Free book offer and giveaways - act fast!

I've shared these book promotions at various times and in assorted ways, so I wanted to gather them together in one post for easy access, especially since the deadlines are coming up relatively soon. The first two are giveaways; the third is a commitment to post a review in exchange for an electronic copy. Thank you for signing up and remember, I do monthly giveaways in my newsletter! I just bought a bunch of different titles, from Tasting Him and Tasting Her to my mile high club anthology Flying High to give away later in the year.

Win my femdom erotica anthology She's on Top - enter by Friday, June 16, 11:59 pm EST (newsletter subscribers only, open worldwide)


The She's on Top giveaway is open to anyone who subscribes to my monthly newsletter (you must use the same email address as your subscription). I select a lot of winners for these monthly giveaways who I then have to reject either because the email address listed doesn't show up in my subscriber list or they've left an incomplete mailing address, so make sure both of those fields are filled in correctly! Fun fact: This is one of my favorite book covers for my books, and one I've gotten a lot of wonderful comments on. I don't generally have anything to do with my book covers aside from weighing in with my opinion (ultimately that choice is ultimately left to the publisher in almost every case I've been involved with, though I'm lucky because with over 60 books, I only truly hated one, Glamour Girls, put out by a now defunct press), so it's always exciting when a cover image really wows me.

Win a copy of Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 2 - enter by June 15, 2017 (U.S. only)


The BWE of the Year 2 giveaway is only open to U.S. residents. (Why? Because overseas postage is astronomically expensive. It leapt up a lot over the last few years, so while I do newsletter giveaways overseas, I can't do them all that way and still afford to buy books for giveaways!)

Get On Fire: Erotic Romance Stories free in exchange for an honest review - sign up by June 18, 2017, 11:59 pm EST


This one is the easiest; sign up, and I email you the book! The final giveaway isn't a contest, but an offer of a free copy of my summer anthology On Fire in exchange for an honest review on Amazon and/or Goodreads. Since, for reasons stated above, I can't send free print copies to everyone I encounter, I'm doing an electronic copy giveaway and hoping to give this book a little extra attention online with the reviews. These help authors immensely (as in, I consider them my number one way of promoting my books), because of things like Amazon's algorithm and because potential readers/buyers can see what others liked or didn't like about the book, and act accordingly.

So I consider this a win/win; lots of people are getting to try a free book they may or may not have picked up on their own, and I and my authors are getting invaluable feedback. And if the words "book review" intimidate you, fear not; all I ask is that the review is honest and at least one sentence long and, as you'll see in the signup above, contain the line "I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review" to comply with FTC standards. Beyond that, anything goes and on Amazon you get an email confirming your review has been posted, and on Goodreads you can see your review immediately. Lastly, if this goes well (meaning if the large majority of people actually follow through and leave reviews), I will likely do this for future books I've edited, so keep that in mind.

Free erotica story: "Her Best" by Corrine A. Silver on The Kiss Me Quick's Podcast

You can now listen to another hot story from Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 2, appropriately titled "Her Best" by Corrine A. Silver, on The Kiss Me Quick's Podcast narrated by Rose Caraway. You can listen to two other free erotica stories on the podcast: "Brick Dust" by Kay Jaybee and "Taste" by Jocelyn Bringas and get the full audiobook experience on Audible. I love working with Rose so much and am honored that I got to do so again.

Free wine tonight at our Galentine's Day Best Women's Erotica panel at Jersey City bookstore WORD

Yes, I meant to post this earlier, but if you're in or near Jersey City (or want to pass this on to anyone who is), join us tonight for free wine (how many readings can boast that?) plus real talk about erotica writing, what I look for from anthologies, our inspiration for fiction and much more, and a raffle prize from Brooklyn sex toy store Shag featuring a mini massage candle, clothespins for sensation play, coffee mug, store coupon and more! Plus they have a cafe so you can buy a hot (or cold) beverage. And books, of course!

WORD is at 123 Newark Avenue across the street from the Grove Street PATH Station, so easy to access from Manhattan too. Can't make it? Get to WORD for a signed copy of Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 2, which makes a great Valentine's Day or any time gift! I'll be reveling in my Jersey girl pride in my NJ Maya Brenner gold necklace. In all my years of doing readings, I've never done one in my home state so I'm especially excited! Thank you to The Hudson Reporter for covering tonight's event.

