I’ve been asked a few times – how do you get into an anthology. The answer is: it depends. Most of the time, I’m asked. However, the very best way to get into an anthology is to put one together yourself, which is what William Cooper did. He decided he wanted to do an anthology with other authors from GRL and asked Sara York and myself to participate. We talked about theme, length, number and type of authors (supporting vs featured). We decided we wanted a mix of both male and female, and supporting and featured authors so Sara bought in Ethan Stone, and I brought in Brandon Witt. We brought them in because we know them, we like their work, and because they’re personable.
So, here are my top 5 tips for working together in an anthology:
- Be easy to work with – no one wants to write with a diva. Remember that there are other people in the anthology with you and their opinions carry as much weight as yours.
- Pull your weight – doing a blog tour? Sending out review copies? Telling people about the anthology? It’s one of your books, so put it through your promotional process and don’t assume the others are going to let you ride.
- Keep to the word count – If you’re over or under the count, it screws up the balance of the stories. I’m bad at this. I’m always under.
- Network at conferences – this gets you into other people’s line of sight so when they put together an anthology, they know they like you and want to work with you.
- Have fun – the whole point of writing with your friends is to give readers variety and have a good time doing it.
Oh, and one more thing. One thing we do in anthologies (especially the Butt anthologies like Butt Ninjas and Butt Babes in Boyland) is write each other in. Usually, they’re subtle references, though sometimes they’re not so hidden. We did that a bit in the Author’s Gone Wild anthology. You’ll notice in Between a Cock and a Hard Dom – my author with social anxiety is a sweet little ginger named… Brandon. We had a blast with that.
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Caught Between a Cock and a Hard Dom by J.P. Barnaby
Brandon Lennox doesn’t like people. When his lover and Dom signs him up for an author conference in Austin, Texas, his social anxiety goes into overdrive.
Well, until the hot boy in the tight little Robin costume shows them both just how much of a boy wonder he is.
Family Lines by Sara York
Brett Nash is a successful author, but his past still haunts him. Being kicked out of his home at the age of sixteen has left him distrustful of others. When Daniel, his stepbrother, shows up at HomoEroticCon, Brett has to decide to stay or leave. Worse, his publisher traps them in a room together; forcing Brett to talk to the one man he’s never stopped loving.
Fanboy by Brandon Witt
HomoErotiCon was only a conference. Just four days. Nothing more than a long weekend. Hooked from the first moment he picked up his first gay romance novel, Sampson Pruitt fantasized about living a life like the ones he read about on the page. The novels made him hope he might be able to truly break free, and discover the courage to leave the secrecy of his life. Maybe even meet the author of his dreams. Just four days. For this Fan Boy, four days might be enough to change everything.
Fan Service by William Cooper
Author Josh Austin loves going to conventions all the time, especially HomeErotiCon. But those weekends take their toll on the introverted author. Normally used to curling up alone to toil away at his books, it’s always a complete change of pace having to be “on” for all the readers and fellow authors.
But when an overeager fan crawls under his table at the signing, he can’t say no. When Carlisle begins to unzip his pants, Josh lets loose for once in his life, living like the characters straight out of one of his books.
Where else would this horny twink lead him?
Muse by Ethan Stone
Micah Shea is nursing a broken heart when he arrives at HomoErotiCon. He just wants to chill out, have fun and get laid a time or two. The weekend starts out well with a fun encounter with a bellhop and an invite to an orgy. However, at the party Micah’s world is turned upside down when he sees a man who is the exact embodiment of a dream he had years ago—the guy who became his muse and the star of his books.
At first Micah is drawn to Trevor because of the resemblance, but the more Micah gets to know Trevor the more he genuinely likes him. The sex is awesome but they have more than just a physical connection.
It all goes to hell when Trevor learns the truth and Micah has to convince him he isn’t a stalker—before the end of the conference.
Buy Authors Gone Wild at Amazon, All Romance eBooks, or Stiff Rain Press.
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About JP Barnaby
Award winning romance novelist, J. P. Barnaby has penned over a dozen books including the Working Boys series, the Little Boy Lost series, In the Absence of Monsters,and Aaron. As a bisexual woman, J.P. is a proud member of the GLBT community both online and in her small town on the outskirts of Chicago. A member of Mensa, she is described as brilliant but troubled, sweet but introverted, and talented but deviant. She spends her days writing software and her nights writing erotica, which is, of course, far more interesting. The spare time that she carves out between her career and her novels is spent reading about the concept of love, which, like some of her characters, she has never quite figured out for herself.
Web site: http://www.JPBarnaby.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/JPBarnaby
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JPBarnaby
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3240453.J_P_Barnaby
Tumblr: http://jpbarnaby.tumblr.com/
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/J.P.-Barnaby/e/B003ZL3J9A/