Spanking Career 2.0

I've been having a lot of thoughts and feelings lately about what I do for work. I originally got into the spanking video industry because spanking is one of my very favorite things in the world, as is acting. I always dreamed of being a movie star, since I was a little girl. This gave me the opportunity to live that dream, but in such a small community circle that I am still unknown to the general population. I like it that way, because I might lose my mind if I couldn't walk down the street without being harassed, ever. 

Me with an awesome giant statue of Marilyn Monroe in Palm Springs last weekend

Sarah Gregory Spanking and Lily Starr Spanking Collaboration

Videos are so much fun. I've gotten to act out nearly every spanking fantasy I could ever imagine, and then some. The community has been amazing, welcoming me with open arms, and laps, at all the parties I've been able to attend. I've been fortunate enough to work with some really amazing models, many of the top names in the scene plus newcomers who will soon be top names in the scene. I didn't get to do this because I offer lucrative sums of money, but because they are real spankos and good friends who were happy to work with me and help me out. That means so much, and anyone who thinks fetish models are all shallow greedy bitches is so sorely mistaken. I've also received so much support from the community as a whole and I appreciate the hell out of all of this. I love what I do.

Spanking Ten Amorette for Lily Starr Spanking

Spanking Alex Reynolds for Lily Starr Spanking & Alex in Spankingland

Spanked by Stevie Rose for www.lilystarr.com

There are many more, I can't post all of them in one blog, but yes, I've been really lucky to work with the best.

So, what's the problem? Repetition. There are only so many good spanking video scenarios. I've done pretty much all of the traditional ones, from both the top and bottom perspective and sometimes redone with small tweaks to make it a little different with a different model. I've also done lots of more unusual scenes. Yes, occasionally I still have a somewhat original idea that I get excited to film, or sometimes there will be a real issue Robert needs to spank me for, though most of our play happens off camera, so sometimes there are things to film. However, the video business is somewhat like getting on a treadmill. You can't stop turning out content if you want to make a living at it. And while I love being able to hire other models to shoot, even at the low end rates I'm able to pay I have to put a large percentage of my profits right back into the shoots, especially once travel and a hotel for shooting is factored in. Sales aren't that great, clips4sale and Spanking Library both take 40%, it's just tough. It's a lot of effort to make just a few hundred bucks each month, not even enough for financial independence. The rate at which I need to make videos for it to make sense for me to keep going is not conducive to creativity. Not to mention that as I age, I realize I will likely be less marketable. We can't all be Erica Scott. I need a long term plan and I need to stop and regroup.

 “I only do this because I'm having fun. The day I stop having fun, I'll just walk away.”
-Heath Ledger 

Just walk away? No, probably not entirely. But I do need to get back to having fun with it and that may mean a step back. It shows in the videos if you're really having fun and not just going through the motions. I've made around 300 videos since I started in 2008. That's an awful lot. I wanted to be a spanking video star and producer, I've done that now. I'm not quitting altogether, I know I would be unhappy if I did that. This is more of a refocus. I often toy with the idea that I should just give up all this nonsense, find security in a steady vanilla job and move on. But I honestly can't see myself doing that either. 

Fun Joker Kidnapping/Spanking vid I did with Kyle Johnson & Kat St James in 2009

The answer? For me, for now, it's private sessions. I have been doing these for a few years now, and have always seen it as a supplement to my video work/income. The truth is, the sessions are a lot more rewarding financially. They are also rewarding emotionally since I get to meet a lot of great spankos, and give them something that they truly need. The best is when I meet someone shy who has never ever been spanked before and has come to me for that first experience, what an honor! They give me the opportunity to travel. I'm always meeting new people and trying new things. I realized recently that it would probably make sense for now for me to step off that content production treadmill, breathe a bit, and make the sessions more of my main occupation with videos as a little fun thing I do on the side, rather than the other way around. There are still a few models I'd love to shoot with, or shoot with again, but right now I think the majority of the shooting I do will be content share shoots with friends. And I won't shoot a video unless it's a concept that really appeals to me, something I will enjoy making and sharing and not just a job. Art can't be just a job or it will be bad art. It needs passion. I need to get that passion back and I think this is the way to do it. Quality over quantity.

Session with my friend TJ in Chicago

Bottom line: I'm going to be marketing myself more as a pro switch (and mostly a Top) than a video model. I will still occasionally put out videos, when I want to and have something worth filming. I will always be up for helping out friends who need content and want to collaborate and share. I'm still open to shooting with any company that would like to hire me. It just won't be the main thing I do, the thing I need to do to survive.