February 13, 7:30 pm
Galentine’s Day women, erotica and writing panel
Join editor Best Women's Erotica of the Year series editor Rachel Kramer Bussel and BWE Volume 2 contributors Abigail Ekue, Stella Watts Kelley, Vierra Lai, and Annabeth Leong for a fun Galentine's Day panel on erotica, writing and culture. We'll chat about what makes a story sexy, the writing process, how to get published, and the cultural impact of writing stories that reflect a wide range of women's experiences. Free. Wheelchair accessible.
WORD, 123 Newark Avenue, Jersey City, NJ, 201-763-6611
Facebook event page

15 erotica authors share their fiction inspiration

Over on the Best Women's Erotica of the Year Tumblr, I've had the pleasure of interviewing 15 (so far) of the contributors to BWE of the Year, Volume 2, about their erotica history, writing process, inspiration for their stories, favorite lines and future plans. I wanted to share those interviews and some fabulous quotes with you as I listen to the rain while waiting to take Amtrak to Baltimore for the next stop on the book tour. And more interviews are scheduled through March so keep reading our Tumblr and following us @BWEoftheyear on Twitter.

I'll conclude by giving you easy ways to read or listen to the book, and I encourage you to also ask for it at your local library (yes, it may be nerve-wracking to ask for a sexy book, but they're librarians, they've heard all sorts of requests and if they are at all good at their job, they won't judge you, but will be happy to help their users) or bookstore.

I'm starting with the authors you'll hear at our book events and including the cities where you can hear them (Abigail Ekue can't make our Baltimore reading due to weather, but you can catch her in New York and Jersey City).

Jordan Monroe, "Performance" (Baltimore)



Abigail Ekue, "Cigarro Tarde" (New York, Jersey City)



Stella Watts Kelley, "Teacher Appreciation" (New York, Jersey City)



Vierra Lai, "A Hint of Lime" (New York, Jersey City)



Annabeth Leong, "On Some Maps, But Not on Others" (New York, Jersey City)



Melina Greenport, "The House on Orchard"



Jocelyn Bringas, "Taste"



Kristy Harding, "Another Way to Start a Fire"



Kate Sebastian, "On the Calendar"



Corrine A. Silver, "Her Best"



Dorianne, "Like Lights in the Northern Sky"



Garnell Wallace, "Beautiful Broken Things"



Winter Blair, "At the End of the World"



Kay Jaybee, "Brick Dust"



Josie Jordan, "Volcano Nights"



And of course, please read or listen to Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 2 for these authors' stories in all their full glory:

Amazon (print)

Kindle (ebook)

Bn.com (print)

Nook (ebook)

Powells

Books-a-Million

IndieBound (find your local independent bookstore)

Audible audiobook

Google Play

iBooks

Amazon UK (print)

Amazon UK (Kindle)

Amazon Canada (print)

Amazon Canada (Kindle)

Los Angeles loves erotica - see you tonight 1/31 at Skylight Books for my book tour kickoff!

Firstly, tonight is the kickoff of our Best Women's Erotica of the Year book tour at Skylight Books in Los Angeles at 7:30 pm (1818 North Vermont Avenue in Los Feliz).



I hope you can make it, or else let someone in the LA area who might be interested know. I've heard through the grapevine that some cool folks will be in the audience and I and my authors Jocelyn Bringas, Melina Greenport and Jade A. Waters are all going to read you very sexy stories and answer your questions and sign books! If you want to invite friends easily, here's the Facebook event page. It's free and we will be sharing behind the scenes secrets as well as our hot words. And a special shoutout to Skylight because they treat their authors so well - the book is in the store window, in a special display with other upcoming authors and in the area where we're going to read! Plus they have a beautiful tree in the middle of the store.





