# 1 Year, 100 Titles = My Results



## KMatthew

Well, I said I would create a new thread when I reached 100 titles, and today I published my 100th title, so here it is. To find out how I got to where I am today, check out my other Kboards thread here: http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,136127.0.html

To continue where I left off, I'd like to talk about what I've learned since my last thread update, what I currently have going on, and what I have planned for the future.

Things I've learned since hitting 75 titles:

-Pure smut can command higher prices at lower word counts.
-Deviating from erotica and erotic romance causes a decrease in my sales
-Follow the top 100 best selling titles and the top 100 best selling authors and you can't go wrong.
-I need to stick to writing 3 part series because I have a bad tendency of ditching a series if it's not performing.
-I will no longer be turning non-performing titles into paperback books, regardless of length. My time is better spent elsewhere.

What I'm working on now: Tying up a non-performing series.

What I'll be working on in the future: I have a bunch of stand alone titles planned. Recently, I've had a lot of luck with them sales-wise. The only problem is that they don't have much staying power. Sales are good for about 2 months but then slump. I'm going to go this route though because I want to take a temporary break from writing series.

*August 2012*
59 books sold
11 stories published in August
$80.30 in royalties earned

*September 2012*
150 books sold
9 stories published in September
$238.27 in royalties earned
*
October 2012*
290 books sold
9 stories published in October
$535.72 in royalties earned

*November 2012*
2246 books sold
12 stories published in November
$3,346.18 in royalties earned

*December 2012* 
3253 books sold
5 stories published in December
$5,060.30

*January 2013*
2503 books sold
5 stories published in January
$3,694.89

*February 2013*
2728 books sold
11 stories published in February
$5,227.37
*
March 2013*
3533 books sold
0 stories published in March (was working on a novel)
$7,862.25

*April 2013*
3338 books sold
4 stories published in April
$5,536.23

*May 2013 *
3517 books sold
7 stories published in May
$5,571.10

*June 2013 *
2547 books sold
3 stories published in June
$4,410.97

*July 2013 *
2707 books sold
7 stories published in July
$5,691.91

*August 2013 *
2853 books sold
4 stories published in August
$9,651.42 
(and in case you're wondering how the income jumped in comparison to the volume of books sold, I have one book for sale for $37. That book is not published on Amazon or any of the other online retailers. So, technically, that brings my total up to 101 books.)

I would also like to note that sales have been dramatically down all across the board this month. I'm assuming that this is a slump. Hopefully things will pick up towards the end of the month.

Here's a quick QA to answer some of the questions that you might have:

1.) How long are my titles?
My shortest story is 2,500 words long. My longest title is 50,462 words long (my novel). Though I do have combined serials that are much longer. On average, I strive for at least 10,000 words, which usually gets cut down to a little over 8,000 after editing.

2.) What is my pricing strategy?
I follow a modified version of the Selena Kitt pricing strategy. My current pricing strategy is as follows:

$0.99 > Short Shorts: Under 3k
$2.99 > Stories: 3-15k
$3.99 > Stories: 15-35k
$4.99 > Stories: 35-50k
$5.99 > Novels: 50-70k
$6.99 > Novels: 70-90k
$7.99> Novels: 90-110k
$8.99> Novels: 110-130k
$9.99> Novels: 130k-150k

This is for erotica and romance only. Some of my non-erotica I sell for $0.99

Here's a break down of how many titles I have at each price point:
Free - 14
$0.99 - 12
$2.99 - 58
$3.99 - 8
$4.99 - 2
$5.99 - 4
$6.99 - 1
$9.99 - 1

I also have 24 audiobooks and 5 paperback books.

3.) Which sells better, stand alones or series?
Definitely, series. Every once in a while, I'll publish a stand alone, but most of my stuff has at least 3 parts. For series with 3 or more parts, I make the first one free, regardless of length. I do not use KDP Select, but instead wait for a price match to occur.

4.) What genres do I write in?
Whatever is popular at the time. Lately, it's been mostly BBW werewolf romance and psuedoincest. I did try to crawl away from erotica by putting out a paranormal fiction series, but even with my backlist of readers, sales were dismal, at best. I'm currently tying up a non-performing series, and then will hopefully be permanently back to writing erotica and following trends.

5.) Have I had any best sellers?
No, but I have had several titles in the top 100 Best Selling of various genres on Amazon. My highest ranking title ever reached 1,136 in overall of Amazon.

6.) Who do you publish with?
Amazon, B&N, All Romance Ebooks, Draft2Digital (for Kobo and Apple), and Smashwords (for all other retailers)

7.)How many pen names do you have?

I currently have 3 erotica pen names. One is relatively new, which I've been publishing my psuedoincest on and will use to publish all of my taboo works. I have another pen name that I published a Fifty Shades of Grey knock off on. And then I have my main pen name, which I use for pretty much everything else. My real name, I use for horror and other fiction.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. I will not openly share my pen names or titles, but you are more than welcome to PM me about them. This is a personal preference.


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## Eric Rasbold

"......and now, the rest of the story."


Good Work!


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## KMatthew

Thanks. I just hope I can keep up the pace. I find myself slacking a lot.


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## Joe_Nobody

Very good info, esp the pricing part. Your numbers look similar to what Smashwords found in the pricing survey/metrics.

Thank you for such a well organized port.


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## Dolphin

Thank you for another incredible OP, and especially for your candor in sharing royalty figures! I only wish that I was writing erotica too, so I could be more confident about drawing from your lessons. I can't imagine how useful and inspirational this would be to anybody who's just starting out with an erotica career.

Regardless, I hope that the rest of us can learn from your analysis and rigor, and certainly your work ethic! Is it accurate to assume that your total words in print is about 1,000,000 at this point?


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## WG McCabe

Thanks for all the info and breakdowns, Marla. And congrats with your success as well.


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## Diane Patterson

Thank you for sharing this with us. It's quite amazing.

Do you ever find yourself -- for lack of a better word -- resenting playing "follow the leader" or "this stuff makes money so I'll write it, but I'd rather be writing [different genre] instead"? Or does writing to the market not bother you that much and you'd rather have a good income?


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## KMatthew

Diane Patterson said:


> Do you ever find yourself -- for lack of a better word -- resenting playing "follow the leader" or "this stuff makes money so I'll write it, but I'd rather be writing [different genre] instead"? Or does writing to the market not bother you that much and you'd rather have a good income?


I am not going to lie. I would much rather be writing horror. In fact, I've tried to crawl away from writing erotica several times, but the result has been dismal at best.



Dolphin said:


> Regardless, I hope that the rest of us can learn from your analysis and rigor, and certainly your work ethic! Is it accurate to assume that your total words in print is about 1,000,000 at this point?


I honestly couldn't tell you accurately, but I imagine it's a bit less than that. A lot of my stuff is bundled.



Diana & Lacey said:


> Marla, thanks so much for posting this! I'm pretty sure your post from Dec was the one I stumbled over which made me switch to erotica and it's been awesome!! I'm at 18 titles/collections right now but maybe when I get to 50 I'll post results too.
> 
> A few questions:
> 
> Do you do any advertising and if so, where?
> 
> Do you have a mailing list? What other marketing do you do, if any?
> 
> What do you think drove you onto the best seller lists?
> 
> Have you published any tentacle erotica and if so, what were sales like?
> 
> How do you get audiobooks created? What story length are your audiobooks and do you have them for your 8K long works?


-I actually don't do any advertising. My method is entirely based on writing and publishing.

-I do have a mailing list. There's a link at the back of all of my books to the mailing list. In that regard, the only marketing I do is sending out an e-mail to my list whenever I publish something new. I also give my list free books every holiday. My readers seem to really appreciate that.

-As far as reaching the best seller lists myself, it's purely luck based. Most of the stories I write that I think are going to suck end up being the big sellers. The stories I love writing usually flop. lol

-I have a lot more gay tentacle erotica than straight tentacle erotica. My one straight tentacle erotica story was a flop. The gay ones I've written have been consistent sellers though.

-I use ACX for audiobooks. I tend to let narrators come to me because I'm a bit shy. Sometimes I work with the same narrators over and over again. A lot of my shorter works are audiobooks, but I can safely say that longer works sell better. Right now, if I write a series, I'll wait until the entire thing is complete before I post it. Then when I find a narrator to work on the completed series, I'll upload the shorter separate parts and have them work on that at the same time.

I hope that all made sense. I'm getting really tired and am about to head to bed, so any other questions posted I'll have to answer tomorrow.


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## blakebooks

Marla: It's probably seasonality. I'm seeing a 35-40% decline from May to my low performing summer months. But tracked annually, it mirrors the trend last year. My take: You make your quantum jumps in Dec-Feb, and then settle to higher highs and higher lows for the rest of the year, from April-May on. Rinse and repeat.

Congrats on sticking to it and posting some nice numbers.


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## Lyle S Tanner

That's amazing. Congratulations on all the success and thanks for coming back to tell us about it.


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## CoraBuhlert

Thanks for sharing and congrats on your success, Marla.


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## Al Dente

As always, thank you so much for sharing!


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## AgnesWebb

WOW! Those are life-changing numbers. Congrats on coming up with a great plan and executing it so well. 
Going back to read your initial post now!


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## 71089

Amazing! Now this is really useful for determining price and strategy  Awesome!

I have a short question. I see you went from 500 average in October to 3000 average in November. How did you do that? What happened that caused such a spike in sales? I'd love to know


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## Lydniz

Thanks so much for this info, Marla. It's really helpful.

I really must read some tentacle erotica. I'd never even heard of it till I started posting here.


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## Zelah Meyer

Thank you so much for sharing.  It's always interesting to hear figures.  Here's hoping that this festive season leads to some bumper sales for you!


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## Guest

ClarissaWild said:


> Amazing! Now this is really useful for determining price and strategy  Awesome!
> 
> I have a short question. I see you went from 500 average in October to 3000 average in November. How did you do that? What happened that caused such a spike in sales? I'd love to know


I'm also really interested in that sales bump. You say you do nothing but write and publish, and believe me, that's all I wish I did! I know from doing that, however, my sales continue to remain dismal at best.

I can't imagine that putting up a book will just cause it to start selling in the erotica department. Could it be those loss-leaders for each series are what's really pulling them in, coupled with the snowballing (sorry) reader base?

And judging from your pricing scheme it seems the vast majority of your books are just 3,000 to 15,000 words! I can't think of another genre where you could price a book that size at $2.99 and do so well. Hell, I could pump that out in a day!

I think we're all quite envious and proud of your success.


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## Alexis-Shore

I think I'm going to try this. 100 titles by this time next year. Wish me luck.


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## 41352

Congrats! God I love this sort of threads, they make me smile.


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## Nancy Beck

Marla,

Congrats on your success!    Your production is staggering...and inspiring.

You said, "As far as reaching the best seller lists myself, it's purely luck based. Most of the stories I write that I think are going to suck end up being the big sellers. The stories I love writing usually flop. lol"

I've seen a number of long-time writers saying just that - the stuff they think is fantastic, the best they've ever done, yadda yadda - tend not to sell too well, and the stuff they don't think much of sell better.


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## RaeC

Awesome stuff.

Was there a particular number of titles, with each pen name, around which you saw a "jump" in sales across the line?


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## Cleo

Thank you so much for posting this. Very inspirational. And educational. I'm going to send it to some friends who gave up on erotica after a handful of titles.

Congratulations on your success! You deserve it!


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## 31842

Wow!  Thank you so much for posting all of your numbers!  I was feeling lazy this morning and this was just the kick in the pants I needed.  You rock!


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## Lionel&#039;s Mom

Congratulations on your success! Your numbers and work ethic are inspiring.


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## Ardin

Well done you. And thank you for all the advice this last week. I really appreciate it.


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## L.C. Candar

Marla, I still can't believe that "the writer with the cute kitten book" turned into a smut queen! XD 
Amazing figures though. Now I am envious and consider picking up erotica again.

(Still, I think this all is a just a scheme to make us believe that smut is the way, while your true 6 figure income comes from the kitten book alone, because we all know kittens are awesome!)


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## KerryT2012

Wow, my year is up in March next year and I have 15 titles and I think that is too much. Congrats on your success. Really amazing


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## Al Dente

I have been considering trying to get back into pumping out titles, but I got really burned out last year. I think I ended up with 13 titles under a new pen name and another 7 or 8 under my regular pen names. Maybe I should give it another go.


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## Anne Frasier

A-MA-ZING!!


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## whatdanwrote

Thanks for sharing your information, it's really fascinating.


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## gljones

When I see threads like this I go into shock.  I'm going to be happy if I can get 3 novels out a year.


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## H.M. Ward

ClarissaWild said:


> Amazing! Now this is really useful for determining price and strategy  Awesome!
> 
> I have a short question. I see you went from 500 average in October to 3000 average in November. How did you do that? What happened that caused such a spike in sales? I'd love to know


I saw a jump of similar magnitude last Nov. Sept sucked monkeys. It was worse than Aug. Then Oct held even with Aug and Nov was like THANK GOD! By publishing so frequently, she stays in sight and always has a new release out. They help with visibility a lot. I do the same thing and try to release a novel every 3 weeks or so. I goofed up this month and ended up releasing 3 titles in one month. Ooops.

A question for OP: Do you find that the titles released this month had a less than stellar start? Or did they preform the way the rest of your stuff usually does?


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## daringnovelist

I'm going to be interested in seeing if/how the cycle repeats -- because the fact is, sales and income is generally seasonal too.  (And November is one of the high months, while summer tends to be low.)

I don't know if I'm reading into this from other things people have reported -- but the way you have to keep writing to keep income going might be partly to do with the fact that there was also a slump going on, and by continuing to write and publish, write and publish, you might have actually been beating back a natural slump.

It will be interesting to see if those under-performing titles pick up in November, for instance.

Camille


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## jimkukral

Thank you for posting this. Great insight. I'd love to interview you for my members if you're into it? You have great insights.


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## 54706

Great info.  Thanks so much for taking the time to share and put this all together.    And congrats!!


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## Irisdeorre

Thanks for sharing, inspiring!


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## EC Sheedy

If I don't add a WOW! to this thread and say I'm in awe, I won't feel right about calling myself an indie writer.    

So, WOW! Marla, and huge congratulations on a major accomplishment. And thank you for sharing all your info so clearly and concisely.


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## RuthNestvold

Fascinating and inspiring -- thanks for sharing all your numbers with us!


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## 71089

H.M. Ward said:


> I saw a jump of similar magnitude last Nov. Sept sucked monkeys. It was worse than Aug. Then Oct held even with Aug and Nov was like THANK GOD! By publishing so frequently, she stays in sight and always has a new release out. They help with visibility a lot. I do the same thing and try to release a novel every 3 weeks or so. I goofed up this month and ended up releasing 3 titles in one month. Ooops.
> 
> A question for OP: Do you find that the titles released this month had a less than stellar start? Or did they preform the way the rest of your stuff usually does?


Interesting, so that's because of the holidays then, I assume. I wonder if my November will be similar then, because this September I'm already going to average around 650 sales (or more - because I'm just about to publish the last of my Enflamed Series + a boxed set 7 days after or so). I hope so, at least. Just curious whether or not I need a specific strategy, that's why I wondered if the OP did anything special for it  haha


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## KMatthew

Diana & Lacey said:


> How is your mailing list set up? Is it connected to a service like Mailchimp? I'm trying to figure out the best way to set mine up.


Yup. I use Mailchimp. It's super easy and free.



blakebooks said:


> Marla: It's probably seasonality. I'm seeing a 35-40% decline from May to my low performing summer months. But tracked annually, it mirrors the trend last year. My take: You make your quantum jumps in Dec-Feb, and then settle to higher highs and higher lows for the rest of the year, from April-May on. Rinse and repeat.


Thanks. I know I'm not the only one experiencing a slump right now. There was a thread about it a day or two ago.



ClarissaWild said:


> I see you went from 500 average in October to 3000 average in November. How did you do that? What happened that caused such a spike in sales? I'd love to know


The big jump was due to pulling all of my books from KDP Select and publishing them with the other retailers. If you're not publishing in as many places as you can, you're leaving a lot of money on the table.



Greg Strandberg said:


> I'm also really interested in that sales bump. You say you do nothing but write and publish, and believe me, that's all I wish I did! I know from doing that, however, my sales continue to remain dismal at best.
> 
> I can't imagine that putting up a book will just cause it to start selling in the erotica department. Could it be those loss-leaders for each series are what's really pulling them in, coupled with the snowballing (sorry) reader base?


Having perma-free titles definitely helps, especially in selling a series. I have had stand alones take off as well, though those instances are fewer.



superfictious said:


> Was there a particular number of titles, with each pen name, around which you saw a "jump" in sales across the line?


In the beginning, I stuck to just one pen name. I highly recommend doing that for as long as you can. The more titles you have under a single pen name, the more steady your sales will be. My real name has 12 titles under it. My new pen name has 3 titles. My Fifty Shades pen name has 9 titles under it. And my main pen name has all the rest. The Fifty Shades pen name and my main pen name are the money makers. The Fifty Shades one does well because it leverages off of the Fifty Shades craze. I'm expecting sales to explode on that pen name when the movie comes out. My main pen name also does well, primarily based off of the mass amount of titles under it. Not surprisingly, it also has the biggest reader base of all of my pen names.



L.C. Candar said:


> Marla, I still can't believe that "the writer with the cute kitten book" turned into a smut queen! XD
> Amazing figures though. Now I am envious and consider picking up erotica again.
> 
> (Still, I think this all is a just a scheme to make us believe that smut is the way, while your true 6 figure income comes from the kitten book alone, because we all know kittens are awesome!)


LOL You'll be disappointed to know that the kitten book is a freebie. 



H.M. Ward said:


> A question for OP: Do you find that the titles released this month had a less than stellar start? Or did they preform the way the rest of your stuff usually does?


I'm flattered you're even asking me a question.  You're way far ahead of me in the book business.

I think one of the main reasons for my slump is because I've been trying to crawl away from erotica this past month. I've only published two erotica titles this month, and they were both promotional titles that went on sale on Amazon for $0.99 and will shortly be price matched to free. Otherwise, I haven't published any other erotica this month. My last couple of releases have been for a paranormal fiction series I was trying to get off the ground that flopped. If I would have stuck to erotica, my sales would probably be a lot higher than they are now. The series I'm going to be working on tying up the next few days is also not erotica. It's the ZWO series under my real name. So, I'm really not expecting this month to pick up, but I'm hoping that it somehow magically does.



jimkukral said:


> Thank you for posting this. Great insight. I'd love to interview you for my members if you're into it? You have great insights.


Sure. I wouldn't mind doing an interview.



TattooedWriter said:


> Can you give us a breakdown of the number of books in each niche you wrote in your "everything else" pen name? Did you jump about a lot or stick with one or two popular niches?


My "everything else" pen name is kind of a catch all. Lately, I've been using it even in my attempts to get away from erotica since I already have such a strong subscriber base under it. It was also the pen name I used when I first started writing erotica, so it has a lot of experimental stuff on it. Let me see if I can give you a break down.

Vampire erotica - 5
BBW BDSM/billionaire erotica -4
BBW Werewolf erotica - 3
Werewolf romance - 19
M/F tentacle erotica - 1
M/M tentacle erotica - 6
Gay monster erotica - 6
Gay werewolf erotica - 11
Gay BDSM erotica -14
Gay vampire erotica - 1
M/F bundles - 1
Paranormal Fiction - 5


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## S. Shine

Thank you for sharing, Marla! Truly awesome results you have.  

Question: How many words do you publish a month on average?


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## Dolphin

MarlaB said:


> The big jump was due to pulling all of my books from KDP Select and publishing them with the other retailers. If you're not publishing in as many places as you can, you're leaving a lot of money on the table.


Hm, shame that there's a reason beyond the names of the months. I was hoping that we could extrapolate your August to November jump from last year into November royalties of $402,184.17, and further hoping that you would buy us each a pony to celebrate.

Oh well. I bet it'll be awesome anyway. Must be so exciting to be coming out of the late summer slump with a backlist and a working formula! You and H.M. will be enjoying models and bottles together in no time.


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## KMatthew

S. Shine said:


> Question: How many words do you publish a month on average?


I write somewhere around 40,000. Sometimes I publish a lot more since I bundle series and serials and what not.



Dolphin said:


> Hm, shame that there's a reason beyond the names of the months. I was hoping that we could extrapolate your August to November jump from last year into November royalties of $402,184.17, and further hoping that you would buy us each a pony to celebrate.
> 
> Oh well. I bet it'll be awesome anyway. Must be so exciting to be coming out of the late summer slump with a backlist and a working formula! You and H.M. will be enjoying models and bottles together in no time.


lol I hope so. I think it will be a while before I'm up to H.M.'s level though.


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## Montana Mills

I will repeat what many others have already said...

WOW!!!!


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## AmberDa1

Congrats on your hard work and for sharing!


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## Lisa Scott

MarlaB said:


> Vampire erotica - 5
> BBW BDSM/billionaire erotica -4
> BBW Werewolf erotica - 3
> Werewolf romance - 19
> M/F tentacle erotica - 1
> M/M tentacle erotica - 6
> Gay monster erotica - 6
> Gay werewolf erotica - 11
> Gay BDSM erotica -14
> Gay vampire erotica - 1
> M/F bundles - 1
> Paranormal Fiction - 5


I'm constantly amazed at the many subgenres of erotica. Every time I log onto Smashwords and see the latest listings, I learn something new. (I am both trying and not trying to figure out what tentacle erotica is.) Is there some master listing of erotica subgenres? Only because I'm curious. I can't write erotica. Wish I could! And congrats to you. Happy cat indeed.


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## elusya

First of all, I am so impressed with your work ethic. Great work and your success is well deserved! Really inspired by this thread. 

I wanted to ask a quick question on the subgenres - and maybe someone else can answer this for me as well - what does BBW mean in regards to BBW BDSM/Billionare erotica and BBW werewolf erotica? 

Also What is tentacle erotica  ? 

Congrats again!!!


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## Tabitha Levin

Echoing what everyone else has said - well done & brilliant info!

t


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## daringnovelist

elusya said:


> First of all, I am so impressed with your work ethic. Great work and your success is well deserved! Really inspired by this thread.
> 
> I wanted to ask a quick question on the subgenres - and maybe someone else can answer this for me as well - what does BBW mean in regards to BBW BDSM/Billionare erotica and BBW werewolf erotica?
> 
> Also What is tentacle erotica ?
> 
> Congrats again!!!


My understanding:

BBW = Big Beautiful Women

Tentacle ... Has something to do with Japanese censorship laws. No manly parts allowed, so they invented a new genre involving tentacles taking the manly role in the story. (I'm waiting for the billionaire zombie squid stories to start.)

Camille


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## lazarusInfinity

Wow.  Thanks for the info and sales breakdown.  I knew sex sells but didn't know it worked out that well.


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## MercyFaulk

Lisa Scott said:


> I'm constantly amazed at the many subgenres of erotica. Every time I log onto Smashwords and see the latest listings, I learn something new. (I am both trying and not trying to figure out what tentacle erotica is.) Is there some master listing of erotica subgenres? Only because I'm curious. I can't write erotica. Wish I could! And congrats to you. Happy cat indeed.


Since it's a freebie, I don't mind pimping my book 'How to Find Paid & Free Erotica, Erotic eBooks & Sex Stories'. In it you'll find a looooong list of kinks that could easily be considered subgenres of erotica. Might be educational, if used solely for research purposes. ;-)


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## nigel p bird

It's interesting to see the breakdowns and I'll try and take something from them. I'm a little surprised by the price for a story of 3K+ words, but it clearly works - that's what's interesting, my preconceptions are a little off centre.

And well done!.


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## LBrent

Marla, great job!

I love these types of threads in which various writers have shared goal/profit figures and how prolific they are. Very inspiring to me, regardless of the genre written.

I realize there is great debate about prolific writers, but I'm happy to see writers of whatever production speed/length of work produced making a plan work whether they believe in/are capable of writing very quickly or if they aren't so fast.


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## unkownwriter

Thanks for the update, Marla! Congratulations on the sales.

Keep writing outside of the erotica, too. You never know when you'll publish a book that will just take off.


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## chalice

*Congratulations Marla.
Your work ethics is off the chain.
Thank you so much for creating your No B.S. EBook Profits guide.
It is very insightful.
I suggest everyone here to go and pick up a copy.
Even if you aren't interested in writing erotica.

Regards,
Shana Jahsinta Walters.*


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## NoahPorter

Incredibly inspiring; thanks for posting!


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## KevinMcLaughlin

When you said "Follow the top 100 best selling titles and the top 100 best selling authors and you can't go wrong", what did you mean by that? Curious about this!

And thanks for the rundown!


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## LanelleH

Thanks for the information!


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## KMatthew

KevinMcLaughlin said:


> When you said "Follow the top 100 best selling titles and the top 100 best selling authors and you can't go wrong", what did you mean by that? Curious about this!
> 
> And thanks for the rundown!


There are reoccurring trends that can help you figure out what's profitable to write. For instance, if I were going to write a novel, I would check out the top 100 Best Selling Erotica titles. Right now, a large portion of the top titles are BDSM related, so it's probably safe to assume that if I wrote a novel about BDSM, it would sell.

For short stories, I check out the top 100 Highest Ranking authors in erotica and look at their catalogs, specifically looking for those who write short stories. Right now, it looks like BDSM, BBW, psuedo-incest, and werewolves are still pretty consistent sellers as short erotica, so I would choose one of those sub-genres to write about.

Using this method to figure out what to write hasn't done me wrong yet.


----------



## Taking my troll a$$ outta here

Wow, thank you for sharing. Inspiring!


----------



## daringnovelist

MarlaB said:


> Using this method to figure out what to write hasn't done me wrong yet.


However, it might explain why I hear so much in these threads of people saying they have to keep publishing at a rapid pace to keep the income up.

I have a theory about this: A large chunk of the audience for best sellers tends to be "list followers." They shop primarily by looking at best seller lists, and also the new releases lists. They find exactly what they want to read there, and mostly don't look any further for their reading material (with the exception of when they discover a new author on one of those lists, they'll pick up more of that author's books -- but they only look for those when they first discover the author).

So if you aren't constantly on the new list (or best seller list) they lose you. And also, these readers tend to be in sync, so they all tend to buy a book on the first go 'round, and so books have a strong fall off, because that part of the audience -- the part that makes best sellers so extraordinarily lucrative -- will all have already seen last week's book, and either bought it or rejected it. They're looking for something new.

It's a great business model because the audience is really predictable, but demanding because you have to constantly provide them with new material.

The problem, I think, is that this turns the best seller list into a sub-genre aimed at those readers. That's why, if you look at the best seller list of any major genre, the books are different from the bulk of the midlist, and even from the classics of the genre.

This is just a theory of mine, based on observations and not on real data. But it does explain a few things about why some succeed and some don't using the same strategy: it comes down to reading and pleasing that best selling audience.

Camille


----------



## KMatthew

daringnovelist said:


> it comes down to reading and pleasing that best selling audience.


This, in a nutshell. And you're right on several other points. Publishing frequently to appease the masses is a large part of the strategy. By doing this, you can constantly catch new readers who are fond of a specific sub-genre and hopefully add them to your list of subscribers. If people like one of your stories, they'll usually check your backlist to find similar stories and buy those as well.

I would imagine that if I wasn't constantly publishing something new, my sales would decline. I think producing something with long term staying power is pretty extraordinary these days. I only have a handful of titles that have held onto a decently high ranking for more than a month. Most enjoy 30-60 days in the sun before they sink into obscurity. That's where publishing frequently gives me an advantage.


----------



## Guest

This is really eye-opening reading. Thanks for sharing your results and success. Congratulations on doing so well! 

I have one quick question: With your various pen names, how much work do you do on those in terms of marketing? I.e do you have a separate twitter/facebook/website for each one?


----------



## Izzy Hammerstein

What a result.  Amazing.


----------



## Ardin

How's that porsche running, Marla?


----------



## daringnovelist

MarlaB said:


> This, in a nutshell. And you're right on several other points. Publishing frequently to appease the masses is a large part of the strategy. By doing this, you can constantly catch new readers who are fond of a specific sub-genre and hopefully add them to your list of subscribers. If people like one of your stories, they'll usually check your backlist to find similar stories and buy those as well.


Actually, I was kind of saying the opposite: that those lucrative best seller readers have different tastes than the rest of the readers, and that you may not be getting so many of the midlist readers. (Note, this is just a theory.) That's why so many people chasing the best seller lists report that they have to keep it up at relatively high frequency to keep the returns coming.

Those who don't chase the best seller lists don't get the great returns, but they also don't see the fall off when they slack off for a while. (They do eventually, but not as soon.)

This is all just a raw theory, as I said. I've been thinking about it since I started hearing people say they had to keep frequent publishing to keep the returns coming in. Then when you talked about chasing the best selling trends, I started thinking about the division in genre style between the best selling titles, and the midlist. I don't know about erotica, but in other genres, I see a very different style and tone between the stuff that appears on the best seller lists and the steady but slow midlist. I see this, sometimes, even on the smaller lists, but it's most pronounced on the big lists.

And then I take it back to my behavior as a reader: I don't read or use best seller lists at all, because there are zero books that interest me on them. And when I talk to others who like the kinds of books I do, they too don't look at the lists, because you never find a book you like on the best seller lists.

I honestly don't think the best seller lists sell to "the masses" so much as they sell to a really lucrative and large demographic.

But I could be full of hot air.

I do think there is a good sized overlap, and you likely do find midlist readers too. (Those who don't haunt the best seller lists will hear about the books eventually anyway.)

Camille


----------



## KMatthew

Ardin said:


> How's that porsche running, Marla?


Unfortunately not very well. I took it in the the dealership to get a check up before I took it on a trip to New Mexico, and the list of stuff they told me that needed to be fixed on it cost almost as much as I paid for the car. It's currently up for sale, and I'm planning to buy a new Camaro instead come this December.

C'est la vie. For as much as I love the way they look, I can safely say this experience has killed my desire to ever want a German engineered car again.



ColinFBarnes said:


> With your various pen names, how much work do you do on those in terms of marketing? I.e do you have a separate twitter/facebook/website for each one?


I only have Facebook fan pages for my real name and my main pen name. I have a website for my real name, but I NEVER update it. As for posting on Facebook, I never post on the fan page for my real name, and I only post on the one for my main pen name when I release a new title or have some sort of news. Basically, my marketing is minimal. I'd rather spend my time writing.



daringnovelist said:


> Actually, I was kind of saying the opposite: that those lucrative best seller readers have different tastes than the rest of the readers, and that you may not be getting so many of the midlist readers. (Note, this is just a theory.) That's why so many people chasing the best seller lists report that they have to keep it up at relatively high frequency to keep the returns coming.
> 
> Those who don't chase the best seller lists don't get the great returns, but they also don't see the fall off when they slack off for a while. (They do eventually, but not as soon.)
> 
> This is all just a raw theory, as I said. I've been thinking about it since I started hearing people say they had to keep frequent publishing to keep the returns coming in. Then when you talked about chasing the best selling trends, I started thinking about the division in genre style between the best selling titles, and the midlist. I don't know about erotica, but in other genres, I see a very different style and tone between the stuff that appears on the best seller lists and the steady but slow midlist. I see this, sometimes, even on the smaller lists, but it's most pronounced on the big lists.
> 
> And then I take it back to my behavior as a reader: I don't read or use best seller lists at all, because there are zero books that interest me on them. And when I talk to others who like the kinds of books I do, they too don't look at the lists, because you never find a book you like on the best seller lists.
> 
> I honestly don't think the best seller lists sell to "the masses" so much as they sell to a really lucrative and large demographic.
> 
> But I could be full of hot air.
> 
> I do think there is a good sized overlap, and you likely do find midlist readers too. (Those who don't haunt the best seller lists will hear about the books eventually anyway.)
> 
> Camille


I'm not sure how you would even figure out what the midlist wants. I know that every time I've tried writing something I was actually interested in, whether it be inside or outside of the erotica genre, it's almost always flopped.

So far, what I've found is that writing a series in a popular sub-genre, and forcing the first part to free, is the best way to sustain sales.

It would be interesting to know if someone has ever tried your theory and what their outcome has been.


----------



## Guest

Thanks for the reply, Marla. Sorry to here of your bad experience with the Porsche. 

May I ask one more question? With your series, what kind of length story are you putting out for those? I was considering doing some novellas of around 15-20k for my pen name, but wasn't sure if that would be to low. So far I've only done shorts, which bombed, but my collections are doing much better. I'd like to write something longer, but not necessarily novel length. Thanks


----------



## KMatthew

ColinFBarnes said:


> Thanks for the reply, Marla. Sorry to here of your bad experience with the Porsche.
> 
> May I ask one more question? With your series, what kind of length story are you putting out for those? I was considering doing some novellas of around 15-20k for my pen name, but wasn't sure if that would be to low. So far I've only done shorts, which bombed, but my collections are doing much better. I'd like to write something longer, but not necessarily novel length. Thanks


Most of my series are divided into 10k parts. A lot of them are a little under that, due to editing.


----------



## Guest

MarlaB said:


> Most of my series are divided into 10k parts. A lot of them are a little under that, due to editing.


Thank you, that's good to know. And encouraging.


----------



## elusya

Marla,
One other quick question. In the pricing list (Selena Kitt) strategy, I noticed that the 2.99 price point started at 3k words. In your experience, let's say a BDSM erotica short story- can a 6000k story stay at the 2.99 pricepoint without too many people complaining it's too short? 

Dominika


----------



## ◄ Jess ►

What do you do for covers? Do you make them yourself? Thanks for all the info!


----------



## daringnovelist

> I'm not sure how you would even figure out what the midlist wants. I know that every time I've tried writing something I was actually interested in, whether it be inside or outside of the erotica genre, it's almost always flopped.
> 
> So far, what I've found is that writing a series in a popular sub-genre, and forcing the first part to free, is the best way to sustain sales.
> 
> It would be interesting to know if someone has ever tried your theory and what their outcome has been.


That's the thing about the midlist -- if such books sold as well as the best seller list, they wouldn't be midlist, they'd be best sellers. So no, you can't possibly make best selling numbers with midlist books. So if you want that sort of immediate results, you have to chase the best sellers. There's no way around that.

Success on the midlist is long tail -- it's slow sales over a long period. And that's not just theory -- it's how publishing worked for a hundred years before B&N started killing the midlist in favor of the best sellers. The bookselling industry as a whole, starting around the 1980s, wanted books that sell fast and expire. Before that, the publishing business model was primarily long game investment in slow, steady earnings over time.

Which is exactly what DWS was originally proposing with his short-story-a-week method.

The part that is theory is whether the down side of chasing best sellers is that you have to keep chasing. That's not saying there's something wrong with the strategy, but rather a question as to whether that is the reality of serving that lucrative audience. And the other part of the theory is that a major portion of the best selling audience IS a separate audience from those who buy the midlist.

I don't know if that is so. I suppose it's something that has been cooking in the back of my mind for a while, but it only just now came into focus when I went to look at various best seller lists in my genres.

As for proof... I don't know that it's the kind of theory that can be proved without demographic studies. (It isn't a "how to succeed" theory, but a "why customers act this way" theory.) I suppose that a kind of evidence is in the pattern of bump and fall off different kinds of writers experience.

Midlist writers will see less of a bump (if any at all) and see a slower fall off, or even a gradual increase over time, and can take long stretches of time off without seeing a lot of difference. Bestseller writers will see a big bump with new releases and a faster fall off, and taking breaks will have a stronger impact on income.

That make midlist sound great, and it might be, but some best sellers will undoubtedly make more money in a quick release than some midlisters make in a lifetime. I have no data or theory for that, other than that I think different writers will have an easier time with one strategy than the other.

Camille


----------



## KMatthew

elusya said:


> One other quick question. In the pricing list (Selena Kitt) strategy, I noticed that the 2.99 price point started at 3k words. In your experience, let's say a BDSM erotica short story- can a 6000k story stay at the 2.99 pricepoint without too many people complaining it's too short?


When you write short fiction, whether it be erotica or anything else, you will always get a handful of people who are going to complain about the length in relation to price.

I do the best that I can to state within my blurb how long each story is, including the word count and whether the story is a short story, a novelette, or a novella. I used to also include an estimated page count, but I usually end up getting that wrong, so I don't bother including it anymore. Anyone who reads the blurb, knows what they're getting, but that doesn't always keep people from leaving 1 stars because they feel the story was too short. That's just something you have to get used to dealing with when you write short fiction. At first, it really bothered me, but now I don't even give those reviews a second glance.

Having said that, people are a lot less inclined to complain if your short story is really really smutty. I've seen stories as short as 4k words priced at $2.99 selling tons of copies. If you're trying to target the erotic romance crowd more than the erotica crowd though, I'd definitely try to keep your stories around the 10k mark. BDSM stories can swing either way. It really depends on the sex to story ratio and how much of a romantic element is in the story.

Hope that wasn't too confusing.



◄ Jess ► said:


> What do you do for covers? Do you make them yourself? Thanks for all the info!


I do make all of my covers myself using stock photos and Photoshop. I know that some people use Fiverr to buy covers and keep things cheap. I guess it's all about finding the right cover designer. I've tried using them twice, and both times the covers were unusable (hideously ugly).


----------



## elusya

Marla,
Thank you for sharing so much helpful info! Much appreciated.   
Dominika


----------



## WillemThomas

Do you have just one mailing list, or different ones for each pen name?

