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TransScripts Transgender Fiction
How can you help us to help you?
As we approach the end of the year the question of TransScripts keeps nagging at me. When I get an idea in my head I normally push it on people until it’s a success but, for whatever the reason, time has not been on my side with this particular project. To put things right I am here and now (I know it isn’t January first but I never follow the masses) make a resolution that 2019 will be the year of TransScripts Transgender Fiction.
So what is TransScripts. At the minute it is a small collective of talented transgender writers who share ideas, discuss projects and generally help each other to be the best that we can.
But that isn’t what we want it to be.
At least that isn’t all that we want it to be.
We want TransScripts Transgender Fiction to be a publisher that readers can trust, so that when they download (hopefully in the future we can add ‘pick up’) a book with our name on it they know what they are getting. Our writers don’t do sissies or cuckolds, all of our women are strong and beautiful (on the inside at least). We do erotica, we do self-discovery, we do romance and we even do forced feminisation, we just don’t do sissies and the like. We leave that to the wonderfully talent sissification authors that we are proud to call our friends.
The big thing is that we want to help other authors achieve what their talent deserves. We want to give transgender authors somewhere to go where they can get the best help to get their books in front of the public for free. We can proof read, edit and format your eBooks free of charge and even help you with cover art. Finally we even aim to offer a shop floor where we will allow authors to start selling their books with no commission, just to give them the little boost that we never had. Once they are ready we will help them to get their books onto Amazon, iStores, Barnes and Noble, and many more online retailers.
This doesn’t mean we don’t want to make money, of course we do and I am sure that we will, eventually. But for now we will be giving our time and our skills free of charge to new, unpublished authors who fit within our boundaries.
In order to make this happen though, we currently rely on donations from readers to pay our costs. Within those costs are things like websites and the costs involved with selling eBooks online. So we have to ask for you to help us out by using my personal Patreon page, in which case you will receive a variety of special features in return for your patronage. Depending on the amount you pledge this can include free paperback copies of all future releases of my books or even be the star in one of said books. I will then use that money to pay for everything TransScripts require to start making a real difference in the world of Transgender Fiction.
On behalf of the other ladies involved in the project I would like to thank you in advance.
Comments
Interesting
DopplerPress has a wider aim for more kinds of transfiction and non-transfiction by trans writers but our aims are similar. Perhaps we can work out a co-marketing effort?
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Late Bloomer in a Niche Market
Anna, I'm still trying to figure out the end goal in the business plan you and others have postulated. The group has unlimited funds and time or possibly tossing money and time at it to see if it will grow to stand on it's own? Writers make the world's worse marketers. I'm not saying there is a disconnect between their ears when it comes to writing and selling but...
Have you written up a business plan with real figures, real estimates, real comprehension on where the starting point is and where you want to be in six years? This isn't calling up all one's friends and saying, "We're having a picnic, everyone come and bring a dish and invite all your friends too." Oh wait, yes it is. The percentage of new start ups who fail the first year are dismal. The number who never make six years is criminal.
What is your group offering they can't get from Amazon? Apple and I believe it is the word processor Scriver, will give anyone the ability to format manuscripts to book format. Lulu will print one or however many books one wants "on demand". The same word processor instantly formats to eBook ready to upload to Amazon or any of the other online publishing companies. What writers need are agents or marketers who can push their stories out in front of the public. "I've written a great story. I'm going to be the next, (name your famous author here). Yes, good luck with that. Thinking along those lines is why most authors never get read. Equate that to..., I have ten thousand dollars. I'm going down to the pasture and pass out a hundred dollars to everyone who stops by. At the end of the day I'll still have all my money.
Now that I rained all over your dreams, I pray you and the others don't abandon your goals but get together and put together a road map to the future of what you want. Will it grow up and stand on its own? No matter how much we ignore our future, it is finite. Looking back at projects we invested a huge chunk of our lives and monetary funds in and they are nothing more than a waste is a big disappointment.
Oklahoma born and raised cowgirl
Barb, sweetie,
What Anna is offering that you do not and will never get from AMAZON and the likes is that the new authors will not have to leave the better part of the result of their effort with a financial moloch, who on top of everything else practices tax evasion on an international scale never imagined and claims anything shy of the authors actual body for their own.
Do I need to mention that I really loathe them?
Anyway, it is a niche market and you are right, I for one, have to admit that I do not have even the first clue about marketing.
Which - of course - is one of the reasons of my being here (giggles).
Nevertheless, Anna, I like your idea and values and can easily endorse what you do and do not want to do. If I can be of any help with proofing, editing and even e-book making, a skill that I have just recently aquired with the wonderful Calibre program and the appropriate Libre-Office extension, or with getting ISBNs for free let me know, I have done it before and just recently again for myself. I actually have a list now of the numbers for my next five books. All free of charge. In France you are obliged to have an ISBN for any paper copy you sell, so it makes sense, even though an ebook is counted as a different edition and gets it's own (not obligatory, but a good claim on ownership).