I'll do a fuller recap when I'm home but I also got to visit two other amazing bookstores. On Sunday, I taught a wonderful, enthusiastic and smart group at romance bookstore The Ripped Bodice in Culver City. Their store is a treasure trove of sexy books, cards, lingerie and other cool items and they have this amazing personal touch. They recommended a book by a new to me author, Tamsen Parker, that I'm enjoying (Craving Flight, about a woman who converts to Orthodox Judaism and is kinky). They also have an utterly adorable bookstore dog named Fitzwilliam Waffles, who even has his own Instagram account. I highly recommend the store and they also host lots of cool events, like Romantic Comedy (comedy night) and movie nights and book events and such. Oh, and they have book art hanging in the air (my photo doesn't really do it justice because when you are standing in front of it, they're just right there), book pages as wallpaper and just a generally beautiful design, including couches to sit on and read! They also have fiction and memoir and YA and various genres, and romance subgenres by category, like Cowboys and I Love Rock N Roll. Perhaps coolest of all, their bathroom has tons of books you can read and a Post-It wall where you can write whatever you want, and one on the mirror saying "Nasty Women Read." Indeed!







I visited Pasadena for the first time and the first thing I saw after getting out of my Lyft car was this free speech art, which seemed quite apt.



Then I promptly fell in love with Vroman's Bookstore and pretty much want to move in there. I wandered around and pretty much swooned over their displays. I love that they have an erotica section, that they are playful and political and had four amazing signs about writing that encouraged me to get back to it. They also have fun book-themed pillows and mugs and other items and it's a bookstore you can get lost in and wander for hours.





To recap, I hope you'll come out to our Skylight Books reading tonight and tell your friends, and if you're in LA or will be, all three of these stores are amazing and there's lots to see in the surrounding neighborhoods as well (I may have bought some crystals at the store next to Skylight, because I feel like I need all the help I can get these days).

Why my Best Women's Erotica of the Year book tour is only going to 4 cities

When I sent out my most January newsletter announcing the Best Women's Erotica of the Year Volume 2 book tour, a few people asked me, "How come you're not come to my city?" (Side note, if you're a newsletter subscriber, read it above or in your inbox and enter to win a copy of my female orgasm anthology Orgasmic by January 22nd!)



So I wanted to answer that question here. Whether I do any book readings at all, and how many I do, boils down to three main factors: time, money and people. I'll break them each down.

Time

Especially since the middle of last year when I started working in an office again for the first time since 2011, my time is much more limited. I'm taking three unpaid days off to do this tour, and that's only four dates. If I could have scheduled them all to avoid taking days off, I would have, but I also have to accommodate the stores' available dates and the days they feel will have the best turnout, along with the availability of my readers. To my mind, there's no point in doing an event on a night that nobody shows up to readings. In addition to scheduling, there's also getting to the event and back home. The other time factor that I would imagine people don't realize is the numerous hours of promotion leading up to an event. I learned when I was running my reading series In The Flesh that you have to reach people in as many ways as possible, so for the few months leading up to my readings, I research every avenue possible to let people know. Then I add my event listings everywhere from Yelp to Craigslist to Eventful to Galleycat, send them to the local newspapers and alt weeklies and blogs, have my publisher send the book and the event details, post on message boards, etc. All of that is very time consuming, and probably not something I could do, or at least, do well, if I had 10 events at once. I would rather do 4 events where I know I did everything I could to get people to attend and, hopefully, have good turnout, than 10 events where I was too frazzled to do anything more than a half-hearted effort.

Money

Money is directly linked with time, in that the time I'm doing all of the above, I'm not doing any paid work. Now, indirectly, hopefully, a book tour helps generate sales and visibility and publicity, which in the long run translates into more money for me, but in the short term, my book tours are huge expenses. I organize and fund my book tour myself, so in addition to the days off work I'm taking (I'm a freelancer so I only get paid for the days I'm actually working), here are some of the expenses involved: having promotional postcards made, mailing postcards, travel (airfare, hotel, taxis and Uber), meals while traveling, payment to authors (I am paying authors traveling outside of their home city $50 to help cover their travel costs). I also believe it's only right to support the stores that are supporting my work so I will likely buy one or more books at each venue. I haven't done the math yet, but I will likely have spent around $2,000 on this tour, not counting the days off I'm taking. Let's be widely generous and say I will sell 20 books at each event (that's most likely not going to happen and I'm not even sure if stores bring in that many for an event), my royalties would be $101.60, which I would receive in early August.

