What does the adult market mean to you, though? Is it because you want to write stories for adults, or because you think the adult market is more legitimate? (I don't mean that harshly, just honestly.)

If you want to write adult stories, you absolutely should. And the e-pub route might be perfect for that.

I wrote books for adults. I think, like, twenty people have ever read them, and a lot of them are on this board. I wasn't trying to fool myself about whether they were *art* but I did try to write the best books that sounded like *me* in that genre. And I'm glad I did it, even though I'm not making royalties and never garnered a following. It was still writing, and I was getting to do it instead of other things I didn't want to do.

Writing the book of your heart every time and having it sell is a wonderful dream, and every writer has it, but it's just not always going to happen. I hate to suggest that anyone lower their standards, but I would say ... think about how you can tell the story you want to tell in a way that most people will want to read? I don't think it's impossible to do that, and I think it's still valuable.

Is it because you want to write stories for adults,

This and because honestly, I think I'm better at it. I think I tell better stories.

I think, though, as much as I love relationship stories my particular strength in them is the darker aspects-- the psychological twists and turns. And I think with the new manuscript I've really found an ideal avenue through which to explore them without the constraints or expectations that govern women's fiction.

I think from that standpoint, I'm telling the story I want to tell in a way that hopefully more people will want to read and that will satisfy me as a writer.

I also don't mean to sound like an insufferable snob and I'm afraid that's sort of what I'm unintentionally sounding like-- I'm just kind of airing my thoughts out in a safe place. Feel free to tell me to get a grip.

If you do go the self-pub route, I gather that copy editing (as opposed to full editing) is not that expensive. You can get a novel copy-edited for about $500. Full editing is a lot more, though maybe a Buffista editor would take a chance and give you an absurdly low rate on the first enovel with your promise that if it were successful you would pay full rate for subsequent ones.

Losing editing of either kind strikes me as a major downside to self-pub. But maybe that is a way around it.

Amy, first, Cold Kiss is an amazing book, and you're right, it's not Twilight, thank dog. Your characters have agency and voice. They are interesting and can make mistakes and they are smart as well.

Barb, does it have to be a choice? Can you ePub and trad. Pub? I know it takes a lot of footwork to ePub, but I also know the landscape is shifting rapidly, and if a good, reputable author services bureau hasn't formed yet, it should. The up front costs are on you - that's a major difference. And I'm talking well out of my sphere of knowledge now. So I'll hush and listen.

It's not an either/or choice, per se, it's more a question of learning how to negotiate the waters. How to do it without alienating one's agent, taking the risk of a book being e-pubbed and that turning off a potential traditional editor (although now that St. Martin's has bought Hocking's Tryelle trilogy that she e-pubbed, perhaps that stigma is lifting a bit), is there an audience for the type of book I write within the e-format... there are just a lot of questions to which the answers are still evolving.

ahh gotcha!

ETA - if there are writing-equivalent demons to the prevalent BIDs, I believe I have them in spades today. Feh.

Ah, I call it "Billy Walsh Syndrome" after the screenwriter on Entourage that's either convinced he wrote something brilliant or it's total shit. Anne Lamott calls it K-Fucked(KFKD)

Excellent examples. I have met the Billy Walsh Syndrome. And the Doldrums. And the Slush Pile Disco Hangover. KFKD is great.

So I wrote 500 words to spite the demons. They might not be great words, but I wrote them anyway. And I'll do it again tomorrow.

Part of this is related to the time I have to write getting chunked up into smaller and smaller bits by various system failures around here. It is frustrating.

I am so glad for Stephenie Meyer. I know I write better than she does so beyond that I just try to be a better writer than I was the day before. Also I'm glad for David Foster Wallace because I know I'll never be able to craft a story like that. So I don't beat myself up trying. I just strive to be the best writer I can be. Of porn. email lagarat at gmail if you want to check out my new blog.

I didn't mean to sound harsh, Barb, and I absolutely think everyone should write the stories they want to tell.

For what it's worth, I think one of the biggest issues for a writer with an agent is negotiating what self-pub (or e-pub or whatever you call it) will mean. And I don't think traditional editors are going to be put off by someone who has published digitally -- Amanda Hocking is a good example, but there are others who e-pubbed first and got contracts later, too.

The good thing is, everyone is looking at the digital marketplace now, including publishers.