Drop me a line if you are interested.
Hugs,
Monique.
Monique S
I mean no discouragement
Momma told us to not touch the fire or the hot pan because it would burn us. She knew from experience.
There were kids in my school who never made graduation but made the graveyard. Don't get close to a PTO when it's running. Don't get close to the belts on the combine, cotton stripper, etc. Don't try and start a tractor when one is beside it. Look before you engage the clutch, and so it went.
The web is littered with remains of those who had good ideas. Genderflec was a beautiful site with all kinds of information, some impossible to fine anywhere else on the web for any of the searching souls who were desperate for knowledge and help. It isn't even in the WayBack Machine now. Ask Erin and the other girls how many domains they are holding together that have gone dormant and abandoned. I didn't abandon my own web domain because I couldn't support it. I parked it to stop the virus and spammers from using it as a return address. Ask the girls how much they spend fighting the hackers wanting to get into BCTS. Own a high volume, well recognized domain and the cost of keeping it open and running is the cheap part. Keeping it sanitized is the expensive part.
That is only part of starting up a domain on the web for hosting writers, their stories, sharing their ideas, their efforts, and possibly selling their stories, their books. Lot of high tech domains are burning through millions of dollars a year and not able to show a profit.
Let's shift into the greedy, seedy side of writers, agents, publishers. Writers, are some of the most gullible people on earth. Each story is their child, their baby. They gave birth to it, nourished it into a story and are justifiably proud of it. With visions of JKRowling, Steven King, in their mind, they go in search of a publisher. They read the trade papers and agents with glowing credentials jump out at them guaranteeing the writer he or she will be the next NY Times Best Selling author. Let's shorten this up some and contact is made, promises made, all it takes is expense money from the writer to get it started. Money sent, more glowing praise, need more money. Money sent, more praise, etc etc. The poor smuck of a a writer mortgages his house, his family, borrows from family friends to grease the wheels to his assured fortune. And when the money stops flowing the agent is sorry but there just wasn't enough money and time to get the world's next greatest story published.
Moving on, maybe our lucky writer got noticed by a publisher. Yep, you know where this story is going don't you. "Best damn story I ever read. We'll publish it. Need money for editing, rewriting, advertising, distribution, etc etc. At best the poor smuck will have a garage full of "his books" he now has to figure out how to get the bookstores to sell. With no critical reviews the response will be, "thanks don't call us we will call you."
Ahh, writers, you got to love em. Most are the nicest people on earth, willing to share their time, their money, to help others even when they aren't asked. For every movie star one sees upon the silver screen there are hundreds of thousands who never made it. Writers are like that. If one writes, for god's sake write for the love of writing, not with visions of monetary gains. If money follows it is a double blessing. I asked a very successful doctor who was well into his eighties why he didn't retire. He told me he was doing what he enjoyed more than anything in the world besides his family. Taking care of people.
If I could drive one thing home to writers it would be, write only if you enjoy writing AND sharing your stories with others. I wish TransSripts all the best and hope it works for them. I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade. They need to go into this with a decent understanding of what they are getting into.
always,
Barb
Life is a gift. Enjoy it until it is time to return it.
Oklahoma born and raised cowgirl
Ladies
Having rambled around the edges of the publishing world for too long I have a set of questions I ask.
1.) Is it a scam? All scams start off with the premise that they're offering you a really, really good deal. BC has proven again and again it is NOT a scam. A rarity.
2.) Is it a scam? The percentage of scammers in the publishing business is far beyond any other business realm I've noted. I suppose it mirrors the frustration level of the average wannabe author.
3.) Is there a ghost of a chance they will make it? Barbie's question about a business plan is valid.
4.) Does Jeff Bezos have anything to do with it? I have a love/hate relationship with Bezos and his race-to-the-bottom world. He's a strange person who has added a lot to the poor ethos of silicon valley.
Jill
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Answers.
1. No it isn't. We are, hopefully respected authors who have been around for a few years and have a love for what we do.
2. Again no. You have either been scammed or are the sort of person who looks for scams everywhere. I feel for you and hope that one day you can begin to trust again.
3. There is a chance. It may only be a small chance but if we don't try and help those who can't help themselves what sort of people would we be? Those who give up because the odds of success are small will never truly succeed.
4. No.
recipe for successful business
You have the most important thing; a passion for your product. The greatest pitfall of that is that it can lead you to overextend your resources. If none of you has a business background you should recruit someone who does. Accounting and marketing are crucial. I think that is what Barbie Lee was trying to say. One piece of advice I would implement as soon as possible is to get a Patreon page in the name of your company. The IRS may claim that you are liable for taxes on donations to your personal page especially if they rule that your company is a hobby. good luck and I hope to see your books on the market soon.
Thanks Greybeard
I have a business background, practical to begin with, then teaching and then back to doing. I've run several successful businesses in the past, before my health got too bad to work full time. My last company was built around launching small cottage industries and making hobbies into successful businesses. Obviously not all of them made it but there are many businesses in the South East that owe at least part of their success to my interference.
