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Advice on how to successfully self-publishing erotica

Thread starter CharlotteEden
Start date Mar 6, 2015

CharlotteEden

Registered

Mar 6, 2015

#1

Hello everyone,

For the past few months I have been writing erotica and I had posted my first two completed stories online on Amazon Kindle in December. Each story is a

novella of about each about 8000 words each. During that time, I only have sold three books in total. I am about halfway done my third novella.

I understand that while writing is almost never an overnight sensation, I am beginning to grow discouraged. I was hoping for some constructive feedback

from you folks as to any strategies or efforts I should be taking. Or if any adjustment to my writing style may be required. Or even suggestions on

where or how I should advertize. Any suggestions would be more than welcome.

Here are the links to my current books
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RIDPI2W/?tag=absowrit-20

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RES36R0/?tag=absowrit-20

Thank you for any help that you can provide.
Charlotte

Captcha

Banned

Mar 6, 2015

#2

Looks like you're writing for some niche markets... I'd recommend finding out where people who are into that niche spend time, and focussing any promotion/advertising in that direction.

Osulagh

Independent fluffy puppy.

Super Member

Registered

Mar 6, 2015

#3

Have you done any promoting whatsoever? Because if readers don't know your book exists, they cannot buy it. Amazon does not promote your book unless it makes them more money than others.

Read this: http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=241431

And read all the stickies here: http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=47

As for feedback, I don't suggest you search for feedback on something that's currently published. And I won't offer any. If you think you can improve, or would like to see if you can, you can take your book off the market (which I don't suggest lightly), earn up 50+ posts and put your first chapter in the Share Your Work section here in AW to be critiqued. Then seek a lot of beta-readers to help you.

imjustj

Super Member

Registered

Mar 6, 2015

#4

$2.99 seems like a lot for 8k-ish words.

You might also consider offering a title for free to bring in some new readers.

Reformed Gypsy

Super Member

Registered

Mar 6, 2015

#5

If they are published only on Kindle, read up on the KDP Select promotion information available on your KDP Dashboard. From the stats that I've read recently, the free promotions will not as effective as they once were but they will put your work into readers' hands.

Promoting erotica on a shoestring budget is tougher than other genres,in my humble opinion. Readers may be reluctant to leave reviews because of embarrassment and many sites require a certain number of reviews in order to post your ad. Some sites will not advertise erotica in any case.

The landscape changes fast so keep researching at sites like AW and others. I'm fairly new here so I'm not much help but there are a LOT of smart and experienced people here.

Gyps

Lhowling

Mischief Witch

Super Member

Registered

Mar 6, 2015

#6

I self published some erotica titles last year. I didn't make much money, probably enough to buy me groceries every once and a while. That said, I haven't promoted my current work or put out new content so I'm not surprised. But I'll tell you what helped me at least get a few sales.

First thing is something someone already mentioned, which that you have a particular niche in erotica with monsters and werewolves. If you haven't done so yet, I would read up on Kindle's keywords, because using specific ones will get you placed in subcategories. That may help attract readers that are specifically looking for your type of book. You can find KDP's keywords when you log in and click on 'Help' on the upper right corner then look for "enter book information" under Publishing process (on the left).

You should also get an Amazon Author Page to showcase your work, you can also connect it to your twitter accounts and add a bio.

I found that novellas sold much better than the shorts (although you can always bundle the shorts and sell it at a higher price).

What I also tried to do was create at least a few stories first and timed their releases. Each book had excerpts from one of the other stories and links to those that have been published. I also included a link to my mailing list that netted a few subscribers. Now, I sucked at doing this because when I tried to do it too quickly, I compromised the quality of the work, and if you don't have an editor it can really make a story suck. So an option is to step back, give yourself time to write and polish great stories, and release them strategically.

Hopefully this makes sense and/or helps.

Last edited: Mar 6, 2015

M.N Thorne

Super Member

Registered

Mar 8, 2015

#7

You can find people on fiver.com to advertise your books on their facebook pages and blogs. Many people on fiver have experience with erotica and erotic romance advertising. They can help boost sales and get more readers to look at your books.

apchelopech

Super Member

Registered

Apr 17, 2015

#8

CharlotteEden said:
I was hoping for some constructive feedback from you folks as to any strategies or efforts I should be taking. Or if any adjustment to my writing style may be required.

Hi Charlotte,

I just took a quick look at the free sample of your 'velociraptor' piece and here's a couple of observations, for what they're worth -

First, those first 9 or so paragraphs of Ch. 1 are almost exclusively 'telling' - you telling the readers what you think they need to know. You leave nothing to the imagination, nothing for readers to work out for themselves.

Second and related, by a rough calculation that free sample is around 1,150 words, so the first 14-15% of the work (assuming 8k words) and there is no dialogue, no opportunity for readers to learn anything more about your MC than, again, you choose to tell them.

