Editor’s note: brief mention of abuse.
Publishing a book is a dream a lot of us have. Many sex workers are also writers; I think this is because we are very creative people. You have to be creative to be a sex worker: to deal with clients, to create new content, or to make your services more fun. We also have a lot to say. We want to share our experiences, wisdom, ideas and political beliefs. So how should you get started to make this dream come true?
There are many ways of publishing a book, and it can also be a long process. If you wanna do it yourself, you may need to learn things like diagramming or how to bookbind. This is a possibility I explored because I thought it would be nice for my book to be handmade. I even took a class on how to bookbind, which I have to say is very nice and it looks amazing, but since I have arthritis and it affects my joints, it would be kind of hard to bookbind all my books myself.
There's also the possibility to go with a big publisher and try your luck. If you do this, I recommend investigating how much of your money they'll keep and also about your rights as a writer. In the end, I decided to do it with a local queer anarchist press. It felt right to leave it in the hands of people like me to help publish my book. I like investing in the work of other trans people, and it's amazing because I could do it while making a dream come true.
You have to be creative to be a sex worker: to deal with clients, to create new content, or to make your services more fun.
Other things to take into account is publicity for your book and how much to charge for it. The latter can be very hard. I did most of the publicity myself, taking cute pictures of my poemary laying on flowers, and also going to open mics to read in public and promote it. This can be very fun and also terrifying. Reading for the first time in public made me feel euphoric; it was a lovely experience. I got a lot of cheering and clapping, and it made me more confident in my poetry which was very helpful.
I like writing about sex work and being trans. I think a lot of people can relate to these experiences. I've been told by some people who have approached me after I finish reading that they see themselves in what I write, especially the poetry that talks about being in more than one marginalised group. I also love writing about trauma. It's very therapeutic, and sometimes writing can be a way out and a way in from the pain, and it can help you go through it. You can write about your experiences as a sex worker, from great things like having fun in a session to painful things like being discriminated against. The same goes for being trans–you can write about your joy, your first affirming care, or the pain of dysphoria and discrimination.
You can write about your experiences as a sex worker: from great things like having fun in a session to painful things like being discriminated against.
The difficult thing about publishing independently can be how much to charge for your work. It was very difficult to settle on a price since what I published was a compilation of my life's work writing. I also wanted for my poemary to be accessible to all kinds of people, so besides the price, I put a copyright disclaimer that if someone wanted the book they could directly talk to me and come to an agreement, like some kind of trade or discount. This is one of the reasons I went for an independent queer press instead of a big one, so I could manage the price and obtaining of the book myself. How you publish and sell a book can be a political thing, like making it accessible for people that don’t have the means to pay, or who have things to offer besides money, like their own art or crafts.
My book is called “unacceptable poemary” because it's dedicated to all the people living on the margins: whores, trans and disabled people. It's about going through trauma, being abused by partners, living through your worst nightmares, redefining the word victim, finding joy in being a dominatrix, finding love in your friends, living the pain of not being accepted but embracing being unacceptable.
Are you a sex worker with a story, opinion, news, or tips to share? We'd love to hear from you!
We started the tryst.link sex worker blog to help amplify those who aren't handed the mic and bring attention to the issues ya'll care about the most. Got a tale to tell? 👇☂️✨
