Voting for this round ends Wednesday. Voters can vote once in each bracket matchup in each round, and 1 voter in every round will be randomly selected and get $25 in eBookBucks! Please note you have to be logged into your ARe account to see the match-ups and to vote.

TOOLS OF MY TRADE: #7 FLIPBOARD

Posted on by Author Cat Johnson

Though a few of my tools this week were writer focused, this one is great for anybody. My friends’ 16 year-old daughter even has it installed on her iPad so perhaps for once, I’m in with what the young, cool kids are doing instead of being a step behind. What is it? Flipboard. I love it and you will too. Check out this video to see why…

So in case you can’t see this video, I’ll give it to you in a nutshell. Flipboard is an App that takes all those many different social networks we belong to and all those blogs we follow, and even blogs we don’t follow, and it compiles them into the prettiest damn digital magazine you could ever imagine. I’m serious–it’s absolutely beautiful! Who would have thought that the stream of crap that comes through my Facebook and Twitter feeds, usually in ugly lines of URLs and written text, could look like a glossy magazine you’d pay a bunch for if you bought it at a newstand? But it does. Wanna see?

The first picture below is the Cover–the page that opens first when you select the App on the iPad. The cover automatically scrolls through images from the content inside your Flipboard. Touch on the image and you’re taken to your Favorites page which shows all the sources you’ve selected. I have my Facebook, Twitter and Google Reader accounts on mine, as well as things like News, Tech, Lifestyle, Inside Flipboard, Style, Eats, Health, Web Culture and a few others which are compilations of the best in each topic put together by Flipboard. Touch on any one of the items in your table of contents (the second picture below) and you’ll be taken inside. The final pic below is my Facebook news feed as it appears in magazine layout–posts, pictures and links uploaded by my friends in beautiful graphic layout.

What do I use Flipboard for that makes it a valuable tool to me? Well, this for instance–every time I found a blog I was interested in, I’d click that little FOLLOW tab up top, thereby adding it to my Google Reader which I never, ever–seriously never!–went to. So all those blogs I found, I never looked at. Then my friend told me about Flipboard. Honestly, I checked it out just because I’m a geek who loves Apps and she thought it was cool. Lo and behold, in addition to Facebook and Twitter, there were all those blogs I’d followed and never saw again, all 557 of them. But now, instead of having to go to a page on my computer and look at the posts, they were all laid out enticingly, with images in a format I could digest and enjoy.

Warning: I spent HOURS on there the first day. In my defense, it was a new toy and I had 557 blogs to catch up on. Now I spend just a few minutes every day or two, checking what’s new. It is a work tool too since I sometimes need to suggest interesting blogs to feature for the ARe Wildfire newsletter and I can always find some from among the links posted by my Facebook and Twitter friends and from the new blog posts captured in my now easy to use Google Reader.

I have Flipboard on my iPad and iPod Touch. I read a June article that says an iPhone App is next. I read an April article saying an Android App would be out “eventually”, which to me doesn’t sound promising. Sorry, Android users. Find me at a convention and I’ll let you play with mine on the iPad.

TOOLS OF MY TRADE: #4 WRITE OR DIE

Posted on by Author Cat Johnson

I’ve mentioned this tool before but it bears repeating. In fact, Dr. Wicked and his evil productivity tool Write or Die were in the dedication of my book RIDE I used it so much to make my deadline for that novel.

You can use the lighter Write or Die online version for free, or buy  the enhanced desktop edition to install on your computer for use offline ($10 and compatible with MAC, PC & Linux). You choose your time limit (or word count) and for the duration chosen you have to continue to type into the window or it starts to “remind” you. Gently at first with flashing colors, then not so gently with horrible audio ranging from cars honking, to babies crying, to the Hansen Brothers singing. Once you start to type again, the annoyances stop too.

I find I can do 500 words easily, usually more, every 15 minutes when using Write or Die. So if I set a 1500 daily wordcount for myself, I can get my work done plus extra with one 48 minute session on Write or Die. IF I can force myself to sit down and actually do it, which I generally fail to do.

The concept is pretty simple–when things pop up literally in the case of email alerts and instant messages in front of your face and demand attention, you stop what you’re doing and run to deal with them. With this program, you simply can’t deal with them, you can’t stop writing for the duration of the time you’ve selected. It’s hard to train ourselves in this age of multi-tasking to believe it but unless there is a baby turning blue in the room with you, everyone else can live without you for 15 minutes, or 30, or 48 (the amount of time Dr. Wicked, the inventor of this tool, recommends).  Turn off the email alerts. Log out of Instant Messenger. JUST for the amount of time you decide. You can go back later. It will be okay. I promise.

