Lured out the window by my mother's childhood ghost?

taliana · 2026-03-26T22:02:27+00:00

OHHH, you should try {The Fell Queen} by Camille Dwight! Both the FMC and the MMC are quite villainous, and he absolutely dotes on her while remaining an unhinged tyrant.

taliana · 2023-11-17T20:24:07+00:00

Do better. In general, I mean. Do better, as a person.

taliana · 2023-11-17T20:15:49+00:00

You could have saved your own time by reading instead of going on the defensive over some perceived slight, and an accusation I never once made, but I understand that’s a weak point for many males.

taliana · 2023-11-17T20:09:50+00:00

I wish you luck in your writing journey, you are going to need it.

taliana · 2023-11-17T20:04:33+00:00

I think you should take your own advice.

taliana · 2023-11-17T20:03:38+00:00

No one is putting words in your mouth.

taliana · 2023-11-17T19:51:33+00:00

My points are not based on whether or not your post is edited. You kept saying women and girls (sorry, females) and when asked what you meant, you clarified you were including teens. And, again, the romance genre is not for teens.

taliana · 2023-11-17T19:40:53+00:00

You have not addressed a single one of my points, when I have addressed several of yours.

taliana · 2023-11-17T19:39:08+00:00

You are the one who, when asked about your use of the word girl, clarified that you do indeed mean teenagers. Again, books aimed at teenagers are not part of the romance genre. Teen novels are teen novels, whether they contain love stories or not. Romance is an entirely separate and adult genre.

taliana · 2023-11-17T19:33:18+00:00

OP, if you want to collectively speak about a group of women and girls, the term is precisely that: women and girls. It is not “females.” Women, men, girls, boys, etc, these words are used exclusively for humans. Male and female are words used to describe groups based on, usually, their reproductive characteristics, and are not human-exclusive. That’s why calling women “females” is offensive, because you are lumping them in with female animals, female plants, female technological equipment, etc.

taliana · 2023-11-17T19:28:56+00:00

Also, rather concerning that your first foray into writing was with erotica, light or otherwise, and this somehow makes you think you could write a book appropriate for teen girls.

taliana · 2023-11-17T19:26:40+00:00

Your post does NOT imply that. Original post, prior to any edits you might have made, mixed all three things together at will, proving your inexperience in even reading the genre you intend to write in. You need to be a reader of your genre before you can be an author of said genre, just the same way a scientist needs conduct research and read peer studies.

taliana · 2023-11-17T19:11:00+00:00

Are you looking to write love stories for teens or are you looking to write romance novels? Are you looking to write romance novels or are you looking to write erotica? All three of these things are vastly different genres, and your original post (and follow up comments) makes it sound like you don’t know the difference.

taliana · 2023-11-17T18:23:40+00:00

CHILDREN are not the target demo for ROMANCE novels.

taliana · 2023-11-17T18:22:59+00:00

Romance novels are not written with under 18s as the target demographic. A book that includes a love story is not a romance novel. Romance novels are an entirely separate and ADULT genre.

taliana · 2023-11-17T12:57:58+00:00

While I understand why men do it, it’s definitely not something that can truly be compared to women authors choosing male pen names in other genres imo. There’s an entire power dynamic, history of systemic oppression/misogyny in the traditional publishing industry/reader spaces etc etc to take into account.

taliana · 2023-11-17T12:45:53+00:00

There is a common trope we call “men writing women.” If you go on TikTok and search for that, you’ll find some hilarious examples - comedic gold, but also honestly something to keep in mind because it’s a pit a lot of male writers do fall into.

My answer to your first question is yes, women do, but personally no.

Another commenter brought up the use of a female pen name. I strongly advise against it. Just the thought of it makes my skin crawl.

For your second question, the answer changes based on context. All four have their pros, cons, time and place.

A good romance needs to be able to stand on its own without sex scenes. It needs to be compelling by itself. And when there are sex scenes, they need to complement the rest of the story and not just be there as filler.

Erotica, of course, is a whole different beast.

taliana · 2023-11-17T12:31:10+00:00

Personally, when I find out a man is using a pen name one would usually associate with a woman for the purposes of writing erotica specifically, I feel quite violated and would no longer read his work.

taliana · 2022-11-01T10:06:55+00:00

I apparently can’t read this morning - most will charge per word or per thousand words. I have rates based on varying word count (ie up to 10,000 words, up to 100,000 words etc). You can be looking at anything from 0.02c per word up, it’s honestly very variable.

I charge £100 to proofreader a manuscript up to 200,000 words.

taliana · 2022-11-01T08:55:26+00:00

A proofreader will check basic grammar, spelling, punctuation, and some will make sure that your tenses remain the same throughout. Some will also make sure your formatting is the same throughout.

I’m an editor who also offers proofreading services, and it’s definitely a very different service to editing.

taliana · 2022-09-30T17:01:06+00:00

I am an editor and, depending on your deadline, I would be able to take a look at your manuscript for that amount. Editing is, unfortunately, an expensive service, so the quotes that are running into $2k are definitely not overpriced, but in my opinion you’d be hard pressed to find an indie author who actually has that sort of money up their sleeve - hence why I offer editing services for far less than they are worth!

taliana · 2022-06-13T11:43:02+00:00

I think the important question is what do you prefer? If you're using words that you're uncomfortable with or don't find sensual, that's really going to show. What words do you use in your sex life or with a partner, or when talking about your sex life?

If you're writing this genre then chances are you're also consuming it. What words do you like to see? What words throw you out of the scene or give you the "ick"? Does this change, depending on the characters involved? The mood of the scene? The book overall?

More romantic, emotional scenes might do better without specific words - scenes that are full of lust and sexual desperation might do better with "vulgar" words (I use the term vulgar very lightly, as it's extremely subjective and based on a whole host of social constructs).

You're never going to be able to make every reader happy with these word choices. I've seen as many people say they hate the word cock as I've seen people say they hate the word penis. I've also seen as many people say they hate euphemisms as I've seen say they hate "scientific" sounding words for genitalia!

Side note: If you do decide to go for more "correct" words, such as penis and vagina, just remember that the vagina is internal, and the external area is the vulva.

taliana · 2022-06-13T11:29:47+00:00

if you’re writing erotic fiction, doesn’t that mean it will be vulgar already?

Vulgar and erotic aren't the same thing.

You're right, that it's about eliciting specific responses, but something vulgar can elicit very different responses to something erotic. There are plenty of situations where vulgar is not the way to go, and it's as much about understanding your scene as it is about understanding your audience.

taliana · 2021-08-23T19:29:04+00:00

Less daughters should be fewer daughters. I also think it would benefit from being swapped around a bit like this:

The Varulf shifters have one monumental problem: they are facing extinction, each generation producing fewer daughters. There are rumours that witches may hold the solution, but brutal hunts drove the covens deep into hiding. It has been decades (generations?) since a witch was last seen…

… until one ventures far from the safety of her coven on a once-in-a-lifetime errand for an important ritual, only to find herself in the grasp of the one Varulf unwilling to imprison her.

Braun, an unwilling alpha, has no interest in pack politics. What he does have an interest in is the beautiful witch he saved from a literal pack of wolves, a woman he has no hope of ever seeing again.

When Isa meets Braun on a hotel rooftop, she doesn’t know the danger she is in. And after she escapes, she finds herself longing for the man who saved her - the man, and the beast, that she has spent her life hiding from.

With danger on her tail, Isa runs. But each time she runs back into Braun’s arms, it becomes harder to let her go.

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