I could write a book
Diva1975
I think I have the potential to write a great book based on my experiences as a dancer/stripper/lady of the evening, whatever name you prefer to give to my vocation. Someone blogged on here that he is fond of a few dancers who are about to age out of the industry with no marketable skills for a second career. Unfortunately, I am afraid I fall into this very unpleasant category. I do have a knack for the written word, however, and would welcome any suggestions on how to get started. Feel free to post here or PM me with any ideas. I don't want to be one of those people who lives off a stash of McDonald's gift cards that some of you carry with you. That would be so NOT brilliant!
44 comments
From what little I know, it seems like the hard thing about getting out of dancing is adapting to the 40 hour per week grind. Many dancers only work 3 shifts per week, and greatly enjoy the fact that they are not limited to a fixed number of vacation days per year.
Have you tried asking your local community college for career-change guidance?
As a side note: age is just a number. Strip clubs are "aging out". Internet escorts and cam girls are eating their lunch. Caming is mostly bad for the talent moneywise. I've been told the portal websites are the world's worst pimps in terms of how big of a cut they want. There's no sure way to keeps custies from recording your show and putting it on xvideos. And a lot of pressure to stick things in your butt on camera to bank well. Plus a bazillion time wasters. Only so many foreign women from poor countries can cross our borders, but there is no limit on the Internet, so it pushes the $$$ down for the talent.
I've met a few dancers over the years who have expressed a desire to write a book about the job. I think a well-written book, with brutal honesty and details, could be a great seller. I do also think the idea of teaming up with an experienced writer is a good one if you could ever find a way to make that happen.
If you're unable to find such a course check out local bookstores to see if they have authors coming in to speak. If so, use your feminine wiles to get some alone time with the author to ask about the "mechanics" of writing - approaching publishers, copyright laws, getting an agent, the editing process, etc.
I have a brother who spent 16 years writing a book. Then publisher after publisher turned him down. So he had to put up $20,000 to get it printed. His is an $80 coffee table/research book, but it's in its third printing now.
If I were to write a novel (fiction) it would most likely have to be self published. If it was easy, everyone would do it.
Better you should choose genre fiction based on the strip club culture. Murder mystery or bodice ripping romance could be decent choices. Use your experience in strip clubs to set the backgrounds and characters but make the plot more universal in appeal.
But if you want to meet up so you can experience what the DS has first hand, we might can work out a way to develop some book material together. :)
I don't agree that a good book about strippers and strip clubs would gave a small audience. While the percentage of the population who visits clubs may be somewhat small, I think a lot of people would be curious to read a tell all book by a stripper that had great reviews.
Make sure your don't use any one person as a character. :)
Type up your best stories as individual chapters. You can always rearrange them later.
Read The Happy Hooker. It was the first classic Sex Worker biography. It's dated, but a good example of a book that sold well, at the time.
First time authors don't make a lot of money for their efforts.
-if you do pursue this project, you better make it real good. like in music guns 'n roses appetite for destruction good. your first try might be the only shot you have just like the gunners.
-make the book so good that a movie studio would actually want to make a movie out of it. and a good movie too. not like that elizabeth berkeley "showgirls" shit movie.
-don't rush this project. haste makes waste.
yeah, i've been to a few clubs in the northeast where i've seen 50+ yr. old women dance-if it come s a time when they no longer can afford to pay the club house fees then eating at soup kitchens if there are any around, collecting micky dee's gift/food cards and dumpster diving will probably be the only ways to eat for survival.
Always have a back up plan. I have advised other girls they need to have an exit strategy from dancing. That might mean some part time work now at different jobs to see what you like to do. Dancing can only last so long. You need to get something lined up ahead of time and start managing your money for the future. Good Luck !
But I don't want to discourage you. You have a subject--strippers--that attracts a lot of interest. You should be able to find an audience.
I would suggest that you start a stripper-related blog. You can write up your experiences and put them out on the internet. The more you write, the better your writing will get. You can develop an on-line following. Once you have blogged for a couple years, you will have enough material to turn into a book. If you have attracted a lot of followers, publishers will be interested in you.
Don't fall for the "self-publishing" schemes. Those are just ways for someone to take your money to print a bunch of unsellable books. If you want to make money as a writer, the publisher will pay you.
And I bet you and sharkhunter could collaborate on a brilliant sci-fi strip club book! :)
You say "metaphors". Go for it, but I tend to agree with farmerart. Go with fiction based interwoven with your experiences. Just don't mention TUSCL. :)
Perhaps "The Brilliant Strip Club List" = TBSCL!
Stories are just a bunch of bs even if they are true, because humans tend to exaggerate 100% of the time. Like farmer art said, you will need to carve out a niche for this type of genre, because if I haven't heard it once, I've heard a thousand times how a stripper has a juicy book they are writing and they are going to publish it because they have some great stories to "sell"(tell). Ho-hum.... I think this is where the word histrionics comes into play. Sorry to make it appear like I'm such a downer on your dream, but u really need to make it unique in order for it to sell with such an over saturated market. Most people would rather try to live the stories instead of reading about them second hand and getting jealous that they may never get to experience what you have. Sex, religion, and politics falls into that subjective category most people recommend to not talk about, so your target market will be small to begin with. For example, look at us crazy bastards who come on TUSCL and write the same shit over and over again. It's not that any new people come on board clamoring to chime in. It's the same old same old. Best of luck Diva, but just trying to be a voice of reason.
SJG
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