Gratz on your success.


----------



## AbbyDavis

Thanks for the WEALTH of info


----------



## KMatthew

WillemThomas said:


> Do you have just one mailing list, or different ones for each pen name?


I have a different one for each pen name. Sometimes I cross promote my pen names to my subscribers, if the titles are relevant to my other lists.


----------



## Dolphin

MarlaB said:


> When you write short fiction, whether it be erotica or anything else, you will always get a handful of people who are going to complain about the length in relation to price.


I've absolutely seen this in other genres as well, and at $0.99. Comes with the territory in shorts. Take pains to publicize the length, but let it go after that. Haters gonna [buy carelessly and subsequently] hate.


----------



## RaeC

Dolphin said:


> I've absolutely seen this in other genres as well, and at $0.99. Comes with the territory in shorts. Take pains to publicize the length, but let it go after that. Haters gonna [buy carelessly and subsequently] hate.


It always tickles me to see price complaints about a $.99 50-pager.


----------



## A. S. Warwick

Wow, that is impressive.  Wish I was half as productive.

Some genres this would work far better in.  My preferred genre - fantasy - doesn't do shorter works as well.  The readers prefer those honking big 100-200 thousand word monsters.  May be a bit hard cranking 100 of them out in a year


----------



## Johnny Five

Crazy inspiring.  You're very nice to share all your hard earned knowledge.


----------



## beachbum21k

Can you name some examples of the really smutty titles that you've mentioned that had high sales numbers? I was just hoping to see exactly what you meant by smutty books for 5000 wordsish.


----------



## KMatthew

beachbum21k said:


> Can you name some examples of the really smutty titles that you've mentioned that had high sales numbers? I was just hoping to see exactly what you meant by smutty books for 5000 wordsish.


Those would have been PI titles. Unfortunately, Amazon has pretty much banned PI, so there's really no point in going there anymore.


----------



## beachbum21k

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly. I've been thinking about writing erotica for about the past month. My wife has read erotica for years but is primarily a fan of novels. Since the smut isn't really a thing anymore could you recommend some of the 8000-10000 word stories that would help me get a feel for the genre?

Thanks for the info. I really appreciate it.


----------



## KMatthew

Any of the top 100 best selling erotica authors would have good material to look at. I would recommend checking out Red Phoenix's Brie series. A few others that consistently make good money with short stories are Delilah Fawkes (who hangs out on this forum from time to time), Lexi Arabella, Alisa Ashe, Christie Sims, and Nicole Snow. You'll find a variety of kink that's very popular, from BDSM to dinosaur sex. Yes, you read that right, dinosaur sex. A lot of what's popular is still PI in disguise. I'm personally not a fan of going under the radar, but it still works, apparently.


----------



## Book Master

1 year, 100 Titles....

There are those that can sit back shaking their heads wondering how you could get so much done but it was a lot of hard work along with commitment to reach that goal.

My question is, "Are you going to try for 200 by the end of another year or just float along publishing another title every so often?"

It amazes me the focus and determination you put into this effort.

BM


----------



## KMatthew

Book Master said:


> My question is, "Are you going to try for 200 by the end of another year or just float along publishing another title every so often?"


I think that I probably will have somewhere close to 200 titles by my two year anniversary. I'm not sure if I'll hit that exact mark though. I'm currently playing with various business strategies, so that might make me fall short of the goal.


----------



## Book Master

Ty for the quick reply!

Ahhh, just thinking about that passive income from all of those titles is something to behold. I read about the fustrations of many trying to get some traction from doing this and yet you have set the prime example of what it actually takes to make a go of it.

I have four new books I'm working on now. In fact, I was writng while ago when I needed a break from it. I intend to finish all four and publish them at the same time instead of doing one at a time. Its something I wanted to do differently for a change.

Good luck and continued Success in your year ahead!

BM


----------



## Zenferno

Could you comment on how the whole erotica fallout has affected you and if/how your plans for the future have changed as a result?  I had 5 titles (4 PI) out before I started getting hit and am now down to 1 'live' title (the non-PI one).  Like you, I see little point in trying to publish content Amazon now has a hawk eye on.  If we can't make full use of the titles and blurb properly it seems pointless.  This whole fiasco has knocked me off my stride before I really got going and I haven't written anything for over a month now.  I also wondered if you have gone more mainstream as in writing more 'vanilla' content?


----------



## KMatthew

Zenferno said:


> Could you comment on how the whole erotica fallout has affected you and if/how your plans for the future have changed as a result? I had 5 titles (4 PI) out before I started getting hit and am now down to 1 'live' title (the non-PI one). Like you, I see little point in trying to publish content Amazon now has a hawk eye on. If we can't make full use of the titles and blurb properly it seems pointless. This whole fiasco has knocked me off my stride before I really got going and I haven't written anything for over a month now. I also wondered if you have gone more mainstream as in writing more 'vanilla' content?


I only had a handful of titles that were hit by the erotica fallout. I think it ended up being 12, in all. Most of them, I was able to make quick fixes to (remove excepts from blurbs) and they went through just fine. A few need title changes, which I haven't gotten around to, mainly because the series in question doesn't sell for beans. Five of the titles that got hit were PI, and I didn't bother reworking them, though they had sold fairly well before the Amazon block. I had just started getting into PI, and am now glad I got into it late in the game. I actually had a lot more PI titles planned for the future, but you can guess how quickly that changed. It's definitely disheartening to know that hours/days/weeks worth of work have pretty much gone to waste, but you just have to pick up the proverbial pen and keep writing.

My current WIP is a lot more vanilla than the stuff I usually write. I honestly have no idea how well it's going to sell, but we shall see. I actually have a release schedule and a marketing plan for this one, and I'm writing the entire thing before I press publish on the first part. So, this is a bit different from what I usually do, in a lot of regards. I guess once it gets out of the gates, I can report back and let you know how it does.


----------



## beachbum21k

Have you tried using the same approach with your horror stories? I was wondering if your approach of looking at the current best selling short stories helped you out at all in your preferred genre. 

Were you new to Erotica when you started? How much time did you take learning the style and conventions of the genre before you started on your quest? 

Has your success allowed you to quit your day job?

Do you think that a lot of the beast erotica kind of falls under the smut category? Many of those titles with dragons,dinosaurs, & others seem to typically have a relatively small word count . I guess that makes sense since the beast isn't very likely to make sure his mate is interested or not.



Sorry for all of the questions.  I really appreciate your friendliness and openness about your process.


----------



## Guest

KMatthew said:


> Well, I said I would create a new thread when I reached 100 titles, and today I published my 100th title, so here it is. To find out how I got to where I am today, check out my other Kboards thread here: http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,136127.0.html
> 
> To continue where I left off, I'd like to talk about what I've learned since my last thread update, what I currently have going on, and what I have planned for the future.
> 
> Things I've learned since hitting 75 titles:
> 
> -Pure smut can command higher prices at lower word counts.
> -Deviating from erotica and erotic romance causes a decrease in my sales
> -Follow the top 100 best selling titles and the top 100 best selling authors and you can't go wrong.
> -I need to stick to writing 3 part series because I have a bad tendency of ditching a series if it's not performing.
> -I will no longer be turning non-performing titles into paperback books, regardless of length. My time is better spent elsewhere.
> 
> What I'm working on now: Tying up a non-performing series.
> 
> What I'll be working on in the future: I have a bunch of stand alone titles planned. Recently, I've had a lot of luck with them sales-wise. The only problem is that they don't have much staying power. Sales are good for about 2 months but then slump. I'm going to go this route though because I want to take a temporary break from writing series.
> 
> *August 2012*
> 59 books sold
> 11 stories published in August
> $80.30 in royalties earned
> 
> *September 2012*
> 150 books sold
> 9 stories published in September
> $238.27 in royalties earned
> *
> October 2012*
> 290 books sold
> 9 stories published in October
> $535.72 in royalties earned
> 
> *November 2012*
> 2246 books sold
> 12 stories published in November
> $3,346.18 in royalties earned
> 
> *December 2012*
> 3253 books sold
> 5 stories published in December
> $5,060.30
> 
> *January 2013*
> 2503 books sold
> 5 stories published in January
> $3,694.89
> 
> *February 2013*
> 2728 books sold
> 11 stories published in February
> $5,227.37
> *
> March 2013*
> 3533 books sold
> 0 stories published in March (was working on a novel)
> $7,862.25
> 
> *April 2013*
> 3338 books sold
> 4 stories published in April
> $5,536.23
> 
> *May 2013 *
> 3517 books sold
> 7 stories published in May
> $5,571.10
> 
> *June 2013 *
> 2547 books sold
> 3 stories published in June
> $4,410.97
> 
> *July 2013 *
> 2707 books sold
> 7 stories published in July
> $5,691.91
> 
> *August 2013 *
> 2853 books sold
> 4 stories published in August
> $9,651.42
> (and in case you're wondering how the income jumped in comparison to the volume of books sold, I have one book for sale for $37. That book is not published on Amazon or any of the other online retailers. So, technically, that brings my total up to 101 books.)
> 
> I would also like to note that sales have been dramatically down all across the board this month. I'm assuming that this is a slump. Hopefully things will pick up towards the end of the month.
> 
> Here's a quick QA to answer some of the questions that you might have:
> 
> 1.) How long are my titles?
> My shortest story is 2,500 words long. My longest title is 50,462 words long (my novel). Though I do have combined serials that are much longer. On average, I strive for at least 10,000 words, which usually gets cut down to a little over 8,000 after editing.
> 
> 2.) What is my pricing strategy?
> I follow a modified version of the Selena Kitt pricing strategy. My current pricing strategy is as follows:
> 
> $0.99 > Short Shorts: Under 3k
> $2.99 > Stories: 3-15k
> $3.99 > Stories: 15-35k
> $4.99 > Stories: 35-50k
> $5.99 > Novels: 50-70k
> $6.99 > Novels: 70-90k
> $7.99> Novels: 90-110k
> $8.99> Novels: 110-130k
> $9.99> Novels: 130k-150k
> 
> This is for erotica and romance only. Some of my non-erotica I sell for $0.99
> 
> Here's a break down of how many titles I have at each price point:
> Free - 14
> $0.99 - 12
> $2.99 - 58
> $3.99 - 8
> $4.99 - 2
> $5.99 - 4
> $6.99 - 1
> $9.99 - 1
> 
> I also have 24 audiobooks and 5 paperback books.
> 
> 3.) Which sells better, stand alones or series?
> Definitely, series. Every once in a while, I'll publish a stand alone, but most of my stuff has at least 3 parts. For series with 3 or more parts, I make the first one free, regardless of length. I do not use KDP Select, but instead wait for a price match to occur.
> 
> 4.) What genres do I write in?
> Whatever is popular at the time. Lately, it's been mostly BBW werewolf romance and psuedoincest. I did try to crawl away from erotica by putting out a paranormal fiction series, but even with my backlist of readers, sales were dismal, at best. I'm currently tying up a non-performing series, and then will hopefully be permanently back to writing erotica and following trends.
> 
> 5.) Have I had any best sellers?
> No, but I have had several titles in the top 100 Best Selling of various genres on Amazon. My highest ranking title ever reached 1,136 in overall of Amazon.
> 
> 6.) Who do you publish with?
> Amazon, B&N, All Romance Ebooks, Draft2Digital (for Kobo and Apple), and Smashwords (for all other retailers)
> 
> 7.)How many pen names do you have?
> 
> I currently have 3 erotica pen names. One is relatively new, which I've been publishing my psuedoincest on and will use to publish all of my taboo works. I have another pen name that I published a Fifty Shades of Grey knock off on. And then I have my main pen name, which I use for pretty much everything else. My real name, I use for horror and other fiction.
> 
> If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. I will not openly share my pen names or titles, but you are more than welcome to PM me about them. This is a personal preference.


Six titles, one year-4 novels 1 short story 1 book bundle= 125,000 sales


----------



## KMatthew

BrianDAnderson said:


> Six titles, one year-4 novels 1 short story 1 book bundle= 125,000 sales


Congratz. Good proof that there is definitely a lot of money to be made outside of the erotica genre. I was reading a thread the other day about a guy who had 12 novels and was making half a mil a year. I think his genre was historical fiction.



beachbum21k said:


> Have you tried using the same approach with your horror stories? I was wondering if your approach of looking at the current best selling short stories helped you out at all in your preferred genre.
> 
> Were you new to Erotica when you started? How much time did you take learning the style and conventions of the genre before you started on your quest?
> 
> Has your success allowed you to quit your day job?
> 
> Do you think that a lot of the beast erotica kind of falls under the smut category? Many of those titles with dragons,dinosaurs, & others seem to typically have a relatively small word count . I guess that makes sense since the beast isn't very likely to make sure his mate is interested or not.
> 
> Sorry for all of the questions. I really appreciate your friendliness and openness about your process.


I originally started writing horror. But back then, I didn't know about how to do market research, so I'm really not sure how it would turn out if I applied what I know now to writing horror. That's definitely something to consider.

When I first started writing erotica, the only erotica I had ever read before was the Anne Rice Beauty series. My first few stories sucked. It wasn't until I actually read some more erotica that I figured out it's not just about sticking a plug in a socket, so to speak. To this day, I'm still learning how to better my writing by reading the writing of those who make more money than I do. I really don't ever think you stop honing your craft. It's a fun process though.

I quit my job a year ago this month. I was on the verge of getting fired anyway, so I figured it was time to take that leap.

I definitely think beast erotica falls into smut. The story lines are usually fairy short. It's a lot more about the sex than anything else.

Don't worry about asking questions. That's what I'm here for.


----------



## beachbum21k

Where does one even to to learn the conventions of gay tentacle erotica. Although I'm not gay I feel like hat would be the easiest place to start. Does one of your pen names specialize in that genre? If so I'd like to read some of you stuff if you pm me.

Did you find it difficult writing for a different gender than your own?


----------



## KMatthew

beachbum21k said:


> Where does one even to to learn the conventions of gay tentacle erotica. Although I'm not gay I feel like hat would be the easiest place to start. Does one of your pen names specialize in that genre? If so I'd like to read some of you stuff if you pm me.
> 
> Did you find it difficult writing for a different gender than your own?


I didn't read any tentacle erotica before I started writing it, but I still had no problems selling it. I've watched a lot of tentacle erotica hentai, so I just kind of took direction from that. I have a book called Gay Tentacle 4-Pack under my KMatthew pen name that's currently sitting at #11 in gay horror. It's all of my gay tentacle stories in 1 book at a reduced price.

I find it more difficult writing M/F stuff than M/M stuff, particularly because I'm not really into M/F. The role that my own gender plays into it doesn't make much of a difference.


----------



## Christian Price

Thank You for taking the time to share


----------



## Chris P. O&#039;Grady

Really awesome thread thank you for continuing to post.

Chris


----------



## missmyrah

Awesome, Marla! You're an inspiration. Hope you get to 200 titles next year...


----------



## Kat Lilynette

Well done, KM. Really inspiring, to say the least.

Success stories like this make me feel like I'm working against myself not doing some erotica in starting my writing career.

I've researched a LOT of self-publishing success stories, and erotica/erotic romance, where you can literally publish a new work every other day, seems to bring the fastest success for most new writers of any genre by a long shot (baring the rare home runs in more PG genres). Your success, 4-figures+ in 4 months, is just something I haven't seen during my research of other genres, which I find interesting (again, this is baring the miracle breakouts and deep marketing budgets some people start with). Maybe I should just bite the bullet and start building an erotic romance pen name. Again, well done and congrats!


----------



## Ardin

tkkenyon said:


> I've gotten several bad reviews, complaining about the length of my FREE short story


This. I think it's ridiculous when people complain about the length of a free book. It's like complaining that a free sample at the supermarket didn't make you full.
If you like the sample, buy the rest.


----------



## Chris P. O&#039;Grady

tkkenyon said:


> I've gotten several bad reviews, complaining about the length of my FREE short story that is obviously blurbed as such.
> 
> Serious eye roll. Not only do they want something for nothing, but they want a lot of it.
> 
> TK aka BB


How do you handle those? This brings to mind the old business rule I go by. You can't make all of the people happy all of the time. In business I have always shot for 51% being happy with my services. For me it's important to focus on making one person happy with a story I tell.


----------



## Guest

Ardin said:


> If you like the sample, buy the rest.


I guess we won't have that problem with Oyster anymore. Now the problem will be the readers that only get up to 9% of your book.


----------



## rebekkawilkinson

I was curious to how you do your research for the bestsellers? I'm also working on building my portfolio of shorts and when I do a search on Google for the bestsellers on Amazon I do get a list but these look to be full novels versus shorts. Do you look at the novels to get your genres to write for? Thanks for any tips you can give.


----------



## KMatthew

rebekkawilkinson said:


> I was curious to how you do your research for the bestsellers? I'm also working on building my portfolio of shorts and when I do a search on Google for the bestsellers on Amazon I do get a list but these look to be full novels versus shorts. Do you look at the novels to get your genres to write for? Thanks for any tips you can give.


I usually look at the Amazon top 100 best selling erotica authors, then find the ones that write mostly short stories. Usually there will be repeating patterns in the themes of their books. That's the primary way I do research for short stories.


----------



## rebekkawilkinson

KMatthew said:


> I usually look at the Amazon top 100 best selling erotica authors, then find the ones that write mostly short stories. Usually there will be repeating patterns in the themes of their books. That's the primary way I do research for short stories.


Thanks for the tip!


----------



## Harpurr

Hi
I stumbled on this thread while Googling "make money from erotica". Thank you. Refreshing to see someone willing to give away information for free so that those of us coming up the ladder behind have something to hold onto. 

I listened to a podcast you made in which you said that you only write for about four hours a day. Do you have to spend the rest of the time doing the considerable work that it takes to self-publish? In comparison erotica writers who write for Ellora's cave are admitting to writing ten hours a day. I'm wondering if this is the difference between writing for a publisher and writing for yourself? Are you putting in many more hours a day in the administration of publishing your work? Are they perhaps forced to write for ten hours a day to make up for the publisher's cut and/or arduous contracts? 

I realise this is a volume game but I was going to start by flicking something off to Ellora's Cave before having a go at self-publishing, then if I do get picked up I can make an educated comparison as to the better road to take. I say this because I find the whole administration side of self-publishing loathsome and would rather spend that time writing. Unfortunately then I read some disturbing stuff about Ellora's Cave (written in 2009 admittedly) and now I don't know. Have you or anyone out there had good or bad experiences with e-book erotica publishers that could be helpful?

Thanks again for your generous data


----------



## ElHawk

That's fantastic, KMathews!  Congratulations on an awesome year.

Erotica is something I'd like to write once I've switched over to full-time.  Sex stories are fun, and since they're so lucrative, might as well make a few bucks from them!  You've given some great ideas in this thread on how to target the ever-changing erotica trends intelligently, so if I do decide to give it a whirl next year I'll definitely take your recommendations to heart!  Thanks!


----------



## ElHawk

Harpurr said:


> I realise this is a volume game but I was going to start by* flicking something off *to Ellora's Cave before *having a go at* self-publishing,


heh heh heh...heh heh.

Sorry. Returning to maturity now.


----------



## KMatthew

Harpurr said:


> I listened to a podcast you made in which you said that you only write for about four hours a day. Do you have to spend the rest of the time doing the considerable work that it takes to self-publish? In comparison erotica writers who write for Ellora's cave are admitting to writing ten hours a day. I'm wondering if this is the difference between writing for a publisher and writing for yourself? Are you putting in many more hours a day in the administration of publishing your work? Are they perhaps forced to write for ten hours a day to make up for the publisher's cut and/or arduous contracts?
> 
> Have you or anyone out there had good or bad experiences with e-book erotica publishers that could be helpful?


On a day that I write, that's pretty much all I do. Even now, I still don't really do any marketing aside from e-mailing my list. On an average writing day, I'll put in about 4 hours. That time limit has more to do with the point that I burn out than a real production standard. Eventually, I'll just hit a wall where my brain says, "You can write no more." Typically, that occurs at around 4 solid hours of writing. Yesterday, I had a good day and wrote for 12 hours, producing 9,000 words in a single day. That doesn't happen very often. More common are the days when I can barely even push out a paragraph. I think it all evens out in the end though.

Even without marketing, as long as you have a decent book, it's pretty easy to get lift off. For my latest series, the permafree part has been sitting in the top 10 in the overall Amazon store in the UK for over a week now. The other parts are in the top 100 for various categories, and already, I've sold more in the UK this month than I have in the US. For some reason, Amazon refuses to price match the first part in the US, otherwise it might have done similarly over here.

I think the moral of the story is that one of the best marketing tools in your arsenal is writing a series and making the first part permafree. I would say that's definitely how a lot of my series have managed to take off and be so successful.

As far as going the traditional publishing route, I've never actually been approached by a traditional publisher. I'm not sure how it works in the erotica industry, but I know that for every other genre, you will have deadlines you'll be expected to meet. At this point in the game, I think it would have to take a really big financial offering for me to switch over to the dark side. I really enjoy the freedom of being able to publish whenever I want and not having to force myself to write when I don't feel like it or commit to ten hour days all the time.

I hope some of this helped you. Feel free to ask anymore questions you might have.


----------



## KMatthew

EelKat said:


> You got me wondering now, maybe I should publish each story separately, 1 a week, AND a 5 story collection at the end of the month?
> 
> I noticed you do bundles as well as single shorts. Are the stories in the bundles also available as singles or do the bundles have stories that are not available as shorts? And how well to the bundles sell in comparison to the singles?
> 
> It seems like in most of your posts you are referring to the erotica as being the big sellers here, but you mention you have some other genres too. What are the non-erotic sales like? I guess what I mean is would you be able to make a living on just non-erotic genres, or are non-erotic sales so low that you need to erotic titles as a way to pay the bills?
> 
> Also I went to Amazon via the books in your sig, and checked out several of you titles (downloaded a few while I was at it, to see what it was you actually write). Went to your author central page from there and I see a lot of 2 types: billionaire erotica and paranormal/werewolf/tentacle erotica...so am I correct in assuming that these two types of erotica sell better than others, thus why you have more of them? (Which is good for me if that's the case, because the only erotica I write is paranormal/demon/tentacle-alien/vampire/dark-faerie. Billionaire erotica, is not my thing, but paranormal erotica---yes, love it!)
> 
> Also I noticed that some of your cover art has real people-photo covers, while other have what appears to be Dover-style clipart silhouette covers. Never thought of using Dover's silhouette clip art for the covers - I have like 30 or 40 of their clip art collections/discs - that would be a great time saving short cut for me: have the 5 story collection covers professionally made, than use Dover clip art to make quick covers for the singles. Well, my question for you on this is: do you notice a difference in amount of sales from your real-people-photo covers and your silhouette clipart covers? Does one style sell better that the other or does it not make a difference?


I would definitely recommend publishing one story a week. Then when all of the stories in your bundle are published, wait an additional week and publish the bundle. One thing that makes this method so effective is that it keeps your name on the new release list. Readers can click on your name to go to your author central account and see your backlist. The more visibility you can give yourself, the better. If you publish all of your stories at once, they'll all go off the new release list around the same time, and then you're left with the problem of reduced visibility for your titles.

All of my stories that are bundled are also sold as singles. The more books that you have in your catalog, the better. Besides, sometimes a reader will want only one title in the bundle and not the entire bundle. That gives them the option to publish it as a single. I don't include bonus stories in my bundles, though I know some authors do. Having said that, I honestly couldn't say if it helps the sale of bundles. Generally speaking though, bundles always outsell singles, from my experience.

As far as non-erotic titles, my With Werewolves series does really well. Two of the novels in the series were serialized, and oddly enough, most readers seem to prefer to buy the parts separately (at $2.99 a piece) than to shell out $5.99 for the completed novels. For a while, sales of the series were up there with my best selling erotica title. Unfortunately, that particular series is the only non-erotica title I've ever written that has performed well.

I've tried my method with horror and another paranormal series, and it just never took off.

As far as my best selling erotica. The sub-genres are definitely BDSM and Billionaires. Gay tentacle erotica sells pretty consistently, which is why I have so many of those titles. BBW werewolf erotica has done pretty well for me as stand alones right out of the gate, though the sales do eventually down slope a bit. My best recommendation to figure out what's selling is to follow the current trends. They'll rarely lead you astray.

The only silhouette cover art that I've used that I haven't created myself has been for The Billionaire's trilogy. The silhouette stuff for my Alex in Wonderland series, I created with Photoshop and stock photos. I like to use silhouettes for the sake of consistency on series where I can't find stock photos that match exactly how I'd like them to. You can also do some really cool things with silhouettes, like I did with my Invading Breeders cover. As far as how silhouettes have affected sales, I haven't really noticed any significant difference. Of course, I think that the use of silhouettes should be limited to what type of book you're writing. They won't work well for all story types.


----------



## Jim Johnson

ElHawk said:


> heh heh heh...heh heh.
> 
> Sorry. Returning to maturity now.


Glad I'm not the only one. I see the "Go Down" link at the top of every thread page next to the page numbers and have an adolescent moment.


----------



## Nihilist

JimJohnson said:


> Glad I'm not the only one. I see the "Go Down" link at the top of every thread page next to the page numbers and have an adolescent moment.


You're not alone. I giggle. Every time.


----------



## dotx

Op, I followed the link in your signature and those books all have ranks in the 500,000 or more. So I'm guessing these are not the titles that are selling really well and making you money. 

Are your other pen names secret?


----------



## Gentleman Zombie

Thanks for this thread - it's really quite amazing. 

I feel like reading it has lit a fire under me to get cranking! 

I've had some minor success under one pen-name but it's not enough to get me where I want to be. So I'm starting the 100 titles pledge for myself... right now. 

Thanks again for sharing your methods and results.. this is just beyond excellent.


----------



## jsparks

When you serialize something, do you make sure there's sex in every installment? This is really hard for me, as soon as anything I write gets novel-length, the erotic scenes seem to get rarer. :/


----------



## Jay Walken

Hi KMathew, 
I noticed that, when you first posted this thread, you said that your sales had slumped across the board in September. Did they recover, or have they recovered, as of now? And has the number of your titles increased since then?

Thanks.


----------



## KMatthew

dotx said:


> Op, I followed the link in your signature and those books all have ranks in the 500,000 or more. So I'm guessing these are not the titles that are selling really well and making you money.
> 
> Are your other pen names secret?


The goal isn't to sell a million copies of a single book. The goal is to have a lot of books and sell a few copies of each every month. Obviously, some books sell better than others. And all books have a shelf life where they'll perform well and then slope off. A great example in the A Month with Werewolves novel at the end of my signature. At one point, it had made several of Amazon's top 100 lists. That one book alone has made me thousands of dollars.

I do have other pen names, and if you click on the link to my website, you can see them all. Currently, my bread winner is the His Indecent Lessons series under my Sky Corgan pen name. Right now, it's sitting at #10 free in the overall Amazon store in the UK, and the entire series has sold over 2,000 copies this month. This is the first month ever my UK sales have been higher than my US sales.

A year from now, that book will probably slide way down in the rankings as other new books come to take its place. That's just the way it works for most books unless you're a big name author or consistently market all of your old titles.



Jay Walken said:


> Hi KMathew,
> I noticed that, when you first posted this thread, you said that your sales had slumped across the board in September. Did they recover, or have they recovered, as of now? And has the number of your titles increased since then?
> 
> Thanks.


They did recover. I was just going through the dreaded summer slump, and it honestly didn't end up being that bad. As far as how many new titles I have, I've been kind of lazy lately. Right now, I'm sitting at 112 titles.



jsparks said:


> When you serialize something, do you make sure there's sex in every installment? This is really hard for me, as soon as anything I write gets novel-length, the erotic scenes seem to get rarer. :/


I really try to do that now. Before, I didn't used to. Especially if you're serializing something, sometimes it's hard to fit sex in every installment. That's what people are paying the higher prices for though, so now I make it mandatory in everything I write.


----------



## Harpurr

Marla could you give us some idea of the time you spend editing, sourcing book covers and formatting your work for the different platforms? Obviously
it must get easier the more practised you become so could you tell us the time you used to spend on this and the time you spend now?

Thanks again for your generous help.


----------



## Scott Daniel

My question is quite elementary:

Do you have a separate amazon account for each pen name? I definitely would not want any linkage between an erotica pen name and my other pen name that I write romance under.

Thanks!


----------



## Issa Cherry

EelKat said:


> Yes...I was wondering this as well. Editing and formatting are such a time killer for me. I can easily write a story a day, but they have to be edited and formatted before publishing so I question if I could do the editing/formatting fast enough to publish even 1 a week. Do you do your own editing and formatting or do you hire that part out to others?


Fantastic thread!

May I please add to the post-writing time spent on editing and formatting a question about the time you spend on social media and promotion generally? Any particular marketing strategies you have developed over the year?

Congratulations on your efforts and resulting success!

Issa x


----------



## Harpurr

Hi Issa

I'll jump in here to save Marla time. She has already said that she doesn't do any sustained marketing work so I presume that means social media etc. Social media is a huge time investment and I guess we all have to make decisions as to how our finite time is best spent, whether that is writing prolifically, formatting/editing or marketing. Is anyone managing to do it all and stay sane? I doubt it. Have a good Thanksgiving all you Americans.


----------



## GearPress Steve

KMatthew:

Thanks for this thread. I'm currently making the leap from non-fic to fiction writing, and your experience is appreciated and greatly inspiring.


----------



## Book Master

I love to read threads like this one from KMatthew.

Loads of work invested into building those sales by increasing the volume of books available for purchase.
KM is rolling now like a runaway train. 

This is what it is all about! 

KM, it is just sooooooo insanely unreal how you were able to keep up the process through rinse and repeat, book after book.

BM


----------



## heidi_g

Thank you for this thread. I love to hear about writers writing a lot! It helps me break down my own walls!!!

CONGRATULATIONS on your success!


----------



## JRHenderson

Harpurr said:


> I say this because I find the whole administration side of self-publishing loathsome and would rather spend that time writing.


Perhaps you'd be interested in using an aggregator service such as Draft2Digital or SmashWords; you upload your book as a Word document, they automatically convert it into an ebook and then submit it to retailers like Apple and Kobo. All of your royalty payments are handled by the aggregator who takes a small percentage.


----------



## Harpurr

JRHenderson said:


> Perhaps you'd be interested in using an aggregator service such as Draft2Digital or SmashWords; you upload your book as a Word document, they automatically convert it into an ebook and then submit it to retailers like Apple and Kobo. All of your royalty payments are handled by the aggregator who takes a small percentage.


Yes, thanks, I will do this but am I right in thinking I would still have to do Amazon separately? Do Smashwords cover all the rest?


----------



## Austin_Briggs

Harpurr said:


> Yes, thanks, I will do this but am I right in thinking I would still have to do Amazon separately? Do Smashwords cover all the rest?


D2D does Amazon. Although I prefer to do it directly.

There's not much "administration" side to self-publishing. Much less than in other businesses. Project management - heck yes, that's a huge part of being successful. But even this can be outsourced.


----------



## Harpurr

Thanks for inför guys really appreciate it. JRHenderson I see you're from Sussex, do you use UK English or American English in your writing?


----------



## Issa Cherry

Harpurr said:


> Hi Issa
> 
> I'll jump in here to save Marla time. She has already said that she doesn't do any sustained marketing work so I presume that means social media etc. Social media is a huge time investment and I guess we all have to make decisions as to how our finite time is best spent, whether that is writing prolifically, formatting/editing or marketing. Is anyone managing to do it all and stay sane? I doubt it. Have a good Thanksgiving all you Americans.


Whoops! Sorry, I thought I had made it all the way through the thread but had not seen the marketing information. Thanks for jumping in Harpurr. I will read twice next time!

Issa x


----------



## KMatthew

Sorry it's taken me so long to respond to all of the questions. I've been on vacation and just got back a little while ago.



Harpurr said:


> Marla could you give us some idea of the time you spend editing, sourcing book covers and formatting your work for the different platforms? Obviously it must get easier the more practised you become so could you tell us the time you used to spend on this and the time you spend now?


I did originally take a lot more time editing because my writing skills weren't as refined as they are now. As of now, I can edit between 20-25 pages an hour. When I first started writing, it was more along the lines of 10 pages an hour. I do all of my own editing, and I use WhiteSmoke to catch any grammatical errors I might have missed. The software isn't perfect, but it has helped A LOT.

I also do all of my own covers, and the length of time it takes me depends on the complexity of the cover. Some covers take me 15 minutes to put together. Others take me 3 hours. On average though, I can create a cover in about 45 minutes. That includes finding the photos I want to use, the font, buying everything, and putting it all together.

Formatting isn't really an issue for me. I use the same template for all of my books. When I start a new book, I'll make a copy of one of my old ones, change the title, and delete everything under the copyright paragraph. Then I work from there.



Scott Daniel said:


> Do you have a separate amazon account for each pen name? I definitely would not want any linkage between an erotica pen name and my other pen name that I write romance under.


I have a separate Author Central account for each pen name. All of my books are published under the same KDP dashboard though. I also have a separate mailing list for each pen name, though I cross promote some of my pen names. I only have one central website for all of my pen names. It's probably not the smartest thing to do, and it's not something I recommend. I mainly put them all under one website because a lot of people ask me about my pen names, and it gave me a convenient place to point people to.



Issa Cherry said:


> May I please add to the post-writing time spent on editing and formatting a question about the time you spend on social media and promotion generally? Any particular marketing strategies you have developed over the year?


My marketing strategy is really really simple. I include a link to my mailing list at the back of every book. For my K. Matthew books, I offer a free novel if someone signs up. When I release a new book, I wait until it's live on at least Barnes & Noble and Amazon. I then send out an e-mail to my list (for whichever pen name the book is written under. If it's written under the Sky Corgan pen name, I'll also send an e-mail to my K. Matthew list, since that one's bigger and I know that fans of K. Matthew books will also like Sky Corgan books). Then I head on over to Facebook and post a link from Amazon of the new book on my K. Matthew Books Facebook Page. Then I go create a post on my website about the new book. That is literally the end of my marketing efforts. And it takes about an hour to do all of that.


----------



## Anabelle Sunday

Hi,

I hope you don't mind another question. I am wondering about the content itself. I had a number of questions actually haha. If you don't have time to answer them all, I understand. I am about to publish my first book and it is in the erotica genre and you have inspired me so much that I made a spreadsheet of all of your stats so I could copy your formula exactly for the next year haha. Anyway, here are my questions. 

1) How much plot do you put into erotica stories? Like you, I prefer to write in the horror genre but haven't found a whole lot of success ( I sent my stuff out to magazines/conventional publishers). Do you have a main plot and multiple subplots besides the sex? Do you think writing edge-of-your-seat fiction is helpful or hurtful in the erotica genre?
2) Speaking of sex, how much is the right amount, and how soon should it start to avoid the reader being bored?
3) I notice you write in first person in your horror books that I checked. Do you write in first person or third person in your erotica, and do you think it makes any difference in this genre?
4) Do you have any other advice content-wise that you think would be helpful?

Thanks so much for your time!

-Ana


----------



## KMatthew

AnabelleSunday said:


> 1) How much plot do you put into erotica stories? Like you, I prefer to write in the horror genre but haven't found a whole lot of success ( I sent my stuff out to magazines/conventional publishers). Do you have a main plot and multiple subplots besides the sex? Do you think writing edge-of-your-seat fiction is helpful or hurtful in the erotica genre?
> 2) Speaking of sex, how much is the right amount, and how soon should it start to avoid the reader being bored?
> 3) I notice you write in first person in your horror books that I checked. Do you write in first person or third person in your erotica, and do you think it makes any difference in this genre?
> 4) Do you have any other advice content-wise that you think would be helpful?


1) It really depends. Since most of my erotica is serialized, there's usually a decent amount of plot in my stories. I'm not so sure about edge-of-your-seat fiction, I have gotten quite a few one star reviews for having cliff hangers though. I'm a pretty big fan of writing them, mainly because I do believe that they drive people to purchase other installments of your work. That's my personal opinion though and should be in no way taken as fact. 
2) This is something I struggled with for a long time, and still struggle with sometimes. Most of my books only have one sex scene in them. A lot of erotica is all about the sex scenes. My current WIP has three sex scenes per serialized part. I recommend picking up some popular books for whatever sub-genre you want to write in and see how frequently other authors are using sex scenes. That will give you a better idea of what readers for that sub-genre expect and enjoy.
3) I prefer to write in first person. I've been doing it so long that it feels really weird and unnatural for me to write in third person, though I do try it on occasion, just to break things up. I've personally never had much luck selling books written in third person, but there are plenty of others out there who have. As far as whether I think it makes a difference, I really don't think it does, but I haven't done any research on the matter, so I'm honestly not sure.
4) My best advice is to read what's popular. It helps you get an idea of the writing style, the characters, and the basic plot lines that readers enjoy. I think that as an author, it's important to also be a reader. I know that my writing has drastically improved by reading the work of others.


----------



## Issa Cherry

KMatthew said:


> My marketing strategy is really really simple. I include a link to my mailing list at the back of every book. For my K. Matthew books, I offer a free novel if someone signs up. When I release a new book, I wait until it's live on at least Barnes & Noble and Amazon. I then send out an e-mail to my list (for whichever pen name the book is written under. If it's written under the Sky Corgan pen name, I'll also send an e-mail to my K. Matthew list, since that one's bigger and I know that fans of K. Matthew books will also like Sky Corgan books). Then I head on over to Facebook and post a link from Amazon of the new book on my K. Matthew Books Facebook Page. Then I go create a post on my website about the new book. That is literally the end of my marketing efforts. And it takes about an hour to do all of that.


