Book #2 Progress: You Are Part of Your Marketing
February 28, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Today I started writing the section on how your marketing efforts are extended when you meet clients in person. This covers your appearance, actions, speech, boundaries and your incall. I wrote most of the section today, but it still needs a bit more to be completed. Hopefully, I can do this tomorrow.
I haven’t written on Book #2 in a few days because I’ve been absorbed in other things. It’s really nice to get back to working on it. The ideas flow as long as I stay away from the huge, unfinished Web site section.
If You Don’t Believe in Safer Sex (The Gum Game)
February 26, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Through Ms. Naughty’s blog, I found an article about a unique method used to teach the risks of sex. (I’m not interested in the debate over using this method in high school classrooms.)
My version of the game is simple and an excellent mental exercise. If you think safer sex guidelines are too inhibiting, try this:
Mentally picture all of your clients and the escorts they’ve seen in a room with you. A random person puts a piece of gum in their mouth, chews it for a few seconds, then hands it the next person. Do you think your clients would be eager to share that piece of gum with each other? After it’s been around the room, would you put it in your mouth and chew it?
If this grosses you out, then safer sex is for you. I cover a lot of guidelines in Book 1: The Foundation and have more references listed in the Resources.
If this doesn’t bother you; recognize that this exercise, when done in a classroom, scared school administrators so badly they wanted to test the participating teenagers for various STDs, mono and other diseases. Just from a piece of gum. It wasn’t like the kids were asked to give uncovered blowjobs, swallow, or have unprotected sex.
Book #2 Progress: Mixed Bag
February 20, 2007 | Leave a Comment
My mind is scattered today, so I haven’t progressed much. I finished up the phone/e-mail section, added another question to the final questions section and tinkered around with a few other bits here and there.
I’m absorbed with some marketing issues today so my mind isn’t on writing about marketing, ironically enough. Although I got less than half the number of words for my goal today, I did twice the number yesterday so I guess it works out. Tomorrow I’m going to have to concentrate. It will be time to start a new section.
Book #2: Phone and E-mail Basics
February 19, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Today I continued writing on basic handling of phone calls and e-mails (I started this section Saturday). I discussed what options you have, answered some security questions and discussed it from a marketing standpoint. I went into much more detail than I’d anticipated, but I think it’s beneficial for the book (and its readers!).
There’s a lot more detail to discuss about security but that will be extensively covered in Book 3 and a bit in Book 4. Administration details also be covered in Book 3, although I went over a few little things here.
Still haven’t gone back into the Web site section yet, but I will. Maybe I’ll write the rest of the book around it and then finish with it and the Introduction (which I’ve made notes for but haven’t written). Soon I’m going to write the back cover. Then I can start working with the designer!
I look forward to writing regularly until this is completely done. I’m also working on other things while doing this. I need to because I think get too exhausted working on the book all day long (and that was part of the problem). But I do think that knowing I need to blog about what I’ve done for Book #2 during the day makes me sit down and write so I have something to report. It’s not a matter of motivation so much as it is a need to focus. So thanks for listening.
Book #2 Progress: Final Questions
February 17, 2007 | Leave a Comment
I will start blogging about my progress on Book 2: Advertising and Marketing. Not only are several people looking forward to it, but I was told that blogging about my writing progress will be of interest to future readers of the book. Seems like a good idea…
I have been stuck on the Web site section. So much information! I’m having a hard time knowing what to throw out and what to concentrate on. I’m still working on that section. In the interest of getting the book out sooner than later (I’m already a month behind schedule), I skipped ahead to a new section.
The new section covers a few, final questions that I think readers of Book #2 will have but don’t really fit in elsewhere. I keep thinking I had a third good question, but I’ve forgotten it and only have two at this time. So I wrote about scam advertising sites and copycat girls, as well as what to do if your business isn’t taking off like you thought it would.
I will probably come up with more questions as I get nearer to finishing the first draft. I hope I can remember that third question I had. It seems I didn’t write it down. I do this to myself all the time. I even carry a tape recorder with me everywhere I go and I still miss things.
After this is a late lunch. Then I will either re-tackle the Web site section (I’m finishing up SEO techniques) or I will start a new section that has nothing to do with Web sites.
Once the first draft is finished, I will update the series summary on the main site. I’m making a lot of changes as I go and those changes will be reflected on the summary page once I’m sure they will stay in the manuscript. This is going to be twice as thick as the first book, easily.
First Radio Interview with The Scarlot Harlot
February 8, 2007 | Leave a Comment
My first-ever radio interview will be this Saturday on San Francisco station 88.9FM from 2-3pm. Renowned sex worker activist Carol Leigh (aka The Scarlot Harlot) will interview me about my book, The Internet Escort’s Handbook Book 1: The Foundation, and then we will have an in-studio discussion with several other sex workers. (She hasn’t told me who they are.)
If you’re going to be in the Bay Area, try to tune in!
I will post a recording of the interview if and when it’s available.
UPDATE: The MP3 file is finally up and ready to listen. It’s a big one and I’m buried in the middle, but the whole show was great and is worth the listen. Go over to the Neighborhood Public Radio blog and enjoy! (update posted 5/8/07)