In other words, I'm losing money on doing this or any other book tour, in the short term. So why do I do it at all? Several reasons. For one, it's simply in my blood. I've been organizing readings since my first short story, "Monica and Me," was published way back in 2000. I believe that words don't only live on the page, and should be enjoyed live in front of people to truly gauge their impact. I also know that most bookstores stock very little to no erotica, so to have the genre take center stage alongside all the other valuable and important books being published is a sign that we don't want to be relegated to some back corner somewhere or solely read in secret on e-readers. I love that I'm getting to read at the same bookstore that Jon Hamm recently did an event in. I want more visibility not just for my books but for the genre as a whole. I subscribe to numerous bookstores' mailing lists and simply don't see a lot of erotica events listed. I'm deeply grateful to all the independent bookstores from Asheville to Anchorage who have chosen to stock Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 2, amongst the hundreds of thousands of books they could have stocked, and I want to make sure everyone from casual browsers to regular customers knows that those stores have these offerings.

I believe it's also valuable for my book's word of mouth to be seen in a "coming soon" display, to appear in a bookstore's newsletter and social media, to be listed in local media (thank you, Time Out LA!), and to simply be talked about. Maybe someone will see it and not think anything of it but in a month or a year will get curious and remember, "Hey, I saw that book of erotica at ___ store. I'm going to see if it's up my alley." I'll also be sharing photos and video on Twitter and Instagram and follow the BWE Facebook page because in Boston on February 9 I'm going to do my first Facebook Live! Yes, I'm a little nervous, just as I'm always nervous before I do a reading, but I'm also excited. I also believe it's useful for my authors, many of whom are doing a public reading for the first time (for some, this is their first published erotica story, or first in print). Since I got my start organizing readings and doing them for anthologies I was published in, I want to give this opportunity back to my authors. This deserves its own post, but part of my vision for the Best Women's Erotica of the Year series is that it's one where readers come to read sexy stories but also find new to them authors to follow as their careers blossom and grow, and live readings are part of that. They can build lifelong fans who may not remember everything they read, but are far likely to remember having heard the author speak the words with their own unique way of telling a story.

To put it another way, I'm a gambler. I actually don't go to the casinos within ten minutes of my home because of that, but with my books, I'm willing to gamble my own money that they are worth the effort and expenditure, that the cumulative impact of doing several readings in a row under the guise of a "book tour" is sending the right message to the universe. I wish it were as simple an equation as, the more time and money you invest in your book, the better it does in the marketplace. Of course it's not. There's myriad factors that go into whether a book is a hit with readers and book buyers, but I want to position this series, which is the culmination of my 17 years in the erotica genre, to do the best it possibly can. The better this book sells, the more resources I have for the next two volumes and, hopefully, my publisher will be happy with the series' progress and ask me to edit more of them.

People

While time and money determine how many cities I can visit and how much I can spend on these events, the determining factor in which cities I actually book events in is people. For instance, I love feminist bookstore Book Woman in Austin (shop there! It's a treasure trove for book lovers), but I don't think there are any authors in Best Women's Erotica of the Year 1 or 2 anywhere in Texas. Ditto for many other locations I'd love to visit. It doesn't make sense for just the editor of an anthology to do an appearance. So I scan each volume and see where the largest concentration of authors are located, see if they are interested, and make my plans around that. I have authors in each volume who live outside the United States, which I think makes the books stronger and more varied, but it leaves more limited options for events. I love that we get insight into dating culture in the Philippines, but I obviously can't afford to go there for a reading.

In this case, two of my authors are traveling from northern California for our Los Angeles reading at Skylight Books on January 31, and several are traveling for the others. That to me is an incredible honor, that someone would give up their own time and effort to take part in a reading I organized. That makes me all the more determined that they get a big crowd to hear their dirty words! I don't believe in unpaid labor or exploiting authors, so this year I offered that extra payment to my authors who are traveling to readings.

One of the great aspects of editing a series like this, though, is that as the years go by, I have a larger pool of readers to choose from, so even if there weren't enough people the first time, there may be next time. While this tour is mainly focused on Volume 2, Jade A. Waters and D.R. Slaten from Volume 1 are also reading with us, and I will probably read selections from each volume.

