The cover for Hard Money has once more been delayed. This time, it was caused by the company who provided the ISBN and bar code. There has been good news today, with the arrival of the bar code. Therefore, a completed book cover is on it's way, followed by publication at last - woo hoo!

"We lift ourselves by our thought. We climb upon our vision of ourselves. If you want to enlarge your life, you must first enlarge your thought of it and of yourself. Hold the ideal of yourself as you long to be, always everywhere."
Orison Swett Marden
1850-1924, Inspirational Writer

http://yourbookstartshere.wordpress.com/author/catharinebramkamp/

Social Media is like Sex in the Seventies. by Catharine Bramkemp

Remember the seventies (and if you don’t, I’m terribly sorry)?

Like Me!

Remember when  promiscuity was permissible?  Even lauded?  And how the minute we all become adept at random acts of coupling sans last names, guides suddenly appeared dedicated to telling us how to do this better.  It no longer was just a casual, natural act.  Sure it was fun, but was it enough fun?  Were others having MORE fun?  Take this Cosmo quiz to find out.

Then experts weighed in, studies funded, discoveries  advertised.  Just when we were enjoying ourselves, we were informed about goals and statistical comparisons. Panic and doubt wedged into our happy Eden (some even resorted to monogamy)  New parts were discovered, new erogenous zones were mapped and published.  We searched for our g spot which at the time was almost as important as increasing our Klout and Google rankings.
And it all came to screeching halt by an unlikely virus.

And there is the single difference.  Unlike sex in the seventies, social media depends on viral behavior, that’s how it reproduces, and we help it along.
There is not such thing as monogamy in social media.
Just like the seventies.

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365 days of fresh food: Who Else Wants To Have A Bountiful Organic Garden ...: Who Else Wants To Have A Bountiful Organic Garden And Save Money Using Only A Tiny Amount Of Garden Space? I've just discovered this gr...

What 3 Simple Letters Create an Astounding Surge of Blog Traffic?

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Holding my breath with anticipation for the publication of HARD MONEY. The time is near, I feel it in my bones. Thanks to Mike Taylor at Spicy Broccoli for being the only company to even look like producing a H.M. cover. The road to completion has been a long and winding one. Hopefully, the end is in sight!

Hi, welcome to author blog, #?... God only knows! What on Earth does a maiden author, maiden blogger and an unknown writer have to blog about you ask? The predictable answer is the moving journey from a vanilla short story and poetry writer to illicit author. Aaaah, no! There will not be any self-indulgent drivel here. This blog will attempt to tease and please as well as being led, and dominated, by you the reader.

What do you want to know? Ask a question and I will endeavour to answer, or have it answered for you. As my book is about the sex industry all questions of a sexual nature are welcome, as are health, emotional, and spiritual concerns. Expert opinions and advice will be sought for each enquiry. Do you have unusually long labia, small penis, huge clitoris, or giant testicles? Email your fears and concerns;  no subject will be taboo.

A ‘Fascinating Facts’ file will be updated weekly and contributions are invited. A place will be provided for professional sex workers to post their own short stories – ‘non-pros’ are also invited to post their fantasies and stories.

Most writers’ blogs appeal to other writers, whereas this blog is intended for you the reader. All suggestions and requests for additions will be considered.

PERSONAL RANT:

For freelancers and service providers.

To date there have been three graphic artists who contributed to the delay of the creation of the book’s cover. Obviously, this is holding up publication. Fingers are crossed for completion by next week, although I won’t be holding my breath!

If nothing else, the hunt for a cover has been a deep learning curve. The result of this frustrating experience is that all sourcing requirements for future projects will be kept exclusively in Australia.

Free advice for freelancing professionals: Keep your clients apprised of your progress. Regular communication is vital when dealing with the ‘beloved’ endeavours of paying customers. Furthermore, keep your emails polite and professional at least until you are familiar with your client. Asking a question like, “Deal or no deal?” at the end of an initial quote is off-putting. Yes, a graphic artist applying for a job actually wrote that in his second email.

With the recent influx of Indy writers on the scene, jobs for various freelancing professionals abound, as do the service providers themselves. After a couple of attempts to employ editors and graphic designers, I realised that talent and skill are not sufficient for a successful creative coupling.

The key elements beyond skill and knowledge are superior communications and listening. Without understanding the client’s requirements, a successful outcome is almost impossible. As a freelancing service provider, your creative talents will be better served by use in a controlled and firmly directed manner. From the outset, ascertain your client’s preference for artistic control to remain with them or be placed in your (undoubtedly) capable hands.

If you accept a job from a client with a firm vision of the end-result, you must deliver the closest possible rendition of their brief that you are capable of providing. Save the freewheeling creative out-put for undecided clients or your private projects.

The Sinner Author: OMG! @CharityParkero made The Sydney Morning Heral...

The Sinner Author: OMG! @CharityParkero made The Sydney Morning Heral...: I was recently contacted by Matt Smith of the Sydney Morning Herald for an interview along with my fellow author Dionne Lister. I have to ad...

Indie author Verity Marshall made a left of field decision to deviate from her area of expertise to produce Hard Money – The naked truth behind the red light. Sensing that her ordinary perspective would make an interesting dichotomy of life experiences for such a project, she sought the facts from the whore’s (oops), horse’s mouth.

Before commencing Hard Money, Verity wrote short stories and poetry for magazine consumption. Raising her four children and supporting her husband in his endeavours, consumed the majority of her time. The necessary journey to the dark-side (as with all epic journeys) changed the author’s perspective on the subject. Surprisingly, she has developed a renewed faith in her fellow human beings. Finding many sex-workers and their clients to be good-hearted and honest people was a refreshing revelation.

What is it with graphic artists?

What is it with graphic artists? Are they simply inherently unreliable? I'm starting to believe so. I know it's not me - easy to get along with, and non-demanding - so it must be them! The brief for the job is simple and so is the design. 

The original artist commissioned to create the cover for HARD MONEY - The naked truth behind the red light, seems to have disappeared - not answering emails. The next artist completely ignored the brief (and all emails for one month after payment) and created an inferior product. Artists four and five have not gotten back to me after the initial phone calls. Of the eight artists contacted, only five have returned my query emails. Argh!!!

Patience is a virtue.

If patience is in fact a virtue, then I am a most virtuous human indeed. It is now into the 5th week of waiting for all of the external cogs to slip into place, and allow the 'HARD MONEY - NAKED TRUTH' train to move ahead.

The up side to this challenge, is that the situation prepares me for future blog entries about the often frustrating process of self publication - oh no, not another one! No, don't you worry dear reader, I won't do that...too boring! After publication is complete, a series of interviews is planned, to ascertain sex workers reactions to the book.

We are on tender-hooks waiting for the book's cover to be completed. Great expectations are held for HARD MONEY - The naked truth behind the red light

   COMING SOON!

WARNING: The genre of HARD MONEY - The naked truth behind the red light, is erotica. It is a 'fly-on-the-wall' peek at a slice of life in the Sydney sex industry. There are graphically written short stories along with facts, opinions, and anecdotes, all of which have been crafted from the information complied by interviewing the prostitutes and their clients at a currently operational Sydney brothel.

COMING SOON!

HARD MONEY-NakedTruth COMING SOON!

HARD MONEY - The naked truth behind the red light  

The novella set to expose the behind the scene activities of a group of real prostitutes and their real clients is COMING SOON!