Tcr

Nutjob?  I prefer the term "untethered"...  Perhaps a little unhinged...  

I say, we get together, trap this ugly motherless chrak'tova (I am definitely going to start using Straxi in life now, just to get weird looks...) and send it and RL into the sun...  Kill it!  Kill it with fire!

Well, I tried flamethrower, but apparently work frowns on that...  After a few people turned KFC...  And part of the building became a bonfire...  I don't understand why they'd frown on it...

Nutjob?  I prefer the term "untethered"...  Perhaps a little unhinged...  

I say, we get together, trap this ugly motherless chrak'tova (I am definitely going to start using Straxi in life now, just to get weird looks...) and send it and RL into the sun...  Kill it!  Kill it with fire!

Firstly, in my quite possibly not so humble opinion...  Two reasons are a little bit of...  Well, Ian Malcolm said it best: That's one big pile of shit.
To lump people together greatly cuts out others...  At least I think so...  I fall into neither category, too.
I had a pretty bad childhood, so the writing allowed me to escape elsewhere and live in wondrous worlds of crazy, bizarre things away from reality.  As time progressed, I just liked to write, never showed anyone, never wanted to.  It wasn’t a "tale to tell/tale to sell", it was just something I did.  Now, it's a relief and definitely stress reduction technique...   But it's still mainly because I enjoy it…
Do I want to be published?  One day, certainly...  I'd love to see my name at the bookstore...  And walk around anonymously...  Because I'd like to point out things...  And slap people upside the head...

I say, we get together, trap this ugly motherless chrak'tova (I am definitely going to start using Straxi in life now, just to get weird looks...) and send it and RL into the sun...  Kill it!  Kill it with fire!

Firstly, in my quite possibly not so humble opinion...  Two reasons are a little bit of...  Well, Ian Malcolm said it best: That's one big pile of shit.
To lump people together greatly cuts out others...  At least I think so...  I fall into neither category, too.
I had a pretty bad childhood, so the writing allowed me to escape elsewhere and live in wondrous worlds of crazy, bizarre things away from reality.  As time progressed, I just liked to write, never showed anyone, never wanted to.  It wasn’t a "tale to tell/tale to sell", it was just something I did.  Now, it's a relief and definitely stress reduction technique...   But it's still mainly because I enjoy it…
Do I want to be published?  One day, certainly...  I'd love to see my name at the bookstore...  And walk around anonymously...  Because I'd like to point out things...  And slap people upside the head...

I can only speak to my own experience, which was being published via a small press with a targeted readership (LGBTQ). The original owners of the press are tremendous people, authors themselves, and I absolutely adore them. They sold the press, though, and the new owners were not as dedicated to readers or authors. The press is gone now, and I’m the process of having my stories republished with another press.
I have never self-published, so I’ll let those with more experience speak to that, but I can tell you why I went the small press route.
First, identify the publishers in your genre. Don’t pitch a slash romance to a het-oriented publisher. Keep in mind most publishers won’t touch pedophilia, incest, rape for titillation, necrophilia, bestiality, or stories that discriminate against a particular group. Some won’t want graphic sex. Most want happy-ever-after or happy-for-now endings.
One of the keys to being successfully published is a polished, edited, proofread manuscript. One of the biggest mistakes people make is thinking they can self-edit, or that their dear friend who beta-reads their fan fiction is going to make a terrific editor. What you need is a professional editor, especially when you’re new to publishing, and it can get expensive out of pocket. A good editor makes sure you don’t leave loose ends, that your chronology makes sense, and characters don’t change names mid-scene.
Same thing with the proofreader, who looks for the technical stuff like punctuation, verb tense agreement, and all that good grammar stuff. They aren’t as expensive as editors only because they don’t spend as much time with your manuscript.
There’s cover art, and the ISBN numbers, which aren’t very expensive if you buy them in bulk, but most of us aren’t going to purchase them that way. Ten ISBNs can cost $125, and you need a separate ISBN for ebook and paperback editions.
Many publishers will send books out for review, and maintain relationships with review sites and blogs for their genre, and some even take out banner ads. But most small presses expect you to help market your book actively.
Publishers provide those services for you, and in return, they keep a portion of the royalties from each sale. Given that the publisher’s just spent good money on the gamble my book will sell and return their investment, I’m very happy to share royalties, and tweet my ass off, blog, and even buy a banner ad myself. 
Just read your contract carefully, and don’t be afraid to ask about anything that isn’t clear to you. Are you contracting for ebook rights only, or print rights? For how long with the contract run? Most are two to three years. Make sure you understand how to have your rights revert to you, if necessary. Investigate how royalties are paid, and how often. Third party sellers pay the publisher, who pays you, and that means those monies lag compared to a direct publisher website sale. How often do you get royalty reports? How are you paid: by check or Paypal or other means? Get in touch with other authors who publish with that small press, and ask how they like the publisher.

