tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post927987854698633352..comments2024-03-27T01:07:03.944-04:00Comments on The Roses of Prose: "But I Don't Write Erotic!" I Gasped.Alison Hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12725250883303287946noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-81082968813976896522016-07-04T12:00:21.613-04:002016-07-04T12:00:21.613-04:00Vonnie, I think you need new editors...maybe a new...Vonnie, I think you need new editors...maybe a new publisher LOL Oh, and, btw, I had a similar experience to you and Calvin at the airport recently--it will be told here on July 8.Andrea Downinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11553961600937196102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-74279235880191984532016-07-04T09:15:11.214-04:002016-07-04T09:15:11.214-04:00Explode, Leah? Oh yes. And fume and pout and threa...Explode, Leah? Oh yes. And fume and pout and threaten to go completely Indie. This last time was really bad. Poor Calvin. He had to hear it all. The man has the patience of a saint. No wonder he was such a good teacher. He slowly helped me see that being positive was more powerful than being negative. We never discussed the "sneaky" part.Vonnie Davis ~ Romance Authorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07360480832587538895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-18666202580412584442016-07-04T07:13:22.373-04:002016-07-04T07:13:22.373-04:00I'd probably explode from frustration, Vonnie....I'd probably explode from frustration, Vonnie. I love your humor, and your use of polysyllabic words. :-) I've used a few myself, and readers have told me they enjoy learning new words (like I do!). Sneaky can be a good thing. :-)Leah St. Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11004006100786260893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-68564872209278822062016-07-03T17:59:34.071-04:002016-07-03T17:59:34.071-04:00Oh, Margo. I hope you're right. I told my edit...Oh, Margo. I hope you're right. I told my editor whatever humor I put in stays. Ha! We'll see how that goes. But I've learned a few tricks along the way. When I get the copy edits from the copy editor, I slip in things my story editor did not want. Not much, but enough to keep my voice. One has to learn to be sneaky.Vonnie Davis ~ Romance Authorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07360480832587538895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-65789177144941566842016-07-03T16:15:27.122-04:002016-07-03T16:15:27.122-04:00Unbelievable demands and 'reasoning' from ...Unbelievable demands and 'reasoning' from two publishers, and still you find a way to smile. (To say 'laugh it off' seemed a bit strong.) One editor I had who wanted the entire last third of my first book re-written did me a huge, huge favor and helped me so improve the final product. It sounds like these editors you've run into lately are just messin' with you. I have a feeling your sense of humor is of the quantity and quality that it will shine through no matter how hard these 'experts' try to prevent it.Margo Hoornstrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00036077481652050799noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-91530126269154457322016-07-03T13:13:52.569-04:002016-07-03T13:13:52.569-04:00Oh, Alison. I do shake my head in wonderment. Yet ...Oh, Alison. I do shake my head in wonderment. Yet their books sell. More shaking of head. I read those books to see why. Gnashing of teeth and shaking of head. It almost escapes logic.Vonnie Davis ~ Romance Authorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07360480832587538895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-46609074179917972552016-07-03T12:28:18.288-04:002016-07-03T12:28:18.288-04:00Asking you to take out the humor? What are they, n...Asking you to take out the humor? What are they, nuts?? And no editing and deciding your series won't sell well before the first book comes out? I don't understand your publisher, truly. Your editor is lucky you do have that famous sense of humor. Some writers might be tempted to make her an offer she can't refuse. (OG has been re-watching The Godfather epic this weekend. LOL.)Alison Hendersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12725250883303287946noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-61289131983899049172016-07-03T11:27:30.358-04:002016-07-03T11:27:30.358-04:00Isn't it odd, Jannine? We strive to get in wit...Isn't it odd, Jannine? We strive to get in with the larger pubs and only end up with larger problems. Larger royalties, to be sure, but at my age that's not the issue. Being proud of what I write is. What provokes me is they've already decides my wounded warrior series is not going to sell well even though book one has not yet come out. They're basing their decision on pre-orders. Although they did give away 500 copies through NetGalley. Gee, thanks. They might not want book three. So, I've had to stop writing it mid-stream until we see how sales go. By then