Free erotica sites as promotion?

Since that thread began in 2012, my sales have picked up and my data tracking has improved.

I can now say that my free short fan fiction on Archive of Our Own has been a consistent factor in sales of my debut novel from Loose Id and at least one anthology from Cleis Press. The numbers aren't large: perhaps thirty percent of my AO3 page views translate to visits to my blog (for 2013, approximately 1400 views tracked from AO3). Of those 1400ish views, around 350 went from my blog to my Amazon homepage. It gets harder to break down after that. In 2013, I had 21 reader-confirmed sales of my book from AO3 fan readers. There were another 45 sales which happened within close timing of AO3 reader visits to my Amazon homepage from my blog.

AO3 works as an indirect, non-profit promotional tool because I write in a very popular fandom (Avengers) with thousands of readers and listed works. I have enough of a rep myself that some new fan writers are startled when I comment on their stories or give them kudos. I have written well-received fan fic reviews and posted rec lists on my blog. Some of those recs are for relatively famous/infamous authors who track back and comment on my posts, thus increasing my own visibility (I didn't write those reviews & recs for that reason, but out of passion for good storytelling - and it shows.)

In addition, my AO3 readers include staunch followers from decade-old stories in other fandoms...readers who are now my original fic beta readers and the foundation of my street team if I ever need one.

My other major self promotion comes from semi-weekly snippet posts on Love Romances Cafe, the Exquisite Quill, and several other review sites. In aggregate, those appear to pull in around fifteen percent of my sales. (A significant number of page views and sales also come from here on AW, to be honest.)

The rest seems to stem from word-of-mouth and/or Loose Id's own marketing efforts. I do notice that increased visibility in January 2014 has led to more activity tracked from all these sources.

Having gotten my start in erotic romance by posting stories on Literotica, I would not recommend trying to use that site as a promotional tool. The quality of stories posted there varies greatly, and no matter how good a writer you are, you would run the risk of your stories getting lost amidst ones that are poorly written and edited, or that skate the very close edge of good taste and/or legality.

And, based on my own experiences (albeit five or six years ago), I can say that to some people, just knowing that you posted stories there would be enough reason to *avoid* reading your books--or, in some cases, to avoid *publishing* them if you wanted to go with a publishing house.

Let me add that - at least on AO3 - you do not want to directly monetize your fan fiction. Or anyone else's. First, it's in poor taste (go to Amazon's approved fan fic programs for direct profit.) Second, it's against AO3's non profit charter, which they enforce carefully.

Good fan fiction can introduce your writing to thousands of new readers, no matter which online fiction service they're reading. From there it's up to readers to track down your for-sale stuff.

I'd say go for it. You have nothing to lose but writing time, and it may pay off.

To add to KimJo' warnings, the hosting site you choose is important. I avoided Literotica because of its intermittent quality. Nifty.org is a relatively ancient site known for more edgy and blunt erotica (at least three AW members I know have posted work on Nifty.) AO3 requires an invitation to join, which can lead (but not always) to better quality fiction. As a branch of a strong nonprofit foundation, it also has numerous professional readers/writers in its ranks - I've rarely had anyone 'in the know' look down on AO3. I also know several fan fic authors who later got big commercial deals from agents/editors who actively scout sites like AO3.

Publishers have changed in the last six years: commercial firms can't afford to look down their noses at fan fiction anymore.

As with choosing commercial publishers, do your research first. If I wrote YA-slanted fan fiction I'd be on Wattpad.

Filigree said:

Nifty.org is a relatively ancient site known for more edgy and blunt erotica (at least three AW members I know have posted work on Nifty.)

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I've got a few stories on Nifty that I've posted there over the years. Ranging in heat/bluntness levels from pretty much porn through to erotica. The latest that went up - in part - on Nifty is going to be published early in the new year by Loose Id, though they didn't see it there; instead, positive feedback from readers left me wondering if it had a chance (with heavy polishing) with a publisher, so I finished it off and submitted it.