On that score, you haven't made it easy for yourself since you have your heroine alone in the world, having been cast out, with no other human to talk to. But even when she meets the 'intelligent, sentient' dinosaur, you tell us what she/it says, rather than letting them speak for themselves.

A final observation - I got to the end of the free sample and found myself wondering whether this was perhaps a teen/YA story, rather than erotica. Apart from a mildly sexy description of MC's body (which kind of clashed, btw, with the primordial world she inhabited), there was precious little to titillate the expectant reader!

I hope this is of some assistance to you.

Regards,
APC

Helen_Rouge

Super Member

Registered

Apr 17, 2015

#9

This is fantasy, not sci-fi on account of there being no actual talking dinos as far as we can ever ascertain. There is a fair sized fantasy erotica market though. And, they got the whole inter-species thing going on too, that's a tough one to write. So maybe seek that out and advertise there.

I like the way the dino is looking at her on the cover. "Hey baby, you want some of this?" Classic. "Oooh, so long and scaly." I'm still trying to get around the werewolf and vampire thing. I'm too old fashioned. Remember when people of different genders used to, ..... Oh well.

Penguins_are_rad

Registered

Jun 26, 2015

#10

My advice to you is this:

As a reader, there is NO WAY I am going to risk buying a short story from an unknown author. I personally believe $2.99 is way too much to charge for this story, given the fact that you are trying to entice new readers.

What I think you should do (if Amazon allows this) pull the book completely and revise a bit more to have less "telling" and more "showing" (which I must add I was so completely over hearing this advice for years because I never fully understood what that meant until I read an amazing example that, instead of telling me what to do, showed me. honestly, many writers touch on this subject so I suggest you searching up examples) get a Beta reader. If you already have one, get another one. Maybe even two more. A good Beta is hard to come by.

Also you must advertise yourself, you cannot expect to find glory over night if you do not do any of the work other than just writing and publishing. Since you self publish you are now taking on the roll of advertisement. I would create a Facebook account dedicated only to your writing and join groups and post updates.

You can create a following if you know the market you are trying to go into.

If you think it, chances are someone is into it somewhere. I personally am not into the idea of dino-lovin, but I am sure there are hundreds or thousands out there who are. Search and read reviews of similar stories and find what the people want. Become a member of their community and make connections.

Once you have gotten Beta feed back and revised I would re-release but for cheaper. Maybe even free at first. (all new authors I find are from free kindle downloads)

Set up an author page on Amazon and then when you are ready to release your next story you can release it and charge for it.

Good luck and happy writings!

Jacob_Wallace

Super Member

Registered

Jul 14, 2015

#11

Despite the common criticism here, 2.99 is actually the going rate for 6-10k erotica. It's just higher than other genres. Pricing less will give the impression that your work is worth less.

Elf474

Banned

Aug 14, 2015

#12

I use Creatsespace and publish through Amazon. Like "First Time Out" and "Amy's Amorous lesbian Adventures". It's free and easy.

gingerwoman

Super Member

Registered

Sep 19, 2015

#13

Penguins_are_rad said:
My advice to you is

........revise a bit more to have less "telling" and more "showing" (which I must add I was so completely over hearing this advice for years because I never fully understood what that meant until I read an amazing example that, instead of telling me what to do, showed me.

:roll:

kennyc

Banned

Flounced

Sep 19, 2015

#14

Jacob_Wallace said:
Despite the common criticism here, 2.99 is actually the going rate for 6-10k erotica. It's just higher than other genres. Pricing less will give the impression that your work is worth less.

I must be in the wrong business/genre then......

kennyc

Banned

Flounced

Sep 19, 2015

#15

Penguins_are_rad said:
My advice to you is this:

As a reader, there is NO WAY I am going to risk buying a short story from an unknown author. I personally believe $2.99 is way too much to charge for this story, given the fact that you are trying to entice new readers.

What I think you should do (if Amazon allows this) pull the book completely and revise a bit more to have less "telling" and more "showing" (which I must add I was so completely over hearing this advice for years because I never fully understood what that meant until I read an amazing example that, instead of telling me what to do, showed me. honestly, many writers touch on this subject so I suggest you searching up examples) get a Beta reader. If you already have one, get another one. Maybe even two more. A good Beta is hard to come by.

Also you must advertise yourself, you cannot expect to find glory over night if you do not do any of the work other than just writing and publishing. Since you self publish you are now taking on the roll of advertisement. I would create a Facebook account dedicated only to your writing and join groups and post updates.

You can create a following if you know the market you are trying to go into.

If you think it, chances are someone is into it somewhere. I personally am not into the idea of dino-lovin, but I am sure there are hundreds or thousands out there who are. Search and read reviews of similar stories and find what the people want. Become a member of their community and make connections.