I'll have forgotten what I was going to say...Vonnie Davis ~ Romance Authorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07360480832587538895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-50097199182157719432016-07-03T11:19:55.121-04:002016-07-03T11:19:55.121-04:00What I hear from them, Rolynn, is "write to t...What I hear from them, Rolynn, is "write to the market." I know how some frustrated teachers feel about the philosophy about "teaching to the test." Same principle. Right now the biggest market is the Millennials who want instant gratification and a plot that deals solely with the couple. This will be hard for me since I enjoy my secondary characters and the humor they provide.Vonnie Davis ~ Romance Authorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07360480832587538895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-600202638775170712016-07-03T11:13:27.289-04:002016-07-03T11:13:27.289-04:00Brenda, I often wonder why a publisher takes a wri...Brenda, I often wonder why a publisher takes a writer on and then tries to change the writer's style and voice. Makes no sense to me.Vonnie Davis ~ Romance Authorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07360480832587538895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-14453024863859703832016-07-03T11:11:56.293-04:002016-07-03T11:11:56.293-04:00Oh, Diane, to take out my humor is like cutting of...Oh, Diane, to take out my humor is like cutting off my freckled nose. It's so much a part of who I am. Calvin says one of the things he treasures about me is my humor. We do a lot of laughing in this house. I write the way I talk and think...off the wall.Vonnie Davis ~ Romance Authorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07360480832587538895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-11218702714151079012016-07-03T10:56:25.464-04:002016-07-03T10:56:25.464-04:00Every time you write about your publishers, I get ...Every time you write about your publishers, I get pissed. Not editing is just sheer laziness. Lame. Lame. Lame. You were right to dump them. But telling you how to write a book makes the hair raise on the back of my neck. I had a taste of that with my very first book in my first series with Kensington. My editor wanted me to turn my rebellious teen who got a tattoo and did a bunch of other stupid stuff into a little sweetie with a pink bow in her hair. They wanted me to remove the visit to the bitchy ex-mother-in-law and turn it into a shopping trip. I flat out refused. My agent wanted me to do what I was told. (The kiss of death for our relationship.) I told everyone I'd be happy to back out of my contract and take my book elsewhere. They believed me because I wasn't kidding. They also backed down. Since then, I get a few suggestions and no demands. And they asked for a second series. Then a proposal for a third. We have a great relationship now based on respect. Sometimes you just have to put your foot down! (Shockingly, they don't ditch us when we stand up for ourselves!) Good for you for standing your ground.Jannine Gallanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01047728297429025804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-70832256095994886372016-07-03T10:16:56.981-04:002016-07-03T10:16:56.981-04:00Vonnie, one of my first rejection letters shot me ...Vonnie, one of my first rejection letters shot me down for using big words AND semi-colons. Can you believe it? Still those rejections have an effect...they stifle our creativity and whack away at our confidence. The point is, I'd do an Erotic Dead Faint, too. Funny that the most horrifying part is they didn't edit your book. I CAN'T IMAGINE! I enjoyed your Love of a Fireman, Vonnie. I thought it was funny and instructive :-) I would not call it erotic...in fact it is more about how a couple mutually manages the sexual dance, especially with one rather innocent and the other quite knowledgeable. Good sexual heat in it, but not erotic. Good luck trying to teach these people, Von. They sound slow and inept!Rolynn Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09504770204968969467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-83113213718912650112016-07-03T10:00:31.927-04:002016-07-03T10:00:31.927-04:00Even writing an infuriating experience is humorous...Even writing an infuriating experience is humorous from you. Erotic humor? Why not? Good luck, but I feel your frustration.Brenda Whitesidehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04162555468154752820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-8573809830456430062016-07-03T09:10:31.452-04:002016-07-03T09:10:31.452-04:00LOL, Vonnie. Your editor is an idiot. Take out you...LOL, Vonnie. Your editor is an idiot. Take out your humor? That's the best part of your writing. Dumb it down? That's plain dumb. I learned vocabulary by reading books with multi-syllable words. Erotic, huh? Okay. Whatever works...I guess. Good luck.Diane Burtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03754105332297068271noreply@blogger.com