I want to add a bit of the history.
Transcripts actually started as just a small group of writers almost three years ago. TG writers who had become a bit delusioned about the direction TG writing appeared to be headed. Admittedly most of us at the time were primarily on FM where we were predominately seeing stories more of the fetisistic variety. Heck, at the time I was completely unaware that BC even existed at the time and FM was the only place I knew of where I could share my writing. When I first started writing Robbie’s Revelation it wasn’t even because I wanted to share, but simply because the story was bursting at the seams to come out. I was about 7 chapters in before I overcame my own fear of putting it out for others to read. While some might not see the differentiation, I never wanted to write TG stories but meaningful and heartfelt stories that had TG characters in them. I don’t in anyway mean to demean anyone who does write the more fetish type stories, but that’s just not what I enjoy to read, and it’s just not me...
That was what got a few of us together, at first just to share thoughts, sometimes complain, and mostly just to have discussions. Since then the group has grown into something much bigger than that. We’ve shared ideas, helped proof each other’s works, helped with others stories, combined a lot of our resources that we used for our own writing. Simply put, we’re a small group of writers just trying to help other writers. More importantly we’ve become incredibly great friends. The writers and what we write run a huge spectrum. Anna writes more crime/punishment stories, we have another who writes amazing fantasy and some twisted fairy tales. Me... Well they just keep telling me I make them cry... Like a lot...
At first there were only a few authors that had published already, and they’ve helped others to achieve the same results. While I haven’t published anything yet, I’ve even got an editing credit for one book. i know that’s not much, but it’s still pretty cool to me. In the beginning, we were just trying to help each other and what we were doing started to grow into something bigger. Like it is now, it’s still growing and we are trying to nurture the idea slowly. The next step is to include more into what we are trying to achieve. We are simply trying to promote, help, and foster others to write their best...
Regardless what happens I will say I’m proud of what we’re trying to do, and proud of the girls I’m doing this with.
Becca Cross.
I know I’m weird. The fact that I’m trans is probably one of the more normal things about me.
TransScripts Transgender Fiction
Have no idea where your web page is listed in Google or Yahoo but it isn't in the first 50 pages of the search engines. If you have a domain it is lost in a sea of like named plays, stories, blogs, etc. etc. The one big hurdle to getting the stories of those who read or write on your site is letting the masses know you're there. Remember my story about being in the pasture passing out hundred dollar bills? Right now, you're there in the pasture.
The reason I attracted so much attention was when BarbieLee.com hit the web I was the only Barbie Lee on the web. Now unless one knows how to search you won't find me in the search engines. Of course my domain is only found in "whos" listings as it's parked. Mattel was a big factor in me getting noticed with their lawyers telling me to turn my domain over to them or else. My answer, I'll meet you in court.
I digress but the fact remains and if you have been in business you understand. You can't provide goods or a service if they don't know you're there. Right now TransScripts is swimming in a sea of 41 million hits on the Google search engine. eBay and Amazon built billion dollar businesses hawking others goods, labors with minimal investment of their own. Elvis and Michale Jackson weren't that good vocally but herd mentality and good management made both teenager's idols.
You made a misstep by NOT listing your web site along with your blog so everyone could look you over. Again, you're in a niche market. I'd love to see all of you succeed not only for yourselves and your writers but to bring even more familiarity of TG to the masses. There will always be those who hate those like me because I'm different or call into question their own weak hold on their sexuality. I carry not to hurt anyone but to keep anyone from hurting me. Maybe in time with enough familiarity and knowledge, the masses will understand those like me are human also. It won't be in my lifetime. With sites like the one you claim your group has and http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/conway/TSsuccesses/TSsuccess..., BCTS, http://www.calpernia.com/, and so many others I have hope. I wish you and the others the best. May you change the world one voice, one story, one life at a time.
always,
Barb
Oklahoma born and raised cowgirl
Barb Honey,
If I have learned one thing in this life it is this:
If you give up your dreams you're as good as dead.
I was a business woman quite some time and gueess what, I got fucked by my partners. Did it destroy me?... Almost, but then I deided not to let the fuckers win.
Yes, they have more money, but also ill health, diabetes, heart attacks and the like. I still climb roofs, ladders and scaffolds, have trusteded into a woman and now live off what I can glean with whatever I do. but I am happy to be me.
SO, whos's the loser? I think they are. I am proud of who I am, healthy and happy. No beer pouch, coronary heart disease, high colesterol, diabetes or such likes. Instead I have breasts, a hormonal rhythm (in spite of my endoicrinologist) of a woman, and mood swings. Oh the joys of womanhood!
If ou ask me?
FUCK this economic system! Lets go out and kill all them Amazons, Googles, Microsofts and other "big" players, We don't want their league. I, at least, want a community of real people true to who they are. If this ins't it I won't cry but simply move on. If it is?!?!? What joy!
I think this is a question for the heart, not the mind. Use the appropriate part to answer, please?
Monique.
Monique S