Jenna Jameson to Write Erotic Romance Novel Sugar

As many of you know, I've been working with Jenna Jameson for about a decade.  Getting HOW TO MAKE LOVE LIKE A PORN STAR on the NY Times best-seller list in 2004 was one of the high points of my agent career, an I am hoping we are going to do it again with Jenna's first novel, SUGAR, an erotic romance she is co-authoring with romance maven Hope Tarr.

JENNA JAMESON’S FICTION DEBUT SUGAR SET FOR OCTOBER 2013
(Monday, April 15th 2013) Skyhorse Publishing is pleased to announce the New York Times bestselling author and legendary adult entertainment superstar Jenna Jameson’s fiction debut SUGAR for publication in October 2013. Written with Harlequin author Hope Tarr, this debut is a wild romp about an ex-porn star who escapes to New York City to reinvent herself.

Acquiring senior editor Jennifer McCartney says, “We’re thrilled that Jenna chose to bring her fiction debut to Skyhorse. She became a legend in the adult entertainment world and a household name, and her novel is quite unlike anything we’ve ever read before—as you might imagine! There’s no one else who can write about sex like Jenna, and the genre of erotic romance is a natural fit for her.”

Jenna’s fans and readers of erotica and romance looking for something different will find SUGAR a delicious treat. “I’m so excited to be publishing my first novel SUGAR with Skyhorse Publishing. SUGAR is something new and exciting for me—I’ve never written anything like this before, and it was a wild ride. My memoir was a very personal journey for me, but a lot has changed in my life since it was published. I’ve always been romantic and probably a little kinky. The time was right for me to express myself in SUGAR. I think it’s the hottest thing you’ll ever read,” says Jenna.
Jenna’s memoir How to Make Love Like a Porn Star sold a quarter of a million copies and hit the New York Times bestseller list.

The deal was a preempt and brokered by Louise Fury at L. Perkins Agency in association with Jackie Markham at Resource Media and includes North American print and ebook rights.

In Praise of Trunk Novels?

OK, so I've been a literary agent for 25 years.  And over the course of those two and half decades, I have sold more than 2000 titles (yes, before printing prices went sky high and the Internet, the average paperback novel used to sell between 85,000 and 150,000 copies, so I used to sell 100 books a year).  I've had 8 titles on the NY Times best seller list.  It's been a good ride, and I feel fairly confident in saying that I know what sells and what American genre readers want to read.

But I've still had a handful of flat out failures.  I've had books that I loved passionately and no one bought.  Or they bought them and they hit the ground with a thud.

And, as an agent, you just have to walk away.

Or tell the author to come up with something new, and to put this one in the trunk (thus the term "trunk novels," which always makes me think of that scene from The Hunger).

Or even help the author come up with something new.

Sometimes the author gets mad at you and thinks you didn't love the book enough, and goes to another agent, who rarely is able to resell or even sell the book.

So it just languishes as that book that might have been.

Until now.

I can go back and track down all the books I loved that didn't get the attention they should have (or the right cover, or the right spin, etc.).

But it can't just be me, right?  I'm not the only agent who fell in love with something and couldn't sell it?

So send me your trunk novels.  Tell your agent friends to send me their trunk novels.  Let's show the world  what they've been missing. This is your second act.

I know there are some awesome books in storage out there.

I started this post because I had just written to an old client (one of my very first) whose first novel I had sold for $25,000 and then couldn't sell any of his others.  He never published anything else, but I loved his work and want to publish all four of the novels he wrote while we were together.  So I tracked hm down and emailed him.  And I hope he calls me Monday morning.

But that made me think of all the other fabulous books (both ficiton and nonfiction, because there's a nonficiton pop culture title I tried to sell a decade ago that should be making its premier at Riverdale Avenue Books soon too), and I wanted to share the possibilities.

So,  This is a call for publication, not representation, although I am sure it will be easier to get an agent once you have a publisher.

I was going to call this post Why It's Good to be an Agent and a Publisher, but then I expanded it from the personal, but I don't want to mislead anyone.

So, please send your work to lori@riverdaleavebooks.com.

FIFTY WRITERS ON FIFTY SHADES Panel at NYC Paddles BDSM Club

DomSubFriends to host fifty shades book event

Contributors to Fifty Writers on Fifty Shades of Grey Will Penetrate the Fifty Shades Phenomenon with a Panel Discussion at Paddles on November 16

On November 16, DomSubFriends will host an insightful and scintillating event on E.L. James’ Fifty Shades trilogy at Paddles S&M club. There will be a Fifty Shades of Play BDSM demonstration, followed by a panel discussion featuring contributors to Smart Pop’s latest title, Fifty Writers on Fifty Shades of Grey (available everywhere books are sold on November 20).

Join Dominant ChrisMarks and his submissive and romantic partner Lia as they explain what each of them gets from their BDSM relationship. Their demonstration will include sensation play with some pain, restraint, spanking, flogging, and will end with whipping, followed by aftercare.