Once you have gotten Beta feed back and revised I would re-release but for cheaper. Maybe even free at first. (all new authors I find are from free kindle downloads)

Set up an author page on Amazon and then when you are ready to release your next story you can release it and charge for it.

Good luck and happy writings!

This .....
.... and I'm gonna steal that line "A good Beta is hard to come by."

robjvargas

Rob J. Vargas

Banned

Sep 19, 2015

#16

I did not go read your available sample. But I feel that I need to add something.
Your thread title:

Advice on how to successfully self-publishing erotica

And then, in your first paragraph:

I am about halfway done my third novella.

I understand that this is not your writing that's going up on Amazon. I don't expect you to go over posts on a forum with the same intent that you do with your published work. But both of the quotes above use syntax that I commonly see from people who do not speak English as their primary language. If that is the case with you as well, make sure that you get beta readers who are primarily english-speaking. If, that is, you're trying to write for an audience that reads in English.

Captcha

Banned

Sep 19, 2015

#17

robjvargas said:
I did not go read your available sample. But I feel that I need to add something.
Your thread title:

And then, in your first paragraph:

I understand that this is not your writing that's going up on Amazon. I don't expect you to go over posts on a forum with the same intent that you do with your published work. But both of the quotes above use syntax that I commonly see from people who do not speak English as their primary language. If that is the case with you as well, make sure that you get beta readers who are primarily english-speaking. If, that is, you're trying to write for an audience that reads in English.

What's twigging you about those sentences? I'm a native English speaker, and noticed nothing strange...?

JulesJones

Super Member

Registered

Sep 19, 2015

#18

Advice on how to successfully self-publishing erotica

- should be "self-publish", not "self-publishing".

I am about halfway done xxx my third novella.

- there's a missing word where I've inserted xxx.

Captcha

Banned

Sep 19, 2015

#19

JulesJones said:
- should be "self-publish", not "self-publishing".

- there's a missing word where I've inserted xxx.

Oh, you're dead right on the first one - I glossed over that ten times!

But the second one? "I'm halfway done my dinner." That seems fine, to me. You want "with" or something in there?

Maybe that's a local idiom, or something, one way or the other.

kennyc

Banned

Flounced

Sep 19, 2015

#20

Captcha said:
....

But the second one? "I'm halfway done my dinner." That seems fine, to me. You want "with" or something in there?

Maybe that's a local idiom, or something, one way or the other.

Nope, it's wrong, it needs 'with' or some other word.

Viridian

local good boy

Super Member

Registered

Sep 19, 2015

#21

Captcha said:
Oh, you're dead right on the first one - I glossed over that ten times!

But the second one? "I'm halfway done my dinner." That seems fine, to me. You want "with" or something in there?

Maybe that's a local idiom, or something, one way or the other.

Weird. I've never heard that before.

KimJo

Outside the box, with the werewolves

Super Member

Registered

Sep 19, 2015

#22

In general conversation, I usually hear "I'm halfway done this book" or whatever. Except with my Hubby and my 17-year-old, both of whom tend toward the grammar authority side of things and will insist it should be "finished", not "done." Neither of them has ever argued that there should be a "with" in the sentence, though.

On the other hand, when I've used that construction in my writing, the editors do generally say it should be "done with."

amergina

Pittsburgh Strong

Staff member

Moderator

Kind Benefactor

Super Member

Registered

Sep 19, 2015

#23

Captcha said:
Oh, you're dead right on the first one - I glossed over that ten times!

But the second one? "I'm halfway done my dinner." That seems fine, to me. You want "with" or something in there?

Maybe that's a local idiom, or something, one way or the other.

It's dialect thing. I also drop the with in sentences like that sometimes because it's extremely common to do so in the area in which I grew up (near Philadelphia, PA).

But it's not grammatically correct for mainstream English.

Just like I can get away with saying "Damn, my car's filthy! It needs washed!" in Pittsburgh and no one would find that odd at all, but I can't ever get away with writing that in a book.

JulesJones

Super Member

Registered

Sep 19, 2015

#24

The "it needs washed" construction is apparently from Hiberno-English, which is why I use it (Northern Irish), and why some dialects in North East USA use it (influence from Northern and Southern Irish settlers). It is grammatically correct in Hiberno-English, but it will grate horribly upon the ear of anyone who doesn't speak such a dialect. (It's one of the Ulster English things I now watch for and edit out, lest I be assumed to be an American failing to pass as British.)

Maryn

At Sea

Staff member

Super Moderator

Moderator

Kind Benefactor

Super Member

Registered

Sep 19, 2015

#25

Interesting to know. I can't stand to hear it, myself, but my Irish forebears didn't stay in the east but moved to the upper midwest, where such shenanigans were not tolerated, apparently.

Maryn, who no doubt has her own oddities

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