So that is my very long-winded way of describing how my book tours operate. Obviously, authors with big publishers likely have a very different setup that doesn't involve out of pocket costs (though it may). I'll end by saying that I would greatly appreciate you helping to spread the word about these four events. I always poll attendees after events to see where they heard about them, and amazingly, I get a wide range of response; it's rare that 80% heard about it from one source. So you telling your friend in LA or Baltimore or New York or Jersey City about this event is extremely valuable and helpful. Below are the links to the individual venues and the Facebook event pages if you want to spread the word that way. We're also doing Q&As after each event so you can ask me and the authors anything about erotica, writing, publishing or whatever else you're curious about. The better this tour does, the more likely it is that I'll do it again next year in new cities!

Best Women's Erotica of the Year book tour, 2017

January 31, 7:30 pm, Skylight Books, Los Angeles, Facebook event page

February 9, 6:30 pm, Sugar, Baltimore (Hampden), Facebook event page

February 11, 7 pm, Bluestockings, New York City (Lower East Side), Facebook event page

February 13, 7:30 pm, WORD, Jersey City (half block from Grove Street PATH Station), Facebook event page

How Nick Carter of The Backstreet Boys inspired a Best Women's Erotica of the Year Volume 2 story

Who knew that boy band fandom could lead to getting published? Read on...Part of why I've done so many author interviews in my career is that when I finish reading a book (or a short story or an essay), if it moved me, I have questions. That's why I've been asking the contributors to Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 2, all about their writing process and fiction inspiration over on the book's Tumblr.

This week's interview is with Jocelyn Bringas, author of the story "Taste," and she told me that the photo below of Nick Carter of The Backstreet Boys was the genesis of her story! How cool is that?

All dressed up.

A photo posted by Nick Carter (@nickcarter) on Mar 27, 2013 at 8:01pm PDT

You can read all about this sexy tale in our interview. The story itself starts out like this:

The cool San Francisco air was refreshing on my skin after being stuck behind a stuffy cubicle for eight hours. I was following my routine of walking to the underground Embarcadero BART station to take my evening train ride home. When I reached Market Street and Drumm, I stood on the crowded sidewalk and waited for the signal to walk across the street.

“I wonder if you taste as good as you look.”

I hope you will join us Tuesday, January 31st at 7:30 p.m., where she will read from "Taste" live at Skylight Books at 1818 North Vermont Avenue in Los Angeles, and probably give us a little more juicy insight! On a totally superficial note, I got a new dress for the occasion and can't wait to kick off this book tour and finally meet Jocelyn, who I published years ago in my anthology Yes, Sir. I follow most of my authors on social media and feel like I somewhat know them, but it's different from getting to see them in person, and hear the way they personally tell the story they created. That is an incredible feeling and something I wish I could do with all my authors.



Even if you're not in LA, I would love it if you'd help spread the word. Here's the Facebook event page, and of course, we'll have photos and maybe even some video snippets, so stay tuned to the book's Twitter and Instagram accounts. We may even try doing a Facebook Live!

And through this Sunday, June 15th, I'm giving away 10 free copies of the audiobook over on Facebook, so enter the giveaway if you want to hear Rose Caraway narrate all 21 stories.

Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 2 is out in print, ebook and audio!

I'm late in letting you know that the book I worked hard on all year, Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 2 is now officially released in print, ebook and audio, because I've been busy spreading the word on social media and posting interviews with the authors which you can read on the Best Women's Erotica of the Year Tumblr. Since I don't have time to post here too often, you can get the latest on the series by following us @bweoftheyear on Twitter and on Facebook.



If you are interested in the writing process, I highly suggest checking them out. Even I am learning a lot from them! The basic buying links are at bweoftheyear.com (and more will be added as I hear of more stores stocking it) and for more about my vision for the series and why I'm devoting pretty much everything I've got to it, read on.

About the book: Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 2 gives us fierce female passion, timeless love, and lustful encounters that are guaranteed to fill you with utter delight. Edited by the award winning Rachel Kramer Bussel, these sexy stories about women on the prowl span the globe, traveling from Peru to the Bahamas and beyond in pursuit of pleasure. Learn why "Teacher Appreciation" is so special, what sex is like "At the End of the World," and explore some very explosive "Volcano Nights." These unforgettable erotic tales by the top authors in the genre as well as newcomers will arouse and thrill readers looking for a hot time between the pages.