Thank you for taking the time to answer that. It is really useful information. Again, thank you for sharing this experience. You are amazing! I am in complete awe!

Issa x


----------



## Redacted1111

I got a big promo for depositphotos a about month ago while I was pounding away at a different genre. Your question about licensing terms made me nervous so I popped over there and had a live chat with an associate. They said erotic romance covers are fine. You just can't have a cover that says something like, "my name is Lisa and I do..." 

I was using canstockphoto before that. Their images can be as low as $5.


----------



## KMatthew

Trinity Night said:


> I got a big promo for depositphotos a about month ago while I was pounding away at a different genre. Your question about licensing terms made me nervous so I popped over there and had a live chat with an associate. They said erotic romance covers are fine. You just can't have a cover that says something like, "my name is Lisa and I do..."


I definitely recommend DepositPhotos.

As for the software I use, I currently use Photoshop to create my covers.


----------



## Anabelle Sunday

The covers that I have created so far, I have used Pixabay and FreeDigitalPhotos.net which both have free images that you can use commercially. Another one I found in my research was RomanceNovelCovers.com. They charge $15 apparently, and require you to pay $15 relicensing for every 40K copies you sell, but they have quite a lot of interesting photos specifically for this genre. I haven't used them yet. I created this cover using one photo from Pixabay and one from F.D.P. and the results were quite good.


----------



## KMatthew

Thanks for the links. I'd never heard of Pixabay and FreeDigitalPhotos before.


----------



## Anabelle Sunday

Hey, one more thing before I get back to writing (was on my dinner break ha ha). KMatthew, you mentioned that you often get 1 star reviews for leaving a book a cliffhanger at the end. I thought about that and I thought what I might do in mine, is finish the book so that the reader is satisfied, but put the first chapter of the next book in the series at the end and leave IT as a cliffhanger. Call it a preview of the next book. That might have the same effect and avoid one star reviews.  Not sure how it will work but I will give it a try.


----------



## KMatthew

AnabelleSunday said:


> Hey, one more thing before I get back to writing (was on my dinner break ha ha). KMatthew, you mentioned that you often get 1 star reviews for leaving a book a cliffhanger at the end. I thought about that and I thought what I might do in mine, is finish the book so that the reader is satisfied, but put the first chapter of the next book in the series at the end and leave IT as a cliffhanger. Call it a preview of the next book. That might have the same effect and avoid one star reviews. Not sure how it will work but I will give it a try.


I already do that. Unfortunately, it doesn't work to deter one star ratings over cliff hanger endings.


----------



## daringnovelist

AnabelleSunday said:


> Hey, one more thing before I get back to writing (was on my dinner break ha ha). KMatthew, you mentioned that you often get 1 star reviews for leaving a book a cliffhanger at the end. I thought about that and I thought what I might do in mine, is finish the book so that the reader is satisfied, but put the first chapter of the next book in the series at the end and leave IT as a cliffhanger. Call it a preview of the next book. That might have the same effect and avoid one star reviews. Not sure how it will work but I will give it a try.


One thing that people don't know about the silent movie serials that supposedly invented the cliffhangers -- they didn't use them. (It was added later in the serial movies of the 40s and 50s.)

What they did with serials such as The Perils of Pauline and Exploits of Elaine was to have a complete story in each episode, and ended with just a promise another episode coming up. Some would have minor plot points which were not resolved. Sometimes the promise was literal (like the old "tune in next week") but sometimes it was built into the story.

For instance, the villain would be vanquished, the orphans found homes, and the money was returned to its rightful owner (with an appropriate reward given) and then, as the heroine kicked back an relaxed... and the orphan would mention that he had a friend who had disappeared and he'd ask her to help find what happened. Or she'd get a letter from her uncle in Brazil, inviting her to come visit.

These were kind of "happy for now" endings. They did not create urgency. They just promised another adventure.

They didn't need cliff hangers because they trusted that people who loved the stories simply wanted more stories. So even if at the end there wasn't a scene but just a blurb reminding them that there was more, it was good enough to pack 'em in.

All the same, some people love cliff hangers, and if your book is doing well serving those customers, who cares if you get a one-star? Do your best to label it as an "Episode" or a "Chapter" and ignore the complainers.

Camille


----------



## EllenWaite

This has been such a useful thread to me. Thanks for sharing!


----------



## RaeC

Thanks for all the great info and advice, Marla. 

Have the recent changes in erotica filtering noticeably affected sales, and/or do you anticipate having to change your strategy going forward?


----------



## KMatthew

The only thing that's been affecting me lately has been that I can't seem to make my books go perma-free in the US anymore, which is killing sales of my two newest series. They switch over to free in the UK within less than a week of publishing, but for some reason, no matter what I do, I can't get them to go free in the US.

As for the erotica filter, I haven't felt any noticeable effect from that. I did change a few things to avoid getting hit with it though, such as removing excerpts from my blurbs and making sure that my covers and titles complied with their new standards.


----------



## Harpurr

I've been reading about all these rules for writing erotica/romance, e.g. main characters can't say they love each other until the very end. Obviously there will be some variation as to what different people believe are not-negotiables but do you think the same rules apply in self-published work as for work that goes through a publisher? And if you had to set out some rules for your work would you mind sharing them?

Thanks


----------



## KMatthew

Harpurr said:


> I've been reading about all these rules for writing erotica/romance, e.g. main characters can't say they love each other until the very end. Obviously there will be some variation as to what different people believe are not-negotiables but do you think the same rules apply in self-published work as for work that goes through a publisher? And if you had to set out some rules for your work would you mind sharing them?
> 
> Thanks


Considering that my preferred genre of writing is horror and the fact that I had no prior knowledge of writing romance before I started, I've kind of learned as I went by listening to reader feedback. One of the first things I've learned is that if you have a love triangle, you cannot end the book with the heroine going with the most realistic choice. Readers get really not happy about that. It pretty much always works out to where the girl ends up with the guy that she's infatuated with for all of the wrong reasons, or the guy who is overbearing and not the best choice. For some reason, readers seem to prefer those matches. (The only example I can come up with for this is Twilight, since I don't watch a whole lot of romance either. While Jacob is obviously the better choice (in my opinion), the fans would have went rage crazy if she would have ended up with him instead of overbearing Edward in the end.)

Not saying 'I love you' until the end of a book or series is also something that is very typical in romance end erotic romance. It's best if it's one person not willing to say it and not both, that way there's tension over it throughout the book or series.

Also, sex between the two main characters (the ones that will eventually end up together) should only happen after a slow building of sexual tension. This is often really difficult to do when you're writing shorts. This is where love triangles can be really helpful. Usually the guy she doesn't end up with is an old familiar, so jumping into the sack with him early on isn't such a big deal. (This is not a steadfast rule, but I've found that my readers tend to prefer it)

There definitely HAS to be a HEA (Happily Ever After) or a HFN (Happy For Now) ending. In one of my shorter series, I killed off the main love interest at the end of the book, because, having come from writing horror, and spending lots of time killing off my characters, that's just what I felt like doing. Readers did not like that at all.

If you don't intend on adding anymore books to a series, make sure you completely tie it off so that it's pretty obvious that you have no intentions of continuing it. Oftentimes, two characters ending up together isn't enough. You have to write a chapter where you flash forward into the future, beyond the point that you could add anymore to the story. I still get e-mails about stories I've written a long time ago asking if I'm going to continue certain series that I didn't do this with. And while I do appreciate reader e-mails and interest, it gets a bit redundant having to tell people over and over again that a certain series is completed with no plans to be revisited.

Those are my best tips. I mainly write erotic romance, and I honestly don't read romance, so I'm sure there are a whole lot of things I'm missing, and more that I'll learn along the way. The above rules primarily apply to erotic romance. For erotica on its own, they are different. There doesn't always have to be a HEA or a HFN. Heck, I've got a reader complaint that I didn't kill off a character that should have died because I was worried that I'd get backlash for it. In erotica, relationships don't have to take logical progression because they're primarily based on sex. I don't want to say it's an entirely different beast, but there's a lot more freedom from rules when you write erotica than when you write erotic romance or romance.


----------



## Kat Lilynette

KMatthew said:


> Considering that my preferred genre of writing is horror and the fact that I had no prior knowledge of writing romance before I started, I've kind of learned as I went by listening to reader feedback. One of the first things I've learned is that if you have a love triangle, you cannot end the book with the heroine going with the most realistic choice. Readers get really not happy about that. It pretty much always works out to where the girl ends up with the guy that she's infatuated with for all of the wrong reasons, or the guy who is overbearing and not the best choice. For some reason, readers seem to prefer those matches. (The only example I can come up with for this is Twilight, since I don't watch a whole lot of romance either. While Jacob is obviously the better choice (in my opinion), the fans would have went rage crazy if she would have ended up with him instead of overbearing Edward in the end.)
> 
> Not saying 'I love you' until the end of a book or series is also something that is very typical in romance end erotic romance. It's best if it's one person not willing to say it and not both, that way there's tension over it throughout the book or series.
> 
> Also, sex between the two main characters (the ones that will eventually end up together) should only happen after a slow building of sexual tension. This is often really difficult to do when you're writing shorts. This is where love triangles can be really helpful. Usually the guy she doesn't end up with is an old familiar, so jumping into the sack with him early on isn't such a big deal. (This is not a steadfast rule, but I've found that my readers tend to prefer it)
> 
> There definitely HAS to be a HEA (Happily Ever After) or a HFN (Happy For Now) ending. In one of my shorter series, I killed off the main love interest at the end of the book, because, having come from writing horror, and spending lots of time killing off my characters, that's just what I felt like doing. Readers did not like that at all.
> 
> If you don't intend on adding anymore books to a series, make sure you completely tie it off so that it's pretty obvious that you have no intentions of continuing it. Oftentimes, two characters ending up together isn't enough. You have to write a chapter where you flash forward into the future, beyond the point that you could add anymore to the story. I still get e-mails about stories I've written a long time ago asking if I'm going to continue certain series that I didn't do this with. And while I do appreciate reader e-mails and interest, it gets a bit redundant having to tell people over and over again that a certain series is completed with no plans to be revisited.
> 
> Those are my best tips. I mainly write erotic romance, and I honestly don't read romance, so I'm sure there are a whole lot of things I'm missing, and more that I'll learn along the way. The above rules primarily apply to erotic romance. For erotica on its own, they are different. There doesn't always have to be a HEA or a HFN. Heck, I've got a reader complaint that I didn't kill off a character that should have died because I was worried that I'd get backlash for it. In erotica, relationships don't have to take logical progression because they're primarily based on sex. I don't want to say it's an entirely different beast, but there's a lot more freedom from rules when you write erotica than when you write erotic romance or romance.


This post answers quite a few questions I've had regarding writing in the e-rom genre. It's very insightful and informative. Thanks!


----------



## Harpurr

Yes, once again Marla you are a wonderfully generous resource, thank you.  I am now going to have to find out what exactly the difference between erotica and erotic/romance are. I thought I was writing erotica but the romance element just seemed to develop organically and because I'm a person who doesn't really relate to sex well without love I don't think I could write erotica that is devoid of love if that is what it takes to write true erotica. 
Once you start digging below the surface of  these genres they seem so complex for one who, like you doesn't really read the stuff. I know that people say, if you don't read it don't write it but to be able to write anything that is creative and actually make a living from it I'm willing to read the stuff till it comes out of my ears. Unfortunately there are so many different sub-genres and so much of it out there  etc it's difficult to know where to start. I like/write the grittier stuff, can you recommend any of your books that have a gritty BDSM  bent that you think illustrate the rules and structure well? If recommending your own books on here is a no no you can pm me. 

Thanks Again


----------



## KMatthew

In regards to true BDSM, I would recommend the series I'm working on right now, which is called His Indecent Training. Unfortunately, I'm only on part 3 of what will be a 5 part series, so you won't be able to see the full cycle of a BDSM relationship until I finish writing it. I'll PM you a link to the source I've used to do most of my research on BDSM. I'm pretty involved with the lifestyle irl, to a degree, but there are so many rules that it's hard for me to remember all of them. 

People seem to have varying opinions as to what separates erotica from erotic romance. I personally believe that erotica is more focused on the sex than anything else. Character development takes a backseat. You don't have to have a HEA or HFN. The sex doesn't always even have to be completely consensual. A lot of people like bodice rippers or dubious consent. Where as, erotic romance tends to focus on the development of the relationship between two characters before launching into all of the sex scenes. And again, the rules of romance writing typically apply to erotic romance. There's just a lot more sex than you'd find in a romance story.


----------



## KMatthew

tkkenyon said:


> You would not believe the lengths that I'm planning to go to in order to circumvent this one. Let's say that my previous novels have a high body count, too.
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> And yes, even though I haven't read Twi series, Jacob was obviously the sane choice. Let the h8ing begin.
> 
> 
> 
> TK aka BB


I actually did this with one of my more popular series, had the main character end up with the logical choice, and the lash back was so great that I had to write an entirely new series just so the jerky not great guy could hook him up with someone else. lol It was the only way to avoid pitchforks at my door. At least it felt that way.


----------



## NerdyWriter

Marla, How's Google Play treating your books this month so far? Are you noticing a lot of engagement with your content and customers?


----------



## KMatthew

GregFigueroa said:


> Marla, How's Google Play treating your books this month so far? Are you noticing a lot of engagement with your content and customers?


As of right now, for this month I've sold 93 books on Google Play and earned somewhere around $172.74, which is more than I've made on Kobo, Smashwords, and All Romance Ebooks. They're pretty much neck and neck with my Barnes & Noble sales for the month, though I've made slightly more from BN.


----------



## bellabentley

@KMatthew, I always love to see when this thread is updated! So, I read how you're having trouble with the perma free in the US. I'm having the exact same problem but with the UK haha. All of books are perma free in US and Canada, but not in UK. And they used to be!

Pretty much every day I'll go online and click "tell us about a lower price."

I'm glad you are having success with google play. I was just thinking about uploading my books there. 6 of my books just went through on Apple and I'm delighted to see some action over there finally! Thanks for listing your BDSM books. I look forward to reading them! I'm looking forward to January where you'll list another sales update! <3


----------



## Harpurr

Hi Marla,
Can I please clarify something here with this triangle dynamic and series? What are the rules around sex? Can the heroin have full-on sex with either of her prospectives? Surely she must because I can see how you can maybe keep the "love" disclosure until the very end(last book) but it would be very difficult to keep them away from having proper sex for that long? Can she have sex with both before choosing the least desirable?

I also have a question about how much to put in the first of a series? In your 50 shades of BDSM it is all intro and build-up and I see that you got less than stellar review for Indecent Lessons for similar reasons. I can see with 50 shades it wouldn't suit the story but I'm a little surprised that you have seemingly done the same thing with Indecent lessons. Wouldn't it be wise to give the readers more erotica in the freebie/first book so that you show them what you can do and get better reviews?

Gratefully
Deb


----------



## KMatthew

For anyone who is wondering, I update my website every month with my sales figures.



Harpurr said:


> Hi Marla,
> Can I please clarify something here with this triangle dynamic and series? What are the rules around sex? Can the heroin have full-on sex with either of her prospectives? Surely she must because I can see how you can maybe keep the "love" disclosure until the very end(last book) but it would be very difficult to keep them away from having proper sex for that long? Can she have sex with both before choosing the least desirable?
> 
> I also have a question about how much to put in the first of a series? In your 50 shades of BDSM it is all intro and build-up and I see that you got less than stellar review for Indecent Lessons for similar reasons. I can see with 50 shades it wouldn't suit the story but I'm a little surprised that you have seemingly done the same thing with Indecent lessons. Wouldn't it be wise to give the readers more erotica in the freebie/first book so that you show them what you can do and get better reviews?
> 
> Gratefully
> Deb


When I wrote Fifty Shades of BDSM, I still didn't have much of an idea of what I was doing. It was planned for there to be a sex scene in the first part, but then the story just didn't lead up to that. Before I begin writing something, I'll create a _very_ basic outline. Once the story is actually being written, sometimes the characters will take it in a different direction than was actually intended. That happens to me to this day. Regardless, I do not go out of my way to cram a sex scene into a serial if it doesn't naturally fit, which is an issue with publishing a series in the erotica category. Despite the not so stellar reviews, that particular series sells about 1,000 copies (across all retailers) every month. If my writing has proved anything, it's that mediocre reviews don't mean anything in regards to sales.

In His Indecent Lessons, the story is a lot more erotic. Mainly because planning was better and the characters and scenes happened to flow in the right direction. However, I don't believe there was penetrative sex in the first serial. I would not say that most of my erotica is on par with the standard way of doing things, but I have a really hard time forcing sex scenes that just don't make sense. Having said that, there are three erotic scenes in every installment of His Indecent Lessons. Not every one involves penetrative sex. I did the same thing with His Indecent Training.

I do believe that you're right. It is better to showcase what you can do in the first serial so that people will want to buy the rest. It doesn't always work that way with my writing though, especially if the project is a lengthy one.

As far as love triangles go, it's definitely acceptable, if not expected, for the heroine to be having sex with both men. I didn't take that approach in my Fifty Shades of BDSM series. I did however do it with His Indecent Lessons. And you can definitely have sex with both of them before the 'I love you' thing comes up, and even after it's come up and before both parties have decided if they truly love each other.

I think the best teacher of what is acceptable, expected, and preferred in the erotica and romance genres is to read what's out there. While I don't read romance (since I can honestly never picture myself writing a straight out romance), I do pick up popular erotica titles and try to keep myself updated on what readers want. My writing doesn't always reflect that. As an individual creative being, sometimes I have a hard time conforming to the standards, especially when logic comes into play. Thankfully, it still hasn't kept me from being successful.


----------



## Harpurr

Thanks a bunch!!


----------



## NerdyWriter

KMatthew said:


> As of right now, for this month I've sold 93 books on Google Play and earned somewhere around $172.74, which is more than I've made on Kobo, Smashwords, and All Romance Ebooks. They're pretty much neck and neck with my Barnes & Noble sales for the month, though I've made slightly more from BN.


Thanks for the response!


----------



## Anabelle Sunday

Harpurr said:


> Hi Marla,
> Can I please clarify something here with this triangle dynamic and series? What are the rules around sex? Can the heroin have full-on sex with either of her prospectives? Surely she must because I can see how you can maybe keep the "love" disclosure until the very end(last book) but it would be very difficult to keep them away from having proper sex for that long? Can she have sex with both before choosing the least desirable?
> 
> I also have a question about how much to put in the first of a series? In your 50 shades of BDSM it is all intro and build-up and I see that you got less than stellar review for Indecent Lessons for similar reasons. I can see with 50 shades it wouldn't suit the story but I'm a little surprised that you have seemingly done the same thing with Indecent lessons. Wouldn't it be wise to give the readers more erotica in the freebie/first book so that you show them what you can do and get better reviews?
> 
> Gratefully
> Deb


This is KMatthew's thread and I know you were asking her, and I also know that since I am publishing my first erotica novel in just a couple of days (YAY!), I don't have a whole lot of credibility, but I did want to jump in here with my own advice about what you asked, because it applies to any genre and I think it is important.

When it comes to writing fiction, there are no rules. At all. For anyone. There are conventions and formulas, or things that many authors do, but that is not the same thing as a rule. I do not believe that there are any rules in fiction whatsoever, except for one.

Write. Good. Fiction.

Now, of course there are many different aspects to writing good fiction: Draw vivid characters, write tight, realistic dialogue. Create compelling plot lines. Write memorable, concise descriptions. Etc, etc, ad nauseum, but my point (I do have one) is this. I recommend that you don't get so hung up on what you think the "rules' are that you kill your story.

That is my advice. I hope no one minds me sharing it.

P.S.: There is one more rule that Chuck Wendig taught me, and it might be the best writing advice I ever received. It goes something like this: "I'm just going to type this out a dozen times so it's clear: finish your sh*t. Finish your sh*t. Finish your sh*t. Finish your sh*t. Finish your sh*t. Finish your sh*t! FINISH YOUR sh*t. Finish. Your. Sh*t. Fiiiiniiiish yooooour sh*tttttttttt. COMPLETO EL POOPO. Vervollständigen Sie Ihre Fäkalien! Finish your sh*t."


----------



## Guest

I'll say it again, you don't have to be an erotica author to take away a lot from this thread.  I check it out each week to see what's new.


----------



## Anabelle Sunday

One thing that I was wondering is about ISBN's. I checked into getting them, and it looks like you would have to purchase 1000 at once for $1000 or you'd feel like an idiot. I don't have that kind of budget, so my question is: Do I need ISBN's right now or can I add them later?

Thanks so much again for your time


----------



## KMatthew

AnabelleSunday said:


> Do I need ISBN's right now or can I add them later?


You don't need ISBNs to e-publish. As far as I know, none of the ebook retailers require them anymore. Some retailers, like Smashwords and AllRomanceEbooks, provide their own, but they're only used for those particular retailers and cannot be used universally. It's up to you whether you want to purchase ISBNs for your work. I personally don't.


----------



## Anabelle Sunday

Boyd said:


> For ISBN's...
> 
> I go to createspace, and set the book up. They automatically assign you one in the very beginning whether or not you finish setting up the book.


It was my understanding that unless you paid extra for an ISBN on CreateSpace that it was a shared ISBN used by several different CreateSpace books, not a unique one.


----------



## valeriec80

AnabelleSunday said:


> It was my understanding that unless you paid extra for an ISBN on CreateSpace that it was a shared ISBN used by several different CreateSpace books, not a unique one.


Where'd you hear that? No, that's not possible. The ISBN is a unique identifier. (Maybe... maybe... you could reuse an ISBN of a book out of print, but even then, I'm not sure, because used book stores might use the ISBN for inventory purposes and then there would be the possibility that it would get confused with the newer book.) Even new editions of books have new ISBNs separate from the old edition so as to keep from confusion in stocking and whatnot.

As you've seen, ISBNs get cheaper the more that you buy. So Createspace (and places like Smashwords) can afford to buy tons and tons of them for really cheap. Then they offer them to the writer for free, because they can make up for the cost in the percentage they take from your sales.


----------



## Anabelle Sunday

valeriec80 said:


> Where'd you hear that? No, that's not possible. The ISBN is a unique identifier. (Maybe... maybe... you could reuse an ISBN of a book out of print, but even then, I'm not sure, because used book stores might use the ISBN for inventory purposes and then there would be the possibility that it would get confused with the newer book.) Even new editions of books have new ISBNs separate from the old edition so as to keep from confusion in stocking and whatnot.
> 
> As you've seen, ISBNs get cheaper the more that you buy. So Createspace (and places like Smashwords) can afford to buy tons and tons of them for really cheap. Then they offer them to the writer for free, because they can make up for the cost in the percentage they take from your sales.


You are probably right. I just went back and looked at it and it doesn't say anything about it being a shared ISBN. I'm not sure what gave me that idea. However, it does say that if you use a CreateSpace ISBN that you must publish through their distribution channels. Not sure how much of a cut that would take from your royalties that you would earn by publishing them yourself, but since KMatthew is advising not to worry about an ISBN....I won't worry about it.


----------



## Moist_Tissue

AnabelleSunday said:


> You are probably right. I just went back and looked at it and it doesn't say anything about it being a shared ISBN. I'm not sure what gave me that idea. However, it does say that if you use a CreateSpace ISBN that you must publish through their distribution channels. Not sure how much of a cut that would take from your royalties that you would earn by publishing them yourself, but since KMatthew is advising not to worry about an ISBN....I won't worry about it.


I think where people are referring to sharing is that with your own ISBN, you can use the same one on Createspace, Lighting Source, or Lulu if they share the same format. All e-books can have the same ISBN, if you own it. Your paperback books would have to have their own ISBN.

But, I believe, if you purchase through Createspace, you can't use that ISBN on Amazon or Smashwords.

Is that right?


----------



## KMatthew

Boyd said:


> Only reason I did was to make sure I had Kobo and others set to free so I could get my perma-free going...... Amazon price match and all...
> 
> Just sayin...


Perhaps I'm confused with what you're saying, but you don't need an ISBN to price free on Kobo and other retailers. Amazon will price match regardless.


----------



## BridgetHollister

KMatthew said:


> Perhaps I'm confused with what you're saying, but you don't need an ISBN to price free on Kobo and other retailers. Amazon will price match regardless.


Rumor has it--and don't quote me verbatim on this because I just remember seeing it very briefly somewhere and haven't actually had a release to try it out on yet--if you have an ISBN listed elsewhere AND on Amazon, it makes the price match happen faster. Again, don't quote me on that... but it could be what they are referring to.

B


----------



## valeriec80

Moist_Tissue said:


> All e-books can have the same ISBN, if you own it. Your paperback books would have to have their own ISBN.


This isn't actually true. The ISBN refers to the format of the book. So, if you were buying your own, you'd need one for the paperback, one for the epub, one for the mobi, one for the pdf, etc. But if you have an epub at both B&N and Apple, then it would have the same ISBN.

ISBNs are just tracking numbers. They originated so that a publisher could sell a product to numerous different distributors and then track the sales across the distributors with one number. That way, it was easier to know how many copies of a book sold, because every distributor reported to that number.

The thing is, it really hardly matters so much for ebooks, because most distributors (Amazon, B&N, etc.) have their own internal tracking numbers, which are all different anyway. Those distributors, however, will allow you to list the book by ISBN--if you want--because it's a courtesy to publishers who use ISBNs.

Basically, the whole system is antiquated and designed to work in an uncomputerized system of the dark ages. I predict ISBNs will fade further and further into obscurity as there's more and more ebook adoption.

About the Amazon/Kobo thing price match thing, you're not really _supposed_ to list your .mobi format and your .epub format under the same ISBN. On the other hand, it's not like there's an ISBN police out there telling you what to do. No one cares. It's a tracking system. So, if it works to speed up the price match... Go for it. But I've never had ISBNs and my price matches go through sometimes very quick, and sometimes very slow. I've heard tell that books that move more copies get price matched quicker, but don't have the experience to back it up.


----------



## autumn_s

Marla, I have to thank you soooo much for this thread.  It has completely changed my outlook on what I'm doing.
(and I have to confess that I was really confused about who this "Marla" was at first - I kept backing up to look for a post by this "Marla chick! - but then I saw someone mention that you wrote the NO BS PROFITS book, which I owned, and finally made the connection)

I write smut.  I write damn good smut.  But then all these people were telling me that there was no money in good ol' smut and I had to write romantic erotica - i.e. much longer fiction - that I had been writing.  I TRIED to write a 50,000 word ebook in November and it just didn't happen.  I got frustrated that I couldn't write that many words and stay focused on it. And I got bored with it.  So, finally, this month, I ended it where it felt right (part 2 of a series) at 10,000-ish words.  

And now, after reading this thread, I realize that I can do this.  Because I can write a 3,000 word ebook in a day.  I can write a 10,000 word ebook in a week.  I can do somewhere in between in a few days.  

So, I think that I will work towards the goal of writing 100 ebooks in 2014!

One question - is there anything that you did to build up your email list other than put the link at the end of your book and a form on your site?  I'm currently sitting at 4 subscriber (Ya, I'm kind of embarrassed about that) but I'm determined to treat it like a have 4000 subscribers. 

Anyway, thanks again.  You're amazing!


----------



## Mark E. Cooper

KMatthew said:


> While Jacob is obviously the better choice (in my opinion), the fans would have went rage crazy if she would have ended up with him instead of overbearing Edward in the end.)


I couldn't let this stand. Jacob the best choice? Are you kidding me? Jacob was always about Jacob! He never cared about Bella's wants only his own. Edward on the other hand was TOO much about her and tried throughout the books to turn her aside and not become what he is. The scene in the tent on the mountain tells you where Jacob was coming from. Bella was going to kill herself with her risk taking, but all Jacob wanted was for Edward to stay away longer to improve his chances of getting the girl, not worry that she would eventually die if Edward didn't come back. He could not put aside his own wants.

Bella herself had no self-esteem at all. Everything she did was about Edward.

Team Edward here all the way


----------



## Chris P. O&#039;Grady

markecooper said:


> I couldn't let this stand. Jacob the best choice? Are you kidding me? Jacob was always about Jacob! He never cared about Bella's wants only his own. Edward on the other hand was TOO much about her and tried throughout the books to turn her aside and not become what he is. The scene in the tent on the mountain tells you where Jacob was coming from. Bella was going to kill herself with her risk taking, but all Jacob wanted was for Edward to stay away longer to improve his chances of getting the girl, not worry that she would eventually die if Edward didn't come back. He could not put aside his own wants.
> 
> Bella herself had no self-esteem at all. Everything she did was about Edward.
> 
> Team Edward here all the way


Do you want to know what is truly sad? I am sitting here reading this post, coffeee in hand and I know what you are talking about


----------



## Nathalie Aynie

markecooper said:


> I couldn't let this stand. Jacob the best choice? Are you kidding me? Jacob was always about Jacob! He never cared about Bella's wants only his own. Edward on the other hand was TOO much about her and tried throughout the books to turn her aside and not become what he is. The scene in the tent on the mountain tells you where Jacob was coming from. Bella was going to kill herself with her risk taking, but all Jacob wanted was for Edward to stay away longer to improve his chances of getting the girl, not worry that she would eventually die if Edward didn't come back. He could not put aside his own wants.
> 
> Bella herself had no self-esteem at all. Everything she did was about Edward.
> 
> Team Edward here all the way


I-- I-- I can't-- All the feels--

<3


----------



## Ardin

Edward and Jacob both loved her in their own way. The best way each of them was capable.
But in the end, Edward should definitely be her actual boyfriend.

And what the hell is Catniss doing with Peta. Gail should definitely be her actual boyfriend.

http://www.theonion.com/video/the-onion-reviews-the-hunger-games-catching-fire,34637/


----------



## a_g

Thank you for posting this for all to see. I had gotten into this game last year and just intended to poke around as an experiment. I sort of fell out of the saddle, and for reasons have had trouble getting back on the horse. I was becoming concerned that erotic shorts had had their day and now the sun was setting on the phenomenon.

This was just the kick needed to  get back into the game.


----------



## valeriec80

Ardin said:


> Edward and Jacob both loved her in their own way. The best way each of them was capable.
> But in the end, Edward should definitely be her actual boyfriend.
> 
> And what the hell is Catniss doing with Peta. Gail should definitely be her actual boyfriend.
> 
> http://www.theonion.com/video/the-onion-reviews-the-hunger-games-catching-fire,34637/


This is hilarious. I actually did read an opinion by someone the other day, who said she didn't like Mockingjay, because she thought Katniss ended up with the wrong boy. And I was like.... did you not pay a bit of attention to _any_ of the social commentary in the book?


Spoiler



And anyway, it's rather obvious that Peeta is totally the better choice. All Gale cares about is the revolution. All Peeta cares about is Katniss.


----------



## dotx

Ardin said:


> Edward and Jacob both loved her in their own way. The best way each of them was capable.
> But in the end, Edward should definitely be her actual boyfriend.
> 
> And what the hell is Catniss doing with Peta. Gail should definitely be her actual boyfriend.
> 
> http://www.theonion.com/video/the-onion-reviews-the-hunger-games-catching-fire,34637/


Did you read the book or just watched the movie? Because it's obvious in the book that Peeta is the better choice. I can't tell if the same comes across in the movie because I've already read the book and I can't "unread" the story in my brain (if that makes sense...)

And yeah, Jacob wasn't the better choice.

And it's so sad that I'm actually here arguing this...

Thank you so much for sharing all this info. I don't write fast enough to do the same thing, but I can still learn a lot from this thread.


----------



## WordSaladTongs

Ardin said:


> Edward and Jacob both loved her in their own way. The best way each of them was capable.
> But in the end, Edward should definitely be her actual boyfriend.
> 
> And what the hell is Catniss doing with Peta. Gail should definitely be her actual boyfriend.
> 
> http://www.theonion.com/video/the-onion-reviews-the-hunger-games-catching-fire,34637/


HOW DARE YOU! Consider this my clean white glove snapping against your completely mistaken face. Ten paces at dawn, good sir!


----------



## KMatthew

autumn_s said:


> One question - is there anything that you did to build up your email list other than put the link at the end of your book and a form on your site?


I've found that offering a free book in exchange for the e-mail sign up will drastically increase the number of subscribers you get. The only thing is that to do this without much difficulty you have to have an autoresponder, which costs money.

~Credit for tip given to Mimi Strong~


----------



## autumn_s

KMatthew said:


> I've found that offering a free book in exchange for the e-mail sign up will drastically increase the number of subscribers you get. The only thing is that to do this without much difficulty you have to have an autoresponder, which costs money.
> 
> ~Credit for tip given to Mimi Strong~


I've actually done this with mainstream and debated on doing it with my erotica. I have found a work around for this though. Just put a link to your free ebook at the bottom of each email and on the thank you page. If you're using MailChimp, you can change the thank you page to whatever you want - even to go to a page on your site - and then put in a link to the free ebook. If you're using the same template all the time, you can put the link to the free ebook at the bottom of the email so if they missed the thank you somehow they'll get the freebie.

So, I think I'll give this a try and see if I get more people signing up.


----------



## MsTee

autumn_s said:


> I've actually done this with mainstream and debated on doing it with my erotica. I have found a work around for this though. Just put a link to your free ebook at the bottom of each email and on the thank you page. If you're using MailChimp, you can change the thank you page to whatever you want - even to go to a page on your site - and then put in a link to the free ebook. If you're using the same template all the time, you can put the link to the free ebook at the bottom of the email so if they missed the thank you somehow they'll get the freebie.
> 
> So, I think I'll give this a try and see if I get more people signing up.


An inventive idea...but what's to stop them from passing the link on to their friends (or anybody else) who wouldn't bother signing up to your newsletter?



Ardin said:


> And what the hell is Catniss doing with Peta. Gail should definitely be her actual boyfriend.


Ack! Never! Peeta was leaps ahead in the Worthy of Katniss area. All Gale cared about was the fighting (ETA: Although he DID look out for Katniss' family when given the chance). Peeta did so much to both protect her and care for her.

BTW, what next are we going to argue? Whether Hermione should have ended up with Harry instead of Ron? (WHICH SHE SHOULD HAVE!!!!!!!!111eleventy)


----------



## Guest

I don't understand this convoluted discussion.


----------



## autumn_s

MsTee said:


> An inventive idea...but what's to stop them from passing the link on to their friends (or anybody else) who wouldn't bother signing up to your newsletter?


Nothing really. But it is the same thing if you give them a freebie another way. If you give them a freebie via a file they can easily download it and then send it to their friends via email or upload it to a cloud storage and give them the link there. It's something that happens in email marketing all the time and there's really not much you can do to avoid it. Some people are just going to do that.

Just like some people are going to sign up for your list, get the freebie, and then unsubscribe.

It's a risk you take IMO. Of course, you could just forfeit the freebie altogether. Lots of erotica writers don't offer one at all. I'm just going to try it for awhile and see if it increases signups.


----------



## MsTee

autumn_s said:


> Just like some people are going to sign up for your list, get the freebie, and then unsubscribe.


Lol you're right. I'm a bit ashamed to say I've done this for a webdev blog before.


----------



## Anabelle Sunday

KMatthew said:


> I've found that offering a free book in exchange for the e-mail sign up will drastically increase the number of subscribers you get. The only thing is that to do this without much difficulty you have to have an autoresponder, which costs money.
> 
> ~Credit for tip given to Mimi Strong~


I don't mind paying for an autoresponder, or investing in my business if it will sell more books. I don't even mind paying $1000 for 1000 ISBN's on principle. It's just the convincing my landlord to skip charging me rent for a couple of months that's the hard part. 

Do you have any autoresponder recommendations, and how does that work to send it to their Kindle? Do they just have to load it manually after it arrives in their email?


----------



## Sarah M

I've carefully read this thread since it started. It's chock full of useful information.

But this last page made me scream with laughter. Love triangles have a tendency do that to me.

Good job!


----------



## OnajeJohnston

AnabelleSunday said:


> I don't mind paying for an autoresponder, or investing in my business if it will sell more books. I don't even mind paying $1000 for 1000 ISBN's on principle. It's just the convincing my landlord to skip charging me rent for a couple of months that's the hard part.
> 
> Do you have any autoresponder recommendations, and how does that work to send it to their Kindle? Do they just have to load it manually after it arrives in their email?


I like Aweber, another popular one is getresponse. I imagine that if I were to give out free ebooks, the mailing list subscribers would have to side load (manually load) it to the Kindle or other device after downloading it from the link I provided.


----------



## Cege Smith

Ardin said:


> Edward and Jacob both loved her in their own way. The best way each of them was capable.
> But in the end, Edward should definitely be her actual boyfriend.
> 
> And what the hell is Catniss doing with Peta. Gail should definitely be her actual boyfriend.
> 
> http://www.theonion.com/video/the-onion-reviews-the-hunger-games-catching-fire,34637/


Oh dear. I can't even believe I'm commenting on this but. can't. keep. fingers. off. keyboard.

