Romance Readers Read Too Much Romance. No Books For You!

Have you heard the latest publishing news? Scribd is removing a shitload of romance novels from their site because romance readers read too much.

Let me repeat that: Scribd is removing most of the books in its most popular genre. They're removing the books their subscribers want to read, love to read, NEED TO READ!

If you're saying "WHAAAA?" then my response to you is, yeah, this is every bit as ridiculous as it sounds. I really don't have to embellish or editorialize when it comes to this story.

If you're asking "What the fuck is a Scribd?" then I'll quickly tell you it's a subscription service, like Netflix for ebooks. Until now, you could read (some) of my books there. (They don't like erotica.)

Apparently their subscribers are voracious romance readers and, because their business model sucks, readers reading books is costing them too much money. So instead of changing their payout structure or doing something sensible like that, they're removing their most popular books.

Want the inside scoop straight from the horse's mouth? Here's the email I got from Draft2Digital, which is one of the distributors I use:

As we all know, the concept of a subscription service for books is extremely new. There are several models on the market now for effectively monetizing subscriptions, and none of them exactly matches what we’re used to from traditional sales royalties. As the market experiments with different approaches, there are bound to be some missteps and false starts along the way. In fact, we should expect this business model to evolve even more in the near future.

Scribd took a significant risk putting in place a model that paid authors the same amount as a retail model for each book read by a subscriber. As we all know, romance readers tend to be incredibly avid readers. In trying to cater to this voracious readership while under this progressive payment model, Scribd has put itself in a difficult place. In a bid to better balance these operating expenses, Scribd is immediately slashing the volume of romance novels in its subscription service.

If you are receiving this email, then you are a Draft2Digital author who has published books in the romance genre to Scribd. This means that some or all of your romance novels are likely going to be delisted from their service today. (Books that are priced at free will not be removed.)

While a large number of romance novels will be removed from Scribd, it isn’t all of them. We aren’t privy to the exact guidelines Scribd is using to decide which romance novels will remain, and it’s our understanding that they remain in flux at Scribd. However, over the coming days, we will be working closely with Scribd to resolve the exact criteria and share them with you so that you’ll have the opportunity to restore all of your titles to the service.

Please Note: If you write in other genres, understand that those books will not be affected by this policy change.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and assure you that we are working with Scribd to explore alternative solutions to this challenging problem, always searching for new terms that could restore our full catalog to their service.

Believe me, this situation is just as difficult for Draft2Digital as it is for you. We also stand to lose a significant portion of our revenue due to this change. More importantly, we regret that we couldn’t give our authors more notice, but unfortunately we were informed quite late in Scribd’s decision-making process. It has been our highest priority throughout these discussions to preserve as many of your books in the service as possible, and we will continue to pursue that goal going forward.

So, like... "Oh, wow, our subscribers LOVE romance. They read a bajillion romance novels a week. So let's get rid of our romance novels."

Smooth move, Scribd.

Spread the Word: #BisexualBeachReads

I'm inventing a hashtag. Right now. You're watching me do it. Having fun yet?

Of course you are! Because you're going to participate in making #BisexualBeachReads a huge success.

What's it about? Well, it'll be what we make it. For my part, since I'm a queer author who's written a number of books featuring bisexual characters (like Cherry, Bali Nights, Seven Kisses, Ondine, the Adam and Sheree series--to name the first ones that popped into my head), I'm going to tweet about those books using the new hashtag.

If you're an author who's written books about bisexuals, you should tweet about them too! If you're a reader who's read an awesome book with bi characters, use the hashtag to tell other people about it. If you're a reader and writer, do both! If you're a puppy... well, you're off the hook. You spend your summer learning not to pee on the floor. Very good!

I actually came up with #BisexualBeachReads last summer, but I procrastinated so long that it was suddenly September and I hadn't told anyone about it. Sooo I waited a whole year for another summer to come around. Which is actually good timing, because it just so happens that I have a new book out called Bisexual Beauties: 10 Sexy Stories of Girls Who Love Girls...and Guys!

This is the back cover from the paperback version of Bisexual Beauties!

