Weekly Writing Check-In: Stare Down With Amazon

I forgot to check-in last week, mostly because I was in a flurry with "Kataomoi."'s release. But that doesn't mean OTHER interesting things didn't happen. Ugh, no. Do you know what a writer with two completely SEPARATE pen names fears most? Crossing the streams. Last week I was doing my weekly upload with my erotica pen name and...when it published, it published under my REAL NAME. God, talk about a nightmare! And then when I requested it to be changed (thinking it must've been my error) it STILL REPUBLISHED under my real name! *headdesk* Finally, after 24 hours of fretting and pulling it down, it finally went back up under my pen name. My beautiful, carefully selected pen name.

Ugh.

Then there was the freebie promo that didn't start until six hours after it was supposed to start.

Then there was the cover snafu with Kataomoi that couldn't get fixed fast enough.

Basically, not a good week for me and KDP.

Here's hoping this week is better. I'm one week away from a really great vacation I REALLY need and do not need stress from the self-publishing world Indeed! No stress allowed! It can fall on me after I get back from Portland.

Weekly Writing Check-In: Oops Forgot Another One!

Look at me. I forgot to do a check-in last week. Oops.

Well, not much to talk about. (Wow I'm tired of saying that.) I am currently in the process of uploading story #5 for my pen name. I've decided that my least favorite part of publishing, out of writing/editing/designing,marketing etc, is definitely the blurb. Hate writing blurbs. Haaate. And I always forget to write the blurb until I'm staring at KDP going "....oh." Every week. Without fail. (Please note how I am not running off to write my blurb right now. Oops!)

I will hear back this week on a possible day job. If I get it, it may slightly change my writing schedule. But hopefully not too much. The hours match up right with me and would let me still write at night, which is when I am my happiest. But it may mean a slower update schedule for the pen name so I can continue to put as much energy as possible toward REN'AI RENSAI.

(Does anybody even care about that? =P)

As usual, my check-ins are boring. Tell me something super awesome that happened to you last week. Please. Make this post interesting~

Weekly Writing Check-In: New Pen Name Launch This Week!

Been running in circles all this week as I prepare for my pen name launch, oh, tomorrow! I won't be posting the name of my pen name here at any time. So, if you are interested in raunchy lesbian shorts, please drop me a line somewhere and I'll hook you  up with my pen name's social media so you can follow whichever. New releases will be announced on all of them.

Well, I guess now I don't have to say what my pen name is going to focus on...

That's not the only thing happening this week. This upcoming Saturday is the South Coast Writers Conference. Thanks to my wonderful readers who helped pitch in on Friday, I have been able to order paperbacks in time for the conference! I'm looking forward to a great time and will be sure to write up a report!

Now, back to work! I've got a lot of writing / editing / formatting to do still!

Weekly Writing Check-In: Pratfalls of Pen Names

First of all, I am aware that it's Monday. Oops. Oh well! Better late than never, or so I hear.

Two days ago I received confirmation that I get attend this year's South Coast Writers' Conference next month! Yay! I really need to get out of this house and talk to other people. The fact they're writers will be a bonus. I actually managed to make some nice acquaintances last time two years ago. Hopefully that can be a repeat! I'll be armed with my wares!

Now, onto what my title is about. Recently I've seriously considered starting up a (super secret shhh) pen name for economical reasons. I'm about half committed to this now - I've picked out the name and have started staking claim to twitter, tumblr, etc. just to make sure I've got accounts on the ready. I also need to call up and speak to my tax lady since I will not be publishing these stories under my publishing label, Barachou Press. (Would sort of defeat the HUSH HUSH purpose.) On one hand I'm excited about the new financial possibilities for me, but on the other I wonder about how much time it'll take away from my "real name" and, consequently, REN'AI RENSAI.

Speaking of which, the final draft of Book 3 is on its way. (Expect a reveal soon!) Book 4 is about halfway through the first draft stage. February is going to see a TOTALLY COOK PROJECT YOU GUYS being unveiled, plus a short towards the end of month. Of course, I am excited about all of them. I am expecting Book 3 to really make you FEEL THINGS...whether its rage, sympathy, or inevitably both, who knows. Also, I don't really care. :Db

Back to editing! Got ten more pages to do tonight!

Breakthrough! / Branding

This update comes in two sections: The breakthrough, and the branding.

FIRST! The breakthrough! Tuesday I talked a little about my recent "series" naming escapades. I was worried I wouldn't come up with anything. Or that anything I came up with was thoughtless, meaningless, and there just for the sake of being there. While this mini-series in the realm of lesbian romance (in Japan, no less) is set in the same universe as the overarching CROSS// series I'm working on, it features minor characters who are, for the most part, ignorant to the fantasy of the universe. They're just everyday people leading everyday lives. Thus I was stuck on what to name the "mini-series" within the series. On one hand it's meant to exist on its own, but it's also tied to the main universe. I don't want to haphazardly slap the "CROSS//" label on it other than as an aside, so I needed to come up with something else.

Tonight, I was plowing through my online dictionary and came upon a couple words I never even considered before. I knew I wanted something "Japanese" to reflect the story titles, but in this case I didn't care if it was complicated Japanese so long as it was still catchy to readers who didn't know any Japanese outside of "Tokyo" and "Honda". (Sometimes I lose touch, considering I've been studying the language for over ten years now.) And what do you know. The words I found? Perfect! I'm still stewing them over and a couple alternates for now until I make any for-sure announcements on the new mini-series name. So look forward to it! (And learning some Japanese, apparently.)

SECOND! I've been spending some time lately considering the concept of "branding", specifically, my name as an author. It's always been my intention to go by my birth name, which I do here, because I love my name and I've always felt it was unique enough while still retaining a certain "authoryness". And I do intend to write under both my main planned series (CROSS// and, later on in the next decade, Nagnomei) with my name "Hildred Billings". But then one of my friends pointed out that my planned debut at this point is rather, erm ~controversial~. (Gasp! Two lesbians in a long-term relationship?! And they have sex?! GOOD LORD. Buy me a new string of pearls because I've over-clutched the ones I have now!) And as somebody currently trying to find even a part time job to make loan bills add up, I may be shooting myself in the foot should potential employers google me and see my steamy cover I plan on releasing next month. This did give me pause. Now, obviously I don't give a rat's toot if an author uses a pen name for these reasons, even to keep their genres separate, but it's never been something I've considered. I hate aliases (for myself). Even my long-standing Internet name "Calico" doesn't get considered when it comes to my writing career! 

But then I realized - darnit, it doesn't matter. Since this  series takes place in the same universe as CROSS// (and features some of the same characters!) I can't exactly use a different name if only to save myself the headache of people saying "hey wait a minute...is this fanfiction? Does Hildred know about this?!" Could you just imagine? And then there's the other thing...I've been building up a name for "Hildred Billings" for the past few years. And I don't care if  family members see what "Hildred Billings" has been up to. Most of them know I'm queer as sin (even if some may be in denial) and I'm not exactly in the closet anywhere in the world. The worst  that can happen is a potential employer looks me up and says "what.", but since I don't plan on a career with children, I'm going to go with "I'm not working for anybody who has a problem with who I am anyway."

Phew. Well, those are all the thoughts swarming around my head these past couple of days. No pen name over here. The only reason why I ever would use one is if it was a safety measure, which I don't count a lesbian romance as in my neck of the woods, as backwards as I sometimes think this place is. And I may have a series name! Goodness.

How about y'all? Do you use a pen name? Why or why not?