Team Peta all the way here. Especially with reading the books- he's by FAR the better choice.
But, Mr. Rosenthal has a point on the movie's casting. Poor Josh doesn't stand a chance in a "HOT" contest against Liam. I am still so  about the casting even though I do like Josh as Peta. But please, the guy is like a foot shorter than Jennifer Lawrence. She looks better with Liam. (And I HATE that being Team Peta.)

As far as Twilight- I'm Team Anti-Bella.


----------



## Anabelle Sunday

cegesmith said:


> As far as Twilight- I'm Team Anti-Bella.


Me too. Mostly because Stephanie Meyer writes like a third-grader.

As far as HG goes, it definitely should have been Peeta and Katniss. Gale was friend-zoned (or is it friend-districted?) long before Peeta Mellark ever came along.

Whoever said that Hermione and Harry should have ended up together - bite your tongue! Ron and Hermione were the perfect couple! Besides, what about poor Ginny?

On a personal note - tomorrow I will officially be a published erotica author! Yay! I have finally finished editing and creating the cover, and tomorrow morning, I will be publishing it to Amazon and Nook. My first book! I'm so excited! Thanks KMatthew for all of the encouragement you have given us by creating this thread!


----------



## 58907

Everyone remember when Katniss was starving in the rain and couldn't go home empty-handed and face her starving family? Peeta appeared with bread; literally her knight in shining armor. 

Gale never stood a chance. Sorry buddy, but you can't beat a guy who saves a girl from the brink of emotional destruction and physical death.

Can't. Do. It.


----------



## Nic

MsTee said:


> Peeta was leaps ahead in the Worthy of Katniss area.


Eh, _worthy _of her? Catnip was one of the worst female characters I read in a long time and I wouldn't wish her selfish bones onto anyone...

However, regarding the maillist conundrum, I do the same thing for a different kind of maillist and add a download code at the end which regularly changes. I think it should be possible to do something similar for a free ebook.


----------



## Guest

I'd like to take up some space on the inter-tubes to publicly thank KMatthew/MarlaB for her willingness to help others succeed as she has.  I purchased her how-to book on self-publishing erotica and have found it very useful, so far.  I've, so far, published one short and have begun working on a longer, BDSM-based, erotic romance.

That said, when writing what is meant to ride the 50-Shades wave or erotic romance in general, how long should one delay the sex between the protagonist and love-interest?  Also, would the majority of readers look down on a book if the protagonist spends the first half of the story cheating on her fiancee with people other than the love-interest?

I suppose much of this is circumstantial, but given the earlier discussion about not letting protagonists go with the safe and sane suitor, I thought these questions may have answers worth considering.

By the way, does anyone else ever obsessively check and recheck their Amazon bookshelf to see if their latest has passed the review stage?


----------



## Nic

genrehopper said:


> Also, would the majority of readers look down on a book if the protagonist spends the first half of the story cheating on her fiancee with people other than the love-interest?


The moment this is meant as a romance of whatever sort, then the majority of the readers indeed will look down upon an MC who cheats. This will go into a lot of 1* reviews as well, and the book may end up on "cheater"-bookshelves. It's not done in romance.

Erotica - whole different set of rules.


----------



## Guest

Nic said:


> The moment this is meant as a romance of whatever sort, then the majority of the readers indeed will look down upon an MC who cheats. This will go into a lot of 1* reviews as well, and the book may end up on "cheater"-bookshelves. It's not done in romance.
> 
> Erotica - whole different set of rules.


So, if I label it "erotica" instead of "romance," it will be better accepted?


----------



## Redacted1111

genrehopper said:


> I'd like to take up some space on the inter-tubes to publicly thank KMatthew/MarlaB for her willingness to help others succeed as she has.


Marla is my hero. I call her my mentor. 

Thank you Marla, you rock!


----------



## MsTee

Nic said:


> Eh, _worthy _of her? Catnip was one of the worst female characters I read in a long time and I wouldn't wish her selfish bones onto anyone...
> 
> However, regarding the maillist conundrum, I do the same thing for a different kind of maillist and add a download code at the end which regularly changes. I think it should be possible to do something similar for a free ebook.


Oh, yes! She really was selfish and more than a bit emotionless at times. What I meant was that between Peeta and Gale, Peeta won hands down.

The changing the code idea is a great one. You can even do a script where every time one code is accessed, it changes the code in the database.



genrehopper said:


> I'd like to take up some space on the inter-tubes to publicly thank KMatthew/MarlaB for her willingness to help others succeed as she has. I purchased her how-to book on self-publishing erotica and have found it very useful, so far. I've, so far, published one short and have begun working on a longer, BDSM-based, erotic romance.
> 
> That said, when writing what is meant to ride the 50-Shades wave or erotic romance in general, how long should one delay the sex between the protagonist and love-interest? Also, would the majority of readers look down on a book if the protagonist spends the first half of the story cheating on her fiancee with people other than the love-interest?
> 
> I suppose much of this is circumstantial, but given the earlier discussion about not letting protagonists go with the safe and sane suitor, I thought these questions may have answers worth considering.
> 
> By the way, does anyone else ever obsessively check and recheck their Amazon bookshelf to see if their latest has passed the review stage?


Cheating is a big no-no in Romance - not unless you want a hail of 1* on your head. I, too, dislike cheating in Romance. Yes it happens in real life, but I guess that's why it's so disliked in the Romance books where Real Life tends to be put on hold for the fantasy. 

And yes, when I pushed 'Publish' for the first time, I had my KDP account open and my finger hovering over the F5 button on my keyboard.


----------



## Nic

genrehopper said:


> So, if I label it "erotica" instead of "romance," it will be better accepted?


If you call it erotica it should be erotica


----------



## KMatthew

genrehopper said:


> That said, when writing what is meant to ride the 50-Shades wave or erotic romance in general, how long should one delay the sex between the protagonist and love-interest? Also, would the majority of readers look down on a book if the protagonist spends the first half of the story cheating on her fiancee with people other than the love-interest?
> 
> By the way, does anyone else ever obsessively check and recheck their Amazon bookshelf to see if their latest has passed the review stage?


I am going to mirror what everyone else said. Cheating is something you do not want to happen in romance. Even in erotic romance, it's iffy. I think the only case where it's acceptable is if the protagonist is not in a committed relationship with anyone (but then again that wouldn't really be cheating). Perhaps she's considering getting into a relationship with one of the potential suitors but isn't quite there yet.

As far as when the protagonist has sex with the love interest, that's another subject that's up for debate. For erotic romance, it should happen at least once by the end of the book. I think several times throughout the book is preferable for erotica, considering that erotica readers are there for the sex. Until recently, I've gone with the one sex scene per book approach for pretty much everything I've written.

When exactly in the book they start having sex is entirely up to you, and I don't think there's any particular approach that readers prefer you follow. I've seen erotic books start with a sex scene.

Usually, when I publish something on Amazon, I won't check to see if it went through until the next day. My issue is checking sales stats. I'll usually check Amazon and Barnes & Noble twice a day, once in the morning and once at night.


----------



## MsTee

KMatthew said:


> When exactly in the book they start having sex is entirely up to you, and I don't think there's any particular approach that readers prefer you follow. I've seen erotic books start with a sex scene.


Marla, in Erotic Romance, I prefer it much more when there's a 'slow thaw'. Lots of _hints_ and anticipation before the real thing!  Someone who did it exceptionally well (IMO) is Lauren Baker in 'Finding Home'. It's an older woman/younger man read. There are sections of the book that dragged, but the sexual chemistry between the MCs was well done.

In straight Erotica, it's true that most readers came for the sex. Another suggestion is to make your characters interesting as well as give them a great dialogue segment before The Deed. I also think that most successful Erotica has a 'forbidden' element to it. Eg: pseudoincest, teacher/student, older man/younger woman, etc.


----------



## daringnovelist

One of the things I'm really hoping (as a reader) that indie publishing does is break the stranglehold that control-freak reader groups have on some genres. (I.e. romance and to a lesser extent, cozy mystery.)

I suspect that romance will probably go the way of erotica and have even more specific sub-genres for people who have absolute rules.  Because those of us who are sick of those absolute rules can't wait to escape. (And I'm not talking as a writer here.  The only reason I ever write something that resembles romance is because I can't find what I want to read.)

However, I am happy to hear that the control freaks create lists of those rule breakers.  Maybe they intended it as books to avoid, but hallelujah, it's nice for those of us who are looking for something different.

Camille


----------



## Anabelle Sunday

KMatthew said:


> I am going to mirror what everyone else said. Cheating is something you do not want to happen in romance. Even in erotic romance, it's iffy. I think the only case where it's acceptable is if the protagonist is not in a committed relationship with anyone (but then again that wouldn't really be cheating). Perhaps she's considering getting into a relationship with one of the potential suitors but isn't quite there yet.
> 
> As far as when the protagonist has sex with the love interest, that's another subject that's up for debate. For erotic romance, it should happen at least once by the end of the book. I think several times throughout the book is preferable for erotica, considering that erotica readers are there for the sex. Until recently, I've gone with the one sex scene per book approach for pretty much everything I've written.
> 
> When exactly in the book they start having sex is entirely up to you, and I don't think there's any particular approach that readers prefer you follow. I've seen erotic books start with a sex scene.
> 
> Usually, when I publish something on Amazon, I won't check to see if it went through until the next day. My issue is checking sales stats. I'll usually check Amazon and Barnes & Noble twice a day, once in the morning and once at night.


It is interesting, because I was struggling with the whole "cheating" thing on my book. My MC was going to have sex with a married man, who was under the influence of something that made him think he was in love with her, but I simply couldn't justify that. I didn't think readers would appreciate her taking advantage of it. So, I changed it, and the scene the replaced it is much better. I think it depends upon whether you are writing a sympathetic character or one that does that sort of thing.


----------



## Anabelle Sunday

So, since I chose not to enroll in KDP Select (because I was publishing to Nook as well) I can't make my book free for a fe days to get some reviews, is that correct? What if no one  buys it, and as a result no one ever reviews it, and no one ever buys it in the future because no one has ever reviewed it?  Okay, I totally confused myself. .


----------



## dotx

I think I'm going to step on a lot of toes with my new erotic romance novella. The hero is married to the heroine's sister. They're not sleeping together anymore, but they're still married. 

I'm trying to figure out if there are exceptions to the "no cheating" rule. For example, the Knight and Play books (by Kitty French) feature a married heroine. And it's an erotic romance, not erotica. So it does work sometimes.


----------



## Guest

What I'm currently considering is a story in which the heroine is in a relationship with a dull, inattentive guy and she meets the hero and starts stepping out.  There's more to it than that, like the fact that the hero is a billionaire, but the in-story justification for her cheating is an unsatisfying relationship and meeting someone who truly excites her.


----------



## Michael Kingswood

AnabelleSunday said:


> What if no one buys it, and as a result no one ever reviews it, and no one ever buys it in the future because no one has ever reviewed it?


Write the next one.


----------



## KMatthew

You can get people to buy without having reviews for your stuff. I'm going to mirror what others have said and tell you to keep writing. Very rarely will you make a ton of sales with your first book. You need to keep publishing new stuff to get your name out there. Sales will follow.

As for everyone talking about writing a story with a cheating protagonist, it could work. Just know that you're taking a risk by doing it, and you won't know if it pays off until you hit publish.


----------



## Anabelle Sunday

KMatthew said:


> You can get people to buy without having reviews for your stuff. I'm going to mirror what others have said and tell you to keep writing. Very rarely will you make a ton of sales with your first book. You need to keep publishing new stuff to get your name out there. Sales will follow.


Don't worry...I am already halfway through with my second book. I won't stop writing. I may not be able to get 11 published this month like you did, though. But I will write and publish as many as I can. Even if I only have a percentage of your success, I'll be stoked haha!

To the journey *toasts everyone*


----------



## Moist_Tissue

dotx said:


> I think I'm going to step on a lot of toes with my new erotic romance novella. The hero is married to the heroine's sister. They're not sleeping together anymore, but they're still married.
> 
> I'm trying to figure out if there are exceptions to the "no cheating" rule. For example, the Knight and Play books (by Kitty French) feature a married heroine. And it's an erotic romance, not erotica. So it does work sometimes.


I wrote and released a novella. The MC was a plus sized girl who was bullied by classmates. The MC ends up stealing the cute boyfriend of the bully. I made sure to write in my description that this was an unconventional love story and highlighted that cheating was involved. I didn't receive one single negative review about the cheating.


----------



## Anabelle Sunday

Moist_Tissue said:


> I wrote and released a novella. The MC was a plus sized girl who was bullied by classmates. The MC ends up stealing the cute boyfriend of the bully. I made sure to write in my description that this was an unconventional love story and highlighted that cheating was involved. I didn't receive one single negative review about the cheating.


That's not cheating....that's just justice!


----------



## Moist_Tissue

AnabelleSunday said:


> That's not cheating....that's just justice!


  Thankfully, my readers agreed!


----------



## Deena Ward

AnabelleSunday said:


> That's not cheating....that's just justice!


LOL. I was thinking the same thing.

Also ...



genrehopper said:


> when writing what is meant to ride the 50-Shades wave or erotic romance in general, how long should one delay the sex between the protagonist and love-interest?


My erotic romance gets to the action nearly immediately, but there's a reason for it beyond simple titillation: the initial encounter sets the stage and creates the impetus for everything which follows in the series. If you have a reason to sex it up early, go for it. If you don't, then hold off.

I'm a newbie to writing erotic romance myself, but I'm a lifelong reader, a passionate, lifelong reader of all types of fiction. As such, nothing bores me faster or makes me lose interest in a novel faster than suffering through page after page of gratuitous sex (obviously I'm not talking about straight erotica here). I want the sex to be in the story for more than the thrill, to serve more than one purpose, i.e. to show something about the characters, to propel the plot, to reveal secrets, to do something extra so long as it's not just one more simple sexual act. In any novel, every single scene should serve the larger purpose, the eventual point of the story. This is as true of sex scenes as any other type of scene. Or at least, in my opinion, it should be true.

So, that's my long-winded way of giving my advice. If early sex serves the purpose of your story, then it has to be there early. Otherwise, hold off until it does serve the story and the characters.

That said, there's a particular big-name trad-author out there who writes "erotic romances" and has sold countless books in a series which erotic romance readers adore. I read the first book in the series and had to force myself to finish it because it was bare minimum 70%+ purely gratuitous sex, very little story. Bored me. When I want to read stories where the sex is the point, I'll pop open pure erotica like Selena Kitt's most-excellent "Babysitting the Baumgautners," for example. When I buy a book sold as erotic romance, I expect an actual storyline in there somewhere. However, millions of other, happy readers shelled out the big bucks for that bestselling erotic romance novel and its sequels, so what do I know? I can only please myself, I suppose.


----------



## Anabelle Sunday

Okay, I have a bunch of questions that I wanted to ask today. I hope that's okay.

1) Marla, what exactly do you mean when you say you publish to Smashwords for the rest of the distribution? What other places does it distribute to? What is Google Play? Is it only for Audiobooks? I haven't done an audio book yet but am planning to in the near future.

2) Should I publish a PDF version of this book for those who want to read it on PC or whatever? Does anyone else do that?

3) This book is only 72 pages in PDF form, and that's with 12 point font, one inch margins, justified text and half an inch indentations as well as a 6x9 page setup. Should I go ahead and offer a paperback anyway? It is already set up for paperback since I basically do that to make it ready for Kindle. The problem is..it will be a thin book. I might be able to stretch it to 80 pages but I'd rather not.

4) what if someone buys it for an older version than the Kindle Fire? Will it display properly? The only preview option I could see was for Kindle Fire.

5) I have published to Nook and Kindle and am planning on publishing to AllRomanceEbooks. The problem is, they asked me to submit some titles to them so they could look at them before they would approve my account to start publishing. How many titles do I need to have before I email them again?

6) Do you think paying for the Kirkus Review is a good investment. It is unbiased and they might hate it, who knows. What about other paid (but unbiased) review sites?

7) i haven't finished my website yet, but it is just basic HTML. I am adding a form to it so that they can sign up for my mailing list, but am not sure how to send them my free book when they sign up without manually emailing it to them. I also would maybe like to have a php site where they can log in and see stuff that regular visitors cannot. Do you think that's a good investment and do you have any recommendations on how to pay for someone to design that type of site? What about the Kboards Yellow Pages?

 I started my own publishing company to publish this, and the site is up but the "Bookstore" section looks pretty terrible. My plan was to offer books there as an alternative in all of the digital formats at a slightly lower price but I see I can't do that because it is against the Nook TOS ( and probably Amazon's too). Do you think it is worth it to have an online bookstore at the publisher's website for my books at the same price as everywhere else or should I just let Amazon and B&N and the like handle the sales?

9) It's a bit too late for this...but can someone advise me on how to format my book a little better than it currently is. I am assuming I can reupload it if I choose, right? If not, I still need to know for my next book.

*Here is what I wanted it to look like. *

Page 1 - Full Page Color Cover (IMAGE)
Page 2 - Blank
Page 3 - Copyright Page
Page 4 - Blank
Page 5 - Full Page B&W Title Page (IMAGE)
Page 6 - Dedication
Page 7 - Blank
Page 8 - Chapter 1 Begins
Page 8-72 - Chapters, with each new chapter starting on a new page. 
Page 73 - About the Author
Page 74 - Preview advertisement about my second novel "Deprivation Island"
Page 75-79 - Chapter 1 of my second novel "Deprivation Island"
Page 80 - Advertisement about joining my mailing list by going to my website (to get a free book)

*Here is how it actually ended up looking on Kindle Fire*

Page 1 - The full color cover, but only about 2/3 of the page instead of the entire page. 
Page 2 - the title page which I ended up making text instead of an image because it didn't work. 
Page 3 - the copyright page (most of it anyway)
Page 4 - the last little bit of the copyright page
Page 5 - the dedication, which is at the top of the page instead of in the middle and has like 7 words on one line, one word on the next and the rest on the third line. 
Page 6 - Chapter One begins perfectly
Pages 6 - 99 - Chapters are perfect
Page 100 - About the Author is perfect
Page 101 - Advertisement about the new book is perfect
Page 102 - 108 - Chapter One of new book is perfect
Page 108 - Advertisement for mailing list is not on a new page but is at the end of the chapter. This might actually be preferable so that people don't close the book when they finish that chapter, but I'm not sure. 
Page 109 - very last line of advertisement.

*The "Look Inside" is the thing I really have a problem with: *

Everything is all running together. The cover repeats twice for some reason, and then the title page and copyright page all sort of just run together. The title page is on a page by itself when you click the arrows, but it takes three clicks to get through the copyright page. The dedication appears to be in the middle of the page and centered this time, but it still has 7 words on a line, then one word, then the rest on the third line. The chapters appear to be okay. The rest of the book and the end stuff obviously doesn't show up on the preview.

Sorry for all the questions, but I am learning  I want to do the best job I can and I'm afraid that people will judge the book based upon the poor formatting in the "look inside" preview. Thanks in advance for anyone that can help!!!!

-Ana


----------



## KMatthew

AnabelleSunday said:


> 1) Marla, what exactly do you mean when you say you publish to Smashwords for the rest of the distribution? What other places does it distribute to? What is Google Play? Is it only for Audiobooks? I haven't done an audio book yet but am planning to in the near future.


I mainly publish on Smashwords because they're also a retailer and I do have fans on there. But I also use them to distribute to all of (what I consider to be) the minor ebook retailers, such as Sony, Diesel, Baker & Taylor, ect. I don't get a whole lot of sales from these retailers, but it's good to have your books available at as many retailers as possible.

Google Play is a separate retailer. There's a really good thread about it here: http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,167655.0.html

As for audiobook production, I use Audible.com



AnabelleSunday said:


> 2) Should I publish a PDF version of this book for those who want to read it on PC or whatever? Does anyone else do that?


I don't think it's worth going out of your way to create a special PDF version unless you plan to publish on All Romance Ebooks. If you publish on Smashwords, they'll take your .epub or .doc file and convert it to where a PDF version will be available for those who are interested in reading in that format.



AnabelleSunday said:


> 3) This book is only 72 pages in PDF form, and that's with 12 point font, one inch margins, justified text and half an inch indentations as well as a 6x9 page setup. Should I go ahead and offer a paperback anyway? It is already set up for paperback since I basically do that to make it ready for Kindle. The problem is..it will be a thin book. I might be able to stretch it to 80 pages but I'd rather not.


You could make a a paperback book out of 72 pages. I've had some of my shorter works made into paperback. I recommend using CreateSpace for making paperback books. Others prefer LighteningSource. CreateSpace has their own formatting guidelines, and I find them to be a real pain in the you-know-what to work with, but they're still the best I've found so far for creating paperbacks and offering extended distribution.



AnabelleSunday said:


> 4) what if someone buys it for an older version than the Kindle Fire? Will it display properly? The only preview option I could see was for Kindle Fire.


I'm honestly not sure about this. I've never expected my books to display properly on all Kindle versions, and I don't go out of my way to make sure that they do (which is bad, I know). If they display correctly on the majority, that's all I care about.

I've been using the same template since I started writing, and it hasn't failed me yet.



AnabelleSunday said:


> 5) I have published to Nook and Kindle and am planning on publishing to AllRomanceEbooks. The problem is, they asked me to submit some titles to them so they could look at them before they would approve my account to start publishing. How many titles do I need to have before I email them again?


I'm honestly not sure. You might want to e-mail them with that question.



AnabelleSunday said:


> 6) Do you think paying for the Kirkus Review is a good investment. It is unbiased and they might hate it, who knows. What about other paid (but unbiased) review sites?


I personally don't believe in buying reviews. While having a lot of reviews is nice, it's not necessary to sell a lot of books.



AnabelleSunday said:


> 7) i haven't finished my website yet, but it is just basic HTML. I am adding a form to it so that they can sign up for my mailing list, but am not sure how to send them my free book when they sign up without manually emailing it to them. I also would maybe like to have a php site where they can log in and see stuff that regular visitors cannot. Do you think that's a good investment and do you have any recommendations on how to pay for someone to design that type of site? What about the Kboards Yellow Pages?


Without having an autoresponder, I think you would have to manually email your subscribers their free book.

As far as the php site you're talking about, in the internet marketing world that's known as a membership site, and there are scripts you can buy and even WordPress themes that can accomplish this without you having to hire a programmer. Most of them are pricey.

For a while, I toyed with the idea of doing this, but there really is a lot of upkeep involved in having such a site. If you're planning on charging money for people to access the exclusive content, you have to constantly have a stream of fresh content to keep people coming back. Not only that, but you will also have to work the customer service side of things, which isn't very fun.



AnabelleSunday said:


> I started my own publishing company to publish this, and the site is up but the "Bookstore" section looks pretty terrible. My plan was to offer books there as an alternative in all of the digital formats at a slightly lower price but I see I can't do that because it is against the Nook TOS ( and probably Amazon's too). Do you think it is worth it to have an online bookstore at the publisher's website for my books at the same price as everywhere else or should I just let Amazon and B&N and the like handle the sales?


The short answer to do I think it's worth it is no.



AnabelleSunday said:


> 9) It's a bit too late for this...but can someone advise me on how to format my book a little better than it currently is. I am assuming I can reupload it if I choose, right? If not, I still need to know for my next book.
> 
> *Here is what I wanted it to look like. *
> 
> Page 1 - Full Page Color Cover (IMAGE)
> Page 2 - Blank
> Page 3 - Copyright Page
> Page 4 - Blank
> Page 5 - Full Page B&W Title Page (IMAGE)
> Page 6 - Dedication
> Page 7 - Blank
> Page 8 - Chapter 1 Begins
> Page 8-72 - Chapters, with each new chapter starting on a new page.
> Page 73 - About the Author
> Page 74 - Preview advertisement about my second novel "Deprivation Island"
> Page 75-79 - Chapter 1 of my second novel "Deprivation Island"
> Page 80 - Advertisement about joining my mailing list by going to my website (to get a free book)
> 
> *Here is how it actually ended up looking on Kindle Fire*
> 
> Page 1 - The full color cover, but only about 2/3 of the page instead of the entire page.
> Page 2 - the title page which I ended up making text instead of an image because it didn't work.
> Page 3 - the copyright page (most of it anyway)
> Page 4 - the last little bit of the copyright page
> Page 5 - the dedication, which is at the top of the page instead of in the middle and has like 7 words on one line, one word on the next and the rest on the third line.
> Page 6 - Chapter One begins perfectly
> Pages 6 - 99 - Chapters are perfect
> Page 100 - About the Author is perfect
> Page 101 - Advertisement about the new book is perfect
> Page 102 - 108 - Chapter One of new book is perfect
> Page 108 - Advertisement for mailing list is not on a new page but is at the end of the chapter. This might actually be preferable so that people don't close the book when they finish that chapter, but I'm not sure.
> Page 109 - very last line of advertisement.
> 
> *The "Look Inside" is the thing I really have a problem with: *
> 
> Everything is all running together. The cover repeats twice for some reason, and then the title page and copyright page all sort of just run together. The title page is on a page by itself when you click the arrows, but it takes three clicks to get through the copyright page. The dedication appears to be in the middle of the page and centered this time, but it still has 7 words on a line, then one word, then the rest on the third line. The chapters appear to be okay. The rest of the book and the end stuff obviously doesn't show up on the preview.
> 
> Sorry for all the questions, but I am learning  I want to do the best job I can and I'm afraid that people will judge the book based upon the poor formatting in the "look inside" preview. Thanks in advance for anyone that can help!!!!
> 
> -Ana


You can upload a new version of your manuscript to all of the retailers and distributors any time you want. I personally use a template for all of my books. If you'd like a copy of it, I can send it to you, though I don't have a section for dedications, since I don't use them.

I'm going to guess that you inserted your cover image into your manuscript. If that's the case, then that's why it appears twice. Most retailers will automatically insert the image you upload for your cover as the first page of your manuscript. I know that both Amazon and Barnes & Noble do this (though Barnes & Noble has an option for you not to do this).


----------



## Anabelle Sunday

A template would be a lifesaver at this point. I have sent you a PM with my email address! Thanks so much!


----------



## Gentleman Zombie

AnabelleSunday said:


> A template would be a lifesaver at this point. I have sent you a PM with my email address! Thanks so much!


Just to chime in from the peanut gallery. I use Draft2Digital to publish now.. And I've never been happier: https://www.draft2digital.com/
They take a very tiny percentage of each sale. But in return I don't have to muck around with formatting and uploading separately to a bunch of retailers. I get perfectly formatted chapters and text without having to use a template or fooling around with Word. I love it.. And it freed up a ton of time. I just upload my regular old Docx file to D2D. They can also help you create a bio page, back matter, and links to your backlist.

Also you can get a perfectly formatted PDF, EPUB, and Mobi files from them ... for FREE. No messing around with any new programs or software. I use those files to upload to upload to my ARE account.

Smashwords does distribute your book to smaller retailers.. But they can be a pain to format for. These days I upload to D2D first and then use the epub file for uploading to Smashwords for the smaller retailers. . The autovetter errors on Smashwords drive me nuts. I've never once had that problem with D2D. ... Okay I'm starting to sound like a D2D shill now. But honestly, they save me so much time. I never worry about mucking around with formatting since I started using them.


----------



## maggie2

Would love to have an update on how the sales and writing are going now!


----------



## KerryT2012

Deena Ward said:


> That said, there's a particular big-name trad-author out there who writes "erotic romances" and has sold countless books in a series which erotic romance readers adore. I read the first book in the series and had to force myself to finish it because it was bare minimum 70%+ purely gratuitous sex, very little story. Bored me.


Think I know who you mean. Furthermore, the sex is rushed. Also, I just don´t get how they are best sellers, the best chapter was the ending. Something happened and it finished..........I am going with that too, sex at the beginning, but still not sure if it works. The erotic bestsellers have it quite late on, this is the trend. I have not released any lately so I do not know if it is better to do it this way or not.


----------



## KMatthew

maggie2 said:


> Would love to have an update on how the sales and writing are going now!


Writing is going at a snails pace due to real life issues that are consuming the vast amount of my time. Right now I'm sitting at 114 titles, but my pace is also slower because I've been writing longer installments for my latest series. Each part is anywhere between 10k - 18k. This month will be my best sales month ever thanks to two hits in the UK and a promo special on the werewolves box set in my signature. I'm anticipating over 10,000 books sold by the end of the month. So, all in all, for the amount of time I've taken off from writing, I can't complain. I've mentioned this before in this thread, but I post my sales numbers every month on my website, for anyone who is interested.


----------



## NerdyWriter

maggie2 said:


> Would love to have an update on how the sales and writing are going now!


I second that!!!!


----------



## maggie2

KMatthew said:


> Writing is going at a snails pace due to real life issues that are consuming the vast amount of my time. Right now I'm sitting at 114 titles, but my pace is also slower because I've been writing longer installments for my latest series. Each part is anywhere between 10k - 18k. This month will be my best sales month ever thanks to two hits in the UK and a promo special on the werewolves box set in my signature. I'm anticipating over 10,000 books sold by the end of the month. So, all in all, for the amount of time I've taken off from writing, I can't complain. I've mentioned this before in this thread, but I post my sales numbers every month on my website, for anyone who is interested.


Thank you so much for sharing that. I have gone to your web site and read your info. there. I have bookmarked it so I can go back every month. You are really an inspiration to those of us wanting to write in this genre. Thanks again.
Marg


----------



## Chris P. O&#039;Grady

AnabelleSunday said:


> That's not cheating....that's just justice!


AWESOME!


----------



## Harpurr

This is a general questIon for all you experienced erotica and erotic romantic writers. Does erotic romance generally outsell straight erotica? I would assume there is a much bigger market for erotic romance that straight erotica, but maybe there isn't the same level of competition either? I ask this because at the moment I'm developing my own method of writing this stuff so that I can be as productive as possible. What is evolving is starting with a concept/idea and writing a very spontaneous, crappy first draft of the whole series. As the story grows I will of course have lots of details to amend in the second draft. The story evolves as I write and while I thought I was writing erotic romance it seems to be drifting more towards erotica. From a purely sales point of view, and given this is a first attempt do you think it wiser to stick to the erotic romance genre?  

Thanks


----------



## KMatthew

Harpurr said:


> This is a general questIon for all you experienced erotica and erotic romantic writers. Does erotic romance generally outsell straight erotica? I would assume there is a much bigger market for erotic romance that straight erotica, but maybe there isn't the same level of competition either? I ask this because at the moment I'm developing my own method of writing this stuff so that I can be as productive as possible. What is evolving is starting with a concept/idea and writing a very spontaneous, crappy first draft of the whole series. As the story grows I will of course have lots of details to amend in the second draft. The story evolves as I write and while I thought I was writing erotic romance it seems to be drifting more towards erotica. From a purely sales point of view, and given this is a first attempt do you think it wiser to stick to the erotic romance genre?
> 
> Thanks


From a sales point, I have found that erotic romance is more profitable than erotica.


----------



## Skylar Cross

Marla,

Just want to say hi and thank you for all you share. I read _No B.S. Ebook Profits_ in November after I had already published three titles. I've tweaked some things based on your advice. Now I have five titles up, quite encouraged by the fact that I sold 25 of the most recent one in December after a November 29 publication date.

My goal for 2014 is the same as yours... 100 titles in one year.

Lessons learned so far:


*Don't write about somebody who is important to you.* I based my main character in one story on somebody I know (while disguising them just enough) but it got way too personal. I need to remind myself this is a business, not a love letter.
*Erotic romance does appear to sell more than erotica.* I have 3 erotica stories languishing at 1-2 copies a month while the erotic romance skyrocketed to 25. (Even though I'm only making about $50 a month, it's so amazing to actually be getting paid for my stories. 25 copies sold feels great to me right now!)
*Don't let the plot get too complicated.* I wrote myself into a corner several times while working on my two most recent titles. Simpler is better, at least for now. Need to boost my launch speed with easier stories that build on a series but aren't tied together with intricate plot details that require too much thinking on my part.

Thank you again!

Taylor


----------



## KMatthew

Taylor Shade said:


> Marla,
> 
> Just want to say hi and thank you for all you share. I read _No B.S. Ebook Profits_ in November after I had already published three titles. I've tweaked some things based on your advice. Now I have five titles up, quite encouraged by the fact that I sold 25 of the most recent one in December after a November 29 publication date.
> 
> My goal for 2014 is the same as yours... 100 titles in one year.
> 
> Lessons learned so far:
> 
> 
> *Don't write about somebody who is important to you.* I based my main character in one story on somebody I know (while disguising them just enough) but it got way too personal. I need to remind myself this is a business, not a love letter.
> *Erotic romance does appear to sell more than erotica.* I have 3 erotica stories languishing at 1-2 copies a month while the erotic romance skyrocketed to 25. (Even though I'm only making about $50 a month, it's so amazing to actually be getting paid for my stories. 25 copies sold feels great to me right now!)
> *Don't let the plot get too complicated.* I wrote myself into a corner several times while working on my two most recent titles. Simpler is better, at least for now. Need to boost my launch speed with easier stories that build on a series but aren't tied together with intricate plot details that require too much thinking on my part.
> 
> Thank you again!
> 
> Taylor


Congratulations on your sales!

I think this years goal for me is going to be to try to get at least a USA Today Best Seller. After the series I'm working on right now, I have two more short stories planned, and then I'm going to do a series of novellas. After that, I might actually push out a novel or two, though I'm not sure how well that will work out since I'm so accustomed to writing short stories.

lol I feel like I'm kind of weening myself off of a medication. Instead of going longer and longer between pills, I'm slowly writing longer and longer stories to gear myself up for the novels to come. Who knows though, my novella project is going to be super long, so I might not even get to writing novels for another year. My game plan changes quite often. -shrugs-

You made some interesting points. *Don't write about somebody who is important to you.* There is at least one character in every story that I write who is based off of an actual person.

*Don't let the plot get too complicated.* I try not to let this happen, mainly because I have a horrible memory. I try to keep notes as I write, but it's pretty often that I get to a point in my writing where I have to reflect back on something I don't remember. It's a bit nerve wracking.


----------



## Harpurr

Hi Marla and Merry Christmas

Yes I can see a definite deepening in your work with His Indecent Lessons, it makes for a more satisfying read.  I'm enjoying book two very much, all that research you did has really paid off.  

 Deb


----------



## Harpurr

Hi Marla

You say you use whitesmoke to help with editing. They seem to have a number of packages, which one would you recommend? 
Does anyone else have good editing software that they would recommend?

Thanks

Deb


----------



## KMatthew

WhiteSmoke rolls out with an update to their software every so often, so you can't buy an older version, to my knowledge. I have WhiteSmoke - Lifetime, which doesn't come with free updates. I would recommend trying it before you buy it, in case you don't like it. Another decent editing software is Grammarly. A lot of people prefer it to WhiteSmoke. I tried it and liked WhiteSmoke better. You can try both for free, so it doesn't hurt to give them a shot.


----------



## Sarah Scribblez

Really inspiring results, I'm aiming to write a 12 piece novella series in 2014 (plus some other little bits and bobs and editing of a novel manuscript) so this helps me believe I might be able to actually achieve it!


----------



## BridgetHollister

Here's one question that I have... And, please forgive me if I missed it somewhere...

Does your count of 100 include 100 titles individually or does it include ACX/Collections/etc.?

Thanks!

B


----------



## KMatthew

BridgetHollister said:


> Here's one question that I have... And, please forgive me if I missed it somewhere...
> 
> Does your count of 100 include 100 titles individually or does it include ACX/Collections/etc.?
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> B


The count includes individual titles and bundles.


----------



## NerdyWriter

Hey Marla, 

Do you still have that podcast interview that you were in available to listen to?


----------



## KMatthew

GregFigueroa said:


> Hey Marla,
> 
> Do you still have that podcast interview that you were in available to listen to?


Here's the link http://www.authormarketingclub.com/MarlaBraziel.mp3


----------



## Gerald Hartenhoff

Thanks for the link.


----------



## Harpurr

Hi Marla

I'm gearing up for a big year of writing in 2014 but I've discovered over the last month or so of preparation that it's very difficult to keep up a good momentum of high word counts day in and day out, possibly more so in this genre of erotic romance. I'm wondering if you or others could share some strategies you have for achieving this?

Thanks

Deb


----------



## KMatthew

Harpurr said:
 

> Hi Marla
> 
> I'm gearing up for a big year of writing in 2014 but I've discovered over the last month or so of preparation that it's very difficult to keep up a good momentum of high word counts day in and day out, possibly more so in this genre of erotic romance. I'm wondering if you or others could share some strategies you have for achieving this?
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Deb


One thing I do every morning that I think really does help me stay on track, is that I write out a schedule. (This drives my mother crazy) I basically take everything I have to get done for the day, and I divide it by the number of waking hours in my day. I write between tasks. So, it's kind of like having a work schedule with breaks.


----------



## KMatthew

I've been doing things a bit differently this month. I wrote this post for my blog, but I thought it would be beneficial for Kboards members if I posted it here as well. These are my sales figures for December 2013. Enjoy!

*Books sold:* 15,060

*Royalties earned:* $13,882.17

That includes 6 paperback copies and 131 audio books.

Sales were up all across the board for the month of December. Even Kobo gave me a bit of love at just under $200 in sales. Amazon accounted for more than 10,000 books sold, with Apple coming in second at over 3,000 sales. Also of notable mention, this was the first entire month that I've had my books up on Google Play. They were my 4th largest selling retailer with 502 books sold and $751.61 in royalties earned from them. If you're not publishing on Google Play, you should be.