Here are some places you can purchase Bisexual Beauties:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZD52KMS?tag=dondes-20
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00ZD52KMS
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bisexual-beauties-giselle-renarde/1122105992?ean=2940152215656&itm=1&usri=2940152215656

In Bisexual Beauties, eroticist Giselle Renarde assembles an eclectic cast of characters to arouse and entertain you. Girlfriends share their first taste of man in “Felicity’s First” while frisky folk singers take Winter along for the ride in “Forbidden Folk.” A curvy girl joins the action when she walks in on her co-worker crush seducing a sexy stranger. A proudly bisexual building super fixes more than just leaky pipes, and a concerned BFF helps her married friends break down barriers when she jumps into bed with them.

This new bisexual beach read is available for purchase as an ebook and in print. Guess it just depends whether you prefer to do your beach reading with a paperback or a tablet. (I like a paperback, myself).

Here are some MORE places you can purchase Bisexual Beauties:


Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebook/bisexual-beauties-10-sexy-stories-of-girls-who-love-girls-and-guys
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/552113

This book contains some amazing erotica. It includes not only short stories, but novelettes like Good Bi Valentine and, one of my personal favourites, Forbidden Folk. If you've never read Forbidden Folk, it's about a young woman who's taken under wing by two folk singers. Here's the taboo hitch: she knew these folk singers as a child, when her late mother toured with them. They practically raised her.

So the desire she feels for this older man and woman feels excessively forbidden...

...but when did that ever stop any of my characters? LOL

Here are a couple more places you can purchase Bisexual Beauties:

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=3tLxCQAAQBAJ

And don't forget to spread the word about #BisexualBeachReads! Let's honour some bi characters this summer! And let's make these books easier for readers to find!

#AReBlast: A One-Day Sale

 

Time to stock up on books like my new release, Bisexual Beauties. Or maybe some short fiction. Or maybe a bigger-ticket item like my dark romance Seven Kisses or Everybody Knows, an anthology of sexy love stories (or lovey sex stories?) featuring transgender characters.

More than 500 publishers are participating in June 20th's one-day 25% off sale at All Romance Ebooks... and I'm one of them!


Or search #AReBlast under "product tags" to see what's available from hundreds of other publishers.
 

This is Important...

I was going to wait until June 21st, National Aboriginal Day, to write this post, but today, by chance (by procrastination, really), I came across this Macleans report called 'It could have been me: Thirteen remarkable women share their own stories.'

I strongly encourage everybody reading these words to click this link: http://site.macleans.ca/longform/almost-missing/index.html and hear these women's stories.

Make time for them. Do it now.

*Trigger warning for rape, domestic violence, sexual abuse, sexual assault.

"The predominant belief is that Indigenous peoples are intrinsically alcoholics or drug addicts, refusing to understand this is simply a coping mechanism, and a very tangible way to survive. Still for others, myself included, drugs and alcohol become a slow method of suicide."
~Nahanni Fontaine
Special adviser on Aboriginal women’s issues for the government of Manitoba

"I was a special constable about to transition into the RCMP regular forces when my husband attacked me. I’d wanted to become a Mountie to honour my cousin: one of the missing and murdered. I wanted to get the scumbags that stole her off the streets. But for three years I’d been covering up my bruises with makeup and a smile."
~Lani Elliott
Administrator and former RCMP special constable

"When you live in a community full of lateral violence like ours you are taught to bury or deny what happened. People will often blame the woman. I want women to know they don’t need to stay stuck. Nobody has to live as a victim. Eight years ago, I bought the house where I was abused as a girl. It had haunted me—whenever I drove past, it brought me right back in time. So I ripped it apart and I made it mine."
~Gail K. Gus
Crisis care and wellness coordinator

Please do read these women's stories and watch their videos at http://site.macleans.ca/longform/almost-missing/index.html

...and then you'll understand why I donate 100% of the royalties earned on my anthology of lesbian erotic romance shorts, Don't You Savage Me, to organizations working with Indigenous women.

Sometimes I don't know what to say. In this case, I'm putting my money where my mouth is.