To say that editing this series is a dream come true would be a massive understatement, so I'll just say that back when I was writing my first erotica story in 1999, I never dreamed of editing any anthologies, let alone a prestigious annual series. It's a privilege that I don't take lightly, and right now I'm getting ready for our book tour hitting Los Angeles, Baltimore, New York and Jersey City as well as selecting stories for Volume 3. I'm thrilled that this volume has so many authors being published either for the first time or on the early side of their publishing careers, because that's truly my vision for what this series can be: both a place to showcase very sexy stories that, hopefully, readers enjoy reading for years to come, and a launching pad for authors and way of joining forces and forming a community through both live events and social media and the online presence of the series. That's a post for another time, but it's what I'm working toward as I go all out with Volume 2 promo, select stories for Volume 3 and craft the call for Volume 4. See below for how you can help shape those next books!

I'm also doing my best to give back with this series, by increasing author pay, paying authors for out of state readings, offering a free copy to all 2,000+ subscribers to my newsletter (thank you to everyone who took me up on that!), sponsoring events like the Sex Down South conference and funding these readings and promotions so that these books have the longest life span they possibly can. I get sad when I see my books go out of print (though we'll always have ebooks, I hope), so I want these to stay on shelves far into the future. I don't know if I'm capable of making that happen, but I vow I'm trying my absolute hardest and brainstorming daily on how I can make this series better for authors and readers.



I'm thrilled that for the first time in my publishing career, one of my audiobooks was released i the same month as the print and ebook edition and that I got to work with my favorite narrator, Rose Caraway, who I think has the best voice for erotica out there. I never want to feel like I'm just doing the same thing over and over in the exact same way, so figuring out how I can improve is like a never-ending jigsaw puzzle that I keep striving to solve.



I also wanted to ask that if you've read Volume 2 (or Volume 1 for that matter) or are planning to, a hugely helpful thing for me and the series would be to leave a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads. It doesn't have to be long; even one sentence sharing something you liked (or didn't like), or a favorite story, not only helps the book gain visibility and therefore new readers (yes, the more reviews a book has on Amazon, the better it will sell generally), it also helps me in making my selections for future books. Right now I'm slated to edit Volumes 3 and 4 and I am hustling every day to help this series sell better than all my other books so that maybe I'll be asked to keep on editing it. I learn from and value reader input and want to include the kinds of stories that you want to read. So if there's something you've seen in the series that you liked or things you wish were in them, leave reviews on those sites and/or drop me a line at bweoftheyear at gmail.com. Ultimately, I answer to readers (and, of course, my publisher), so I want to do my best to give you the kinds of stories you most want to read. Thank you!

Why I organized a 2017 book tour for Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 2

Every year, I tell myself some version of: You need to stay home, be responsible, save money. Readings are not the most efficient use of your very limited financial resources. Sometimes I listen to that voice, because it does speak a certain kind of cold, hard, practical truth, but sometimes I go rogue and listen to my book loving heart, which tells me that short term loss is okay because what I gain in the long term, as an anthology series editor, person and event organizer, will worth it. I did that when I booked a mini book tour for Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 2.

mini book tour for

I wanted to share both the tour dates (with one more to be added hopefully in Jersey City) and also why I did it. Because it's true that readings, while technically free to organize, cost money in terms of hours spent booking and promoting, wages lost to travel to them, travel costs and promotion costs. I don't know exactly how many readings I've organized over the years, but likely close to 100 if you count my reading series In The Flesh, which had around 60 readings over 5 years, so I've definitely weighed the pros and cons. While there are plenty of cons, like the fact that you are always at the mercy of weather and competing events, the pros I decided in this case outweigh them for me.

So even though it's literally impossible for me to make back the actual money I'll be spending on book sales, since a good night would be selling maybe 20 books, hence earning around $20 in royalties, I still love making readings happen. It's in my blood; I organized one for the very first story I got published, "Monica and Me" in Best Lesbian Erotica 2001. That reading was at Bluestockings and I remember being amazed that authors would come from all over the country to read from this book, and that little old nobody me could get my event listed in places like Time Out New York. That felt as thrilling as getting published. The funny thing is actually standing in front of a crowd has always terrified me. I don't revel in being up on stage reading the dirty words I've written in privacy to people who are staring at me, eagerly awaiting their erotic entertainment.