Aside from it being the holiday season, I attribute the large sales figures to having two hit serials in the UK, a discount being run on a three novel series, and lower pricing in an attempt to gain a USA Today Best Seller. In case you're wondering, that's part of my New Years resolution. I've garnered monetary success from my publishing, and now I'm shooting for a USA Today Best Seller, which means I'll be tinkering with the pricing on many of my new releases for this upcoming year.

I took away some interesting new knowledge from this month's trials and tribulations. First and foremost, *$0.99 is not the evil price I once thought it to be*. While I absolutely hate that pricing so low drives down the value of ebooks as a whole, there can be quite a bit of monetary gain from pricing so low.

As an example, my With Werewolves Trilogy, usually priced at $9.99, was discounted to $0.99 for the month of December. I did this because I ran a paid promotion on the series and was hoping to get it in the Amazon Top 100 Overall (trying for a USA Today Best Seller (it didn't happen, by the way. The series made it up to 1,254 overall). That particular series is made up of two serialized novels and an additional non-serialized novels. All together, for the month of November, the serials, the novels, and the trilogy brought in $416.80 in the Amazon US. This month, the discounted trilogy, by itself, brought in $416.85 in the Amazon US. It sold 1,191 copies. Mind you, it takes a lot more sales at $0.99 to reach $416.85 than it does at $9.99. However, that means that a lot more eyes have been on your work, a lot more readers have probably gone on to see your back list and purchase more of your work, and there's a lot higher of a probability that you will get some kind of deal (like selling movie rights or a traditional publishing contract) on your work. You kind of have to weight the cost and what it's worth to you.

Now, this doesn't always work. I discounted two of my other novels to $0.99 for December, and they sold no more copies than they had at $2.99 the previous month. So, this is definitely a YMMV deal.

I also adopted a new pricing strategy for my latest two serials. Both His Indecent Lessons and His Indecent Training followed a $0.99 pricing strategy. Every serialized part was $0.99 except for the last part, which was $2.99. Both of these serials rocketed up the charts in the UK, and they've accounted for the largest amount of income this month by far. In fact, almost all of my Apple sales came from His Indecent Lessons alone. I can safely say that if I would have published each part of the serial at $2.99, I honestly don't think it would have gained as much traction. Having said that, I'm slowly starting to believe that maybe $0.99 is a better price point for serials. At this point in the game, I would rather gain traction on the best seller lists and build my reader base, and there are several people who have made a fortune off the $0.99 price point in the past. H.M. Ward is the first person who comes to mind. But there are many others who have done the same.

One other thing I did with His Indecent Lessons that I think made all the difference in the world is that I started it off at $0.99. Usually, when I serialize a novel, I will charge $2.99 for the first part until the second part comes out. When the second part becomes available, I'll lower the price on the first part to $0.99. When the third part becomes available, I'll try to make the first part perma-free. With His Indecent Lessons, right out of the gate I priced at $0.99 on Amazon and free everywhere else. It's important to keep in mind that your book will often get the most exposure right after it's published when it's on the new release list. This is the best time to hook someone in to your series with a lower price. I've decided that from now on, the first part in any new series or serial that I release will always start at $0.99 on Amazon and free everywhere else.


----------



## maggie2

Wow, fabulous information as usual. Thank you so much for the insight. I really appreciate you taking the time to keep us aware of what's working for you. Thanks again!
Marg


----------



## K.R. Harris

Awesome numbers! Congrats! Thanks for sharing!


----------



## Chris P. O&#039;Grady

Bravo!


----------



## Skylar Cross

Marla, VERY NICE! You are an inspiration to us all. Thank you for sharing so much. I was just about to price the first of my next 4-part serial at $2.99 but now I think I'll try it this way. Congratulations on your amazing December!


----------



## crashaddict

One thing I thought I saw mentioned but can't find anywhere is that we should not categorize our books as erotica on Amazon. Is this true or am I just bonkers? (don't answer the second part)

Should I label as Romance / Fantasy and Romance / Paranormal and *NOT* include erotica in my keywords?

FYI: It's Part 1 (6300 words) of a 5 part series.


----------



## Harpurr

Amazing results for December Marla, Conrats!!

I'm getting close to publishing my first erotic romance short. I've held it back because as I have worked through the series it has been good to have the freedom to go back and change details in the first books. I'm excited that soon I'll have something to show in my signature here .

I'm very fortunate that I have a partner who can make me covers using photoshop because I'm hopeless with things like that. We are however having a difference of opinion over licensing. He thinks I need an extended licence. Marla do you have an extended license for your deposit photos?

Thanks

Deb


----------



## KMatthew

crashaddict said:


> One thing I thought I saw mentioned but can't find anywhere is that we should not categorize our books as erotica on Amazon. Is this true or am I just bonkers? (don't answer the second part)
> 
> Should I label as Romance / Fantasy and Romance / Paranormal and *NOT* include erotica in my keywords?
> 
> FYI: It's Part 1 (6300 words) of a 5 part series.


As of lately, I've been avoiding the erotica category. I've been getting a lot more leverage in Coming of Age and Romance/Contemporary. Then again, that is where my latest series would be categorized if not in erotica. My next WIP will be going into some paranormal categories. Mind you, I only do this for Amazon. Everywhere else, my books go into the erotica category. Also, if you're going to use this method of categorization, I HIGHLY recommend putting the words erotic romance behind the title in parenthesis. So, it would look like this: Title (Erotic Romance). Of course, if your book is not erotic romance, you should find other relevant words to let readers know that what they're getting is going to contain sex. If you don't want to do this, then at the very least put an obvious disclaimer in the blurb.

As far as keywords goes, I still put erotica in my keywords on Amazon.


----------



## KMatthew

Harpurr said:


> Marla do you have an extended license for your deposit photos?


You only need the Standard License.


----------



## Harpurr

Thanks Marla

Do you now or did you initially have ISBNs for your books? Ive been reading a thread here about how they aren't necessary for ebooks. Apparently though you need them if you want your books to show up on best selling lists, which you've said is one of your goals for this year.

Deb


----------



## KMatthew

emilycantore said:


> Great results!
> 
> I thought your Google Play figure would be much higher. Every time I go to Google Play I see your titles hanging out near mine (I always enjoy seeing fellow kboarders doing well!). It was my first full month on Google Play also and I made $2189.47 there. It's now second to Amazon with Apple close behind it.
> 
> I haven't had a $10,000 month yet but I'm working towards it!


I have no idea how to even find my stuff on there. lol I just posted all of my books and hoped for the best.


----------



## EllenWaite

I'm kinda perplexed, and wonder if you or any of the more experienced erotica authors in this thread might be able to lend a little insight.

I'm pretty new at this, and up until about 3 days ago, I was selling between 15 and 20 books a day. This was crazy awesome, because i'd never seen these kinds of numbers before. Suddenly though, my numbers have dropped off to nothing. I only have 3 titles, one of which is permafree. I've sold just one book in the last day. It's so frustrating to see the sales come to a screeching halt! I hadn't done much of anything in the way of promotion, and sales had been going well since the last days of December. Now it's a flatline across all platforms.  

What could've happened? I've gotten a few decent reviews and made a lot of sales. Don't have too many returns either, and my sell-thru rate is pretty good. I like to think that my stories aren't garbage, but can't think of any reason for the sales to dry up so suddenly. Maybe my permafree isn't visible enough? Maybe my books have been slapped with the adult filter or something? What could it be? My permafree downloads have slowed, so maybe that's why...?

It could just be one of those things, I guess. This business isn't the most transparent, to be sure. Being a newbie who's still getting used to those things though, I just feel kind of depressed and confused about the sudden drop-off and don't know what to do. Any thoughts?


----------



## KMatthew

emilycantore said:


> Here is where we are: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=subject%3A%22Fiction%20%2F%20Erotica%22&c=books&price=1&hl=en
> 
> Your books are always right next to mine!


Thanks for the link, Emily. That's awesome. It looks like pretty much all of my erotica freebies are on that page.



EllenWaite said:


> I'm kinda perplexed, and wonder if you or any of the more experienced erotica authors in this thread might be able to lend a little insight.
> 
> I'm pretty new at this, and up until about 3 days ago, I was selling between 15 and 20 books a day. This was crazy awesome, because i'd never seen these kinds of numbers before. Suddenly though, my numbers have dropped off to nothing. I only have 3 titles, one of which is permafree. I've sold just one book in the last day. It's so frustrating to see the sales come to a screeching halt! I hadn't done much of anything in the way of promotion, and sales had been going well since the last days of December. Now it's a flatline across all platforms.
> 
> What could've happened? I've gotten a few decent reviews and made a lot of sales. Don't have too many returns either, and my sell-thru rate is pretty good. I like to think that my stories aren't garbage, but can't think of any reason for the sales to dry up so suddenly. Maybe my permafree isn't visible enough? Maybe my books have been slapped with the adult filter or something? What could it be? My permafree downloads have slowed, so maybe that's why...?
> 
> It could just be one of those things, I guess. This business isn't the most transparent, to be sure. Being a newbie who's still getting used to those things though, I just feel kind of depressed and confused about the sudden drop-off and don't know what to do. Any thoughts?


I took a look at your titles, and I have nothing. They were all published frequently, so the last two books in the series shouldn't be off the new release lists yet. Publishing is a fickle beast. Sometimes, the drastic changes in sales make no sense.

I haven't really been keeping up with my sales lately, since I got a new computer and I'm busy adding all of my software and stuff back to it. So, unfortunately I don't have any recent sales data to help make a comparison. Last month, I was checking my sales every day. This month, I've been kind of lazy.


----------



## Deena Ward

emilycantore said:


> I thought your Google Play figure would be much higher. Every time I go to Google Play I see your titles hanging out near mine (I always enjoy seeing fellow kboarders doing well!). It was my first full month on Google Play also and I made $2189.47 there. It's now second to Amazon with Apple close behind it.
> 
> I haven't had a $10,000 month yet but I'm working towards it!


I've got my stuff pretty much everywhere but Google Play right now. I'm completely stymied by that place. I can't find anything there and I'm worried about it mucking up my pricing strategy and my perma-free which would be devastating. My partner, who is usually the one who does this stuff for me, is leery of trying, too. How'd it go when you listed your titles?


----------



## EllenWaite

Thank you both! I'm working to get more titles up. Dunno if I'll manage 100, but I'll try, haha. The only major vendor I'm not listed at is Apple, so perhaps I should give them a look. I'll probably have to use D2D for them, but I hear it's a good market to get into. they are on Google Play, but have only sold like 3 there so far haha. Thanks for the tips and encouragement!


----------



## Deena Ward

EllenWaite said:


> What could've happened? I've gotten a few decent reviews and made a lot of sales. Don't have too many returns either, and my sell-thru rate is pretty good. I like to think that my stories aren't garbage, but can't think of any reason for the sales to dry up so suddenly. Maybe my permafree isn't visible enough? Maybe my books have been slapped with the adult filter or something? What could it be? My permafree downloads have slowed, so maybe that's why...?


I can confirm for you that your titles are not adult filtered. It's not a bad idea to keep an eye on that sort of thing, though. To check for yourself, go to http://www.salesrankexpress.com/ and type in your name. If there is a big red "Adult" listed after your title, then you've been filtered.

I've been doing this less than a year myself, so I'm no expert. I have noticed that sales can sometimes die off for no discernible reason, just like they can sometimes spike out of the blue. And in between I have good days and bad days. I just try not to panic on the bad and not to get too complacent on the good. 

If your permafree downloads have slowed, look around for places to promote it and get the engine jump-started again. If you haven't yet submitted to What to Read After Fifty Shades of Gray, then you should give it a try. It's always good for a nice bump.


----------



## Deena Ward

emilycantore said:


> It went perfectly! Follow T.K's guide and it's easy. You can list titles for free on Google so it won't ruin any permafrees.
> 
> http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,167655.0.html
> 
> If you are distributing via D2D it's incredibly easy because you can use the pdf and ePub from there. You should absolutely do it. It's money slipping away every minute your titles aren't up there.
> 
> You should absolutely do it. I had given up on Google Play and only went back after reading T.K's guide.


Thanks! We should give it another look then. I'm currently going to Apple through D2D, so that would be great then. I hate the idea of money slipping away -- 

Speaking of money slipping away, anyone else having problems getting Apple to pub their erotic romances? My first ones went just fine, but this last one, the final book in my series, has been on hold there since November 8. I hate that the first three are up without the finale. Wrote to D2D about it, and they said it could take up to six months for Apple to approve it. Seriously? Has anyone here had it take that long?


----------



## crashaddict

Just wanted to say thanks for the replies and for this thread in general. I avoided choosing the Erotica Category and even though I had it in my keywords it didn't get put into there. Two sales and a newsletter subscriber already. Pretty cool! Hoping to have Part 2 done by next week. Now if only I can conquer Google Play and Kobo (where I'm having issues uploading)


----------



## KMatthew

EllenWaite said:


> The only major vendor I'm not listed at is Apple, so perhaps I should give them a look.


I would definitely recommend getting on Apple. They're the second largest selling retailer for a lot of erotica authors.



Deena Ward said:


> To check for yourself, go to http://www.salesrankexpress.com/ and type in your name. If there is a big red "Adult" listed after your title, then you've been filtered.


Thanks for this. It's been a long time since I actually checked it. It looks like two of my Sky Corgan titles are Adult flagged. Luckily, they're farther back in two of my series, so it's not having much of an effect, if any.



Deena Ward said:


> Speaking of money slipping away, anyone else having problems getting Apple to pub their erotic romances? My first ones went just fine, but this last one, the final book in my series, has been on hold there since November 8. I hate that the first three are up without the finale. Wrote to D2D about it, and they said it could take up to six months for Apple to approve it. Seriously? Has anyone here had it take that long?


Generally speaking, it takes Apple forever to publish anything under the erotica category. They just published the first three parts of my His Indecent Training series yesterday. Any time I submit something to Apple, I don't expect it to go through for at least a month.


----------



## Deena Ward

tkkenyon said:


> *The Dom's Secrets:* (a compilation of previously approved books): Uploaded 11/28/2013. Approved/On Sale 01/10/2014
> *The Devilhouse Books: Rae *(Ditto): Uploaded 12/20/2013. Still not available.
> Just some data for you. Looks like at least 6 weeks.
> TK





KMatthew said:


> Generally speaking, it takes Apple forever to publish anything under the erotica category. They just published the first three parts of my His Indecent Training series yesterday. Any time I submit something to Apple, I don't expect it to go through for at least a month.


Thanks, you two for the data. I'm at two months and counting here. The irony is that this book has the tamest cover and has the least kink of the books -- and none of the others took more than a few weeks to approve. Figures.


----------



## EllenWaite

Thanks for the advice, all! Greatly appreciated. I'll look into Apple soon. Probably via D2D.

Strangely enough, sales have returned. They're still a bit slow, but they're better than they were. I guess you guys are right. There's an arbitrary ebb and flow to these things and I'll probably only drive myself crazy if I obsess over it too much. I understand now why many recommend checking sales figures only a few times a month, haha. I should get into that habit myself.


----------



## KMatthew

Sera Elizabeth Darkley said:


> I keep referring back to this thread in regards to pricing, and I was wondering: Do you think these price points would work for genres outside of romance and erotica?
> 
> I was reading Kristine Rusch's post about pricing, and she says that a lot of indies underprice their novels and that the above price range is a better reflection of the market. True/false?


I have used my erotica pricing strategy outside of erotica, and I can honestly say that I think it goes against the grain. If you want to know what you should be pricing in your genre, I would suggest checking out the top 10 best selling books in your genre, totaling up the prices of all ten books, total up the page count of all ten books, then divide the price by the page count. That should give you an estimate of what to charge per page. You could go even further by dividing the price per page with the number of words per page, which I believe is around 333 (someone correct me if I'm wrong) to get the price per word, then figure out how much your book should be priced that way, then round up or down to .99 accordingly.

That's how I would figure out how to price in another genre, at least. As a rule of thumb, I think it's probably best to follow current pricing trends if you want to maximize your income potential.

I have to admit that I skimmed through the article. One thing I saw was that she suggests to price your novels in ebook format no less than $6. I honestly don't know very many self-pub authors who price that high outside of the erotica genre.

Again, the best way to know the market in any given genre is to research it. Pricing trends change. What works today may not work tomorrow.


----------



## KMatthew

Boyd said:


> I'm glad this post came back up because I want to say thanks  Between you, SM Reine, RB and many others here I went from making 12$ a month to being able to pay my bills... I appreciate the information you guys share!


You're very much welcome. It makes me happy to know that the information I share helps to better the lives of others.


----------



## Jacqueline_Sweet

I'd also like to chime in and say that I found this post incredibly inspirational. Thank you for sharing your experience and your findings. 

Here's my question: after a year and a hundred titles, are you slowing down at all?


----------



## KMatthew

Jacqueline_Sweet said:


> I'd also like to chime in and say that I found this post incredibly inspirational. Thank you for sharing your experience and your findings.
> 
> Here's my question: after a year and a hundred titles, are you slowing down at all?


I don't publish as frequently as I did in the beginning. Now a days, I'm lucky if I publish four titles a month. But the income has still been increasing.


----------



## Alex Jace

KMatthew said:


> You're very much welcome. It makes me happy to know that the information I share helps to better the lives of others.


I owe you a big thanks as well. This business model hadn't even have occurred to me until I read this thread. My numbers are a lot less spectacular than yours, but I'm slowly building them - I should clear around $950 this month. Alas, I am much lazier than you are and I fear I will never reach your 100 titles.


----------



## Chris P. O&#039;Grady

This is the first big thread I found here on KBOARDS and have been following it for months since I did. K, you are my hero *bowing down to you!* In all of my endeavors you have been one of the most thoughtful and helpful of members. I look forward to every post!


----------



## WillemThomas

I was wondering if you would be willing to share your current pricing strategy for trilogies. Free for the first part, or charge .99/2.99/2.99? And how about their subsequent bundles?

Thanks for the inspirational posts.


----------



## KMatthew

WillemThomas said:


> I was wondering if you would be willing to share your current pricing strategy for trilogies. Free for the first part, or charge .99/2.99/2.99? And how about their subsequent bundles?
> 
> Thanks for the inspirational posts.


Currently, my pricing strategy for trilogies goes like this:

1st Book - Free
2nd Book - $0.99
3rd Book - $2.99

Bundle - $3.99

If there are more than 3 books in a series, every book after the first one except for the last is $0.99, and the bundle is priced according to the number of serials in the bundle. For example, my last serial had 5 parts. I priced the bundle at $4.99. It was just under 90,000 words long.


----------



## WillemThomas

KMatthew said:


> Currently, my pricing strategy for trilogies goes like this:
> 
> 1st Book - Free
> 2nd Book - $0.99
> 3rd Book - $2.99
> 
> Bundle - $3.99
> 
> If there are more than 3 books in a series, every book after the first one except for the last is $0.99, and the bundle is priced according to the number of serials in the bundle. For example, my last serial had 5 parts. I priced the bundle at $4.99. It was just under 90,000 words long.


How successful has this approach been working so far? Do you end up with a lot of people just buying the bundle? Do you release the bundle at the same time as the 3rd book?

Thanks again for your insight.


----------



## KMatthew

WillemThomas said:


> How successful has this approach been working so far? Do you end up with a lot of people just buying the bundle? Do you release the bundle at the same time as the 3rd book?
> 
> Thanks again for your insight.


Both of the serials I've priced this way have done phenomenally well. And no, surprisingly readers opt to buy the pieces individually instead of buying the bundle. For instance, all of the parts of one of my series sold 1,186 copies so far this month. The bundle of that series only sold 9 copies.

I usually release the bundle a week after I release the last book in the series.


----------



## Skylar Cross

Marla,

Quick question for which I haven't been able to find an answer:

Is it redundant to publish on both Draft2Digital and Smashwords? I haven't used the former yet and I'm getting a handful of sales from Smashwords. My titles are showing up on iTunes as promised so I'm wondering if I should even bother with Draft2Digital. My apologies if this has been answered before and I missed it.

Oh, and thanks for pushing Google Play! I've only been on it for about five days and my most recent title is outselling Amazon there.

Taylor


----------



## KMatthew

Taylor Shade said:


> Marla,
> 
> Quick question for which I haven't been able to find an answer:
> 
> Is it redundant to publish on both Draft2Digital and Smashwords? I haven't used the former yet and I'm getting a handful of sales from Smashwords. My titles are showing up on iTunes as promised so I'm wondering if I should even bother with Draft2Digital. My apologies if this has been answered before and I missed it.
> 
> Oh, and thanks for pushing Google Play! I've only been on it for about five days and my most recent title is outselling Amazon there.
> 
> Taylor


If you're distributing your work through the retailers on Smashwords, you don't have to submit through Draft2Digital. However, I still recommend switching over to Draft2Digital because they pay out more frequently than Smashwords. Smashwords pays out quarterly. Draft2Digital pays out monthly with a 2 month delay (the same as Amazon).

If you do choose to switch over, you should leave your titles up on Smashwords until they go through on Draft2Digital. Yeah, there will be two copies of your book on each of the retailers you distributed with for a little while, but it's really not a big deal.


----------



## EllenWaite

So, I've got a question about pseudo-incest stories. I uploaded a new one last night, but found this morning that it'd been changed to "Draft" status. It's the second in a series, about 4000 words, and the cover isn't especially risque. The blurb, I thought, was fairly innocent, but did allude to certain family members. Is this the reason it got smacked down? I've never had this happen on any of my titles before, so what should I do? Who do I send an email to in order to figure out what needs changed? I don't want to piss off Amazon ;-;

Oh, and Kobo declined them both... even though a quick search in their store reveals a glut of taboo/PI erotica...  

Any suggestions? If you want to see one of the titles in question I can PM you a link.


----------



## KMatthew

EllenWaite said:


> So, I've got a question about pseudo-incest stories. I uploaded a new one last night, but found this morning that it'd been changed to "Draft" status. It's the second in a series, about 4000 words, and the cover isn't especially risque. The blurb, I thought, was fairly innocent, but did allude to certain family members. Is this the reason it got smacked down? I've never had this happen on any of my titles before, so what should I do? Who do I send an email to in order to figure out what needs changed? I don't want to p*ss off Amazon ;-;
> 
> Oh, and Kobo declined them both... even though a quick search in their store reveals a glut of taboo/PI erotica...
> 
> Any suggestions? If you want to see one of the titles in question I can PM you a link.


I certainly know how frustrating it can be for this to happen. There are obviously books on both Amazon and Kobo that should have obviously gotten the smack down but somehow managed to get through the filters. Unfortunately, we really have no power over that.

From what I understand, alluding to any type of family relationships in a blurb will get your work smacked back to draft mode. Even some non-PI titles have had this happen. Thankfully, Amazon is pretty reasonable as far as working with authors to make stuff compliant. You can send an e-mail to [email protected] telling them that you'd like your ebook put back into Draft mode so that you can rework it. They're usually more than happy to do this.


----------



## EllenWaite

Ah, I see. Thanks for the tip! The book in question is actually still in draft mode as we speak... which is the weird thing. Up until this afternoon it was "In Review", and then it just went to "Draft" a few hours ago without ever having been published. Weird, weird, weird. Well, I've fired off an email to that address, so hopefully they can explain what's up.

Thanks again for this wonderful thread!


----------



## KMatthew

EllenWaite said:


> Ah, I see. Thanks for the tip! The book in question is actually still in draft mode as we speak... which is the weird thing. Up until this afternoon it was "In Review", and then it just went to "Draft" a few hours ago without ever having been published. Weird, weird, weird. Well, I've fired off an email to that address, so hopefully they can explain what's up.
> 
> Thanks again for this wonderful thread!


Oh man, I feel ditzy. Somehow, I totally missed that you said it was in Draft mode. I have heard of them doing this before instead of blocking the title. It's never happened to me though. Usually, they just get blocked and I have to e-mail them about it.


----------



## EllenWaite

Haha, I just got an email basically saying that they left it in draft so I could try fixing it up. Nice of them, I guess. Now the only question is... what do they want me to fix??

_Hello,

We're contacting you regarding the following book(s), which are in violation of our content guidelines (see list below for details):

<BOOK TITLE>
If you wish, you may make changes to your book (*images, title, description, and interior content*) to comply with the KDP Content Guidelines and re-submit it for publishing._

Makes me wonder what this email means. Do they want me to change ALL of the bolded above, or do I need to contact them to find out the specifics? I shot them an email earlier, so I guess we'll see. I'm pretty sure it was the blurb, now that I think about it...

Thanks for all of your help!


----------



## KMatthew

EllenWaite said:


> Haha, I just got an email basically saying that they left it in draft so I could try fixing it up. Nice of them, I guess. Now the only question is... what do they want me to fix??
> 
> _Hello,
> 
> We're contacting you regarding the following book(s), which are in violation of our content guidelines (see list below for details):
> 
> <BOOK TITLE>
> If you wish, you may make changes to your book (*images, title, description, and interior content*) to comply with the KDP Content Guidelines and re-submit it for publishing._
> 
> Makes me wonder what this email means. Do they want me to change ALL of the bolded above, or do I need to contact them to find out the specifics? I shot them an email earlier, so I guess we'll see. I'm pretty sure it was the blurb, now that I think about it...
> 
> Thanks for all of your help!


From what you said in your previous post, it sounds like it's the blurb.


----------



## EC

On the subject of compliance, I have a novella planned out which deals with the subject of rape. There will be zero explicit content in the book, it deals primarily with the aftermath and eventual resolution. The title I have in mind is liable to be flagged up though, it will be "***** the Rapist."

What's your thought? No chance of being accepted with that type of title? or submit it and argue it out?


----------



## KMatthew

theblether said:


> On the subject of compliance, I have a novella planned out which deals with the subject of rape. There will be zero explicit content in the book, it deals primarily with the aftermath and eventual resolution. The title I have in mind is liable to be flagged up though, it will be "***** the Rapist."
> 
> What's your thought? No chance of being accepted with that type of title? or submit it and argue it out?


If your novella is a romance or erotica, it is almost guaranteed to get flagged/blocked with the word Rapist in the title. Outside of those genres, it seems fine though.


----------



## Chris P. O&#039;Grady

Using this approach I sold two books this month! Pretty soon I can get rid of my prawn! Thanks K!


----------



## AngelicaBoone

Marla, I just want to thank you, like many others have, for the valuable information you've provided us. It's been wonderful to read of your successes over the previous year. Good luck with making the Bestseller list this year. I'm cheering for you.


----------



## EC

KMatthew said:


> If your novella is a romance or erotica, it is almost guaranteed to get flagged/blocked with the word Rapist in the title. Outside of those genres, it seems fine though.


Okay, thanks......it's neither. It's a crime based drama. Should be okay then.


----------



## WillemThomas

KMatthew said:


> Both of the serials I've priced this way have done phenomenally well. And no, surprisingly readers opt to buy the pieces individually instead of buying the bundle. For instance, all of the parts of one of my series sold 1,186 copies so far this month. The bundle of that series only sold 9 copies.
> 
> I usually release the bundle a week after I release the last book in the series.


Those are great numbers. Have you ever tried charging 2.99 for the various parts of a series, instead of .99?


----------



## KMatthew

WillemThomas said:


> Those are great numbers. Have you ever tried charging 2.99 for the various parts of a series, instead of .99?


I used to charge $2.99 for all parts except for the first. In fact, most of my series are still priced that way. Now I'm trying for a USA Today Best Seller though, and to get one, I need a lot of buyers. Typically, you get more buyers at a lower price. Though, I should really switch to writing novels. It's almost impossible to get on a best seller list with short stories and novellas, though people have done it in the recent past.


----------



## WillemThomas

KMatthew said:


> I used to charge $2.99 for all parts except for the first. In fact, most of my series are still priced that way. Now I'm trying for a USA Today Best Seller though, and to get one, I need a lot of buyers. Typically, you get more buyers at a lower price. Though, I should really switch to writing novels. It's almost impossible to get on a best seller list with short stories and novellas, though people have done it in the recent past.


I'm gearing up to release a number of Erotic Romance trilogies and was trying to decide between the Free/.99/2.99 or Free/2.99/2.99 - since I'll being doing this under a brand new pen name, I'm favoring the .99 model - primarily for the extra low-impulse sales it may generate. That's why I've been picking your brain. 

Thanks again.


----------



## WillemThomas

Congratulations on hitting $20k in sales for January. Astounding!


----------



## Harpurr

Yes congrats, you are an inspiration to so many, giving us hope that it is possible to make a living from writing fiction.

This may seem to be a dumb question but I can't figure it out quickly and I thought you might find it easy to put me on the right track? How do you create an author profile for a pseudonym? I already have an author profile in my real name for some non-fiction work that I've done, which of course I don't want associated with my erotica ( I have finally published yay!!). How do you create multiple author profiles in Amazon?

Thanks

Deb


----------



## EllenWaite

I just wanted to stop in again and say thanks. You helped me when I had questions about my taboo titles and I'm happy to say they're all up now! Also, if I hadn't stumbled upon this magnificent thread long ago and read about your success, I might never have given erotica a try and I'd still be selling practically nothing as a horror writer. Haha.

Thank you for being so generous. I really feel like you've done this community a great service by sharing your results and knowledge. If you feel the need to stop posting sales figures and things, it's completely understandable. But thank you so much for everything you've hitherto shared. I can tell you that for me, it's made a huge impression, and has contributed to my success.

Even if you stop posting sales, I hope you'll still stick around and keep us updated on how you're doing! And I hope your success continues long into the future, too!


----------



## Christian Price

Yes, thank you for sharing.  I remember your posts a couple of years ago, and you're book in the signature...with the kitten.  This is what I love about this forum.  You can follow the success of others.


----------



## KMatthew

Harpurr said:


> Yes congrats, you are an inspiration to so many, giving us hope that it is possible to make a living from writing fiction.
> 
> This may seem to be a dumb question but I can't figure it out quickly and I thought you might find it easy to put me on the right track? How do you create an author profile for a pseudonym? I already have an author profile in my real name for some non-fiction work that I've done, which of course I don't want associated with my erotica ( I have finally published yay!!). How do you create multiple author profiles in Amazon?
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Deb


Just create a new account in Author Central. You'll need a different e-mail address than your original account. It's pretty easy. Once the account is created, you can link your books under your pseudonym to that account. Author Central has nothing to do with payments or what not, so you don't have to worry about crossover.



Christian Price said:


> Yes, thank you for sharing. I remember your posts a couple of years ago, and you're book in the signature...with the kitten. This is what I love about this forum. You can follow the success of others.


Amazon pulled the kitten book. Meanies. lol


----------



## autumn_s

KMatthew said:


> Just create a new account in Author Central. You'll need a different e-mail address than your original account. It's pretty easy. Once the account is created, you can link your books under your pseudonym to that account. Author Central has nothing to do with payments or what not, so you don't have to worry about crossover.
> Amazon pulled the kitten book. Meanies. lol


You can actually have profiles for up to 3 names in each Amazon Central account. This post explains how to do it: http://traceywritesbooks.com/different-pen-names-amazon-author-central/


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## KerryT2012

Hi, I am really struggling wiht where to promote erotic/erotica. There are some sites, but not sure they actually work. Does anyone have a clue, I want this year to be about writing and paid promotions only.


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## KMatthew

autumn_s said:


> You can actually have profiles for up to 3 names in each Amazon Central account. This post explains how to do it: http://traceywritesbooks.com/different-pen-names-amazon-author-central/


Great addition! I totally didn't know this. Where is the Like button when you need one?


----------



## SawyerPentecost

This is a truly astounding accomplishment. Congratulations, and thank you so much for your transparency!


----------



## pwtucker

Hi Marla,

Thanks so much for this thread - your generosity with your information and experience has been incredibly helpful, and a real eye-opener to boot. Very inspirational!


----------



## Anabelle Sunday

Hi,

I've been away from the boards for a while, mostly because of my "real" job. I have some observations for those of you who are attempting to follow in KMatthew's footsteps as I am. Although I have only published one book so far, I learned so many things during the month or so that it took me to get it perfectly formatted and self-published that I thought I would share them here.

Also, I have a question for KMatthew: How the heck did you write so many books so fast? I haven't even finished my second one yet and I started in December lol. Part of it has to do with the fact that my "real" job is freelance writing, so most days I can't even bring myself to write for myself after my work is done for the day. Still, any advice would be helpful. Okay, onto my observations.

1. Don't skip the important step of setting your book aside for a few weeks and coming back to edit it. I published almost immediately after it was written, and then I read it a few weeks later and I was so embarrassed, I immediately pulled it from sale on every site I listed it on so that I could give it a major revision. I have since republished it.

2. You won't be able to get listed on AllRomanceEbooks unless you have 3 or 4 titles that prove to them that you aren't writing about some taboo topic that they don't want there. So, before you even make an account, publish your books elsewhere for a while.

3. No matter how hard you try, you will never get your book correctly formatted in Word that will translate to a proper TOC and page layout for Smashwords Epub file. Instead, download your Epub from Draft2Digital, reformat it manually using an Epub editor like Sigil and then re-upload it. As for the other versions on Smashwords, I offered them but they don't come out exactly right either. However, there is nothing you can do to get it perfect for every format.

4. However, with a little work, you can get it perfect for Kindle Fire using Amazon's online previewer and a few hours of frustrating, head banging work in Word.

5. If you are publishing to paperback (and I think any books that are around 20,000 words or more should be, to add legitimacy to your title) then make sure that you do the following:

Make your word doc 5x8 or whatever size your book is going to be.

Increase your font size, lower your margins or whatever you have to do to get it around 120 pages (the bare minimum for a decent spine).

You can also add extra pages in the front of your book (no more than 2 consecutive blank pages) and 10 blank pages at the end if you need a few more pages.

Look at published books from the "Big Six" publishers and try to mimic them exactly. Readers are so used to seeing that format that your book will stand out if you don't follow it. By this I mean no page numbers or headers on the front matter (the pages before chapter one starts) Don't indent the first paragraph of each chapter and make the first letter of each chapter larger than the rest. Use justification. Put your book title on every other page with the other pages containing your author name, start the chapter halfway down the page not at the top etc. I'm sure you can figure out the rest if you read a lot.

When you publish to PDF from Word (at least in my version) sometimes Word adds pages or removes them when you export to PDF. So check your PDF manually before you submit it to CreateSpace. I went through about 15 different uploads before I figured out why my PDF was always different than my Word Doc (in terms of page placement). If Word is adding an extra page, just backspace or cut and paste to remove a page and then re-add it. When you export again, the problem might be fixed. If not, rinse and repeat.

There is a lot more that I learned, but it is 4:41 AM and I can't think of anything else. If you have questions - KMatthew is much more qualified than I am to answer them, but I thought I would share what i learned at least. Happy writing!


----------



## Carradee

AnabelleSunday said:


> 3. No matter how hard you try, you will never get your book correctly formatted in Word that will translate to a proper TOC and page layout for Smashwords Epub file.


Not true. Using one-word bookmarks for the hyperlinks helps a lot. I use a Scrivener compile now for both my Smashwords EPUB and for my Smashwords DOC file.



AnabelleSunday said:


> When you publish to PDF from Word (at least in my version) sometimes Word adds pages or removes them when you export to PDF. So check your PDF manually before you submit it to CreateSpace. I went through about 15 different uploads before I figured out why my PDF was always different than my Word Doc (in terms of page placement). If Word is adding an extra page, just backspace or cut and paste to remove a page and then re-add it. When you export again, the problem might be fixed. If not, rinse and repeat.


In Preferences, there's a setting to show all invisibles. (I forget what they're called on Windows, at the moment.) That'll let you see the special characters for whatever superfluous marks (if any) are adding the extra page, or if you have a section break that's set wrong. Something I often do is run Find&Replace searches for " ^p" (a space at the end of a paragraph), "^p " (a space at the start of a paragraph), and various other permutations of things (like two spaces or two paragraphs in a row) that can cause formatting errors.


----------



## Anabelle Sunday

Carradee said:


> Not true. Using one-word bookmarks for the hyperlinks helps a lot. I use a Scrivener compile now for both my Smashwords EPUB and for my Smashwords DOC file.
> 
> In Preferences, there's a setting to show all invisibles. (I forget what they're called on Windows, at the moment.) That'll let you see the special characters for whatever superfluous marks (if any) are adding the extra page, or if you have a section break that's set wrong. Something I often do is run Find&Replace searches for " ^p" (a space at the end of a paragraph), "^p " (a space at the start of a paragraph), and various other permutations of things (like two spaces or two paragraphs in a row) that can cause formatting errors.


Wow, thanks for those tips. I will see about that. I didn't know about this stuff. I was just basing it on my own experience...but I'm glad someone figured out some ways around the problems I had.


----------



## Carradee

AnabelleSunday said:


> Wow, thanks for those tips. I will see about that. I didn't know about this stuff. I was just basing it on my own experience...but I'm glad someone figured out some ways around the problems I had.


You're welcome-and I forgot to mention, regarding the page breaks? Use "section break (next page)", not page breaks.


----------



## EC

Good advice Anabelle, thanks very much.  My editor is booked out for about 40 days at the moment and that's a good thing, the time lapse between writing and publishing strengthens the book in my opinion. 

I had the same woeful experience with my first book as you appear to have had, I was so excited to publish, and I published an embarrassment.


----------



## KMatthew

AnabelleSunday said:


> Also, I have a question for KMatthew: How the heck did you write so many books so fast?