Here are a few purchase links for Don't You Savage Me. It's available at waaay more retailers than this, so if you've got a go-to ebookstore, search for it there (they probably carry it). If you get your books at a bookstore or library, ask them to order a copy.

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L5XLDZ2?tag=dondes-20
Amazon Canada: http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00L5XLDZ2
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00L5XLDZ2
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/450362

If you know of a charitable organization the serves Aboriginal women, please let me know about it in the comments! I'm always interested in new places to donate.

Thank you to everyone who has purchased a copy of Don't You Savage Me as an ebook or in print. Without you, this project would never have been the ongoing success it has been. I appreciate you more than I can say!

#MySexySaturday Preorder Bisexual Beauties for only $0.99!!!

This is a big deal, people.

For the low, low price of $0.99, you can now preorder Bisexual Beauties: 10 Sexy Stories of Girls Who Love Girls… and Guys!

This is an incredible anthology of short stories and novelettes featuring bisexual women. It's got more than $15 worth of fiction packed in there, so it'll be a steal even at the list price of $7.99, but if you love a deal you should definitely preorder.

Since it's My Sexy Saturday, I'm going to feature 7 paragraphs from one of the stories you'll find in Bisexual Beauties. Felicity's First has never been published before. (Yes, this collection contains NEW fiction as well as fan favourites!)

Felicity's First is a story about a girl who's never been with a guy, and her girlfriend--who's eager to show her the ropes!

Excerpt from "Felicity’s First" by Giselle Renarde:

“It’s that good?” Felicity asked. “Seriously? I barely did anything.”

“You did plenty,” Brant said.

His reaction was so intense that she licked his tip again. She lapped up the sweet sauce dripping from it. Yes… sweet. She really hadn’t expected that. She licked it again to get more, but Robyn shoved her out of the way. “You’re doing it wrong. Here, I’ll show you how.”

“I’m not doing it wrong,” Felicity fought back. “He likes it. I’m doing just fine.”

“But let me show you how to do it better,” Robyn pleaded as she wrapped her fist around Felicity’s. Pulling Brant’s cock to her mouth, she swirled her tongue around the tip. It looked so hot Felicity felt her belly grow warm as she watched. When Robyn was done, she pushed Brant’s cock toward Felicity and said, “Now you try.”

They both held his dick, but Robyn probably couldn’t feel it throbbing, the way Felicity could. In a way she wanted to think of it as an inanimate object, but it objected by pulsing against her palm.

“What are you waiting for?” Brant asked. “You came here to suck my dick, so suck it.”

I very much encourage you all to buy a copy of Bisexual Beauties at the preorder price of $0.99. I want you to own this book when it comes out next Friday!

Preorder now from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZD52KMS?tag=dondes-20
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00ZD52KMS
BN: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bisexual-beauties-giselle-renarde/1122105992?ean=2940152215656&itm=1&usri=2940152215656
Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebook/bisexual-beauties-10-sexy-stories-of-girls-who-love-girls-and-guys

SM, or How I Met My Girlfriend in a Queer Theatre

If you've read Alison Tyler's Nine-to-Five Fantasies: Tales of Sex on the Job, surely you've encountered my story "SM, or How I Met My Girlfriend in a Queer Theatre."

And if you were my girlfriend, you would now say, "I certainly have, and don't call me Shirley."

And if you were me, you would roll your eyes and say, "Okay."

And if you were my girlfriend, you'd say, "You know what that's from, right?"

And if you were me, you'd say, "YES."

And then there would be a pause.

After that pause, if you were my girlfriend, you'd say, "It's from Airplane!"

And if you were me, you'd say, "I know." You'd try not to crack, but eventually you'd burst out laughing and squeeze her arm and kiss her cheek and say, "I love you, silly girl."

Anyhoo, the moral of the story is that my trans lesbian romance short "SM, or How I Met My Girlfriend in a Queer Theatre" is now available as an ebook.

Rainbow Award-winning author Giselle Renarde presents a sweet and sensual trans lesbian love story.

I first met Lisa volunteering in a queer theatre. When she called herself an SM, I didn’t know what that meant. Sadomasochist, maybe? Turns out SM stands for Stage Manager, and it’s the part she was born to play. Lisa’s no aspiring actress. She does her thing behind the scenes… and if I’m good, she takes me with her.

