Erotica Writers Resource Thread

ELMontague

Let's post any erotica writer's resource links in this thread.
 

SFLP

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Submission Guidelines

Notes about this list:

  • This is simply a list of links to submissions guidelines, mostly from my personal bookmarks.
  • I'll add to this and organize it according to type of publisher (print, ebook, etc.), genre restrictions (e.g. gay/lesbian only), genres (strictly erotica, a mix) etc., as I have time.
  • If you want to know more about the reputation of one of these publishers, check out Emily Veinglory's EREC E-Publishers list, which includes a lot of these publishers, do some web searching or ask around.
  • Make sure you look around the site - other than at these guidelines - to find out if your work is a good fit.
  • In other words, you're on your own for the research. ;)
  • If you think some press should be removed from this list, because of a truly horrible rep or something, let me know.
  • I didn't check every entry to make sure they were still accepting submissions, so if you run across one that isn't, let me know.
  • Also, please let me know who I missed!
Thanks,

J.

EROTICA BOOK PUBLISHER SUBMISSION GUIDELINES


A VERY SHORT LIST OF MAGAZINE/EZINE ONLINE SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

Notes: There are a lot more publications out there than are in this list, obviously. These were the ones that have their submission guidelines available online, that I was able to track down. Some great-paying pubs (Playboy, for example) are not on this list because their guidelines weren't available online. Check a Writer's Market or something. ;)

Also, I did not include anthologies for three reasons: 1. Most of the publishers are listed in the "Book Publishers" list; 2. Most of those pay a percentage and not per word or per story; 3. Anthology calls for submissions change...there's no way I could update this thread that often. If you want to keep up on calls for submissions, grab a web monitoring app and have it tell you when a publisher's submission page changes.

There are some great pubs that don't pay (e.g. Clean Sheets). I didn't include those here. Let me know if you think I should.

So these are the publications I found that have online guidelines, aren't only doing one-off anthologies with regards to short stories, and pay something, even if it's just a token payment.

Like the first list, keep in mind that these are mostly my personal bookmarks. I know nothing about these guys business-wise. Tell me who I missed and who I should take off:

 
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SFLP

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Erotic Language/Word Lists

I know I have more of these, but I can't find them since I switched browsers. Please tell me of any others know about, and I'll add 'em to the list.

In no particular order:
And of course, our own CLiTS list (Cannonical List of Terminology--Sex), which requires a password to the Erotica SYW forum

J.
 

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"How to"

I'm sure I'll think of other things that fall into this category, but I find both of these sites useful when I'm trying to mix-up positions because my MCs are boring me or are bored, or I just want them to do something more interesting in bed.

And face it, many of these things I will only witness in my imagination or with animation/dolls as in the links below, so these help me visualize. Some of those 101 positions I don't think I've even seen in porn.

101 Sex Positions - animated.
Positions for threesomes/menage - they're shown MMF and MFF with little safety dummy dolls or something, but as she points out, most would work with any gender mix.
 

SFLP

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Added a very short list of ezine/magazine paying markets to the submission guidelines post. Only markets that pay something outright and have submission guidelines available online.

I used to have a longer list but can't find it, and some of the pubs in my newer list are already out of business. :(

J.
 

Maryn

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I have been most remiss in my thanks, which I should have given both sooner and generously.

Maryn, wearing white gloves

(Really, this is so useful--thanks!)
 

Bookewyrme

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I didn't see these listed, so I thought I'd add them to the list. If I just missed them, then I appologize.

Anyway, here's some Victorian Sexual Slang for Steampunk, historical romance, or just fun.
This one, Victorian Slang Glossary is less about sex, than general slang, but there's a couple of gems in there.

I had another really great euphemism dictionary last night, but I can not find it again. If I do, I'll update.
 

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I didn't see these listed, so I thought I'd add them to the list. If I just missed them, then I appologize.

Anyway, here's some Victorian Sexual Slang for Steampunk, historical romance, or just fun.
This one, Victorian Slang Glossary is less about sex, than general slang, but there's a couple of gems in there.

I had another really great euphemism dictionary last night, but I can not find it again. If I do, I'll update.

Thanks! I'll add them to my main list of terms. Every so often people do come here asking about "proper" Victorian terms.

J.
 

BeerWench

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Too Many Words

hey all--looking for:
publisher or agent to consider completed romantic erotic trilogy. No corsets, well-endowed Scottish Lords, vampires, weres, or demon hunters--not even a cop, fireman, bodyguard or CEO of Fortune 500 company in sight. I love that stuff (Patricia Briggs is my current fave). But this is a contemporary romantic story with some blazing hot sex included, featuring realtors in a mid western college town (Cougar Town anyone?). NO happily ever after ending either--sort real-lifeish if you will.

I also really need a critique partner and have NO IDEA how to find one here. . . I guess I gotta get a rep (sort of like high school) and some points or some such thing in order to qualify to post. Or maybe not anyway, help! I have about 30 local "fans" (readers) who've guided me to the point of needing a serious Beta read and critique partner. Query Shark hasn't rejected me. . . yet.
anyone? anyone?
cheers
 

ELMontague

Welcome, BeerWench,

Have a look around and join the conversation. We have an active group here and newcomers are always welcome. If you'd like to post a little of your work in SYW, send me a pm with a statement of age (majority is fine, defined as 21).