The philosophy of timers as motivation is covered here in a blog I stumbled upon but I know from experience, it works. The biggest obstacle I’ve found with using Write or Die is that I feel like I have to go into it armed with words already in my head or I’ll stare at a blank page and fail miserably while it flashes colors and blares obnoxious sounds at me. The other thing is this–the hardest part of being a writer is facing a blank page, and psychologically the Dr Wicked page is exactly that. Perhaps I’ll have to paste in some text to get over it.

Anyway, if you ever do any writing, give it a look see. It might be a fun way to torture your kids into finishing their homework!

TOOLS OF MY TRADE: #3 TWITTER

Posted on by Author Cat Johnson

I am a self-proclaimed promo ‘ho and proud of it. Day three of my favorite tools brings us one promotional platform I employ, Twitter.

Yes, I will admit when I first heard about Twitter I didn’t get it at all. When I try to explain Twitter to my non-tweeting friends, I really can’t (in spite of my vast professional expertise as a wordsmith).

So what is Twitter and why does it deserve to be named among my 7 most valuable tools of my trade?

It’s a social networking site that limits user updates to 140 characters each Tweet unless you employ one of the lengthening tools (which I do sometimes, though I feel like I’m cheating when I do, LOL). It’s kind of like the user status updates you see on Facebook, but it’s a one way system. I can follow anyone I want and see their tweets. Anyone can follow me and see mine (unless I block them for being a perv or a spammer). It is not the mutual “friending” you find on Facebook profile pages. Since I use it as a professional tool, I do like the Twitter “follow” system better than the Facebook “friend” system.

Now why is Twitter important? Well if you haven’t had your head in the sand, you know that behind Twitter is power. Tweeting brought down New York Congressman Anthony Weiner. Twitter users had been reporting Michael Jackson’s death for hours, meanwhile ABC News was still saying he was in a coma in the hospital. One of Osama Bin Laden’s Pakistani neighbors tweeted about the helicopters above his head before the SEALs feet hit the ground and long before Obama announced the successful operation. When the Wall Street Journal declared today’s Young Adult fiction too dark and dangerous for today’s youth, when some idiot reporter in Scranton, PA exposed the erotic author pseudonym of a respected local English teacher on a TV news broadcast and demanded her resignation, Twitter exploded. Users came together as a community and hashtags such as #YAsaves and #RomanceKills (used to identify the tweets in response to these issues) dominated Tweetstreams which had to be throttled because the updates were coming so fast. There have been instances of communications blackouts during elections in the Middle East, or disasters worldwide, where Tweets sneaking out were the only communication with the outside world. When there is no TV coverage of a rodeo or bull ride, there is always at least one person there tweeting results for the rest of us fans. I can read what a Soldier is doing in Afghanistan in one Tweet, and see what my favorite book blogger has posted in the next.

But that’s not why I named Twitter here. It’s what Twitter has done for me. I have tweeted “Need an idea for a 8K word cowboy threesome. GO!” and low and behold, ideas poured in. Twice I’ve Tweeted “Need a title for so-and-so story”, twice I’ve gotten ideas I could use. I have my blog send out automatic tweets when I post, and my site traffic has never been higher. I can say, “I’m in a contest at this URL” and my followers actually take the time to go and vote for me. I Tweet new releases, but also the wordcount I’ve written that day, or the edits I’m doing, or even the insomnia or the writer’s block I’m experiencing. It never fails there is either a reader or fellow author there to commiserate or congratulate, day and night, from all corners of the globe.

I also use it for research. I learn so much just hanging out with the people who live and work in the world in which I’m writing. Reading Tweets from a stock contractor or a bull rider or a rodeo announcer brings me closer to the world of bull riding in which I write. Hanging out with the fans of the sport I’m writing about helps me create realistic worlds within my books. I immerse myself through those I follow and who follow me in the worlds of cowboys, rodeo, military, writing and publishing–all the things that occupy my day and comprise my profession.

I’ve made friends on Twitter, and I’ve made contacts. Sometimes people are both. And–authors still shaking their heads thinking this is ridiculous, this is key–I KNOW Twitter has sold books for me. I’ve seen Tweets where readers are hand selling both me and my books to others. Personal recommendations are both the hardest and the most effective form of promo. I had a Tweet-up with a few followers last January at the Madison Square Garden PBR event in NYC and luckily I thought to bring a few copies of my books with me because it turned into an impromtu booksigning right there in the lobby of the Garden. Strangers were stopping to take their picture with me because–planted in an booth no longer being used by a PBR sponsor and surrounded by people and promo and books and cameras, it looked like I was somebody. In reality it was me and my childhood friend meeting my Twitter friends.