Giselle Renarde is an award-winning author of queer fiction. Her erotica has appeared in well over 100 short story anthologies, including prestigious collections like Best Bondage Erotica, The Big Book of Orgasms, The Mammoth Book of Quick and Dirty Erotica, and the Lambda Award-winning collection Take Me There, edited by Tristan Taormino. Giselle's juicy novels include Anonymous, Cherry, Seven Kisses, The Red Satin Collection and Bali Nights.

Find SM at Amazon: 
US http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YR8456G?tag=dondes-20
UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00YR8456G
CAN http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00YR8456G
AUS http://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B00YR8456G

Top 3 Reasons I Started Self-Publishing

You might have noticed I've been self-publishing a lot of my books lately. Or maybe you haven't noticed. In fact, I hear most readers don't care who published the book. If we want to read it, we buy it. Decisions are based more on covers and blurbs.

The truth is, I made the switch to self-publishing for three simple reasons:

1.

Quarterly royalty cheque from one publisher (one novella)

2.

Quarterly royalty payment on 6 short stories

3.

Quarterly royalty payment on 4 short stories

I want to be clear about something: I'm not anti-publisher. Not at all! If not for publishers, I wouldn't be blogging at you today. I'm indebted to so ridiculously many industry people. You know who you are. I've learned so much from you. And if we don't work together anymore, it's not because I don't love you.

I guess I'm a hybrid author, because I do still work with some publishers--the ones that earn me money. Sometimes I worry I come off like a capitalistic asshole, but we're not talking "the rich get richer" here. I live below the poverty line. I say that with confidence, because I looked it up. Yeah, the poverty line is WAAAY above my head. Not complaining. I'm poor but happy. But I'd be a lot less happy if I couldn't pay my rent or buy food.

And I don't know what food costs where you live, but around here $1.90 isn't going to pay for three months of anything.

Writing is my job. It's what I do for a living. No fall-back. No day job. Just this.

Nobody's ever accused me of caring about money more than people, so I guess I'm just arguing against myself right now. I guess, deep down, I feel like I'm betraying old industry contacts by going my own way.

Mind you, many of the publishing companies that gave me my first chances have long since gone out of business, so...

Yeah.

This is going to sound totally backwards, but I think if a new author asked me whether they should submit their work to publishers or dive into self-publishing, I would advise them to try the old-school route first.

Following submissions guidelines, writing synopses, submitting and waiting and waiting and waiting did me good because it provided structure. 

Rejection letters crushed me back in 2006. Why would I want to put new authors through that pain? Because you learn from it. You learn from feedback. You learn what the market wants and what it doesn't--through the lens of a particularly editor, granted, but when you don't know what you're doing that's extremely useful.

I still get rejection letters--just got one last week, in fact. They don't have any emotional impact anymore. It's just part of the book business.

Same goes for edits. I remember I got my first round of edits back on my first ebook with Dark Eden Press, and I just cried. I said to myself (literally--said this out loud to myself), "That's it. I'm never writing another book ever again." The experience basically felt like taking a shot of wasabi (don't ask how I know this), but I learned so much. And I learned so much because I knew NOTHING.

From working with publishers, I learned marketing techniques that have come and gone. I learned about readers' expectations, and I learned that the queer fiction I was naturally drawn to was actually extremely unpopular. Who knew?

And I'm not saying all the advice I got early on was good advice. A few publishers told me not to bother writing lesbians and bisexual women because that stuff just didn't sell.  Well, my highest-grossing book just happens to be Nanny State, which just happens to be lesbian fetish erotica. It's also adult-filtered by Amazon, so I don't know how anyone even finds it anymore, but readers do. (Thanks, by the way) But, by and large, it's true--lesbians and bi girls and queer chicks and genderfuckups like me are hard to sell.

I write them because I AM them.

Oh boy. It would take three days to list everything I've learned over the past nine years. Thing is, I'd never have learned it on my own. Working with publishers was hugely beneficial to me. I realize now I worked with too many pubs (20 or 30, by my estimate), which meant spreading myself too thin. Placing 3 books each with 20 different publishers is a stupid thing to do. Feel free to learn from that particular mistake.