Well, I have the same problem with regards to my own, so I do understand.  Not going to lie, even with the advice from the thread I started a while back, it’s still a hard thing for me to do.  But, some of the advice has helped.
I’ve been working on trying to pick out important parts from the actual story and develop them into a workable summary.
For example, if your story is about intergalactic space pirates who raid the wrong colony and are consequently hunted because of it, it could, for example, read something like:

One wrong decision.  A raid on the wrong colony leads to the crew of the Fortune in possession of a weapon of mass destruction.  Capable of destroying any planet in the known universe, Captain Shey Charlton must resist the urge to play God while the Fortune has to outrun the entire might of a galaxy united, hunting them to the ends of the universe and back to reclaim it.  But each side of the allied forces have their own dark plans.  And the only ones in their paths are the unscrupulous raiders.
(...Damn, now I have another plot in my head that won’t go away… lol)
 I believe it was BW who said that the summary should interest you and make you want to read it as you, yourself, are the one you need to sell it first (paraphrasing of course...  And if I messed up the paraphrasing, that’s on me).

"Hi, Bob."
"Hey, Bob?"
"How's it going, Bob?"
"Not bad, Bob.  How's the wife, Bob?"
"Bob's not doing too bad, Bob.  How's the kids?" 
"Oh, sorry, Bob.  I thought you were talking to Bob.  Has anyone noticed the high number of Bob's working here?"

"Hi, Bob."
"Hey, Bob?"
"How's it going, Bob?"
"Not bad, Bob.  How's the wife, Bob?"
"Bob's not doing too bad, Bob.  How's the kids?" 
"Oh, sorry, Bob.  I thought you were talking to Bob.  Has anyone noticed the high number of Bob's working here?"

“Stop scrolling! Are you ready to read the best story you’ve ever read? Great! You can read this piece of shit until you find it. Rape, snuff, MAGA”.

Well, I have the same problem with regards to my own, so I do understand.  Not going to lie, even with the advice from the thread I started a while back, it’s still a hard thing for me to do.  But, some of the advice has helped.
I’ve been working on trying to pick out important parts from the actual story and develop them into a workable summary.
For example, if your story is about intergalactic space pirates who raid the wrong colony and are consequently hunted because of it, it could, for example, read something like:

One wrong decision.  A raid on the wrong colony leads to the crew of the Fortune in possession of a weapon of mass destruction.  Capable of destroying any planet in the known universe, Captain Shey Charlton must resist the urge to play God while the Fortune has to outrun the entire might of a galaxy united, hunting them to the ends of the universe and back to reclaim it.  But each side of the allied forces have their own dark plans.  And the only ones in their paths are the unscrupulous raiders.
(...Damn, now I have another plot in my head that won’t go away… lol)
 I believe it was BW who said that the summary should interest you and make you want to read it as you, yourself, are the one you need to sell it first (paraphrasing of course...  And if I messed up the paraphrasing, that’s on me).

Well, I have the same problem with regards to my own, so I do understand.  Not going to lie, even with the advice from the thread I started a while back, it’s still a hard thing for me to do.  But, some of the advice has helped.
I’ve been working on trying to pick out important parts from the actual story and develop them into a workable summary.
For example, if your story is about intergalactic space pirates who raid the wrong colony and are consequently hunted because of it, it could, for example, read something like:

One wrong decision.  A raid on the wrong colony leads to the crew of the Fortune in possession of a weapon of mass destruction.  Capable of destroying any planet in the known universe, Captain Shey Charlton must resist the urge to play God while the Fortune has to outrun the entire might of a galaxy united, hunting them to the ends of the universe and back to reclaim it.  But each side of the allied forces have their own dark plans.  And the only ones in their paths are the unscrupulous raiders.
(...Damn, now I have another plot in my head that won’t go away… lol)
 I believe it was BW who said that the summary should interest you and make you want to read it as you, yourself, are the one you need to sell it first (paraphrasing of course...  And if I messed up the paraphrasing, that’s on me).

Well, I have the same problem with regards to my own, so I do understand.  Not going to lie, even with the advice from the thread I started a while back, it’s still a hard thing for me to do.  But, some of the advice has helped.
I’ve been working on trying to pick out important parts from the actual story and develop them into a workable summary.
For example, if your story is about intergalactic space pirates who raid the wrong colony and are consequently hunted because of it, it could, for example, read something like:

One wrong decision.  A raid on the wrong colony leads to the crew of the Fortune in possession of a weapon of mass destruction.  Capable of destroying any planet in the known universe, Captain Shey Charlton must resist the urge to play God while the Fortune has to outrun the entire might of a galaxy united, hunting them to the ends of the universe and back to reclaim it.  But each side of the allied forces have their own dark plans.  And the only ones in their paths are the unscrupulous raiders.
(...Damn, now I have another plot in my head that won’t go away… lol)
 I believe it was BW who said that the summary should interest you and make you want to read it as you, yourself, are the one you need to sell it first (paraphrasing of course...  And if I messed up the paraphrasing, that’s on me).