Unlike most advertising which has a dubious return on investment, Twitter is FREE except for the time you devote to it and don’t get me wrong, I know my time is valuable. I know I should be writing more, rather than checking Twitter, but you really can spend as little or as much time on there as you want. It’s up to the individual.

I can tell you this, if all you do is Tweet what amounts to ads for yourself or shout ‘buy my book!!’ at your followers, it won’t work for you. I guarantee it. Of course, you don’t have to Tweet pictures of the pile of mouse guts your cats left for you on the floor like I do either, but it amuses me so I do it. My followers have come to learn not to open any pics I Tweet while eating their breakfast. What I’m saying is, the hard sell will not work!

The strictly promotional truth for me is this–romance lovers and my readers are already my readers and already my customers and will likely already buy my books. Yes, a Tweet may remind them of a new release, or inform them of a new review, but the key is to think out of the box, think out of your existing customer base. What if I want to promote to a broader community? Let’s say, rodeo fans who may have never read a romance in their lives. Or troop supporters who love the military and may not know there is an entire very popular genre of military romance out there. Or perhaps these two groups do know and  read cowboy or military romance–they may not know me or MY writing. By interacting with these groups on Twitter about topics we both love, they will get to know me, and eventually my books as well. It’s the softest of sells and it works.

That said never forget Twitter is a community and a family.  Luckily unlike your own family you get to choose your Twitter family, but they are family. Remember that and treat them well and Twitter will treat you well in return. I may have started Tweeting as a promo ‘ho with strictly mercenary intentions, but now I turn to it because some of my closest internet friends live there and I like their company. Amazingly, they like me too and I love them all for it.

One caveat regarding Twitter–spammers can and will find you. If you dare Tweet the words “iPad, or Writing, or Porn, or weight loss” you will be bombarded with @ replies or new followers hoping you’ll click on their link to buy whatever they’re selling. Just click on Block & Report Spam and they are gone, to go and open a new account and start spamming again, but I do enjoy doing it anyway. If I could get some evil genius to invent a system where we can send an electrical shock through the spammer’s keyboard, that will be even better. But the pros in Twitter far outweigh the cons.

TOOLS OF MY TRADE: #1 DROPBOX

Posted on by Author Cat Johnson

I’ve been thinking lately about what I use the most, what I love the most, and what makes Cat Johnson, both the brand and the author, who and what I am. I’ve narrowed it down to 7 things (for now) so I’ve decided to do a series of posts, one each day this week, and share my favorite things. I’m only as good as my tools, and I’m sharing them with you here with the disclaimer that just because I love these tools doesn’t mean they’ll be to everyone’s taste. So, that said, here we go.

Tool of the trade #1: Dropbox

Though they won’t be in order of importance or value to me for the entire week, tool number one truly is THE MOST VALUABLE TOOL I USE, hands down, all caps because I can NOT stress this enough or love it more. Dropbox in an online file storage system that is FREE to use for the basic account which I have yet to even come close to filling up even with keeping all my writing, stockart, coverart, music files and other assorted important documents in it.

What’s so cool?

From my MAC I can open, edit and save files to the Dropbox, then turn on my PC and VIOLA! open the Dropbox folder and see all the same files there, updated and ready to be used, edited, etc. But it gets better, I can open the Dropbox APP on my iPod Touch and my iPad and yes, there are all my updated files to be read.

Why is this important? I do most of my work on the MAC, but my Photoshop is on my PC. In the past I used to email files to myself. Now I can create a bookcover in Photoshop on the PC, save it to the Dropbox folder (filled with my created subfolders), open the MAC, grab that cover and upload it to my website, or insert it into the Word .Doc I’m writing on the MAC.

That’s not even taking into consideration that every time my files autosave while I’m working on them, every update I make, is automatically backed up on the Dropbox cloud servers and accessible by me from anywhere should something catastrophic happen to my computer so I will never lose files. I’ll never have to take the time to back up my work in progress on a thumbdrive that I can lose, or email it to myself, or any of the other extreme measures I used to take.