I think you either have the energy/drive/time to push out a lot of work quickly, or you don't. Even when I was working a full time job, I was putting out between 2,500 - 5,000 words per day. Of course, I don't have kids or pets or other obligations, so it wasn't incredibly difficult for me to do that. And back then, I was really in the zone. Now that I write full time, I still usually produce around 5,000 words per day. The easiest way I've found to accomplish this without burning out is to set a schedule for yourself.

Also, I don't follow your step #1. I will finish writing a book one day, then edit it the very next. Sometimes I finish writing a book and start editing it on the same day, but I usually don't like to do that.

As far as formatting goes, a lot of people do it differently. I use the CreateSpace templates to format. They probably don't come out looking exactly like trade published books, but using CreateSpace is a nightmare, in general, so I try to make it as easy on myself as possible. And even with using a template, I still have to make anywhere between 1 - 20 revisions and re-uploads.


----------



## Skylar Cross

AnabelleSunday said:


> I have some observations for those of you who are attempting to follow in KMatthew's footsteps as I am. Although I have only published one book so far, I learned so many things during the month or so that it took me to get it perfectly formatted and self-published that I thought I would share them here.


K Matthew is my role model too. Welcome! Thanks for sharing your ideas.



> Also, I have a question for KMatthew: How the heck did you write so many books so fast?


I struggled with this very same issue. I started my first 13,000 word story on 8/27/13 and finished it on 10/7/13. 41 days. Eight stories later, I've got it down to 5 days.

A HUGE help to me was _2K to 10K: Writing Faster, Writing Better, and Writing More of What You Love_ by Rachel Aaron. I discovered, like the author, that I write better in the afternoons. Which was news to me because I always thought I wrote better in the mornings.

While I'm nowhere near K Matthew's (now PhoenixFalling... nice!) word count, I'm getting a lot better. Cracked 4,750 in one day Friday last week by setting Write or Die to 60 minutes, 1250 words. I wrote until the trumpet sounded, took a break, then reset for another hour. Today my goal is 5,000 in the afternoon using the same system.



> 1. Don't skip the important step of setting your book aside for a few weeks and coming back to edit it.


Sorry, but I have to disagree here. If I did that, I wouldn't be making the money I'm making right now. (It's not a lot, but it's more than I've ever made as a writer and it's spurring me on.) After reading a handful of Jordan Silver's books, I got over my fear of editing. Her books need some serious editing... and yet they sell sell sell.

The question is... are you here to be a great author or are you treating it as a business? I struggled with this back in December when I was writing _Eyes_ and _Lips._ I was trying to be too good but they were taking way too long. There was so much more I wanted to put into them but I cut the story short because I knew it wasn't going to be profitable to do what I wanted to do with them. Yes, I would like to write a really GOOD book someday... all perfectly edited, plotted, with well-thought out themes that improve the human condition, but right now I need to churn stuff out to make some cash.

As for editing, I edit as I go. I don't know of anyone else who does that. I write in the afternoon, then edit that piece the following morning, then write again in the afternoon.


----------



## Redacted1111

How is it that books that get reviewed so poorly sell so well? How do you deal with the inevitable bad reviews of serialization and erotica/ erotic romance genres? Are bad reviews inevitable? I've listened to, and read many bad reviews on these genres. I've tried to write according to what people seem to want, but still have bad reviews. With my current work, I know that it's a serialization factor. But it is hard to keep going when people hate you. I know I'm not terrible because I get good reviews. My scifi pen name has never had a bad review, everything is four and five stars and extremely complementary to me as an author. 

It just strikes me as odd because the erotic romance books keep selling. I just got a one star last night on a free book because the reader doesn't like serials. I'd created a likable heroine put her on a believable journey, created a strong alpha male, edited and proofread until it was completely clean, and I still have one star reviews. It just seems to be a by product of the genre, which I'm not sure how to deal with. I actually ended up crying and couldn't sleep all night last night, literally. I'd been keeping myself from looking at reviews, but then I did. Bad idea. 

Sigh... Anyway, we all complain about bad reviews. I just want to understand the relationship between reviews and sales because I see poorly reviewed books selling like hotcakes. What is your experience? Should I just get over it and go on?

I also am wondering if it is a bad idea to write pure erotica and erotic romance under the same name? I don't really want to start another pen name, but erotic shorts seem to sell well. 

If I'm going to move toward more mainstream romance, with full length novels, should I maybe start a new pen name for that instead?


----------



## Aducknamedjoe

> I use a Scrivener compile now for both my Smashwords EPUB and for my Smashwords DOC file.


I would be interested in hearing how you do this. Is it simply a matter of compiling to a .doc and that's it, or are there special settings you need to do within Scrivener for this to be Smashwords meatgrinder compatible?


----------



## Skylar Cross

Trinity Night said:


> How do you deal with the inevitable bad reviews of serialization and erotica/ erotic romance genres?


This is my next challenge as well. I've recently had some bad reviews and it started to get me into a funk. So what I did was I went to Amazon and read some reviews of my favorite author of all time. Even for the book that I thought was the most brilliant I ever read, there were many one and two-star reviews. It made me feel better to know that reviews are 100% subjective. The best book of all time will get bad reviews.



> Are bad reviews inevitable?


Yes.



> But it is hard to keep going when people hate you.


It's their problem, not yours.

Or, as a friend told me once, "If you're not pissing _somebody_ off, then you're doing something wrong."



> It just strikes me as odd because the erotic romance books keep selling.


I attribute it to the fact that there are a lot of just plain mean people out there. Writing bad reviews gives them a chance to be mean to others. I never write a bad review. Ever. If I love a book, I write a five-star review. If I don't like a book, I write no review. Because I'm a nice person. Some people just can't help but put others down. I'd even go so far as to say that 90% of people are not nice people. They just fake it most of the time. (But then again, I come from a customer service background so I've been exposed to the worst of the worst.)



> I actually ended up crying and couldn't sleep all night last night, literally. I'd been keeping myself from looking at reviews, but then I did. Bad idea.


We have to get tougher! I include myself in that statement.



> Should I just get over it and go on?


Yes! Despite my bad reviews, my sales numbers increase every day. Go figure.


----------



## Gentleman Zombie

Trinity Night said:


> How is it that books that get reviewed so poorly sell so well? How do you deal with the inevitable bad reviews of serialization and erotica/ erotic romance genres? Are bad reviews inevitable? I've listened to, and read many bad reviews on these genres. I've tried to write according to what people seem to want, but still have bad reviews.


Even the bible and Shakespeare have one-star reviews on Amazon. I think one of the keys to staying productive, is to stop caring so much about reviews. In popular genres, one-stars are going to happen. Probably even more so, now that Amazon strongly encourages Kindle users to leave reviews. As long as you know you are putting out good work, keep going. If there are problems with your work (editing, etc..) admit it and make it better. But for the most part reviews are a readers knee-jerk reaction to what you wrote. Don't let it stand in your way, keep going.


----------



## Redacted1111

I know my copy is really clean. I've increased my proofreading routine by several passes and have added an additional outside proofreader who is very sharp. I think the knee jerk is that they don't like cliffhangers or that it's a novella. I made the mistake of calling it a series rather than a serial and that pissed people off. One person even complained that it was too short even though I say in bold, at the top of the product description, that it is a novella of 17k words. This is even a free book... 

I know I need to grow a thicker skin. Sometimes the genre just feels like I'm stuck in an abusive relationship. It pays, but readers can be so mean. I don't want to complain about readers, although I probably am, I just can't figure out how to make them happy. I think that the majority of my bad reviews come from Amazon prompting reviews. I've had people review my work saying they don't remember reading it. 

Everyone is free to say what they want. I don't want to ask to have the reviews removed or hound the readers or anything. I just want to know what to expect and to figure out how to please these readers. I think that's what is so difficult for me. I'm trying really hard, but still failing to please the readers.


----------



## Carradee

Aducknamedjoe said:


> I would be interested in hearing how you do this. Is it simply a matter of compiling to a .doc and that's it, or are there special settings you need to do within Scrivener for this to be Smashwords meatgrinder compatible?


_(Note, in case it's pertinent: I'm on Scrivener for Mac.)_

It's a mix. First, double-check to make sure all line heights are what they should be before you even try to export. (Note that 1.0 ends up odd on some vendors, so I tend to go with 1.2 or so across the board.) Also try to keep the titles in the ToC to one word-that's where Smashwords glitches can kick in-and don't set anything you want in the ToC to "Compile As-is". Headaches will ensue.

Smashwords editions need that marked on the title page. (Technically, I think you can get cleared without "Smashwords Edition", but it's not worth fighting, to me. I already have details like an intentionally blacked-out line in one book that I have to remind a CSR is intentional most times I update that book.) That and the formatting double-checks are all you truly _need_ for a Smashwords EPUB.

I have keywords for each compile I plan to use, then I save searches for each keyword as a "Collection". That lets me quickly change what I'm exporting, while also keeping the file hierarchy. (Note that Scrivener also has a multi-file search, which can be useful for changing the story blurb on every title page at once.)

The Scrivener DOC file, for the MeatGrinder, starts where the EPUB did, but an extra detail: none of the text can be bigger than size 18. So I have special compile settings for that, plus I make special Smashwords DOC-only title pages and any other as-is page that's to go in that version. I've done 6 or more already, and they've all cleared the MeatGrinder without a hiccup&#8230;one of them, the same day I uploaded it.

I hope that helps.

And a quick tip for when things aren't compiling how you want them to: Double-check the "Compile as-is" and "Page break before" settings on the page acting oddly.


----------



## Key

Trinity Night said:


> I know I need to grow a thicker skin. Sometimes the genre just feels like I'm stuck in an abusive relationship. It pays, but readers can be so mean. I don't want to complain about readers, although I probably am, I just can't figure out how to make them happy. I think that the majority of my bad reviews come from Amazon prompting reviews. I've had people review my work saying they don't remember reading it.
> 
> Everyone is free to say what they want. I don't want to ask to have the reviews removed or hound the readers or anything. I just want to know what to expect and to figure out how to please these readers. I think that's what is so difficult for me. I'm trying really hard, but still failing to please the readers.


Don't. (try to make them happy that is)

It will feel abusive if you let other people control you. Only you are in charge of what you write. Honestly, how many things in life do we get to decide for ourselves? Write what you want to write, and it will make some readers happy. Some won't like it. I think most readers are getting used to seeing bad reviews complaining about free books that are too short, that they don't remember reading, etc. It makes me as a reader think, "What a moron." I don't attack said reviewers, but it definitely bothers writers more than readers.

Such a review makes a reader think, "That idiot doesn't know how reviews work or just wants to complain." And I think that's a reasonable thought because there IS a learning curve in giving reviews. Who hasn't left a stupid review at some point when learning about reviews?

Just ignore it and figure they're becoming a background hum of ignorance like YouTube comments. They're entitled to their opinion, but nobody has to listen.


----------



## Carradee

Trinity Night said:


> One person even complained that it was too short even though I say in bold, at the top of the product description, that it is a novella of 17k words.


I have a few novelettes under other pennames. I've gotten some complaints that there's room to expand and to strengthen X, like the creepy factor in _Thrice Uncharmed_. But I was _intending_ to only hint at the "CREEPY!" aspect, so the reader wanted something other than what I intentionally wrote. Which is fine, but it means they're not exactly my intended audience for that particular one. I might go back and make an expanded version sometime, but I wasn't about to write a creepy sci-fi dystopian novel when I was writing the story for a press known for sweet romance. *wry smile*

Sometimes a reader thinks something should be longer because it's missing pieces, sometimes because a story isn't quite what a reader wanted, and sometimes because they just want more time with the characters. (Another one of mine gets that last complaint.)

Really, no matter what you do, someone will be unhappy. Roll with it.


----------



## Redacted1111

Thanks guys. I had a REALLY good idea for a novel trilogy the other night. It kept me up tossing and turning as the characters and conflict downloaded into my brain. (I haven't been sleeping well lately, obviously.) But after reading some reviews and seeing some star ratings on goodreads for a story that has been by far my best seller, I got kind of disillusioned. The second part of the serial is selling like crazy. It's killing it in the UK. My daily average is twice what it was last month and my income should be too. If a fraction of the people who bought the second book reviewed the first one, well... 
I guess the popular genres, especially free books, are likely to take a hit. I won't let it stop me. I'm almost done with the third and final installment. Deep breaths, moving on. Hugs.


----------



## Twizzlers

Perhaps I need to write some erotica under a pen name to fun my sci-fi/western endevaors. 
It'd probably be horrible though, I don't think I've ever read an erotic novel before.


----------



## Key

JRODell said:


> Perhaps I need to write some erotica under a pen name to fun my sci-fi/western endevaors.
> It'd probably be horrible though, I don't think I've ever read an erotic novel before.


I don't really know anything about this topic, but I think writing something JUST for money (if you don't have a talent for it or some enjoyment from it), is pretty much the worst thing ever. Speaking just from trying to write stuff I didn't actually want to write because I thought it would make money. Yeeeeeaaaaah. Didn't work for me. But writing what I do want to write sometimes does. Obviously this isn't my thread and I'm no expert, but my guess is the OP of the thread is doing something she enjoys, not just writing to fund other writing. If it works for you, go for it. But honestly I don't think it's something you can, er, fake. Writing that is.


----------



## Gone To Croatan

Taylor Shade said:


> As for editing, I edit as I go. I don't know of anyone else who does that. I write in the afternoon, then edit that piece the following morning, then write again in the afternoon.


I do. I normally go back over the previous day's writing when I start the next, and, if I realize I need to make a major change while writing, I go back and do it. Then, when the first draft is done, I only have to deal with the minor notes I've made and read through to clean it up.

It's working better for me than writing a horrible draft and then trying to fix that.


----------



## Redacted1111

Key said:


> I don't really know anything about this topic, but I think writing something JUST for money (if you don't have a talent for it or some enjoyment from it), is pretty much the worst thing ever.


I agree. I read mostly SFF genres and while I know that I could write pure smut or contemporary NA romance for money, I stick with paranormal. I could venture toward erotica that was more like paranormal women's fiction, but I can't do smut. I don't have the stomach. I also don't have an interest in romance if there is no paranormal or science fiction elements at this time.

I'm comfortable with writing about sex in a frank manner, but the context is big for me. Writing smut would make me feel icky.

Romance and erotica are harder then they seem. They might not require the kind of research science fiction requires, but believe me, it's extremely challenging to write something the fans love.


----------



## Jos Van Brussel

I think it is indeed much more difficult than it seems. Inspired by this thread, I also decided to dip my toe in the world of erotic literature, but all I could come up with was Sister Selena having a secret tryst with the Reverend Mark in the village vicarage. I got as far as chapter 2 (Sister Selena has been invited to the vicarage under the pretense of preparing for the annual church jumble sale) before deciding to call it quits. The experience did teach me a renewed respect for writers of the genre. That stuff is really hard to write!


----------



## Twizzlers

Key said:


> I don't really know anything about this topic, but I think writing something JUST for money (if you don't have a talent for it or some enjoyment from it), is pretty much the worst thing ever. Speaking just from trying to write stuff I didn't actually want to write because I thought it would make money. Yeeeeeaaaaah. Didn't work for me. But writing what I do want to write sometimes does. Obviously this isn't my thread and I'm no expert, but my guess is the OP of the thread is doing something she enjoys, not just writing to fund other writing. If it works for you, go for it. But honestly I don't think it's something you can, er, fake. Writing that is.


Yeah that's my bad, I didn't mean to sound like I was just doing it for money. My real love is in Western and Sci-Fi, but to be honest, I think I'd have a ton of fun writing this. I'd love to learn. Maybe that's just how I'm wired, but the thought of writing it is kind of exciting.


----------



## Carradee

Key said:


> But honestly I don't think [enjoying what you write is] something you can, er, fake.


Actually, my first short story sale ever was something I loathed but I read a new Christian sci-fi magazine, thought "I can do that with less extreme theology," did it, and they loved it. Back in my fanfic days, I did some blind beta tests between stories I loved and stories I hated, and the betas couldn't tell me which was which. I'm actually revising a novel now where I dislike my narrator intensely, which made her difficult to write, because I didn't want everyone to share my dislike&#8230;and, from beta reader responses, they don't.

My point is that "faking" enjoyment or interest actually *is* possible for at least some writers. Perhaps it takes a particular personality to be able to do it. Enjoyment of the challenge of writing something you despise, maybe? *shrug*


----------



## Key

Interesting!  

It's not that I never end up hating what I write (though usually not forever!), but I definitely have to enjoy something about the process, and usually that's the writing for me.


----------



## Anabelle Sunday

Well, I don't know if I have a particular opinion one way or another about "just doing it for money."  I think that if you are writing "just for the money" then you are going to be sorely disappointed because only a small percentage of fiction writers make enough to write full time (congrats Marla you are one of the elite ). But in the end, it doesn't really matter, because if you don't have that deep need to write and create your own worlds on paper, you aren't going to spend enough time writing to finish a novel anyway. 

I would write even if I knew I'd never make a dime from it. However, I'd obviously much prefer to make said dime. I don't know if I would write if I knew for a fact that no one would ever read it. I'm thinking that I would. I just don't have the power to stop. Hi, my name's Ana and I'm an addict. (Hey, Ana)

However, I do admit to switching to the erotica genre because I thought it might be easier to break into and sell some books. I used to write straight horror. However, the more erotica I read, research and write, the more interesting it becomes. Especially the kinky stuff! I may spend my future career writing horror/erotica books instead of straight horror. We'll see.


----------



## Merlyn Sloane

Brand new on the Kboards and I gotta say this thread was what sealed the deal for me in regard to the awesomeness of the community. 

Thank you so much for every question you've answered through this thread! I feel like you really helped me get a handle on my situation (though I've made dozens of new and exciting mistakes that are just my own, ha).


----------



## ingridash

Trinity Night said:


> How is it that books that get reviewed so poorly sell so well? How do you deal with the inevitable bad reviews of serialization and erotica/ erotic romance genres? Are bad reviews inevitable? I've listened to, and read many bad reviews on these genres. I've tried to write according to what people seem to want, but still have bad reviews. With my current work, I know that it's a serialization factor. But it is hard to keep going when people hate you. I know I'm not terrible because I get good reviews. My scifi pen name has never had a bad review, everything is four and five stars and extremely complementary to me as an author.
> 
> It just strikes me as odd because the erotic romance books keep selling. I just got a one star last night on a free book because the reader doesn't like serials. I'd created a likable heroine put her on a believable journey, created a strong alpha male, edited and proofread until it was completely clean, and I still have one star reviews. It just seems to be a by product of the genre, which I'm not sure how to deal with. I actually ended up crying and couldn't sleep all night last night, literally. I'd been keeping myself from looking at reviews, but then I did. Bad idea.
> 
> Sigh... Anyway, we all complain about bad reviews. I just want to understand the relationship between reviews and sales because I see poorly reviewed books selling like hotcakes. What is your experience? Should I just get over it and go on?
> 
> I also am wondering if it is a bad idea to write pure erotica and erotic romance under the same name? I don't really want to start another pen name, but erotic shorts seem to sell well.
> 
> If I'm going to move toward more mainstream romance, with full length novels, should I maybe start a new pen name for that instead?


depends on what the review says. From erotica authors Ive talked to, some of them have gotten reviews saying a story was too weird (like a tentacle story or something) or too depraved and their sales shot up because of it lol. Not my luck -- one of mine was selling well until some loser had to give it 2 stars and tanked the sales. Ugh.


----------



## KMatthew

Taylor Shade said:


> K Matthew is my role model too. Welcome! Thanks for sharing your ideas.
> 
> I struggled with this very same issue. I started my first 13,000 word story on 8/27/13 and finished it on 10/7/13. 41 days. Eight stories later, I've got it down to 5 days.
> 
> A HUGE help to me was _2K to 10K: Writing Faster, Writing Better, and Writing More of What You Love_ by Rachel Aaron. I discovered, like the author, that I write better in the afternoons. Which was news to me because I always thought I wrote better in the mornings.
> 
> While I'm nowhere near K Matthew's (now PhoenixFalling... nice!) word count, I'm getting a lot better. Cracked 4,750 in one day Friday last week by setting Write or Die to 60 minutes, 1250 words. I wrote until the trumpet sounded, took a break, then reset for another hour. Today my goal is 5,000 in the afternoon using the same system.
> 
> Sorry, but I have to disagree here. If I did that, I wouldn't be making the money I'm making right now. (It's not a lot, but it's more than I've ever made as a writer and it's spurring me on.) After reading a handful of Jordan Silver's books, I got over my fear of editing. Her books need some serious editing... and yet they sell sell sell.
> 
> The question is... are you here to be a great author or are you treating it as a business? I struggled with this back in December when I was writing _Eyes_ and _Lips._ I was trying to be too good but they were taking way too long. There was so much more I wanted to put into them but I cut the story short because I knew it wasn't going to be profitable to do what I wanted to do with them. Yes, I would like to write a really GOOD book someday... all perfectly edited, plotted, with well-thought out themes that improve the human condition, but right now I need to churn stuff out to make some cash.
> 
> As for editing, I edit as I go. I don't know of anyone else who does that. I write in the afternoon, then edit that piece the following morning, then write again in the afternoon.


I changed my screen name back to KMatthew. Sorry, I know PhoenixFalling is a lot cooler. 

I agree on the editing thing. There are books on the New York Times Best Seller list right now that have not been edited by a professional editor. Some of them have so many typos and grammatical errors that it's almost embarrassing. The moral of the story though is that, especially with erotica and new adult, people aren't looking for perfectly edited books. They're looking for books that resonate with them and are entertaining.



Trinity Night said:


> How is it that books that get reviewed so poorly sell so well? How do you deal with the inevitable bad reviews of serialization and erotica/ erotic romance genres? Are bad reviews inevitable? I've listened to, and read many bad reviews on these genres. I've tried to write according to what people seem to want, but still have bad reviews. With my current work, I know that it's a serialization factor. But it is hard to keep going when people hate you. I know I'm not terrible because I get good reviews. My scifi pen name has never had a bad review, everything is four and five stars and extremely complementary to me as an author.
> 
> It just strikes me as odd because the erotic romance books keep selling. I just got a one star last night on a free book because the reader doesn't like serials. I'd created a likable heroine put her on a believable journey, created a strong alpha male, edited and proofread until it was completely clean, and I still have one star reviews. It just seems to be a by product of the genre, which I'm not sure how to deal with. I actually ended up crying and couldn't sleep all night last night, literally. I'd been keeping myself from looking at reviews, but then I did. Bad idea.
> 
> Sigh... Anyway, we all complain about bad reviews. I just want to understand the relationship between reviews and sales because I see poorly reviewed books selling like hotcakes. What is your experience? Should I just get over it and go on?
> 
> I also am wondering if it is a bad idea to write pure erotica and erotic romance under the same name? I don't really want to start another pen name, but erotic shorts seem to sell well.
> 
> If I'm going to move toward more mainstream romance, with full length novels, should I maybe start a new pen name for that instead?


Don't feel bad about the one star reviews. It comes with the serializing territory. The vast majority of my serialized stuff doesn't have over a 3 star rating because people love to one star for length. That's why it's important to go above and beyond to let people know in your blurbs what they're getting before they hit the Buy Now button.

You get tough skin when you write enough serials. I've gotten to the point that I try not to read reviews unless they're positive. And most of the time, I can read a bad review and it will roll right off me as if it was nothing, especially if it is in regards to the length of one of my books.

As your fan base grows, hopefully you'll collect a few readers who enjoy leaving favorable reviews on your stuff. This does help balance things out a bit.

I know it can be really disheartening at first though. I can't count the number of days a bad review has completely destroyed my will to write for a day or two. It doesn't happen as often now, but it still does happen occasionally. It's just something you have to learn to deal with.

And yes, a lot of poorly reviewed books have high sales ranking. This is usually because the author already has a fan base supporting them and/or a lot of titles that cross-promote one another.

As far as starting a new pen name for your novels, I probably wouldn't unless the genres were too far apart. You have to remember that every time you start a new pen name, you're basically starting from scratch unless you plan to promote the pen name with your list. When you start from scratch, there's a high probability that you won't sell as many copies as you would if the novel was connected to a pen name that already has fans.

Erotica and erotic romance are close enough to go together under one pen name just fine. Less racy romance could probably fit under the same pen name as well.



Key said:


> I don't really know anything about this topic, but I think writing something JUST for money (if you don't have a talent for it or some enjoyment from it), is pretty much the worst thing ever. Speaking just from trying to write stuff I didn't actually want to write because I thought it would make money. Yeeeeeaaaaah. Didn't work for me. But writing what I do want to write sometimes does. Obviously this isn't my thread and I'm no expert, but my guess is the OP of the thread is doing something she enjoys, not just writing to fund other writing. If it works for you, go for it. But honestly I don't think it's something you can, er, fake. Writing that is.


While I don't write erotica and erotic romance to fund other writing projects, I also don't enjoy writing it. That doesn't mean that I hate what I do. I love writing, in general. There's nothing I'd rather be doing with my life. So, even if I have to write in a genre that's not my favorite, I'm still happy with what I do. Eventually though, I would like to make the switch to a different genre.

I've heard the argument a lot that if you write something you don't enjoy, people will know it. Maybe I'm an exception to the rule. I would much rather be writing YA, horror, or fantasy. But erotica is the only genre I've found where I can get a financial foot hold, so that's what I write. Every once in a while, I'll try to fit in a project I know I'll actually enjoy writing, but those aren't usually my money projects.

I believe that anyone can learn to write in any genre. It just takes reading that genre, researching, and learning what readers of that genre like.


----------



## Redacted1111

> Erotica and erotic romance are close enough to go together under one pen name just fine. Less racy romance could probably fit under the same pen name as well.


Thanks for the advice. I don't want to start another pen name, it's _so_ much work. Plus, I love this name. I wish it was my real name. 
I got a few really nice reviews in the last few days. People seem to like my current book quite a bit, and it gives me direction for future projects.


----------



## Key

KMatthew said:


> I believe that anyone can learn to write in any genre. It just takes reading that genre, researching, and learning what readers of that genre like.


That's something interesting to think about. Thanks!  I've written lots of different genres (with varying degrees of success, I'm sure, LOL!), but it does seem that I need to write what resonates with me at the time. There was a time when I only wanted to write science fiction, and that worked for me.

I'm not sure I'm one of the people who can learn to write any genre. I was thinking recently of trying to get into a genre because it might sell well, and honestly, I became deeply depressed. Right now I have to focus on where my heart is.


----------



## Abalone

I plan on writing short stories of the non-erotic kind. What would you or anyone else recommend for pricing schemes. Genres would be suspense/thriller and its sub-genres. Maybe action-adventure/war.


----------



## KMatthew

Key said:


> That's something interesting to think about. Thanks!  I've written lots of different genres (with varying degrees of success, I'm sure, LOL!), but it does seem that I need to write what resonates with me at the time. There was a time when I only wanted to write science fiction, and that worked for me.
> 
> I'm not sure I'm one of the people who can learn to write any genre. I was thinking recently of trying to get into a genre because it might sell well, and honestly, I became deeply depressed. Right now I have to focus on where my heart is.


Trust me, it's not always easy. Right now I'm struggling with the idea of writing a YA Dystopian series, just because I really really want to. But then I think about what would inevitably happen to my bank account. Summer is coming, and with it, sales are going to drop. It's like the author's reversed Game of Thrones saying. If there's any time to get adventurous, it would be during the winter, because the holidays tend to raise sales. Summer is more of a struggle to keep the income stable, and to do that, it's better to stick to what sells.



AA2014 said:


> I plan on writing short stories of the non-erotic kind. What would you or anyone else recommend for pricing schemes. Genres would be suspense/thriller and its sub-genres. Maybe action-adventure/war.


When I do venture into novel writing territory, which will be soon, I plan to price my series like so.

1st in series will start at $2.99. Then when the second book comes out, I'll drop the price to $0.99 to get people to buy and invest in the series. When the third book comes out, the first will probably go perma-free (I say probably because it will depend on how well the series is selling). Both the second and third books will be priced at $3.99. I think this is a reasonable price for a novel. I will probably use this pricing strategy regardless of genre, as it seems to be fairly popular right now.

To get a better idea of how people are pricing in the genres you want to write, check out the top 100 in that genre. As I have no experience in that particular genre, my pricing method may not be sufficient.


----------



## LBrent

Edward M. Grant said:


> I do. I normally go back over the previous day's writing when I start the next, and, if I realize I need to make a major change while writing, I go back and do it. Then, when the first draft is done, I only have to deal with the minor notes I've made and read through to clean it up.
> 
> It's working better for me than writing a horrible draft and then trying to fix that.


I do this, too!


----------



## Abalone

KMatthew said:


> When I do venture into novel writing territory, which will be soon, I plan to price my series like so.
> 
> 1st in series will start at $2.99. Then when the second book comes out, I'll drop the price to $0.99 to get people to buy and invest in the series. When the third book comes out, the first will probably go perma-free (I say probably because it will depend on how well the series is selling). Both the second and third books will be priced at $3.99. I think this is a reasonable price for a novel. I will probably use this pricing strategy regardless of genre, as it seems to be fairly popular right now.
> 
> To get a better idea of how people are pricing in the genres you want to write, check out the top 100 in that genre. As I have no experience in that particular genre, my pricing method may not be sufficient.


Time and time again I've seen this exact method preached, and it does seem to work. However, I apologize if I wasn't clear in my post. I meant what would you recommend as a pricing scheme for genre fiction short stories, and not necessarily full length novels?


----------



## KMatthew

AA2014 said:


> Time and time again I've seen this exact method preached, and it does seem to work. However, I apologize if I wasn't clear in my post. I meant what would you recommend as a pricing scheme for genre fiction short stories, and not necessarily full length novels?


I only know of one person who has been successful pricing short stories outside of the erotica genre at above $0.99. YMMV, but I think that $0.99 is pretty much the standard for most short stories.


----------



## Abalone

KMatthew said:


> I only know of one person who has been successful pricing short stories outside of the erotica genre at above $0.99. YMMV, but I think that $0.99 is pretty much the standard for most short stories.


I see. Though I suppose if it were very good, it would be best to submit it to Kindle Singles after KDP'ing it, then reaping the 70% of the KS if it's accepted. I believe I've seen a post of yours stating you would only price a short story at 2.99 if it were more than 16K words as that's novelette length?


----------



## KMatthew

My pricing strategy has recently changed, so it depends on which pen name the story is posted under.


----------



## Abalone

Fair enough. I did read your thread from beginning to end. If I could get over the strangeness of writing women's erotica as a man, I'd give it a try. Otherwise I'll likely push out a half dozen or so short stories for 99 cents and hopefully be able to write a novel within the year. Anytime I think of an idea, I just write it down. Though I'll admit that 85% of the ideas would result in a very sad novel. I'm not sure there's a market for books that make people cry because the emotions they experience are raw.


----------



## Jacqueline_Sweet

What's your take on working on multiple serials at once? I'm publishing a supernatural erotic romance serial about a succubus right now. Should I wrap that up before launching the next serial or is it okay to run with more than one at the same time?

And do serials still sell or are readers waiting for the collected edition?


----------



## KMatthew

Jacqueline_Sweet said:


> What's your take on working on multiple serials at once? I'm publishing a supernatural erotic romance serial about a succubus right now. Should I wrap that up before launching the next serial or is it okay to run with more than one at the same time?
> 
> And do serials still sell or are readers waiting for the collected edition?


It doesn't hurt to work on two serials at a time if you can handle it. I personally have issues juggling two stories at once, though I used to do it in the beginning when I was testing out different sub-genres. Some authors need to work on more than one project at a time to stay happy. It's really up to you.

I'm currently still having a lot of success with serials. The individual parts of my stories tend to outsell the collection or sell very close to it. That's just my experience though.


----------



## Abalone

Boyd said:


> Some of my first reviews were one stars (and I spent 2 days hung over recovering from them). In the end... they helped.... one reviewer said my book was too trashy.... my rank shot through the roof


I can't comment for erotica, but I generally do not pay attention to Amazon reviews. Often times the reviewer has no idea what they're talking about. In my case, I purchase quite a bit of electronics from Amazon, and in 99% of the reviews I go through, the user breaks the item or doesn't know how to use it, and thus blames the company for a bad product. Go figure.

Same with book reviews. When King's KS on gun control was posted, his traditionally published books accrued many single star ratings calling it "liberal trash" which wasn't surprising. Most of them were removed. Additionally, if you go through a bad reviewer's review history you can determine whether they actually had cause for their review or they just don't know their head from their foot. I have, as a customer, sometimes gone through such people's review histories and noticed they rated amazing books like The Road as one stars calling it vile. *shrug*


----------



## Lovelife

In Erotica/Erotic romance.. when you talk about serials. How does it differ from a series? I've been a little confused. Books I read are called series.. like Anita Blake series for example or the Fever series. Is the difference b/w a series and serial the ending? I thought a serial might be a cliff hanger ending, but at least on of the Fever books ended on a complete cliff hanger. Most series seem to wrap up the plot from the book while keeping an over arching plot going throughout at least multiple books. Or is it about length. Is a novel length always a series while shorts or novellas are serials?


----------



## Jim Johnson

Lovelife said:


> In Erotica/Erotic romance.. when you talk about serials. How does it differ from a series? I've been a little confused. Books I read are called series.. like Anita Blake series for example or the Fever series. Is the difference b/w a series and serial the ending? I thought a serial might be a cliff hanger ending, but at least on of the Fever books ended on a complete cliff hanger. Most series seem to wrap up the plot from the book while keeping an over arching plot going throughout at least multiple books. Or is it about length. Is a novel length always a series while shorts or novellas are serials?


I've seen 'serial' refer to a couple different things, which is where the potential confusion comes from. Serials can be an ongoing series of titles where each title in the series continues the story but tells a self contained story even when there are subplots and other threads that carry from one book to another. For instance, the LOST TV series was a serial in that each episode had stuff happen, but each one was part of a larger framework.

I've also seen serial refer to titles that are chunks of a larger work. For instance, taking a novel and breaking it up into chunks and releasing each chunk as an installment (say installment one contains chapters 1-3, installment two contains chapters 4-6, etc.). I've also seen authors release a novel one chapter at a time, then release the complete novel once the last chapter is written.

Length doesn't really enter into whether something is a serial. One could release novel-length installments of a series or a serial (for instance, The Lord of the Rings was broken into three installments).


----------



## KMatthew

JimJohnson said:


> I've also seen serial refer to titles that are chunks of a larger work. For instance, taking a novel and breaking it up into chunks and releasing each chunk as an installment (say installment one contains chapters 1-3, installment two contains chapters 4-6, etc.). I've also seen authors release a novel one chapter at a time, then release the complete novel once the last chapter is written.


^ This is how I usually define it, taking a novel and breaking it up into installments. Most of my installments have a cliffhanger ending, which readers either tend to love or hate. There's really no in between. Once I finish serializing, I'll combine it all together and publish the novel.


----------



## Jacqueline_Sweet

So if I have a novel written--paranormal romance with werewolves and magic and all that good stuff--and it already is divided into three distinct parts, would it be a better business decision to release it as a serial than as a novel? Release one part a week for three weeks, wait a week and then release the complete edition?

Or just go ahead with the novel?

Ps Thanks for all the advice! This thread is literally my favorite thing in these forums.


----------



## KMatthew

Jacqueline_Sweet said:


> So if I have a novel written--paranormal romance with werewolves and magic and all that good stuff--and it already is divided into three distinct parts, would it be a better business decision to release it as a serial than as a novel? Release one part a week for three weeks, wait a week and then release the complete edition?
> 
> Or just go ahead with the novel?
> 
> Ps Thanks for all the advice! This thread is literally my favorite thing in these forums.


It really depends on what your motive is. If you're trying to build your name and get readers on your mailing list, I would serialize. If you already have a pretty good fanbase, I would probably go with a novel.

Serializing has always worked really well for me ever since I switched over to writing erotica and erotic romance, but it's almost impossible to get a NYT Best Seller or a USA Today Best Seller with serials. Don't get me wrong, people have done it, and there are serials on there right now. But your chance of having a hit is far greater if you publish novels. And when you hit it with a novel, the income soars.


----------



## AssanaBanana

KMatthew said:


> It really depends on what your motive is. If you're trying to build your name and get readers on your mailing list, I would serialize. If you already have a pretty good fanbase, I would probably go with a novel.
> 
> Serializing has always worked really well for me ever since I switched over to writing erotica and erotic romance, but it's almost impossible to get a NYT Best Seller or a USA Today Best Seller with serials. Don't get me wrong, people have done it, and there are serials on there right now. But your chance of having a hit is far greater if you publish novels. And when you hit it with a novel, the income soars.


It seems like if you published it all at once you'd be putting all your eggs in one basket, so to speak, and depending on that single title to do all the work for you. I think that's why a series or serialized story makes more sense to me - you're spreading the burden across more titles and when one gets noticed the others soon follow. Not to mention if you've priced them right you stand to generate more income if they do well, rather than risking generating little income on one title that does poorly.

I am not speaking from experience, just my observations and from following your progress (and trying the process out myself). But then I am also not looking for a "hit". I just want to sell enough to replace the income from my day job. If something does take off, that's just gravy.