As for critiques, everyone is different. Start with a short piece, note the word count and your desired level of critique. I'll bet you get a few comments. Working out a beta is just a matter of finding someone you can work with and making it happen.

Finding an agent and/or publisher, now that's the golden ticket. You'll find that we have a number of multi-published author's with some of the big houses on this forum. You'll also find a handful of us with much less dramatic success, but good attitudes. And there are a whole lot of us, just like you, trying to break in.

Welcome.

EL
 

Synonym

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An interesting excerpt from a book called Brain Sex. Do a little reading and it explains some of the differences between men and women, some observable at birth. Also, it gives an interesting theory about women's intuition and why it really is true. Hint: we are more sensitive to volume, see at a wider angle because of more receptors and rods in the eye--so we pick up more clues. Simple, right?

http://www.theabsolute.net/misogyny/brainsx.html
 

Maryn

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Is that why Mr. Maryn cannot see the jar of mayo unless it is centered on its shelf, in front, its label facing forward, with a flashing arrow pointing to it?

Maryn, who finds this amusing
 

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Most definitely. According to the excerpt, men suffer from a slight case of 'tunnel vision'. No news to me, I've know that for years. LOL
 

Synonym

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A very interesting list of writing tips. Here's the original post,http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2350319&postcount=1 and I'll copy it to save a few clicks.
______________________________________________________

Allen Guthrie, an acquisition editor for Point Blank Press, wrote up a 'white paper' three years ago called 'Hunting Down the Pleonasms' that has become a cult classic. Guthrie gave Adventure Books of Seattle permission to reprint this document wherever we liked. It is a permanent download over at our main site, but I wanted to reproduce it here. It is very specific. Over at the AB site, it's been downloaded hundreds of times, and I think every writer should post this on the wall near their computer.

'Hunting Down the Pleonasms'
I can’t stress strongly enough that writing is subjective. We all strive for different goals. Consequently, we all need our own set of rules—and some of us don’t need rules at all! Personally, I like rules. If nothing else, it’s fun breaking them.

1: Avoid pleonasms. A pleonasm is a word or phrase which can be removed from a sentence without changing its meaning. For example, in “Hunting Down The Pleonasm”, ‘down’ is pleonastic. Cut it and the meaning of the sentence does not alter. Many words are used pleonastically: ‘just’, ‘that’ and ‘actually’ are three frequently-seen culprits (I actually just know that he’s the killer can be trimmed to I know he’s the killer), and phrases like ‘more or less’ and ‘in any shape or form’ are redundant.

2: Use oblique dialogue. Try to generate conflict at all times in your writing. Attempt the following experiment at home or work: spend the day refusing to answer your family and colleagues’ questions directly. Did you generate conflict? I bet you did. Apply that principle to your writing and your characters will respond likewise.

3: Use strong verbs in preference to adverbs. I won’t say avoid adverbs, period, because about once every fifty pages they’re okay! What’s not okay is to use an adverb as an excuse for failing to find the correct verb. To ‘walk slowly’ is much less effective than to ‘plod’ or ‘trudge’. To ‘connect strongly’ is much less effective than to ‘forge a connection’.

4: Cut adjectives where possible. See rule 3 (for ‘verb’ read ‘noun’).

5: Pairs of adjectives are exponentially worse than single adjectives. The ‘big, old’ man walked slowly towards the ‘tall, beautiful’ girl. When I read a sentence like that, I’m hoping he dies before he arrives at his destination. Mind you, that’s probably a cue for a ‘noisy, white’ ambulance to arrive. Wailingly, perhaps!

6: Keep speeches short. Any speech of more than three sentences should be broken up. Force your character to do something. Make him take note of his surroundings. Ground the reader. Create a sense of place.

7: If you find you’ve said the same thing more than once, choose the best and cut the rest. Frequently, I see the same idea presented several ways. It’s as if the writer is saying, “The first couple of images might not work, but the third one should do it. If not, maybe all three together will swing it.” The writer is repeating himself. Like this. This is a subtle form of pleonasm.

8: Show, don’t tell. Much vaunted advice, yet rarely heeded. An example: expressing emotion indirectly. Is your preferred reader intelligent? Yes? Then treat them accordingly. Tears were streaming down Lila’s face. She was very sad. Can the second sentence be inferred from the first? In context, let’s hope so. So cut it. If you want to engage your readers, don’t explain everything to them. Show them what’s happening and allow their intelligence to do the rest. And there’s a bonus to this approach. Because movies, of necessity, show rather than tell, this approach to your writing will help when it’s time to begin work on the screenplay adaptation of your novel!

9: Describe the environment in ways that are pertinent to the story. And try to make such descriptions active. Instead of describing a book lying on a table, have your psycho-killer protagonist pick it up, glance at it and move it to the arm of the sofa. He needs something to do to break up those long speeches, right?