So, in the recent weeks, while not negativity strictly speaking, I have been given some pretty harsh advice and a questionable PM elsewhere. This has led to a pretty downward spiral, admittedly.  Yet, this has got me thinking…
Everyone has dealt with harsh criticism from people.  What advice would you give others, especially newcomers, in regards to this?  How have you dealt with things like that in the past?
In my case, I am glad to have such good supportive friends to turn to and I'm glad to have this circle of writers.  Good friends who often slap me upside the head (metal baseball bats included); being able to talk to them is definitely a plus.  Being able to come here helps, too.
Many times, it's good, old fashioned mayhem; death, destruction, blowing things up, beating the bloody hell out of people...   That helps, too.
Hopefully this tread can help others...

So, in the recent weeks, while not negativity strictly speaking, I have been given some pretty harsh advice and a questionable PM elsewhere. This has led to a pretty downward spiral, admittedly.  Yet, this has got me thinking…
Everyone has dealt with harsh criticism from people.  What advice would you give others, especially newcomers, in regards to this?  How have you dealt with things like that in the past?
In my case, I am glad to have such good supportive friends to turn to and I'm glad to have this circle of writers.  Good friends who often slap me upside the head (metal baseball bats included); being able to talk to them is definitely a plus.  Being able to come here helps, too.
Many times, it's good, old fashioned mayhem; death, destruction, blowing things up, beating the bloody hell out of people...   That helps, too.
Hopefully this tread can help others...

Hi, stranger :) 
Sounds so logical now, but never thought of it that way.  Admittedly, I'm strange when it comes to books; I usually read the flyleaf after I've skimmed over the first chapter(s) (from which I make a judgement call...), so the summaries, in my case, are more an afterthought.  Which is probably reflected in how my writing is…
You...  Hate...  Writing...  Summaries?  <holds fingers in shape of cross...>  Blasphemy!
I agree.  The two important/interesting elements work and would certainly blend in with what BW said.  The set target audience would, consequently, be determined by those; for example, a SciFi romance would likely have the romantic elements outright listed, allowing the intended audience to know.  Not only that, but, because of the main themes and elements being presented, you have, hopefully, a hook in the summary that draw people in (...which is exactly what a summary should do and what BW said already...).  
Obviously, something called Attack of the Killer Lizard Blob People From Planet 672 is not likely to have "Killer Lizard Blob People attack!  Bob milks his cows.  Joan walks the dog.  It's an interesting day."  (Although, I'm kind of interested, in a strange way, at why Bob and Joan are doing mundane things as Lizard people are attacking...) 

Okay, so, scenario…   you've written up something you want to post (...because who doesn't want to post an incredible work of art taking people to all realms and realities?)  you stare at the monitor in front of you, blank, sterile white, laughing incessantly (no, that last bit only happens to me?) as you try to think of a summary...
Obviously, this isn't the same for everyone.  There are probably some who write up a summary in ten seconds that sound like a summer blockbuster, sure to bring in millions of dollars…  and others on the opposite spectrum, who struggle endlessly trying to get something that sounds, to them, remotely interesting (as a writer, I think I might be a little overly critical of my summaries…  Regardless of what I think or how they sound…)
So, how do you all go about writing your summaries?   How do you “sell” your work of art?  What techniques do you use and recommend to improve a summary?  What do you avoid?  What grabs you as a reader?  What turns you off?  (Why choose A over B, essentially?)...

I keep trying

In the event people are wondering…  I have removed Hell of an Anniversary in favour of Rebirth.  While I liked HoaA, I made the ultimate decision to remove it for a multitude of reasons.  Thank you,
TCR

To me Rape is like any other element, it has a place and should be put in these places because it fits.
You use it as a means to either ….
1: haunt them (hes still out there somewhere) torment them (I can never love again) and generally shatter the person they were, but thats not to say the person can not become stronger in spite of it. its about the how and why.
2: give another character as the rapist, motive, revealing hidden parts of their personality if needed, expressing the kind of monster they are/are not and just painting the picture of the level this “bad guy” would go to.
3: explains why a character is where they are now, if it happened in the past and is a driving force, give a character a traumatic experience that is used to drive them.
4: TERROR!!! mostly used when dealing with actual monster monsters, demons and aliens, that this THING did THAT to me and now im …... 

100% agreement.  And this has been brought up a few different ways here, too, so it's not just you.  I find that the current generation (sorry...) is the worse for being easily offended and wanting to live in the bubble of "nothing bad ever happens"…
"But, Officer, I assure you, I only robbed the bank and killed people and, you know, sodomized some with that pole...in the name of research!  I'm writing a how-to, do-it-yourselfer book on striking it big and laying more people than you can believe!"
Damn it, now where am going to sell all the kidnapped souls in my basement? (Okay, throw the tomatoes now, I'll see myself out.)
On a serious note, definitely a good thing and idea.  Understandable in the context of the time period and all, but...  Children!  Damn it, children!  That's probably not the best message to be sending... 

No, no...  Murder is warping the minds of the innocent to become mass murders...  Or do I have that wrong?  Maybe I have it wrong...