The panel portion of the evening will include a diverse group of expert panelists:

-       Moderator: Lori Perkins, editor of Fifty Writers on Fifty Shades of Grey, publisher of Riverdale Avenue Books, and editor of 20 erotic anthologies

-       Sinnamon Love, former porn star and BDSM Dominant

-       D.L. King, erotic romance author and BDSM lifestyle participant

-       Pamela Madsen, author of bestselling submissive memoir Shameless, and women’s health and sexuality advocate

-       Selina Fire, host of the monthly Pleasure Salon, a kinky cocktail party, and sex writer

-       Stacey Agdern, bookseller at Posman Books in the Grand Central Terminal and romance reviewer

-       Mala Bhattacharjee, erotic romance writer and Romantic Times Book Reviews staff member

-       Susan Colón, romance novelist and O, The Oprah Magazine contributor

-       Megan Frampton, romance novelist and Heroes and Heartbreakers romance blog moderator

-       Debra Hyde, winner of the 2011 Best Lesbian Erotica Lambda Literary Award for her BDSM tale Story of L

-       Rachel Kenley, erotic romance author and editor

-       Katharine Sands, literary agent

-       Hope Tarr, PhD, historical and contemporary romance author

***

About Fifty Writers on Fifty Shades of Grey

é “Fascinating examination of E.L. James’s Fifty Shades trilogy . . . Love Fifty Shades or hate it, this engaging and eclectic read has a little bit of something for everyone.”

—Publishers Weekly starred review

E. L. James’ Fifty Shades trilogy has fascinated and seduced millions of readers. In bedrooms, in book clubs, and in the media, people can’t stop talking about it! In Fifty Writers on Fifty Shades of Grey, 50 writers—from romance and erotica authors, to real-world BDSM practitioners, to adult entertainment industry professionals—continue the conversation with sections on Fifty Shades as erotic fiction, sexual empowerment, fanfiction, and pop culture.

***

About DomSubFriends and Smart Pop

DomSubFriends is an inclusive BDSM Organization serving the NYC and immediate surrounding areas. They provide educational classes, lectures, demos, and exclusive fetish parties and events on a weekly basis. DSF is open to all those 18+ years old.

Smart Pop is the pop culture imprint of Dallas-based publisher BenBella Books. Our mission is to publish smart, fresh nonfiction titles on television, books, and film. You can find more online at smartpopbooks.com.

Book Details:

Title: Fifty Writers on Fifty Shades of Grey

Editor: Lori Perkins

Publisher: Smart Pop (An Imprint of BenBella Books), distributed by Perseus Distribution

Publication: November 20, 2012, $14.95 (CAN $17.50), Paper, ISBN: 978-1-937856-42-7

Fiction/Literature, 304 pages, 5 1/2 x 8 1/4

Available at bookstores everywhere and through Perseus Distribution

Toll-free number for orders only:

1-800-343-4499. Orderentry@perseusbooks.com.

###

How I Spent Hurricane Sandy

When my Internet went out, I looked at it as two days to catch up on reading and editing.  New York City was absolutely closed, and I was safe in my perch 18 floors above the Hudson.  All of the publishing houses were closed and I imagined that every editor I knew was doing the same thing I was - reading. No phone calls and no reason to set foot out the door. A golden time to write, edit and/or read.

I had an enormous amount of reading to do for work.  A partial from an author I adore who is looking to change agents.  A rocker bio. Two or three pieces of post-50 SHADES OF GREY erotica I had asked to see. An anthology call to edit (and maybe post here). A handful of erotic memoir proposals that interested me.

And, as a reward for my diligence, I also dipped into a published novel that I had started two months ago.  What pleasure!

I want to point out that Hurricane Sandy could be good news for writers.  Even if you get a rejection on Wednesday, you will know where you stand.  It means that you can start NANOWRIMO with a clean slate.

What It Really Costs to Self-Publish

I will show you the money.

Although it is possible to publish a book yourself, there are so many steps and skills involved that there really isn't such a thing as free self-pub. 

I have an out of print book that I am getting ready to upload and it's going to cost me at least $500, and that's with connections and favors that will save me about half the out of pocket costs.

So, here goes:

You need 2 ISNB #'s - That's $150 each or $300 (you need 2 #'s because you have 2 editions - print and Ebook).  Unless you know someone who can give you a discount, there is no way around these costs.

Cover - You need a professional cover.  If you do a print edition, there is an extra cost for cover flaps and the back page.  This will run anywhere from $50 to $200, although NY publishers routinely pay $600 to $1500.

Formatting/Converting - This needs to be done and will run you at least $100.  If you don't have someone who knows how to do this for you, your book will look amateurish and it will be the first thing people complain about, probably in your Amazon review.

Uploading - You can do this yourself, but someone who does it for a living will do a better job.  This will cost you anywhere from $50 to $200, depending on how many places you list it.

Copy editing.  You should have at least one other set of eyes look over your book.  This will run you $100 to $300.

If you are going from a print book to a digital file, that will cost about $100.

So, the eternal question of whether to self-publish or give your book to an epub needs to take into account whether or not you want to lay out $500-$1000.  You will probably make that back, but if you go with a publisher, you will start making a profit instantly and not have to worry about all the details that go into publishing.