I get a fairly steady drip of emails each month from people who've read things of mine on Nifty, which I guess is pretty good going since my update schedule there falls under "few and far between". I still get messages because of a story about a naive poolboy which I haven't added to since 2010; it's far too two-dimensional for a publisher to ever consider, but it seemed to strike a chord among Nifty readers.

As Fil says, it comes down to what you're writing about and your style. The sort of heat level and bluntness that worked on Nifty when my latest story was there is having to be toned down (they called it "nuancing", heh) for Loose Id, and re-reading it from the start I can see why. The majority of the people I've heard from through Nifty have been men; the majority of the people who supposedly buy erotica are women. Tastes don't entirely overlap.

Alex

I know Nifty from 1994, when I discovered online erotica. The stories were of varying quality, often quite raw, and - as Alex mentioned - often slanted more toward a male readership. It was quite educational, and remains a good alternate perspective.

Sierra, Literotica isn't necessarily that bad... it just has that negative a reputation in some circles. Judgmental people are judgy, you know? But like Filigree says, it has iffy quality; while they claim to have quality control, their "acceptance" process is primarily making sure stories don't have characters who are or could be perceived to be under 18.

Unfortunately, that sometimes leads to stories that start off with "Susie was an 18-year-old high school sophomore because she'd stayed back a lot because all she thought about was sex." (And while that's paraphrased and I've used a different character name, I did actually read a story on there that started essentially that way...) It also leads to stories in which the "18-year-old" character sounds about 11 or 12.

There are definitely some good authors and great stories on there. I'll brag a bit and count myself among that group. But there are also, as I said, stories that are poorly written and stories that appear to be just someone having jotted down their most recent wank fantasy without any attempt at plot or characters, and the good ones tend to get lost amongst the not-so-good.

AO3 has similar problems. While the invitation process can weed out some unprepared authors, many fandoms do show a wide range of skill levels.

It doesn't bother me as a reader - I tend to use my ruthless slush-reading habits when I read the first page of anything new. I'm usually out of there the moment I see typos, clear word choice errors, subject-verb disagreements, walls of text, format errors, and just plain bad writing. It only takes a few seconds for me to see if the piece is worth my time. Some brilliant authors I trust to be an automatic read; others will have an enchanting idea worth slogging through the clumsy writing.

I never negatively crit anything on a fan site. I'll offer positive comments or kudos, or say nothing at all.

Nifty, Wattpad, Literotica, AO3, and some of the smaller fansites offer ways to socialize with other readers and writers. That kind of social media interaction is probably one of the best and most nuanced promo tools I've found.

Doesn't Nifty allow underage characters? Kinda sketchy.

I personally like literotica. Lots of hot stories. Granted some are awful, and some are clearly loopholes around the rules (18 year olds who have never masturbated/had sex, or "sex" with a unicorn that was blatantly supposed to be a dog) but for the most part I like the site since it's not too hard to find a story for a good wank.

I've never been a huge fan of Literotica because 1) I find their search function a bit limited and 2) it's very hard for me to find good gay male BDSM fiction on there. I think if you read/write M/F stuff, it's probably a better site.

I do like Nifty. The quality varies greatly but, in general, I find they have more pairings and kinks that appeal to me than any other site.

I read somewhere that you can post original stories to AO3. Is that true, or is it just fanfic?

ETA: What about Adult-FanFiction.org? Anyone have experience with that site?

DancingMaenid said:

I do like Nifty. The quality varies greatly but, in general, I find they have more pairings and kinks that appeal to me than any other site.

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I'm always disappointed at how few new additions to the "athletics" category on Nifty there are. I should probably write a naughty-swimmer-guys story to address that.

A.

Yes, you can post original stories to AO3.

I avoid Fan Fiction.net since they had a ratings meltdown over adult content some years back. Is the org branch the same? If so, then no - for much the same reason I avoid Wattpad. I want my smut strong and shameless, and I'm decades outta high school.

Now for the longish answer on how I do promo.

