Ok, friends. Let’s have some real talk, shall we?
I’m a publishing professional. I’ve worked in various parts of the publishing industry, performing various tasks, since I was in undergrad. I know my way around the writing process, the publishing process, and, most importantly for my purposes here, the editing process.
I’ve long harbored a dream of starting my own publishing company, from which to put out into the world professional-looking books about sex. I’d love to publish erotica that’s well written, memoirs of those in the sex industry, critical and academic tomes on the topics of sex and pornography. I’d like to give books that take sex seriously a chance to flourish. And the reason I’d like to do this is that far too often I see books with sex at their centers given the shaft. I see them published without sufficient editing, copyediting, or proofreading. I see them fall into the “it’s just sex” trap that our culture smashes our faces into every day. The “this will only sell because it’s sensational” mentality that kills good writing about sex and makes it easier to jab your friend in the elbows as you chuckle about it.
I’m SO sick of it. And, guys, I have an answer. I may not have the werewithal to start a company right now (too many other projects to keep track of), but I do have the werewithal to offer my ten-plus years in publishing, my lifetime of writing, and my five-plus years with professional training and experience in copyediting to those who need it. I want my friends’ books about sex and porn to look awesome. I want people to read them and think, “Wow, what an intelligent person. This makes me think about my preconceived notions about sex workers/kink/porn/whatever.” Not, “Jeez, couldn’t they find anyone to proofread this?” If you are writing a memoir about your experiences, editing a book of essays, penning a how-to on fisting… whatever, please give me a shout. Not only do I want more copyediting work, I have a vested interest in making your book as good as it can be. I want people to take you seriously. This is important to me.
HELP ME HELP YOU. I’m familiar with publishing conventions in trade books, academic publications, and magazines. I have training and experience copyediting and proofreading and writing for all of the above. Best of all, I’m familiar with most of the subject matter and vocabulary around all things sex: I’ve got years of writing about porn, feminism, and sexuality under my belt. You cannot scare me. You will not offend me. I’m game. I charge professional rates but I’m willing to negotiate depending on the project. I’m good at it. HIRE ME. E-mail me at misslagsalot@gmail.com, or leave a comment here, or tweet me @misslagsalot, or something.
/rant
a worthy goal.
does Amazon’s CreateSpace self publishing ( they sell our DareDolls ) host the kind of books you would like to sell? we get an average of a few hundred a month that way. sometimes enough for the mortgage! work of good quality usually sells. if you list the work just with amazon, they take most of the money. if you advertise your wares yourself, the cut they take is little more than it would cost you to do it yourself, in other words, quite a pleasant sum left for you.
I’m not looking to sell any books–I’d like to help authors with their copyediting and proofreading. Thanks, though! I’ll definitely keep this in mind.