----------



## KMatthew

JessePearle said:


> It seems like if you published it all at once you'd be putting all your eggs in one basket, so to speak, and depending on that single title to do all the work for you. I think that's why a series or serialized story makes more sense to me - you're spreading the burden across more titles and when one gets noticed the others soon follow. Not to mention if you've priced them right you stand to generate more income if they do well, rather than risking generating little income on one title that does poorly.
> 
> I am not speaking from experience, just my observations and from following your progress (and trying the process out myself). But then I am also not looking for a "hit". I just want to sell enough to replace the income from my day job. If something does take off, that's just gravy.


That's true too. There's really no right answer. It's whatever works best for the individual author. When I first started out, my goal was to make money/quit the day job. Serializing allowed me to test the waters. If something wasn't performing, I could shorten it and start a new project. The system worked for me. Now, my goals are different. I'm currently working on the last part of a serial, and hopefully after this, I'll move on to novels. Sure, I still want to make money, but I also want to hit one of the big best seller lists. I have a mailing list of close to 1,000 readers, which isn't very big compared to some other authors, but it should help give my novels the push that they need when I do publish them. It's all about where you are in your journey and what your goals are.


----------



## Lovelife

JimJohnson said:


> I've seen 'serial' refer to a couple different things, which is where the potential confusion comes from. Serials can be an ongoing series of titles where each title in the series continues the story but tells a self contained story even when there are subplots and other threads that carry from one book to another. For instance, the LOST TV series was a serial in that each episode had stuff happen, but each one was part of a larger framework.
> 
> I've also seen serial refer to titles that are chunks of a larger work. For instance, taking a novel and breaking it up into chunks and releasing each chunk as an installment (say installment one contains chapters 1-3, installment two contains chapters 4-6, etc.). I've also seen authors release a novel one chapter at a time, then release the complete novel once the last chapter is written.
> 
> Length doesn't really enter into whether something is a serial. One could release novel-length installments of a series or a serial (for instance, The Lord of the Rings was broken into three installments).


Thank you. I guess it's so confusing to me because I can't imagine splitting a novel into chapters. As in, each chapter doesn't seem to be a short book per se. Maybe if you write it from the start that way though it will turn out better.



KMatthew said:


> ^ This is how I usually define it, taking a novel and breaking it up into installments. Most of my installments have a cliffhanger ending, which readers either tend to love or hate. There's really no in between. Once I finish serializing, I'll combine it all together and publish the novel.


That's what I thought you meant, but wasn't sure. I recently purchased your His Indecent box set and started reading it. Is each part with a title (ie. Self Exploration) a single serial book you released before compiling it? Or does a each of your serials contain multiples of those "titles"?


----------



## Jim Johnson

Jacqueline_Sweet said:


> So if I have a novel written--paranormal romance with werewolves and magic and all that good stuff--and it already is divided into three distinct parts, would it be a better business decision to release it as a serial than as a novel? Release one part a week for three weeks, wait a week and then release the complete edition?
> 
> Or just go ahead with the novel?


My thought would be to maximize the number of titles you have available when you can. If you publish the three parts separately and then follow it up with the complete edition, you've created a total of four products. Price it right so that readers could buy the individual parts and/or the collection (meaning, don't price the collection so low that there's no reason to ever buy the individual parts). This way, you have two products addressing the investment you have put into book 1.

And then, down the road you could create a sampler pack that includes the first parts of say three of your series. Now you have another product helping to knock down the investment you put into book 1. Once book 1 is in the black, it's all profit from there on out, no matter how many times you re-package it.

Just one strategy, anyway, that I'm working on as I learn from others and put the finishing touches on my business plan.


----------



## Jacqueline_Sweet

JimJohnson said:


> My thought would be to maximize the number of titles you have available when you can. If you publish the three parts separately and then follow it up with the complete edition, you've created a total of four products. Price it right so that readers could buy the individual parts and/or the collection (meaning, don't price the collection so low that there's no reason to ever buy the individual parts). This way, you have two products addressing the investment you have put into book 1.
> 
> And then, down the road you could create a sampler pack that includes the first parts of say three of your series. Now you have another product helping to knock down the investment you put into book 1. Once book 1 is in the black, it's all profit from there on out, no matter how many times you re-package it.
> 
> Just one strategy, anyway, that I'm working on as I learn from others and put the finishing touches on my business plan.


Thanks, Jim. This is pretty much exactly where I'm going with my plan. I have three series I'm working on more-or-less simultaneously, so a sample pack with part one of all three is a great idea. Thanks for that.


----------



## Jim Johnson

Jacqueline_Sweet said:


> Thanks, Jim. This is pretty much exactly where I'm going with my plan. I have three series I'm working on more-or-less simultaneously, so a sample pack with part one of all three is a great idea. Thanks for that.


Cool beans! Have fun!


----------



## KMatthew

Lovelife said:


> I recently purchased your His Indecent box set and started reading it. Is each part with a title (ie. Self Exploration) a single serial book you released before compiling it? Or does a each of your serials contain multiples of those "titles"?


Most of them had 3 chapters. The last part of each serial had 5 chapters. And there was one part in His Indecent Training that only had 2 chapters because the chapters ran long.


----------



## Anabelle Sunday

@KMatthew - Some of your books only had a couple of chapters?  Okay, can you advise me on this? I'm working on a new series right now. I am on the first part - which is two chapters long and about 5000 words. I had planned to end this book in the series after about 15,000 words which will probably be 5-7 chapters. However, I could cap it now and publish the first part with 5000 words. That will probably make the series five books long instead of 3. Do you recommend this or do you think I should write longer books and have less books in the series? Thanks, as always.


----------



## KMatthew

AnabelleSunday said:


> @KMatthew - Some of your books only had a couple of chapters? Okay, can you advise me on this? I'm working on a new series right now. I am on the first part - which is two chapters long and about 5000 words. I had planned to end this book in the series after about 15,000 words which will probably be 5-7 chapters. However, I could cap it now and publish the first part with 5000 words. That will probably make the series five books long instead of 3. Do you recommend this or do you think I should write longer books and have less books in the series? Thanks, as always.


I would definitely go longer. Shoot for around 10,000 words per installment or longer.


----------



## crashaddict

I listened to the advice in this post (though I need to get better at the working _consistently_ part) and started writing werewolf erotica. Thanks to KMatthew and others, I've had my first ever milestone month...for which I plan to make a separate post later. Milestones broken?

More than 100 titles sold in a single month. 
More than 200 titles sold in a single month.
More than 300 titles sold in a single month.
More than 100/200/300 of a single title sold in a month.
Made at least $100 in a month.

I'm thinking I'll break 500 sales before the month is over. That's with one short story free (5,000 copies just at Amazon this month!) and one at $0.99. Trying to hurry up and finish #3 before March. Wahoo!


----------



## Jim Johnson

Congrats!


----------



## KMatthew

crashaddict said:


> I listened to the advice in this post (though I need to get better at the working _consistently_ part) and started writing werewolf erotica. Thanks to KMatthew and others, I've had my first ever milestone month...for which I plan to make a separate post later. Milestones broken?
> 
> More than 100 titles sold in a single month.
> More than 200 titles sold in a single month.
> More than 300 titles sold in a single month.
> More than 100/200/300 of a single title sold in a month.
> Made at least $100 in a month.
> 
> I'm thinking I'll break 500 sales before the month is over. That's with one short story free (5,000 copies just at Amazon this month!) and one at $0.99. Trying to hurry up and finish #3 before March. Wahoo!


Big time congrats!


----------



## AssanaBanana

crashaddict said:


> I listened to the advice in this post (though I need to get better at the working _consistently_ part) and started writing werewolf erotica. Thanks to KMatthew and others, I've had my first ever milestone month...for which I plan to make a separate post later. Milestones broken?
> 
> More than 100 titles sold in a single month.
> More than 200 titles sold in a single month.
> More than 300 titles sold in a single month.
> More than 100/200/300 of a single title sold in a month.
> Made at least $100 in a month.
> 
> I'm thinking I'll break 500 sales before the month is over. That's with one short story free (5,000 copies just at Amazon this month!) and one at $0.99. Trying to hurry up and finish #3 before March. Wahoo!


That's awesome! Do you mind if I ask when you first published and how many titles you have published so far?

I first published exactly a month ago. So far I've only had time to get two short stories out, but I've been happy with the sales (only 60 in February so far, for both titles combined, 75 total for the 30 day span since I first published).

Sales have lagged but I know they will pick up when I get the third book out next week. My goal is a two-week publishing schedule but it just isn't feasible at the moment considering my full-time job and a needy novel that needs to be edited and sent back to the publisher by the first of the month. Plus, my life just got turned upside-down today when my husband got a _sweet_ new job offer that will mean I get a lot more writing time this year. Just not in March since we will be moving (ugh).


----------



## crashaddict

JessePearle said:


> That's awesome! Do you mind if I ask when you first published and how many titles you have published so far?
> 
> I first published exactly a month ago. So far I've only had time to get two short stories out, but I've been happy with the sales (only 60 in February so far, for both titles combined, 75 total for the 30 day span since I first published).
> 
> Sales have lagged but I know they will pick up when I get the third book out next week. My goal is a two-week publishing schedule but it just isn't feasible at the moment considering my full-time job and a needy novel that needs to be edited and sent back to the publisher by the first of the month. Plus, my life just got turned upside-down today when my husband got a _sweet_ new job offer that will mean I get a lot more writing time this year. Just not in March since we will be moving (ugh).


75 books sold in 30 days is nothing to sneeze at! Especially at the $2.99 price point. But I think the trick to surging forward/upward is, as this thread suggests, making the first book in the series permafree. I sold like 20 copies of #1 before it finally went permafree somewhere around the beginning of Feb. I published #1 in the last week of Jan and published #2 on the 11th of Feb. Aiming to have #3 done as soon as this week.


----------



## AssanaBanana

crashaddict said:


> 75 books sold in 30 days is nothing to sneeze at! Especially at the $2.99 price point. But I think the trick to surging forward/upward is, as this thread suggests, making the first book in the series permafree. I sold like 20 copies of #1 before it finally went permafree somewhere around the beginning of Feb.* I published #1 in the last week of Jan and published #2 on the 11th of Feb. Aiming to have #3 done as soon as this week.*


Are you me? I had to re-read that wondering if I'd written it (published #1 the last week of Jan, #2 Feb 16th, #3 is getting edited this week - hopefully will publish next week).

So you've broken all those milestones just with those two titles within the first month? Wow!

I'm on the fence about permafree... is there a way to do it withouth KDP Select? I have both books available on all the retailers and don't really want to change that if I can help it, but it seems counterintuitive to pull #1 just for KDP Select and not have it available everywhere when the rest of the series is. Do I force Amazon to price match or something? Any ideas?


----------



## KMatthew

JessePearle said:


> I'm on the fence about permafree... is there a way to do it withouth KDP Select? I have both books available on all the retailers and don't really want to change that if I can help it, but it seems counterintuitive to pull #1 just for KDP Select and not have it available everywhere when the rest of the series is. Do I force Amazon to price match or something? Any ideas?


You can only go permafree if you're NOT in KDP Select. You have to have your book available for free on other retailers for Amazon to price match to free. I've found that Barnes & Noble is the main one they want to see it free at, and the only way you can get it to go free on Barnes & Noble is if you go through Smashwords.


----------



## KellyHarper

KMatthew said:


> You can only go permafree if you're NOT in KDP Select. You have to have your book available for free on other retailers for Amazon to price match to free. I've found that Barnes & Noble is the main one they want to see it free at, and the only way you can get it to go free on Barnes & Noble is if you go through Smashwords.


How's that novel coming along?


----------



## AssanaBanana

KMatthew said:


> You can only go permafree if you're NOT in KDP Select. You have to have your book available for free on other retailers for Amazon to price match to free. I've found that Barnes & Noble is the main one they want to see it free at, and the only way you can get it to go free on Barnes & Noble is if you go through Smashwords.


Good to know. Sounds like I'll have to switch some things around... I'm uploading directly to all the retailers except for Apple (and them through D2D). But I guess it's just a matter of removing book 1 from the Nook store and telling Smashwords to ship for me instead.

Do you think it makes a difference when I do it? Should I have more than two or three books in the series available? (My plan is for six to start with, then multiple singles or trilogies of short stories in the same world.) Or does it pay to build momentum early on? (Did I just answer my own question? Lol)


----------



## KMatthew

KellyHarper said:


> How's that novel coming along?


I swear I'm going to write it after I tie up my current WIP, which will be today.  I've been so lazy lately. I feel like I haven't gotten hardly anything done this month.



JessePearle said:


> Do you think it makes a difference when I do it? Should I have more than two or three books in the series available? (My plan is for six to start with, then multiple singles or trilogies of short stories in the same world.) Or does it pay to build momentum early on? (Did I just answer my own question? Lol)


You kind of did answer your own question. 
It does pay to build momentum early on. My strategy lately has been to get the first book in a series/serial free right out of the gate, mainly because it takes so long for Amazon to price match. It can take weeks for Amazon to price match. By that time, I usually have the next book in the series/serial published.


----------



## Anabelle Sunday

JessePearle said:


> I first published exactly a month ago. So far I've only had time to get two short stories out, but I've been happy with the sales (only 60 in February so far, for both titles combined, 75 total for the 30 day span since I first published).
> 
> Sales have lagged but I know they will pick up when I get the third book out next week. My goal is a two-week publishing schedule but it just isn't feasible at the moment considering my full-time job and a needy novel that needs to be edited and sent back to the publisher by the first of the month. Plus, my life just got turned upside-down today when my husband got a _sweet_ new job offer that will mean I get a lot more writing time this year. Just not in March since we will be moving (ugh).


Wow, I must be doing something wrong. I have only published one title (published in December, removed for revision in January, republished in February, and my sales so far are thus:

December: 

1 sale from Amazon
1 sale from B&N
1 sale from Smashwords

January

No sales (obviously, as it was removed that month)

February

1 sale from Amazon

Any suggestions you guys? I know its only one book, and I am writing a series right now, but I expected a few more sales still. I'd be stoked if I was selling 30 titles per month per book. My book is priced $2.99 and is about 18,000 words. I have it listed in paperback and digital on Amazon, as well as on Smashwords, Draft2Digital for Kobo & Apple, Nook Press and of course CreateSpace. I'm thinking that I need to adjust my listing title to include some extra words rather than just the book title, or add some keywords in the listing description. Any advice you guys have about doing that or any other suggestions that might get me to 20 or 30 sales per month per book?


----------



## KMatthew

AnabelleSunday said:


> Wow, I must be doing something wrong. I have only published one title (published in December, removed for revision in January, republished in February, and my sales so far are thus:
> 
> December:
> 
> 1 sale from Amazon
> 1 sale from B&N
> 1 sale from Smashwords
> 
> January
> 
> No sales (obviously, as it was removed that month)
> 
> February
> 
> 1 sale from Amazon
> 
> Any suggestions you guys? I know its only one book, and I am writing a series right now, but I expected a few more sales still. I'd be stoked if I was selling 30 titles per month per book. My book is priced $2.99 and is about 18,000 words. I have it listed in paperback and digital on Amazon, as well as on Smashwords, Draft2Digital for Kobo & Apple, Nook Press and of course CreateSpace. I'm thinking that I need to adjust my listing title to include some extra words rather than just the book title, or add some keywords in the listing description. Any advice you guys have about doing that or any other suggestions that might get me to 20 or 30 sales per month per book?


I read your book, and it's great. I truly genuinely enjoyed it. But there are a few reasons why I don't think your sales are that great, and they have absolutely nothing to do with your writing. First, the book is a stand alone. Short stand alones, in my experience, usually have a short shelf life. Second, it's your only book, so you really don't have anything else that is feeding sales into it. And third, it's a Christmas themed book. Seasonally themed books tend to have a down tick in sales when it's not that season.

Again, your writing is awesome. There's no doubt in my mind that if/when you release a more mainstream series, you'll see an increase in sales.


----------



## AssanaBanana

AnabelleSunday said:


> Wow, I must be doing something wrong. I have only published one title (published in December, removed for revision in January, republished in February, and my sales so far are thus:
> 
> December:
> 
> 1 sale from Amazon
> 1 sale from B&N
> 1 sale from Smashwords
> 
> January
> 
> No sales (obviously, as it was removed that month)
> 
> February
> 
> 1 sale from Amazon
> 
> Any suggestions you guys? I know its only one book, and I am writing a series right now, but I expected a few more sales still. I'd be stoked if I was selling 30 titles per month per book. My book is priced $2.99 and is about 18,000 words. I have it listed in paperback and digital on Amazon, as well as on Smashwords, Draft2Digital for Kobo & Apple, Nook Press and of course CreateSpace. I'm thinking that I need to adjust my listing title to include some extra words rather than just the book title, or add some keywords in the listing description. Any advice you guys have about doing that or any other suggestions that might get me to 20 or 30 sales per month per book?


I had 30 sales of the first book before I published the second, but I think about half of those were from people I knew. When I published it, my online crit group knew about it, and I also posted to my closest FB friends (a couple dozen people). My mom was not one of the initial buyers, believe it or not  I suspect getting that ranking bump out the gate probably helped, but who knows? The only other promotional-type thing I did was to make a post on deviantArt where I have followers in the lit and fanfic/fanart communities. I have no idea how many sales came from that, but I'm sure a few did. The two reviews I have are from those two communities.

The other thing I did that was mostly accidental was to have a page on my website with the term "dragon porn" in the url. My web designer did it, and it wasn't even a live page, but browser searches were somehow hitting it. I made it a legitimate page with content and my website hits went up, and I ended up with a handful of random unknown people signing up on my mailing list. (I suppose the moral of that story is it helps to have a website with decent SEO? I'm not sure.)

What all that means for you, I don't know, but I think a bare minimum of promotion is still necessary. At the very least, publish more books!


----------



## Anabelle Sunday

Thank you very much KMatthew  That's so nice of you to say. The only thing is....it's not a Christmas themed book lol...was it the cover that made you think that? I think it is probably too late to change the cover now, since I'd have to do a whole redesign of the paperback one as well, and that is too much headache for me to think about right now . Anyway, I really appreciate you being so kind about my writing. Maybe this next series I publish will have some results more in the 20-30 sales per month range. Especially after I publish all three parts and make the first one free like you guys are suggesting. Thanks for all the terrific encouragement and advice from everyone. This is such a great thread!


----------



## KMatthew

AnabelleSunday said:


> The only thing is....it's not a Christmas themed book lol...was it the cover that made you think that? I think it is probably too late to change the cover now, since I'd have to do a whole redesign of the paperback one as well, and that is too much headache for me to think about right now . Anyway, I really appreciate you being so kind about my writing. Maybe this next series I publish will have some results more in the 20-30 sales per month range. Especially after I publish all three parts and make the first one free like you guys are suggesting. Thanks for all the terrific encouragement and advice from everyone. This is such a great thread!


Well, it came out before Christmas. The male love interest's name was Dr. Rudolph, and the plant itself smelled/tasted like Christmas. Maybe not so much the cover, but the blurb definitely has a holiday feel to it, though I know from reading the book that it's not about Christmas at all.


----------



## Chris P. O&#039;Grady

Just have to love this thread   Really wishing for a *like* button, but then I probably wouldn't post as much. 

Thought I would post a couple things that have happened to me that will probably make you laugh. When I joined KBoards this was like the first thread I found. Actually it was the second incarnation. Found it so incredibly helpful. Anyway my favored genre is SciFi, not Romance or Erotica. I have a couple of WIPs that I am nudging along. I'm a little too technical and have been accused of thinking too much in the past So I have spent a lot of time researching, learning, etc. probably not enough writing. lol.

For the heck of it I did write a erotica short and published it the beginning of January. Just so that I could put all this great knowledge to work. Its pretty short at about 3,000 words. Did my own cover lol, which appeals to men I think, and I tried to write it in an obscure fetish of women smoking cigars. Originally I put it up at 2.99. then ran a countdown with it, selling 2, plus one for myself .

Fast forward a month. My wife and I went on vacation and the whole time I'm trying to work on my WIP with little progress. The DW pick up her kindle and cranks out a 1700 word erotic short story. She asks me to read it and of course I liked it.   A week later she finds a pic on shutterstock for the cover and asks what I think, I'm like sure this looks good. So I put all this knowledge to work. Edit her MS, create the cover and publish it at .99. No expectations right?

The plan was to go right to free with it through select, which I did. Before I could even push the button, three copies sold. Then during the free days over 2600 downloads over eleven amazon stores, WTH? So then we get a few reviews. It moves up the ranking charts. Meanwhile my short which was now .99 starts selling. People are facebooking her to get the name etc.. Then I'm like you have got to finish this story. so she writes two more chapters and finishes it off. The 1st one comes off free and starts selling. Not a lot but like 8-10 copies a day. In the book matter she promises to finish the story. So then number 2 is free and 1 is selling. 2 comes off free with about 900 downloads, and it starts selling a couple copies. Now number 3 is free. I wrap the three into a box and publish it too, but no idea if it will sell anything, but thinking it may get a few sales sometime.

So what do I think this proves?

Covers sell. She picked a hot cover that readers must like. I mean there wasn't much of a blurb and you couldn't read it until you downloaded it, yet 2600 downloads?

Free books get people to look at other books. No other explanation why my other title sold another 10 copies. I mean it is obscure and very specific.

More titles, means more opportunity to sell books.

I don't know where this little experiment will go, we will just have to wait and see. She was not an author before this, so her approach was right from her heart. I didn't make editorial changes other than format, so something must strike a chord with readers. Sales have remained steady day to day and finally saw one in the hold out 12th store, Mexico. We will probaly hit 75-80 sales overall for February, so off to a good start. I have to say I'm wondering if the wrong person is trying this author thing lol. Of course now I get to introduce her as my wife and author 

~Chrispy~

ETA: Thanks K!


----------



## AssanaBanana

Chris P. O'Grady said:


> More titles, means more opportunity to sell books.


I swear when I first looked at that line I saw "More titties"... I really need to get more sleep and write less porn.


----------



## Abalone

KMatthew said:


> You can only go permafree if you're NOT in KDP Select. You have to have your book available for free on other retailers for Amazon to price match to free. I've found that Barnes & Noble is the main one they want to see it free at, and the only way you can get it to go free on Barnes & Noble is if you go* through Smashwords. *


Or Draft2Digital. They pay whatever you make each month. Unlike Smashwords, where you're only paid quarterly.


----------



## Chris P. O&#039;Grady

JessePearle said:


> I swear when I first looked at that line I saw "More titties"... I really need to get more sleep and write less porn.


Definitely


----------



## Alexis-Shore

I've started down this road, and so far I'm fairly pleased with the uptick in sales. I have two complete trilogies, and another two needing their final parts. I also have a series of erotic mysteries, each with a complete story centering around the same detective. These don't seem to be selling so well, even with the first one on permafree.

It's also encouraging to see sales on channels other than Amazon, including B&N, Kobo, Apple, and Play.

Anyway, thanks for all the advice.


----------



## AssanaBanana

AA2014 said:


> Or Draft2Digital. They pay whatever you make each month. Unlike Smashwords, where you're only paid quarterly.


Hmm. If I try to publish to B&N with a 0.00 price, D2D warns me that it'll be set at $0.99. How do you get the free price at B&N?


----------



## Anabelle Sunday

KMatthew said:


> Well, it came out before Christmas. The male love interest's name was Dr. Rudolph, and the plant itself smelled/tasted like Christmas. Maybe not so much the cover, but the blurb definitely has a holiday feel to it, though I know from reading the book that it's not about Christmas at all.


Holy crap, I totally forgot about his name, and the smell of the tea. I subconsciously made it into a Christmas themed book because I wrote it around Christmas! LOL!


----------



## Anabelle Sunday

JessePearle said:


> I swear when I first looked at that line I saw "More titties"... I really need to get more sleep and write less porn.


In this business "more titties" might also give you the opportunity to sell more books, especially if your writing girl-girl books. I just read a really good girl-girl book called Taken by Selena Kitt. I plan to write one myself in the near future.


----------



## Abalone

Do heterosexual women actually seek out F-F erotic stories or romance? Or are men the main purchasers? 


...Never thought I'd be asking a question like that in my life.


----------



## AssanaBanana

AA2014 said:


> Do heterosexual women actually seek out F-F erotic stories or romance? Or are men the main purchasers?
> 
> ...Never thought I'd be asking a question like that in my life.


It sounds like that particular book is a F/M/F menage story. A couple writer friends and I just had a conversation yesterday about why F/F erotica isn't as popular as M/M. Here's an interesting article about it (I'll just link rather than start a whole discussion since this isn't really the thread for it.)


----------



## KMatthew

JessePearle said:


> It sounds like that particular book is a F/M/F menage story. A couple writer friends and I just had a conversation yesterday about why F/F erotica isn't as popular as M/M. Here's an interesting article about it (I'll just link rather than start a whole discussion since this isn't really the thread for it.)


I think the answer to why F/F erotica isn't as popular as M/M erotica is pretty obvious. The majority of erotica readers are female. And probably the majority of the majority is heterosexual, which means they would likely be more interested in seeing two men together than two women.


----------



## Anabelle Sunday

AA2014 said:


> Do heterosexual women actually seek out F-F erotic stories or romance? Or are men the main purchasers?
> 
> ...Never thought I'd be asking a question like that in my life.


Yeah, Selena's book is F/M/F...sorry....I wrote it wrong earlier.


----------



## crashaddict

JessePearle said:


> Hmm. If I try to publish to B&N with a 0.00 price, D2D warns me that it'll be set at $0.99. How do you get the free price at B&N?


My book is actually $0.99 at Barnes and Noble. Both #1 and #2. I sold 16 copies of #1 last month and about 20 combined #1 and #2 there this month.

Amazon price-matched #1 to free the moment it went live on iTunes, where I listed it as free through Draft2Digital. I push through KDP, NookPress, and Google Play myself, and use D2D for iTunes. I absolutely 100% think the success I've found so far was due to my book getting price-matched free, and I agree that you should too. Especially for a series.

I was also lucky enough to be a "random lottery winner" since #1 broke the Top 1000 of Free Books and stayed there for almost the whole month, putting me in Top 20 of my categories. Don't ask me how because I had nothing to do with it! (aside from writing the story)


----------



## AssanaBanana

crashaddict said:


> My book is actually $0.99 at Barnes and Noble. Both #1 and #2. I sold 16 copies of #1 last month and about 20 combined #1 and #2 there this month.
> 
> Amazon price-matched #1 to free the moment it went live on iTunes, where I listed it as free through Draft2Digital. I push through KDP, NookPress, and Google Play myself, and use D2D for iTunes. I absolutely 100% think the success I've found so far was due to my book getting price-matched free, and I agree that you should too. Especially for a series.
> 
> I was also lucky enough to be a "random lottery winner" since #1 broke the Top 1000 of Free Books and stayed there for almost the whole month, putting me in Top 20 of my categories. Don't ask me how because I had nothing to do with it! (aside from writing the story)


Brainfart... I don't know why I didn't consider the iTunes freebie for price matching. Maybe because I have yet to sell a single copy over there?

I already opted in on Smashwords to have them ship to B&N so I'll just let that happen, even though it's taking awhile. Right now I have D2D pushing to Kobo & iTunes. Smashwords pushing to B&N, and I manually push to KDP and ARe. Most of my sales so far after KDP have come from ARe and B&N.

Thanks again for your help! This is very exciting. Now I just need to get off my butt and finish book 3 instead of adding more hot sex to it (as if there wasn't enough already).


----------



## Wisecat

Just wanted to note that, though I'm a committed lurker, this thread is one of my favorites and I'd like to thank KMatthews from the bottom of my heart and also my bank account for being so kind to share all her information with us. It's really had a meaningful change on my earnings. Thanks, KMatthews! You rock!


----------



## That Author

@KMatthew So correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like you started out with smaller word counts and singles, rather than series. Then you started doing more series and with longer word counts, and now you're trying to make the transition to novels. Is that more or less accurate, and if you were starting from scratch is that the same progression you would do again, or something different? Specifically, I'm wondering if skipping right to series with longer word counts (10k - 20k?) is a better strategy to start with?


----------



## KMatthew

TheStu said:


> @KMatthew So correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like you started out with smaller word counts and singles, rather than series. Then you started doing more series and with longer word counts, and now you're trying to make the transition to novels. Is that more or less accurate, and if you were starting from scratch is that the same progression you would do again, or something different? Specifically, I'm wondering if skipping right to series with longer word counts (10k - 20k?) is a better strategy to start with?


I started out writing serials. My original erotica serials had a very short word count, between 3k - 6k. Then I upped the word count to at least 7k per serial, because I thought that was the point at which I'd stop getting one starred for length. Then I eventually upped it to a minimum of 10k each.

If I had to start from scratch tomorrow, I would still write serials, but they would definitely be longer, somewhere between 13k-20k a piece. I'd write at least 3 installments, make the first one permafree, price the second one at $0.99, the third one at $2.99, and then make a bundle. I have had phenomenal success with this pricing strategy. Seriously, I haven't published something that has sold less than 100 copies a month since I switched to this strategy. Whether my already established reader base has played a role in that success, I'm honestly not sure. I just know that that's what's been working for me lately.

To be honest, I'm still apprehensive about switching to writing novels, but a lot of my readers have requested it, so I'm going to give it a go. We shall see.


----------



## Aero

Im curious, and humbled by your impressive experiences in writing and has there been a downtrend in what you have been doing or do you just now simply have the financial "freedom" to explore novels?



KMatthew said:


> I started out writing serials. My original erotica serials had a very short word count, between 3k - 6k. Then I upped the word count to at least 7k per serial, because I thought that was the point at which I'd stop getting one starred for length. Then I eventually upped it to a minimum of 10k each.
> 
> If I had to start from scratch tomorrow, I would still write serials, but they would definitely be longer, somewhere between 13k-20k a piece. I'd write at least 3 installments, make the first one permafree, price the second one at $0.99, the third one at $2.99, and then make a bundle. I have had phenomenal success with this pricing strategy. Seriously, I haven't published something that has sold less than 100 copies a month since I switched to this strategy. Whether my already established reader base has played a role in that success, I'm honestly not sure. I just know that that's what's been working for me lately.
> 
> To be honest, I'm still apprehensive about switching to writing novels, but a lot of my readers have requested it, so I'm going to give it a go. We shall see.


----------



## KMatthew

Aero said:


> Im curious, and humbled by your impressive experiences in writing and has there been a downtrend in what you have been doing or do you just now simply have the financial "freedom" to explore novels?


I'm not going to lie. I've gotten really lazy. And now that I'm making over $10k per month on average, I've decided to take 3 months off to focus on getting in shape. So, my first novel isn't scheduled for release until sometime in May. Right now, my working is at a minimum. After calculating my income for last month, I feel really hesitant to switch to novels. I made almost $3k on just the $0.99 books in my serials alone, and the follow through rate is tremendous. I'm really hoping it will be worth the trade off. But yes, financial freedom is part of the reason why I decided to do the switch now. That, plus having a responsive list of readers. Every time I publish something, I get a pretty good influx of sales, so it just feels like the most opportune time to do it.


----------



## Silverdough

Fabulous post, and thanks for answering all the follow up questions. Chasing bestselling themes is a great idea. 

Do you think an erotic science fiction author could have similar success putting an SF spin on bestselling themes, therefore writing things like (by referencing the current bestseller lists) sci fi taboo/pi, sf first time, sf babysitter?

Also, are there any perenially underserved but money-making niches out there?


----------



## WillemThomas

KMatthew said:


> I'm not going to lie. I've gotten really lazy. And now that I'm making over $10k per month on average, I've decided to take 3 months off to focus on getting in shape. So, my first novel isn't scheduled for release until sometime in May. Right now, my working is at a minimum. After calculating my income for last month, I feel really hesitant to switch to novels. I made almost $3k on just the $0.99 books in my serials alone, and the follow through rate is tremendous. I'm really hoping it will be worth the trade off. But yes, financial freedom is part of the reason why I decided to do the switch now. That, plus having a responsive list of readers. Every time I publish something, I get a pretty good influx of sales, so it just feels like the most opportune time to do it.


How many books do you currently have set to free?


----------



## KMatthew

Silverdough said:


> Fabulous post, and thanks for answering all the follow up questions. Chasing bestselling themes is a great idea.
> 
> Do you think an erotic science fiction author could have similar success putting an SF spin on bestselling themes, therefore writing things like (by referencing the current bestseller lists) sci fi taboo/pi, sf first time, sf babysitter?
> 
> Also, are there any perenially underserved but money-making niches out there?


Honestly, I don't think you'd have the same success if you put a sci fi spin on bestselling themes. They're bestselling themes for a reason, and that's because people are specifically looking for things just like them. Putting a twist on them would take them out of the interest group of the majority.

There are less popular niches that do provide a steady sales stream. Gay tentacle erotica has been one for me, but I know there are others out there. I'm really not sure how you'd go about researching stuff like that though.



WillemThomas said:


> How many books do you currently have set to free?


Currently, I have 19 free books.


----------



## Chris P. O&#039;Grady

KMatthew said:


> I'd write at least 3 installments, make the first one permafree, price the second one at $0.99, the third one at $2.99, and then make a bundle.


K,

How did you get your first to permafree quickly? What did you do with the title in the meantime? You mentioned before that you look to see if it is catching on or if there is interest. Do you put it up for sale for a period then go to permafree, or try to get it set out of the gate? Isn't there some amount of time you need to wait before you can get it to go free?

Chrispy


----------



## KMatthew

Chris P. O'Grady said:


> K,
> 
> How did you get your first to permafree quickly? What did you do with the title in the meantime? You mentioned before that you look to see if it is catching on or if there is interest. Do you put it up for sale for a period then go to permafree, or try to get it set out of the gate? Isn't there some amount of time you need to wait before you can get it to go free?
> 
> Chrispy


It usually takes a few weeks for a title to go permafree on Amazon. I price it free out of the gates everywhere else to make Amazon price match as quickly as possible. While I wait for it to go free, I write the next installment. All you can really do is wait for Amazon to do their thing.


----------



## SmartQuant

Thank you, KMatthew for all the great info you have been providing. Your posts have been both informative and inspiring.

Re: Getting Your Book To Be PermaFree

I'm new to Kindle publishing and have the first two books of my three-book series already in the Kindle Store. I would like to have the first book in my series be permafree. Where is the next place you would suggest I publish with Amazon permafree for my first book as my goal?

Thanks.


----------



## KMatthew

SmartQuant said:


> Thank you, KMatthew for all the great info you have been providing. Your posts have been both informative and inspiring.
> 
> Re: Getting Your Book To Be PermaFree
> 
> I'm new to Kindle publishing and have the first two books of my three-book series already in the Kindle Store. I would like to have the first book in my series be permafree. Where is the next place you would suggest I publish with Amazon permafree for my first book as my goal?
> 
> Thanks.


Well, you'll need it up on Amazon for them to price match it. Once you get it up on there, publish it to Barnes & Noble through Smashwords with the price set to free. You could also publish to Apple and Kobo through Smashwords, or go through Draft2Digital. I try to get my book up for free at as many different retailers as possible. You never know which one Amazon will catch first.


----------



## SmartQuant

Hi,

Thank you for the info. I already have the book I want to be permafree already published on Amazon at $0.99. 

I will take your suggestion and publish it to Barnes & Noble through Smashwords with the price set to free.

Thanks again.


----------



## Lovelife

KMatthew.. when you publish your first book in a series that you want to go permafree.. what price do you set it at on Amazon while it's waiting to go permafree? Also, do you mail your list right away for that book or do you wait until it's permafree to mail them?

I know the answer may vary for the first question in regards to length so feel free to answer for different lengths or if you want I'd like to know specifically for a first book in a three part series that is around 9,000-15,000 words.


----------



## KMatthew

Lovelife said:


> KMatthew.. when you publish your first book in a series that you want to go permafree.. what price do you set it at on Amazon while it's waiting to go permafree? Also, do you mail your list right away for that book or do you wait until it's permafree to mail them?
> 
> I know the answer may vary for the first question in regards to length so feel free to answer for different lengths or if you want I'd like to know specifically for a first book in a three part series that is around 9,000-15,000 words.


I price the first book at $0.99 while I wait for Amazon to price match it. I do e-mail my list, letting them know all the retailers that it's currently free at, and letting them know that it's $0.99 at Amazon but should become free there shortly. A lot of readers don't want to wait for the price match, which is why $0.99 pricing is ideal.


----------



## Lovelife

KMatthew said:


> I price the first book at $0.99 while I wait for Amazon to price match it. I do e-mail my list, letting them know all the retailers that it's currently free at, and letting them know that it's $0.99 at Amazon but should become free there shortly. A lot of readers don't want to wait for the price match, which is why $0.99 pricing is ideal.


Thanks for the reply. Also, if you had a three book series would you price in order 1, 2, 3 as perma free, .99, 2.99 and bundle at ?? Assuming they are all 10,000-15,000 words each book.


----------



## KMatthew

Lovelife said:


> Thanks for the reply. Also, if you had a three book series would you price in order 1, 2, 3 as perma free, .99, 2.99 and bundle at ?? Assuming they are all 10,000-15,000 words each book.


For a three book series, it would be 
Book 1 - permafree
Book 2 - $0.99
Book 3 - $2.99

Bundle of all three books $3.99


----------



## Lovelife

KMatthew said:


> For a three book series, it would be
> Book 1 - permafree
> Book 2 - $0.99
> Book 3 - $2.99
> 
> Bundle of all three books $3.99


Thanks Marla... I wasn't sure about the bundle price since normally it's a deal, but in this case the bundle is the exact same price of buying them separately.