1. AO3: I have 39 stories there, some in Avengers fandom, some Potter crossovers, and some in obscure Manga fandoms. I've been a member since 2010 or 2011. I respond when people comment on my stories, and comment when I enjoy other people's stories. Buried in my profile I have an email addy and a link to my blog.

2. The Blue Night blog is my sprawling art, writing, ranting, and commentary site, now just over two years old. It has some regular readers, but it's primary purpose is to serve as a portal to my artwork and writing on other sites and platforms. Amazon homepage, my unused FB, my Tumblr, my Goodreads page all have links there. If I ever 'hit it big' I'll pay to have it professionally overhauled.

3. Love Romance Cafe is a huge romance (thousands of members) group online with Yahoo and FB portals. They do regular promo days for different romance subgenres, where authors are allowed one excerpt for that day, plus author data and buy links. When I post bits from my debut, I often get confirmed sales and/or review requests later. It's worth the mass emails every day.

4. Loose Id author loop and blog. I don't use it enough, but it is a great resource.

5. Science Fiction Romance Brigade. Great site, though I've been too busy to hang out much.

6. Intermittent blog hops and snippet posts on other sites.

And that's it. I don't promo locally because I have Some Issues with some locals in both the romance and science fiction crowd (more my fault than theirs). I don't buy ads, and I'm still too poor to attend many conventions. My debut is two years old now, and has sold nearly 2000 copies.

I was advised early on that value-added and genuine interactions were more effective social media tools than spam or other SEO gambits. My fan fiction was something I began as a bet 15 years ago, and I keep up with it for instant feedback and skills training. That it sells my art and writing is a side benefit.

I may have to consider posting some original stuff on AO3. I don't really mind having my fanfic-writing identity and my erotica-writing identity loosely linked, and I've been hoping that some people who enjoy my erotic fanfic might also enjoy my original erotica.

You need to have an invite to AO3 to join and post, and I've hit my quota of invites for the year. You can ask the site mods there for help. Be aware that unless you also write in a known fandom, your original stuff may languish. Some of my obscure Eroica fanfics posted four years ago have under 200 views. A couple of my newer Avengers stories are pushing 4000 views. Your mileage may vary.

Wow, I didn't realize Adult-FanFiction.org was still around. IIRC, it came into existence after FF.Net decided to remove the NC-17 rating, to give the more explicit fic a place to go. I don't know if it is actually run by the same people though.

I really don't remember finding much that I liked there. I know I have a few old stories up there but they didn't get a lot of response, hence why I wasn't even sure the site still existed.

If you're into fan fic these days, AO3 really is where to be. Also, an invite can be gotten pretty easily from the site itself in a day or two if you go here: http://archiveofourown.org/invite_requests.

Quality definitely seems to vary widely, depending on what fandom you are in. I am glad to hear that it can be used as a base for future sales, particularly since that was part of my plan for when the novella I'm currently working on is available for sale (probably through self-publishing).

I just checked my site stats. I get at least two pings a day on the blog from AO3 readers who then go to my Amazon page. I can't verify sales unless the readers contact me. Of course that means I have to feed the fan fic beast every so often.

I have more trouble NOT feeding the fan fic beast. I tend to find myself writing fan fic more than my original stuff, though the balance is sliding now that I cut down my fic WIPs and tried to make myself focus more on the novella.

Feed the beast, Sierra.

Hmm. I hadn't done anything on AO3 for a while because there are only so many hours in the day, and my One True Fandom is a fairly obscure one these days. Hadn't realised they would host original fic as well. I've got a handful of free shorts under the profic name that I haven't put on Smashwords yet (because there are only so many hours in the day). When I get around to formatting for Smashwords, I may as well format for AO3 while I'm at it; redundancy in hosting is good.

Mind you, I've always been slightly wary of linking the fanfic and profic pseuds too obviously, because I'm wary of my profic readers digging up my fanfic and reading it without any knowledge of the canon. A lot of it isn't going to make much sense if you don't know the canon...

There's also a site called lush stories, based in the UK. I'm not terribly familiar with it, beyond it being a fairly busy free story site with a broad range of categories.