So it's a paradox: I love creating readings and making those spaces where people can hear sexy stories, but the part I enjoy most is being get host, the instigator, the one running the show. I do read, and often choose to read other people's work because it's easier for me personally than reading my own. But as I tell my students and authors, reading your work aloud is one of the best ways to truly hear what you're writing, to catch things beyond typos that go to the heart of your story. Is there an extra pause that doesn't need to be there? Should certain words be moved or removed? Would it sound better to add a line or a noise or punctuation mark? The bonus of reading to an audience rather than just yourself is that you get to hear how your words affect people. Do they laugh where you expected them to, or in other places you never would have thought anyone would chuckle? Do you find yourself grinning or cringing inside at certain lines? Do you wonder why you even wrote that one section?

For authors, I think doing readings is something you should say yes to if you can, since it does provide this invaluable feedback that we so rarely get. People remember readings; they are moved by them. They listen closely, and they hear the lines far differently than they do when they are sitting at home reading them. Maybe they hear them similarly to when they listen to an audiobook, but they still don't hear them in the voice of the author (unless the author has narrated the audiobook). You might tell a very brief aside at the beginning or after your story (or sometimes during) that sheds light on it; you might find yourself falling in love with a twist you gave to a scene and imbuing it with something even stronger than the black text on a white page.

As for me, I decided ultimately that I was willing to give up that day or two of paid wages and truly invest my time and money in my book, because I urgently want it to succeed. It may not be "cool" to so shamelessly say that, but it's true. I am pouring my heart and soul, my time, my social media assistant's time, my entire erotica focus, into making the Best Women's Erotica of the Year series successful. It may or may not work, it's too early to tell (but I was very impressed with the first quarter sales of Volume 1), but I feel like I owe it to the series, having taken it over from two esteemed, wonderful editors, and having decided I want to publish a different set of authors with each volume, to honor those authors, to do right by my publisher and mostly to know in my heart I did every single thing I could to help these books. Readings do that by getting the books into stores that may not have stocked it otherwise (or may have stocked only one copy), by bringing the book to the attention of the local community and to customers of those stores, and by being listed in local media. It's also a great way to support small local businesses, because you are bringing new audiences into those stores. I've done events at Sugar and Bluestockings (as I mentioned, the home of the very first reading I organized 15 years ago), but never at Skylight Books. My hope is that if it goes well, it will also help pave the way for other erotica events at that store, so it's also a way to spread the word that erotica is a worthy genre, not just something people read on the sly in private, but something people are eager to hear in public.

Plus it's not only the people who show up to a reading who count in terms of awareness of your title, but every single person who is exposed to the name of your book. Maybe they see the event listed in the store's calendar or in the local paper, or see a postcard or poster or other promo material around the store. Maybe they ask a friend to join them; maybe they wind up looking up the book, or the next time they see it months later remember, "Oh yeah, that author did an event..." I really think readings are an invaluable, long-term way of putting your book cover and title into people's minds. It also makes me feel pretty badass, to borrow Jen Sincero's bestseller's term, to book these readings myself. Yes, some people have their publishers do this for them, but I really enjoy the process of personally reading out to stores (some never get back to you, and that's okay too) and doing all the logistics. It makes me feel in control and proud as a businesswoman, and reminds me that all those years of booking readings weren't for naught; they taught me a range of skills that are mostly dormant in my daily suburban life but can be revived easily.

Lastly, for me as an anthology editor, a live book event is a way to meet my authors in person, when they've previously only existed in my inbox. Yes, I follow them on social media and may know a bit about them, but I don't know their face or their voice, and getting to know them during readings is a wonderful feeling. I want this series to be about building a community of authors who support each other's work, including and going beyond their stories in the books, and readings help foster that. And putting my marketing hat back on, you can share the readings via broadcasts if you desire (like Facebook live), videos, and photos to amplify the effect.

All that to say, I truly hope you can make one of our free readings (the Jersey City event I hope to have news about soon and will be more of a party atmosphere), and whether you can or can't, I'd greatly appreciate you helping to spread the word. Readings only work if there's an audience there to hear them, and part of why I booked these so many months in advance, in addition to making travel bookings easier (Amtrak is so much cheaper when you book far ahead) is that I wanted to have the most time possible to share these dates and make sure anyone in Los Angeles, Baltimore or New York could mark their calendars. You can also find all of these on the press and events page of bweoftheyear.com and can use the Facebook event links to easily share these readings with your networks. Contributors from Volume 1, including Jade A. Waters and D.R. Slaten, will also be joining us (so there's another reason to do readings: giving some love to older books that often drop off bookstores shelves to make room for new ones). No RSVPs are required.