10: Don’t be cute. In the above example, your protagonist should not be named Si Coe.

11: Avoid sounding ‘writerly’. Better to dirty up your prose. When you sound like a writer, your voice has crept in and authorial intrusion is always unwelcome. In the best writing, the author is invisible.

12: Fix your Point Of View (POV). Make it clear whose head you’re in as early as possible. And stay there for the duration of the scene. Unless you’re already a highly successful published novelist, in which case you can do what you like. The reality is that although most readers aren’t necessarily clued up on the finer points of POV, they know what’s confusing and what isn’t.

13: Don’t confuse the reader. If you write something you think might be unclear, it is. Big time. Change it or cut it.

14: Use ‘said’ to carry dialogue. Sid Fleischman calls ‘said’, “the invisible word.”

15: Whilst it’s good to assume your reader is intelligent, never assume they’re psychic.

16: Start scenes late and leave them early.

17: When writing a novel, start with your characters in action. Fill in any necessary backstory as you go along.

18: Give your characters clear goals. Always. Every scene. And provide obstacles to those goals. Always. Every scene. If the POV character in a scene does not have a goal, provide one or cut the scene. If there is no obstacle, add one or cut the scene.

19: Don’t allow characters who are sexually attracted to one another the opportunity to get into bed unless at least one of them has a jealous partner.

20: Torture your protagonist. It’s not enough for him to be stuck up a tree. You must throw rocks at him while he figures out how to get down.

21: Use all five senses in your descriptions. Smell and touch are too often neglected.

22: Vary your sentence lengths. I tend to write short, and it’s amazing what a difference combing a couple of sentences can make.

23: Don’t allow your fictional characters to speak in sentences. Unless you want them to sound fictional.

24: Cut out filtering devices, wherever possible. ‘He felt’, ‘he thought’, ‘he observed’ are all filters. They distance the reader from the character.

25: Avoid unnecessary repetition of tense. For example: I’d gone to the hospital. They’d kept me waiting for hours. Eventually, I’d seen a doctor. Usually, the first sentence is sufficient to establish tense. I’d gone to the hospital. They kept me waiting for hours. Eventually, I saw a doctor.

26: When you finish your book, pinpoint the weakest scene and cut it. If necessary, replace it with a sentence or paragraph.

27: Don’t plant information. How is Donald, your son? I’m quite sure Donald’s father doesn’t need reminding who Donald is. Their relationship is mentioned purely to provide the reader with information.

28: If an opinion expressed through dialogue makes your POV character look like a jerk, allow him to think it rather than say it. He’ll express the same opinion, but seem like a lot less of a jerk.

29: Characters who smile and grin a lot come across as deranged fools. Sighing and shrugging are also actions to avoid. Eliminating smiles, sighs and shrugs is almost always an improvement. Smiling sadly is a capital offence.

30: Pronouns are big trouble for such little words. The most useful piece of information I ever encountered on the little blighters was this: pronouns refer to the nearest matching noun backwards. For example: John took the knife out of its sheath and stabbed Paul with it. Well, that’s good news for Paul. If you travel backwards from ‘it’, you’ll see that John has stabbed Paul with the sheath! Observing this rule leads to much clearer writing.

31: Spot the moment of maximum tension and hold it for as long as possible. Or as John D. MacDonald put it: “Freeze the action and shoot him later.”

32: If something works, forget about the rule that says it shouldn’t.
 
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kdbeaar

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What a fantastic piece of information, Syn! Thanks so much for posting it...I'm definitely going to print it out and keep it in the pocket of my netbook case.
 

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necia phoenix

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Hello folks! Out of sheer boredom and trying to work out plot issues on three different projects, I decided to check out the list of links in post #2 and I discovered that of the bottom list several of those magazine/e-zine links are gone. So I thought I'd just share that here.


  • Bent is gone.
  • Bethany's Woodshed - appears to be functioning.
  • Chocolate and Oysters - Still running
  • Fishnet Mag - Looks like the last time it was updated was June of 2010 and it isn't even Listed on Duotrope.
  • 42 - Closed in '09
  • For the Girls - Still running
  • Justice Roux Erotic Tales Still running
  • Lucrezia Magazine - The site still works but the original link doesn't. This is the new, correct link to the Submission Guidelines.
  • Mainstream Erotica - It appears to be working...sorta, They want you to register to look at the submission guidelines.
  • Men/Freshman - would not load. Either A)my internet sucks (which it does) or B)The site is gone.
  • Mytholog - appears to have closed shop in '07.
  • Penthouse Variations - it works
  • Racy Pages - I don't see where the submission guidelines are listed on this one.
  • Reflections Edge - Says they closed submissions for the 2010 year. Doesn't appear to have re-opened.
  • Sinister Tales - Duotrope has a warning stating DO NOT SUBMIT HERE
  • Speak only to me - is a dead.
  • Tales of the Talisman - this is what they say about their submission openings: We have regular reading periods. They begin January 1 and again July 1 and we read until fully stocked.
  • Three Crow Press - Has a new web address which is what I linked to here.
  • Three Pillows -Still working

I hope this helps.