AND there’s more! I’m the editor in charge of the Just One Bite Short Story Writing Contest at All Romance eBooks, which means I get to pre-read all the entries before they go to my team, who will help me select the finalists. After 12 hours a day on the computer, when my eyes are so tired I can barely focus, and when the husband looks at me like if he sees the laptop in my lap for any longer he’ll divorce me, I can put away the laptop totally, whip out the iPad and open the Dropbox app. There, I touch the Contest folder where I’ve previously saved all the Word .doc or .rft files from my email account. From the App I can open and read all those Word Doc contest entries on the iPad, which may just save my eyesight and my marriage.

You can set a password on the APP in case your iPad or iPod Touch is a shared device with other family members and you want your files to be private. You can also set up sharing folders within the Dropbox and share specific files with others.

NOTE: Some of you may remember a year or two ago I was a proponent of a similar tool, Mesh. I have since moved to Dropbox for 2 reasons, the device support and the reliability. After Mesh failed to update my files a few times, sent me a complicated email about upcoming changes, and didn’t come through with the promised device support, I moved to Dropbox and haven’t looked back since.

Check Dropbox out for yourself! 

7,634 Non-Porn Reasons to Be Proud

Posted on by Author Cat Johnson

I put up with a lot of shit because of what I do for a living. Things like my friends introducing me as a porn writer, to the point that one guy actually believed I write porno movie scripts. I had to show him a book to prove they were actual real books with actual stories. At a book signing a woman looked at the cover of one of my books and said, “I like story in my books.” Um, excuse me? Do I know you?

But hey, you know what, I’m a working writer and have been since the day I graduated college with my BA in English. That means I write for money. I write what sells. I write for the market, whatever that market is. If I get the opportunity and find there is more income to be made writing porn scripts, I’ll write porn scripts. Recently threesomes sell like hotcakes. I began writing threesomes and started to receive royalty checks that could actually pay my mortgage. Of course that doesn’t matter to the people who write or read ‘serious’ literature.

Whatever.

My point here is that though I’m not opposed to writing porn, I don’t write porn or even erotica for that matter. In fact, I’ve received a few reader and editor comments that my stuff is ‘not erotic enough’ or ‘not hot enough for their taste’, proving you really can’t please everyone.

I often find myself riding a very pointy and uncomfortable fence between those two groups of people. Every person I meet I make a conscious decision whether or not to tell them what I do for a living. Say, “I’m a writer” and invariably the next question is “What do you write?”. Then you have to size up what kind of person you’re talking to and try to predict their reaction. The former poet laureate of the US was actually quite intrigued by me, while some other poet/haiku writers think I’m the devil on earth, so you really never know.

This, however, is something I am very proud of, and sadly, I don’t even think most people in my real life or my cyber world know about it. The American Red Cross Go Red for Women Corporate Teams. Go to that link and take a look at the top donating corporation. As of today, the top dollar contributor is ARe.

Sound familiar? That’s because ARe is All Romance eBooks, LLC. They are listed here on my site as one of the places where you can purchase my books. What you may not know is when not ‘penning porn’ I am the Manager of Media and Public Relations for ARe. Yup, I have a title and business cards and everything. In fact, I even have a summer intern all of my own.

One of my responsibilities for ARe over the past year was spearheading the 28 Days of Heart Campaign. Though an eBook retailer, this time last year we opened the doors to published authors and began taking submissions of novellas that we would sell to benefit the American Heart Association in an effort to combat the number one killer of women–heart disease.

To date ARe has forwarded $7,634.39 to the AHA from the sales of those 28 eBooks, and proceeds will continue to be turned over for the length of the contracts. We’ve donated more than Pepsi Co. Upstate and believe me, that is something to be excited about. I live near Pepsi’s headquarters. It’s like a city in itself, and little ol’ ARe is beating them in the tally.

I helped do that! Not only is one of my books part of the charity series, but I was also in charge of the project and the team of talented individuals that made it happen. I think I was even touted as being the Editor in Charge. Another title that doesn’t have the word ‘porn’ in it. Imagine that! The best part is, because of the success of last year, we’re about to do it all again and I am thrilled.

So, what can I take away from this personally? For one, I need to somehow stop caring about what people think. Porno or prissy, I write what I write and I have to stop apologizing for it and concentrate on the achievements I am truly proud of.

For you authors, we’ll be announcing the call for subs for the next 28 Days of Heart series to be released in February 2011. (I came up with the series title too! My Associates Degree in Marketing comes in handy). Details will follow but I hope you’ll consider becoming part of this incredibly fulfilling endeavor. And–I’m about to get really catty here so forgive me–for that one organization who refused to publicize our call for submissions last year on their erotic romance writers blog/site, I have one thing to say–$7,634.39 and counting!

Cat