I also learned an important lesson: when you are creating Facebook events, make sure the proper page is hosting them; the first one below is hosted by my author page, which I decided to leave as is, but the other two are hosted by the BWE page, after I made a mistake and another page of mine had wound up hosting one of them. Branding counts even when posting events. Hope to see you there! And whether or not you can make it, you can help the book in a major way by marking it as "want to read" on Goodreads (you can log in to Goodreads using your Amazon.com U.S. email address and password if you don't have a separate Goodreads registration). And subscribe to my monthly newsletter because I'll be doing a big book giveaway this month.



Los Angeles
January 31, 2017, 7 pm Best Women's Erotica of the Year reading
Join Best Women's Erotica of the Year series editor Rachel Kramer Bussel for a rousing reading from Volumes 1 and 2, featuring Jocelyn Bringas, Melina Greenport and Jade A. Waters. Q&A and book signing to follow. Free. Wheelchair accessible.
Facebook event page
Skylight Books, 1818 N. Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, 90027, 323-660-1175



Baltimore
February 9, 2017, 6:30 pm
Best Women's Erotica of the Year reading
Join Best Women's Erotica of the Year series editor Rachel Kramer Bussel along with contributors to Volumes 1 and 2 including Annabeth Leong, Jordan Monroe, and D.R. Slaten for a rousing reading, followed by a Q&A and book signing. You'll hear some of the sexiest stories around starring women characters who travel the world in search of satisfaction, and find out what it takes to be successful in the thriving erotica genre. Light refreshments will be served. Free. Wheelchair accessible.
Facebook event page
Sugar, 1001 W. 36th Street, Baltimore (Hampden), 410-467-2632 ​



New York City February 11, 2017, 7 pm Join editor Rachel Kramer Bussel and contributors Ella Dawson, Abigail Ekue, Annabeth Leong, Stella Watts Kelley and Vierra Lai for a rousing reading from hot new anthology Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 2. The authors will participate in a Q&A and book signing immediately following the reading. Wheelchair accessible. Free. Wheelchair accessible.
Facebook event page
Bluestockings, 172 Allen Street, New York, NY 10002, 212-777-6028
Nearest subways: F to 2nd Avenue, J/M/Z to Essex Street, B/D to Grand Street

My Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 2 authors are excited, or why I keep editing anthologies even though they are always a lot of work

I'll be posting more about the anthology editing process, including my number one pet peeve and some advice for writers. It's exciting to have two new calls for submissions and I'm working on spreading the word because I've set a goal of getting 500 submissions for each book to have as much variety as possible in the final volumes (so please spread the word if you know any writers!). In the meantime, acceptances for Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 2 recently went out. (The book pubs in December and is available for pre-order now.) If you're excited to read the book, please add it to your Goodreads "want to read" list and stay tuned to my next few monthly newsletters for a chance to get a review copy!

And I was going to do a separate cover reveal post but I'm too excited about this one to share it. This series is a giant honor to get to edit and every bit of support you can give the book enables me to keep on editing it and keep on publishing new authors each time.



Not only was it very special to me to be working with a book almost entirely comprised of authors I've never published before (one of my goals for the series and my anthologies generally is to publish new writers), their responses helped remind me why I do this in the first place. Yes, it's part of my income stream, but after 63 anthologies, I know I've started to lose steam. I very carefully consider every time whether I've put enough anthologies out into the world and whether there's a real purpose and meaning to my adding yet another one, and these authors have helped remind me that one of the reasons I keep on doing it is the joy of knowing I've helped someone achieve a career goal or get their first erotica byline or simply tell a wonderful story and showcase it alongside their peers.







And Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 1 contributor Jade A. Waters tweeted about how happy she was to have her Shakespeare-themed short story "Ophelia the Second" read on Rose Caraway's podcast. All 22 stories in the book are read by Rose on the bestselling Audible audiobook!