The publishing landscape has changed tremendously since I started writing. Even authors published by fancy-ass houses take on heaps of responsibility beyond just writing the damn book. Sometimes I feel like writing isn't even the work anymore--the real work is selling what you've written, as well as the neat little product called YOU.

The truth is, I don't like marketing myself. I'm not a showy-offy person. I'm too depressive and self-effacing to do the work publishers expect of authors these days. In that sense, self-publishing is my way of hiding. Self-publishing means I only answer to myself and my readers. Nobody's telling me I have to host a Facebook launch party or hit up GoodReads for... I don't know what they do there, to be honest. Reviews?

Hmm... I didn't expect to write so much. Guess I had a lot to say. But I'm going to stop myself now or I won't stop at all.

Thanks for meandering through my thoughts with me. I usually keep them to myself, these days. Maybe I should share more often. I kinda like talking to you.

If you've got 50 cents, you've got Ugly Naked People

You're not going to believe this, but my short story anthology Ugly Naked People is on sale for $0.50 in the month of May. You know what that looks like? Two quarters. Five dimes. 10 nickels. Change for your dollar. Peanuts!

From humor to horror and erotica to literary fiction, Giselle Renarde knows how to capture the LGBT (and straight) experience. Collected here, for the first time, are the short stories from this prolific author that have been previously published by Untreed Reads. We're sure you'll find something within its pages that will pique your interest and make you look at the world a little differently.

This collection includes:

Ugly Naked People
Mahaha's Victims
Nobody Gets Lucky
Dennis and Dad
Love Again

Tell me what you're up to, Jacob Louder!

Just before I post today's interview I want to note that author interviews aren't posted immediately, so it looks like the freebie mentioned in this one is no longer available for free (but you can certainly buy a copy--looks like a bargain).


Now, tell me what you're up to, Jacob Louder!

Jacob Louder:
So, I'm kind of stoked because my tiny erotic novella First is available as a free download on Amazon until Thursday. I tried to make this thing as queer and as dark and as Dennis Cooper-inspired as possible. I really fucking hope I succeeded.

Got a new book out? What's it called?

Jacob Louder:
First

Tell me about it.

Jacob Louder:
Okay, well, here's the blurb courtesy of Go Deeper Press:
For Nico, queer is everything. He comes from queer, he lives as queer, and now he’s having queer sex and, to his surprise, with many willing parties—his closest friend, his punk rock crush, his clique’s worst enemy, and the female-identified Robbie, who’s coming out in ways that are leaving friends and family in dismay. But Nico, who has no shame about sex, operates in “life queer” ways, taking what he needs for the people who need it and spying in on situations that most would have him think unnatural. The safety of having sex without judgment is compelling and exhilarating for Nico, but what will he do when his loved ones are threatened by a world that denounces his life choices?

Where can readers find you?

Jacob Louder:
http://www.jtlouder.com

Hot Oil Treatment

There's a new ebook available from the Transgender and Genderqueer Erotic Romance series!

Rainbow Award-winning author Giselle Renarde presents two sweet and sensual true sex stories. 


“Stories like Hot Oil Treatment and More Than Anything are blatantly about me. I’ll tell you that upfront. They’re first-person accounts of stuff that happened.”
~Giselle Renarde

These stories appear in the anthology Everybody Knows: 15 Transgender Love Stories.

Giselle Renarde is an award-winning author of queer fiction. Her erotica has appeared in well over 100 short story anthologies, including prestigious collections like Best Bondage Erotica, The Big Book of Orgasms, The Mammoth Book of Quick and Dirty Erotica, and the Lambda Award-winning collection Take Me There, edited by Tristan Taormino. Giselle's juicy novels include Anonymous, Cherry, Seven Kisses, The Red Satin Collection and Bali Nights.

If you're a Kindle Unlimited subscriber, you can read Hot Oil Treatment FREE!

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Y7JMO6S?tag=dondes-20
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00Y7JMO6S
Amazon Canada: http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00Y7JMO6S
Amazon Australia: http://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B00Y7JMO6S