----------



## AssanaBanana

On the same subject, my question is when do you decide to push the cheaper prices for books 1 and 2?

I published book 1 at full price ($2.99), then went to permafree once book 2 had been available for a bit. Now that book 3 is available, how long do I wait to lower the price of book 2? It's still selling pretty quickly at the current price so I have no complaints (I had my best sales day yet today, after releasing book 3 on Sunday). Of course the latest review of book 1 bitched about the price of book 2, so I'd LIKE to curtail that kind of thing (two of my reviews so far have complained about the price of the other books. I'm not stressing too much about that but just wonder if there's a strategy to deciding when to lower prices)

Also, this is a six-book series of novelettes (~15k words each), should that affect my pricing strategy at all? Or does the 1st free, 2nd 99 cents still apply? I do intend to bundle them all once all six are available. And I'd love any input on bundling, for that matter... (Hope I'm not asking too many questions, lol). Since I have six books, what's a good price for a bundle? $8.99 would be roughly half price (if you count the full price of all of them together).


----------



## Christian Price

Thank You Again for sharing


----------



## KMatthew

JessePearle said:


> On the same subject, my question is when do you decide to push the cheaper prices for books 1 and 2?
> 
> I published book 1 at full price ($2.99), then went to permafree once book 2 had been available for a bit. Now that book 3 is available, how long do I wait to lower the price of book 2? It's still selling pretty quickly at the current price so I have no complaints (I had my best sales day yet today, after releasing book 3 on Sunday). Of course the latest review of book 1 bitched about the price of book 2, so I'd LIKE to curtail that kind of thing (two of my reviews so far have complained about the price of the other books. I'm not stressing too much about that but just wonder if there's a strategy to deciding when to lower prices)
> 
> Also, this is a six-book series of novelettes (~15k words each), should that affect my pricing strategy at all? Or does the 1st free, 2nd 99 cents still apply? I do intend to bundle them all once all six are available. And I'd love any input on bundling, for that matter... (Hope I'm not asking too many questions, lol). Since I have six books, what's a good price for a bundle? $8.99 would be roughly half price (if you count the full price of all of them together).


I don't use the price lowering method anymore unless I get into writing novels. So, right out of the gate, I price the first book at $0.99 (until it price matches to free), and the second book at $0.99. I don't start higher and wait until subsequent novels come out to lower the price. Then again, my approach is used to sell a lot of copies, not so much pull in the big royalties (which sometimes happens anyway as a result). If your book is selling well at $2.99, then I would leave it there until sales start to taper off.

As far as doing a six part series, I would stick to the same $0.99 for each installment pricing unless the series got super popular (think H.M. Ward's The Arrangement series popular). And of course, the last installment would be $2.99. As for a bundle that large, I would probably price at $4.99 to make it a real deal and sell more copies. I would not price it above $6.99. That's just me though. Again, my goals may be different than yours, which affects the way I price things. By all means, play with pricing.


----------



## Elizabeth Jones

You've been a great inspiration, Marla. Thanks for all that you've shared. It's been super helpful. I look forward to your updates!


----------



## zoe tate

KMatthew said:


> For a three book series, it would be
> Book 1 - permafree
> Book 2 - $0.99
> Book 3 - $2.99
> 
> Bundle of all three books $3.99


This is a funny one, because the separate parts actually add up to _less_ than the bundle price? Might $3.49 be a better price for the bundle?


----------



## KMatthew

zoe tate said:


> This is a funny one, because the separate parts actually add up to _less_ than the bundle price? Might $3.49 be a better price for the bundle?


It might be, but I still keep it at $3.99. The difference is only $0.01 between buying the work individually and buying it as a bundle. Most people aren't going to flip out about that.


----------



## Twizzlers

I noticed all the places you publish at. So far with my sci-fi I've only done Amazon (mainly because it's the easiest for me to keep track of with my other responsibilities such as child and career). 

From the graphs posted on your website the majority of your sales come from Amazon. 

Do you think someone could make it just releasing on Amazon? 

I notice what you said about how fast Google Play is rising. 

I have three e-mail addresses with gmail (one for personal, one for my sci-fi publishing and one for my erotic pen name). Do you recommend setting up the Google Play account using my erotic pen name's e-mail address or should I do it with my main gmail account? 

I have my blog for my sci-fi set up under my main g-mail account but the only e-mail address I share with the public is my writing e-mail. I don't want my real name or anything relating to my personal e-mail to be linked with my erotic romance short stories.


----------



## Skylar Cross

KMatthew said:


> Then again, my approach is used to sell a lot of copies, not so much pull in the big royalties (which sometimes happens anyway as a result).





> Again, my goals may be different than yours, which affects the way I price things. By all means, play with pricing.


Hmmm, you have me thinking here, K. When I started I did everything at $2.99 but then switched to your new strategy. It worked. I'm making $1,000 a month right now so I thought that was pretty damned fine. But now I wonder... if I had priced parts 2-4 at $2.99 each could I have earned higher royalties even though I would have had far fewer sales?

I'm not looking to make any bestseller lists. At the moment, my goal is to maximize royalties. I'm writing a new 4-part series. If you were still using the RMS (Royalty Maximization StrategyTM) as opposed to your current BMS (Bestseller Maximization StrategyTM) (yes... I'm a big dork ), would you still price the way you're doing it now?

Thanks!


----------



## KMatthew

JRODell said:


> Do you think someone could make it just releasing on Amazon?
> 
> I have three e-mail addresses with gmail (one for personal, one for my sci-fi publishing and one for my erotic pen name). Do you recommend setting up the Google Play account using my erotic pen name's e-mail address or should I do it with my main gmail account?


You can make it just selling on Amazon, but it's going to take a lot longer. I know that my graph shows that most of the income comes from Amazon. But what it doesn't show is that the smaller pieces of the pie are thousands of dollars, which isn't anything to sneeze at. On both Apple and Google Play, I made over a grand a piece last month.

If you want to go the easy route by only publishing on Amazon, that's fine. Just know that you're leaving money on the table.



Taylor Shade said:


> Hmmm, you have me thinking here, K. When I started I did everything at $2.99 but then switched to your new strategy. It worked. I'm making $1,000 a month right now so I thought that was pretty damned fine. But now I wonder... if I had priced parts 2-4 at $2.99 each could I have earned higher royalties even though I would have had far fewer sales?
> 
> I'm not looking to make any bestseller lists. At the moment, my goal is to maximize royalties. I'm writing a new 4-part series. If you were still using the RMS (Royalty Maximization StrategyTM) as opposed to your current BMS (Bestseller Maximization StrategyTM) (yes... I'm a big dork ), would you still price the way you're doing it now?
> 
> Thanks!


I would honestly have to research the market before I made a decision on that. The last time I even checked up on the RMS strategy was around Christmas time, and it appeared that a lot of erotica authors were dropping their prices. I'm not sure if it was a seasonal change or a permanent change. Whatever the case, to maximize royalties, you're going to want to follow whatever the masses are doing.

I've made the switch over to writing novels (my current WIP is a novel) so my input on the pricing strategy for writing serials is probably going to be a little outdated beyond this point. But if I had to do it all over again from scratch tomorrow, I would probably use the BMS model.

I've seen your books in my also boughts, btw. Just thought you might like to know that.


----------



## Twizzlers

What about the set up of the googleplay account?


----------



## BlairErotica

KMatthew said:


> You can make it just selling on Amazon, but it's going to take a lot longer. I know that my graph shows that most of the income comes from Amazon. But what it doesn't show is that the smaller pieces of the pie are thousands of dollars, which isn't anything to sneeze at. On both Apple and Google Play, I made over a grand a piece last month.
> 
> If you want to go the easy route by only publishing on Amazon, that's fine. Just know that you're leaving money on the table.
> 
> I would honestly have to research the market before I made a decision on that. The last time I even checked up on the RMS strategy was around Christmas time, and it appeared that a lot of erotica authors were dropping their prices. I'm not sure if it was a seasonal change or a permanent change. Whatever the case, to maximize royalties, you're going to want to follow whatever the masses are doing.
> 
> I've made the switch over to writing novels (my current WIP is a novel) so my input on the pricing strategy for writing serials is probably going to be a little outdated beyond this point. But if I had to do it all over again from scratch tomorrow, I would probably use the BMS model.
> 
> I've seen your books in my also boughts, btw. Just thought you might like to know that.


What pricing strategy will you use now? I've found my novels don't sell as well as my shorts. An anomaly perhaps, but a couple of publishers I've looked at have mentioned that novellas sell best (around 20-30k) which is my own (limited) experience. Too.

I tried setting up an account with Google!!!! I've never been through such a horrid experience. I can't see how anyone does it. It took them one week to fix a bug that kept me from setting up a payment account (they said it was system wide, not just me, but I am beginning to think I'm jinxed there) then I was trying to follow the steps, but the dashboard kept giving me the famous "you can't do this until you've done that" messages, and when I followed their links, it deleted all the information I had entered. Ultimately, as far as I could tell from the gibberish I could find, everything was wrong for every book. Wrong files (since it asks you to upload files and you have to take it on trust that you are actually linking to the right one--it didn't say) and wrong covers and total chaos. I finally resolved it by cancelling the account, which was my first satisfactory interaction with their help people. Clearly you make it work, but I am going back to studying Cambodian as it is much easier.


----------



## KMatthew

JRODell said:


> What about the set up of the googleplay account?


To set up Google Play, I recommend reading this thread by the wonderful TK http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,167655.0/topicseen.html

It has everything you need to know.



BlairErotica said:


> What pricing strategy will you use now? I've found my novels don't sell as well as my shorts. An anomaly perhaps, but a couple of publishers I've looked at have mentioned that novellas sell best (around 20-30k) which is my own (limited) experience. Too.


This first novel is going to be $3.99 (because it's a stand alone)

I'm honestly not sure how well it's going to sell. It's a spin off from my Wrong or Write series, which sells fairly well, so I'm hoping that readers of that series will be interested in picking it up.

It's definitely going to be an adjustment switching from serials to novels. When I know what's working as far as pricing is concerned, I'll share that information. For now, I'm still just getting my feet wet.


----------



## Anabelle Sunday

Hey everyone! Hope you all are doing well. This is such a great community here at Kboards, and especially on this thread. I feel like I'm coming home when I post on here. 

I just submitted Chemical Reactions to ACX so hopefully an audio book will be coming in the near future. I also finally got my website up. I am releasing my second book in a couple of days (first in a series of 3) and plan on blogging twice a week or so to promote books, with the first post written today.  I also set up a page for book review blogs to request a copy for review (thank you Selena Kitt for that terrific idea which I borrowed from your website lol) and I set up a sidebar plugin where people could sign up for my mailing list and get a free book. 

However, no matter what I do, I can't figure out a way to automatically send them the free book. This plugin doesn't have that functionality so I will have to send them manually as people sign up. That's fine for now, but what if lots of people sign up in a short period of time? Anyone have suggestions on how I can automatically send subscribers my "free book for being on the mailing list"?  Also, what format should I deliver it in? 

I'd also love to get Marla or anyone else's opinion on whether my site looks professional enough or if there is anything I can do to improve it. (anabellesundaybooks.com) Thanks in advance everyone! I'm off to finish getting this new book ready for publication!

-Ana


----------



## KMatthew

Anabelle Sunday said:


> Hey everyone! Hope you all are doing well. This is such a great community here at Kboards, and especially on this thread. I feel like I'm coming home when I post on here.
> 
> I just submitted Chemical Reactions to ACX so hopefully an audio book will be coming in the near future. I also finally got my website up. I am releasing my second book in a couple of days (first in a series of 3) and plan on blogging twice a week or so to promote books, with the first post written today. I also set up a page for book review blogs to request a copy for review (thank you Selena Kitt for that terrific idea which I borrowed from your website lol) and I set up a sidebar plugin where people could sign up for my mailing list and get a free book.
> 
> However, no matter what I do, I can't figure out a way to automatically send them the free book. This plugin doesn't have that functionality so I will have to send them manually as people sign up. That's fine for now, but what if lots of people sign up in a short period of time? Anyone have suggestions on how I can automatically send subscribers my "free book for being on the mailing list"? Also, what format should I deliver it in?
> 
> I'd also love to get Marla or anyone else's opinion on whether my site looks professional enough or if there is anything I can do to improve it. (anabellesundaybooks.com) Thanks in advance everyone! I'm off to finish getting this new book ready for publication!
> 
> -Ana


Your website looks better than mine.

What subscriber service are you using?


----------



## Anabelle Sunday

lol no it doesn't...yours looks awesome....I'm just using some free plugin I found...let me find what its called....its called Mail Subscribe List


----------



## KMatthew

You should get Mail Chimp. It's free, there's a plugin for it, and you can set it up to automatically send out a welcome e-mail after someone subscribes. I include a free Smashwords download code for one of my books in my welcome e-mail.


----------



## Twizzlers

Do you have trouble with people giving you negative reviews because they don't understand they bought a short erotic story? 

I was checking out erotica on Amazon and most of the one star reviews were: 

"It was too short!" 

and 

"It was pretty much all sex, where's the plot?"


----------



## Twizzlers

I wonder how much one star reviews actually sink you in short story erotica? 

I would assume that most readers are just looking at the cover and the product description to decide if it's something they want rather than reading the reviews. 

I can understand needing review help on a large novel that will require a time commitment to read, but an erotic short?


----------



## KMatthew

JRODell said:


> I wonder how much one star reviews actually sink you in short story erotica?
> 
> I would assume that most readers are just looking at the cover and the product description to decide if it's something they want rather than reading the reviews.
> 
> I can understand needing review help on a large novel that will require a time commitment to read, but an erotic short?


It's not so much the 1 star review that sink you as it is the content of that review. At one time, my best selling book had nothing but one stars. I've seen books with almost nothing but 1 stars rank highly on Amazon.

A lot of people will 1 star for length. It's just something you should come to expect if you're going to publish short fiction. You can put that it's a short story on the cover and the blurb to deter this, but it can still happen from time to time.


----------



## Kia Zi Shiru

JRODell said:


> Do you have trouble with people giving you negative reviews because they don't understand they bought a short erotic story?
> 
> I was checking out erotica on Amazon and most of the one star reviews were:
> 
> "It was too short!"
> 
> and
> 
> "It was pretty much all sex, where's the plot?"


That is not really a worry. When I look for sexy books to read I LOOK for those reviews (especially the second one). If I'm reading erotica I like to know I get sex for my money 
Many of us (us being readers of the genre) don't care about those reviews and will actually smile at them.
There are other types of reviews that are bad though...


----------



## Anabelle Sunday

Marla, did you have to pay for your audiobooks to be created or did they do them on the royalty share? I listed CR but so far no one has taken an interest. Not sure how long it takes. I wrote out a detailed plan for my books and how I'm planning to market them, and their respective audiobooks and posted it on the sales pitch section when I posted my audiobook request. I totally am expecting to have to have a few titles and a bunch of sales before anyone will take on the audiobook on a royalty share, or just pay for it myself, but I'm just curious how you did it. Any other audiobook advice you can think of like promoting or anything? Thanks!


----------



## KMatthew

Anabelle Sunday said:


> Marla, did you have to pay for your audiobooks to be created or did they do them on the royalty share? I listed CR but so far no one has taken an interest. Not sure how long it takes. I wrote out a detailed plan for my books and how I'm planning to market them, and their respective audiobooks and posted it on the sales pitch section when I posted my audiobook request. I totally am expecting to have to have a few titles and a bunch of sales before anyone will take on the audiobook on a royalty share, or just pay for it myself, but I'm just curious how you did it. Any other audiobook advice you can think of like promoting or anything? Thanks!


I honestly don't promote my audiobooks . . . at all. When ACX sends me free codes to market with, I give them away via a Rafflecopter.

Now that the royalty structure has changed at ACX, getting narrators who are willing to do royalty share is going to be a lot harder. Luckily, I was able to connect with some great narrators before it happened, some of which will hopefully want to continue working with me.

Audio books are a small slice of my income pie. It's gotten bigger since I have more out, but still, I make about as much with audio books every month as I do from selling ebooks on Kobo.

If you're really hard up to have your books narrated, you can check out the narrators on ACX who accept royalty share, listen to their samples, and pitch your work to them. It never hurts to try.

I personally just upload my books to ACX and if an interested narrator contacts me and I like their audition, I'll accept. Otherwise, I don't really put any effort into getting my stuff turned into audiobooks.


----------



## EC

Look at part-payment part-royalty.  I was talking to a narrator that said he was walking away from royalty as the risk-reward ratio had gotten too great.  He needs to feed his family so he needs to see some income, especially from longer works.


----------



## Twizzlers

Would an erotic romance serial be viable at the same prices you're talking about? 

I was considering doing an erotic romance serial set in the old west at about 20k words each.


----------



## KMatthew

JRODell said:


> Would an erotic romance serial be viable at the same prices you're talking about?
> 
> I was considering doing an erotic romance serial set in the old west at about 20k words each.


Would an old west romance serial be viable at the same prices? I'm honestly not sure, as I haven't researched that sub-genre. I would advise you to check out how other people that write similar books in that sub-genre price. Knowing how to price, in any genre, is all about watching the market.


----------



## Twizzlers

I was wondering if some of your thoughts on pricing have changed since your earliers posts? 

I know originally you said you published your 5k-13k works at 2.99, then later said you were pricing a lot of the serials at .99 until the last installment. 

Would you still do this with stand alone erotic short stories? If you had a story that was about 8k words would you price it at .99 or 2.99? 

What if your serial or series was only 3 books? Would you go .99, .99 and 2.99? What would you price the collection at? 


Also you talked about not labeling things as Erotica on Amazon. I have three out right now that are 5k short stories that are pretty much straight sex. There is a loose plot and lead up to just out and out sex then a small but brief ending where they agree they should do this again. 

Would I get killed on Amazon for listing those as Romance>Erotica? There really isn't a whole lot of romance in them to be honest.


----------



## Lovelife

@JRODell K answered a recent question of mine about pricing for a 3 part series. She said...


KMatthew said:


> For a three book series, it would be
> Book 1 - permafree
> Book 2 - $0.99
> Book 3 - $2.99
> 
> Bundle of all three books $3.99


@KMatthew I noticed that you haven't done a sales/numbers post on your blog since January's and I know you mentioned that you might stop... I was wondering if you have decided to end your sales stats posts or if you've just been too busy lately? I heard about some people having issues with posting their stats which is very sad. Hopefully you never had that issue. Personally, I loved seeing how well you did every month... I found it very inspiring.


----------



## Twizzlers

Wow I can't believe I missed that. I apologize. 

Although I still would like to know what your pricing strategy for a single would be.


----------



## KMatthew

JRODell said:


> I was wondering if some of your thoughts on pricing have changed since your earliers posts?
> 
> I know originally you said you published your 5k-13k works at 2.99, then later said you were pricing a lot of the serials at .99 until the last installment.
> 
> Would you still do this with stand alone erotic short stories? If you had a story that was about 8k words would you price it at .99 or 2.99?
> 
> What if your serial or series was only 3 books? Would you go .99, .99 and 2.99? What would you price the collection at?
> 
> Also you talked about not labeling things as Erotica on Amazon. I have three out right now that are 5k short stories that are pretty much straight sex. There is a loose plot and lead up to just out and out sex then a small but brief ending where they agree they should do this again.
> 
> Would I get killed on Amazon for listing those as Romance>Erotica? There really isn't a whole lot of romance in them to be honest.


Pricing for a short single would be $2.99

If it's erotica and there really isn't any romance, I would put it in the erotica category.



Lovelife said:


> @KMatthew I noticed that you haven't done a sales/numbers post on your blog since January's and I know you mentioned that you might stop... I was wondering if you have decided to end your sales stats posts or if you've just been too busy lately? I heard about some people having issues with posting their stats which is very sad. Hopefully you never had that issue. Personally, I loved seeing how well you did every month... I found it very inspiring.


I'm not planning on posting sales stats anywhere anymore.


----------



## Twizzlers

How many books did you have out before you really started to see the sales come in? I've currently got four short stories out (all four between 5-6500 words) and haven't seen much of anything yet. I haven't seen anything period at D2D and Google actually.


----------



## Anabelle Sunday

JRODell said:


> How many books did you have out before you really started to see the sales come in? I've currently got four short stories out (all four between 5-6500 words) and haven't seen much of anything yet. I haven't seen anything period at D2D and Google actually.


I know you were asking KMatthew, but I wanted to contribute an answer.  I have learned quite a bit following her example as I publish my own fiction, but when it comes to sales, so many factors go into whether or not that you sell books, that it is impossible to duplicate someone else's results just by following their process. Here is a checklist of sorts to make sure that you are maximizing your potential for sales.

1) Are your books as well written as you can make them? Writing skill varies by author depending upon the amount of time they have been writing and their natural talent, but rushing through a book and not caring about the quality of the prose is a recipe for zero sales. 
2) Did you set your manuscript aside for a few days (at minimum) or a few weeks (recommended) and then go back and read it with fresh eyes and revise all of the problem areas that you were blind to before?
3) Is your cover as professional designed as you can make it? I don't have the budget yet to hire a graphic artist, so I do my own covers. But I work very hard to make them look as good as I can and the minute I have the budget, I will have a professional design my covers (that goes for editing too. As soon as I have the budget I will be hiring an editor to edit my books as much as possible). 
4) Did you let at least one - and hopefully several - people read it and tell you any problems they noticed? This should be done AFTER your first revision but before your second pass. 
5) Are you making your books as widely available as possible to maximize the potential for sales? I currently have my books on Kobo, iBookstore, Lulu, Smashwords (and Extended Distribution), Google Play, Barnes & Noble and on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle format. I am going to be listing them in AllRomanceEbooks as soon as I have a couple more titles (they require several titles to review before placement) and am making a list of other potential distribution sites. 
6) Do you have a website and a social media presence so that readers can connect with you - the author - if they like your books? Also, I recommended blogging with keyword rich titles so that you can draw in readers to your blog through Google Search and hopefully convince them to buy a book from the sidebar. 
7) Is your pricing strategy solid? Likely, no one is going to pay $7.99 for a 10,000 word Ebook, but on the other hand, readers will balk at buying a 50,000 word ebook for $0.99 - because if it's only $0.99 it must be a terrible book. 
 Have you started doing promotion for your books? A blog tour (contacting book review blogs in your genre and asking them to review your book) is a cheap but effective marketing strategy. You'd also be surprised what you can get on fiverr to market your book or piece together a trailer that you can put on YouTube. I don't have too many other suggestions because I have just started figuring that part out myself. 
9) Is your title and description as good as you can possibly make it? Again, I am still figuring this out, but I got a major clue yesterday. The first book in my new series is free on Smashwords and I am currently getting downloads of about 10 per hour. However, I decided to change the short description yesterday from the one sentence description to a longer, three sentence description. My downloads immediately stopped. I replaced the short, one sentence description that told almost NOTHING about the story, and suddenly, the downloads resumed. Coincidence? I doubt it. So, what does it mean? I have no idea yet, except that you should definitely leave some mystery in your description. 
10) Finally, are you working to partner with other authors to create Amazon reviews? I have just started doing that, and will continue until real reviews start rolling in. However, I am asking the people I partner with not to rate my books five stars unless they truly think they deserve it. I want honest reviews. I think 4 four-star reviews, one three-star review and one five-star review will sell more books than 6 five-star reviews.

This is just my own opinion. Feel free to take all, some or none of this advice. 

-Ana

P.S. As I was editing my typos (see revision! revision! revision!) I thought of one more that I consider particularly important. No matter what format you are publishing your book in, make your book look as well designed inside as ebooks from major publishers. I went through my library and made a list of all of the common factors with ebook versions of popular books from the Big Six (Simon and Schuster, HarperCollins, Random House, Macmillan, Penguin, and Hachette) publishers and made sure that my books had those factors as well. This goes double for your paperback versions. Readers may not know exactly what makes a book interior (or cover for that matter) work, but they can subconsciously tell when it's not what they are used to seeing and that will factor into their buying decision when they read your sample. Okay, I really gotta get off the boards and get back to work on my next book. Good luck!


----------



## AssanaBanana

Anabelle Sunday said:


> 5) Are you making your books as widely available as possible to maximize the potential for sales? I currently have my books on Kobo, iBookstore, Lulu, Smashwords (and Extended Distribution), Google Play, Barnes & Noble and on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle format. I am going to be listing them in AllRomanceEbooks as soon as I have a couple more titles *(they require several titles to review before placement)* and am making a list of other potential distribution sites.


This is news to me. I published my first novelette with them as soon as I could and didn't run into any resistance whatsoever, even with a single title. They're my number two sales site, too. Don't wait to publish in ARe. Other than that, your advice is excellent!


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## Redacted1111

JessePearle said:


> This is news to me. I published my first novelette with them as soon as I could and didn't run into any resistance whatsoever, even with a single title. They're my number two sales site, too. Don't wait to publish in ARe. Other than that, your advice is excellent!


Do you convert your own image files for All Romance. I find them annoying because the require a different image size than every other vendor. I don't have my whole catalog up there for that reason. Do you know a quick easy way to convert images files for All Romance while still keeping the quality level?


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## Jacqueline_Sweet

Annabelle Fogerty said:


> Do you convert your own image files for All Romance. I find them annoying because the require a different image size than every other vendor. I don't have my whole catalog up there for that reason. Do you know a quick easy way to convert images files for All Romance while still keeping the quality level?


I open my cover image files in Preview (I have a mac) and choose "resize image." It should maintain the same DPI and keep the quality just as good.


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## Twizzlers

I also had no trouble ARE when I uploaded my first book. 

That is very solid advice. Problem is I do erotica under a pen name and don't feel comfortable letting my family read it and give feedback. Most of my family wouldn't want to read it anyway. I also don't have any social media or a website for my pen name, mainly because I don't think I could pretend to be some girl on a website or social media. 

I do have all of that for my regular publishing name though.


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## Anabelle Sunday

Annabelle Fogerty said:


> Do you convert your own image files for All Romance. I find them annoying because the require a different image size than every other vendor. I don't have my whole catalog up there for that reason. Do you know a quick easy way to convert images files for All Romance while still keeping the quality level?


That depends upon what size you are starting with, and what resolution you made your images in the first place. There are programs out there that will batch convert image sizes for free, but Photoshop does it as well (look up "batch image resize photoshop). However, if you are making them considerably larger or smaller than the original, you will lose quality unless you do a workaround. The best workaround I have found for resizing images is to:

A) start with an image resolution of at least 600 pixels per inch.
B) copy your original cover
C) Paste onto the larger or smaller size that you need. 
D) Use the Free Transform and drag your image to the new size
E) press apply and it will realign itself properly so that you don't lose quality.

Unfortunately, unless you are only changing sizes by less than 10 or 15 percent, you will lose quality with the batch resize function.

@Jesse - I tried to set up an account before I had published by first book, and got an email back saying that I had to have some titles for them to review first. I didn't know how many they meant by titles (plural) so I just assumed 5 or 6. I will email them back and see if they will let me list my books there now.


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## Aducknamedjoe

Alternately, use Pixlr for resizing covers if you don't want to buy Photoshop.


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## Redacted1111

Free transform. I never thought of that. Still. It's an annoying amount of work for so many titles. Blah. I guess I might get around to it some day.


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## AssanaBanana

Annabelle Fogerty said:


> Do you convert your own image files for All Romance. I find them annoying because the require a different image size than every other vendor. I don't have my whole catalog up there for that reason. Do you know a quick easy way to convert images files for All Romance while still keeping the quality level?


My cover designer sends me an assortment of sizes to accommodate the different requirements. I just upload the appropriate size.


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## AssanaBanana

Anabelle Sunday said:


> @Jesse - I tried to set up an account before I had published by first book, and got an email back saying that I had to have some titles for them to review first. I didn't know how many they meant by titles (plural) so I just assumed 5 or 6. I will email them back and see if they will let me list my books there now.


I set my publisher account up at the end of December without any issues, but didn't have my first title ready to publish until three weeks later. Maybe they changed their procedure?


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## Anabelle Sunday

JessePearle said:


> I set my publisher account up at the end of December without any issues, but didn't have my first title ready to publish until three weeks later. Maybe they changed their procedure?


That's really weird because my publisher application was on December 6th. Here is the email I got:

"I'm sorry, we were unable to complete the review of your application. The website URL you provided did not contain samples of your work and we require a review of you[sic] catalog as part of the approval process. If your works can be found on Amazon, B&N, or Smashwords, please email me back with those links. "

Anyway, it doesn't matter. They just accepted me when I emailed them, and I will be uploading my two titles there shortly! Yay for another source of revenue!


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## KMatthew

JRODell said:


> Problem is I do erotica under a pen name and don't feel comfortable letting my family read it and give feedback. Most of my family wouldn't want to read it anyway. I also don't have any social media or a website for my pen name, mainly because I don't think I could pretend to be some girl on a website or social media.


None of my family or friends irl have ever read any of my erotica.

As far as pretending to be a girl, its easier than you think. Most readers and authors don't really know what gender I am. I will answer to pretty much anything.



JRODell said:


> How many books did you have out before you really started to see the sales come in?


It really depends on what you mean. With each book published, my sales increased.


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## Twizzlers

Ah I see. 

I've got five out now (3 short stories in one series, a collection of those and then one stand alone) and have only sold 5 copies on Amazon (3 of one book and 2 of the other) and nothing at the other retailers. 

I guess maybe I need to increase visibility and work harder on getting permafree going. I've reported seeing it free at Google and AllRomanceEbooks to Amazon. 

Maybe I suck at writing it and don't realize, then again since I have only sold five copies and have no reviews I doubt that's what's driving people away. Haha. 

I need to create some interest, but I don't have the skills you do at all on creating a website. I have a little blogspot blog for my real name and sci-fi books, but I hardly update it because I never know what to write and just don't have the skills to really do anything in posts like you do on your site. So I'm hesitant to really create a site for my pen name yet because it'll look laughably amateur. 

Guess I'll just keep plugging away and hope somebody likes something I write.


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## Twizzlers

And by the way Marla, I REALLY like your site. I think it looks good and I love all the posts for your books. I think they look slick.


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## Carradee

Annabelle Fogerty said:


> Do you convert your own image files for All Romance. I find them annoying because the require a different image size than every other vendor. I don't have my whole catalog up there for that reason. Do you know a quick easy way to convert images files for All Romance while still keeping the quality level?


If you're on a Mac, you can put a copy of each cover in a single folder, then convert every image in that folder to the needed file size with a single Terminal command.

If you don't want to play with Terminal, just open a copy of the cover in Preview (again, on a Mac) and change cover size, save, done.


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## AssanaBanana

JRODell said:


> Ah I see.
> 
> I've got five out now (3 short stories in one series, a collection of those and then one stand alone) and have only sold 5 copies on Amazon (3 of one book and 2 of the other) and nothing at the other retailers.
> 
> I guess maybe I need to increase visibility and work harder on getting permafree going. I've reported seeing it free at Google and AllRomanceEbooks to Amazon.
> 
> Maybe I suck at writing it and don't realize, then again since I have only sold five copies and have no reviews I doubt that's what's driving people away. Haha.
> 
> I need to create some interest, but I don't have the skills you do at all on creating a website. I have a little blogspot blog for my real name and sci-fi books, but I hardly update it because I never know what to write and just don't have the skills to really do anything in posts like you do on your site. So I'm hesitant to really create a site for my pen name yet because it'll look laughably amateur.
> 
> Guess I'll just keep plugging away and hope somebody likes something I write.


I'm curious, are you writing erotica shorts, too? I'm just starting out this year, too, and I've had fantastic results so far, in spite of starting out with very little. I've published three shorts since the end of January, one is permafree. I've had more than 200 sales this month, reviews are trickling in, as are mailing list subscriptions. If you want to share notes you can PM me through one of my websites (linked in my sig) and I'll e-mail you back. If I had to guess what's keeping you back it's your visibility, but without seeing your actual titles I have no idea.


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## KMatthew

JRODell said:


> And by the way Marla, I REALLY like your site. I think it looks good and I love all the posts for your books. I think they look slick.


Thanks for the compliment. I definitely don't think it's that great.


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## Anabelle Sunday

JRODell said:


> Ah I see.
> 
> I've got five out now (3 short stories in one series, a collection of those and then one stand alone) and have only sold 5 copies on Amazon (3 of one book and 2 of the other) and nothing at the other retailers.
> 
> I guess maybe I need to increase visibility and work harder on getting permafree going. I've reported seeing it free at Google and AllRomanceEbooks to Amazon.
> 
> Maybe I suck at writing it and don't realize, then again since I have only sold five copies and have no reviews I doubt that's what's driving people away. Haha.
> 
> I need to create some interest, but I don't have the skills you do at all on creating a website. I have a little blogspot blog for my real name and sci-fi books, but I hardly update it because I never know what to write and just don't have the skills to really do anything in posts like you do on your site. So I'm hesitant to really create a site for my pen name yet because it'll look laughably amateur.
> 
> Guess I'll just keep plugging away and hope somebody likes something I write.


If you want, I'll help you create a website. I created my author site with Wordpress (www.anabellesundaybooks.com) and I created my publisher's website (I'm my publisher but I'm trying to hide that fact lol) from scratch using a program I have called Visual Site Designer. (www.blueknightpress.com). Check those out and if you like them let me know and I'll help you create a site. I can't guarantee it will be fast, because I have to write the free book that I'm giving away for joining my mailing list like....yesterday...and I have to write and publish the sequel to 'Echoes' by the release date of April 9th, plus work at what I have began calling my "temporary job' lol. But I will be happy to help.

As for whether or not you are a good writer, I actually just blogged about this. I don't think you have to have "the gift" to become a great writer. I think that you have to read a lot, and write a lot. If you love to read and you can't not write, then you were born to be a writer. If you suck the first 200,000 words or so - guess what - join the club. Everyone sucked at first (and that includes some of the best-selling authors on the market today). I can't stress how important setting it aside and revising is though. You'll be amazed how ridiculous some of your prose is when you set it aside and work on something else for a while and come back to it. When I released CR, I read it about 2 weeks later and was so embarrassed I immediately pulled it from everywhere for a revision.

I will buy one of your books and read it and leave a review. I won't tell you if you're a good writer or not, because I'm not in a position to judge, but at least I can leave a review to try to help you out. Let me know though if you want help with a website.

-Ana


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## AKMartin

Anabelle Sunday said:


> If you want, I'll help you create a website. I created my author site with Wordpress (www.anabellesundaybooks.com) and I created my publisher's website (I'm my publisher but I'm trying to hide that fact lol) from scratch using a program I have called Visual Site Designer. (www.blueknightpress.com). Check those out and if you like them let me know and I'll help you create a site. I can't guarantee it will be fast, because I have to write the free book that I'm giving away for joining my mailing list like....yesterday...and I have to write and publish the sequel to 'Echoes' by the release date of April 9th, plus work at what I have began calling my "temporary job' lol. But I will be happy to help.
> 
> As for whether or not you are a good writer, I actually just blogged about this. I don't think you have to have "the gift" to become a great writer. I think that you have to read a lot, and write a lot. If you love to read and you can't not write, then you were born to be a writer. If you suck the first 200,000 words or so - guess what - join the club. Everyone sucked at first (and that includes some of the best-selling authors on the market today). I can't stress how important setting it aside and revising is though. You'll be amazed how ridiculous some of your prose is when you set it aside and work on something else for a while and come back to it. When I released CR, I read it about 2 weeks later and was so embarrassed I immediately pulled it from everywhere for a revision.
> 
> I will buy one of your books and read it and leave a review. I won't tell you if you're a good writer or not, because I'm not in a position to judge, but at least I can leave a review to try to help you out. Let me know though if you want help with a website.
> 
> -Ana
> 
> Hi
> 
> this is why i like this community, Ana if you would be interested in having one of your books reviewed on www.razberryjuice.com just let me know, good deeds deserve good deeds smiles .... grow your twitter account followed
> 
> PS My Grammar is Crap but My Imagination is Amazing


----------



## Twizzlers

Wow Ana thanks for the offer. I set up an author website with blogspot. I want to see how it goes before I move forward, but I will keep your generosity in mind. 

If you are buying one of the books in my signature then you aren't buying my erotica. Haha. I don't have it linked. But you can find it all at jessicaryanbooks.blogspot.com. 

I did however purchase one of your books in return!  

Writing isn't something I just recently took up. I was in creative writing classes all through high school and loved to write short fanfiction. 

Then in college I received a journalism degree and worked for the student newspaper. That is obviously a very different kind of writing. I worked at a newspaper for a year before leaving the business in 2008. I basically have not written from May 2008 to January 2014. That's a long time without honing your craft! In the meantime all I've done is post on messageboards and send text messages where a lot of the rules I learned went out the window! So now I'm trying to shake off the rust from years of bad habits and not honing my craft. It's tough!


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## Twizzlers

Also I have had some serious discussions with some of our more seasoned erotica/romance writers and I see a lot of the mistakes I made with my first offerings that may turn away potential readers. I have a better plan of attack moving forward. We'll just chalk up what I've written so far as learning experience and maybe one day, when I've improved leaps and bounds, I can look back on it and laugh. I hope....  

I'm glad everyone here is so helpful!


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## KMatthew

JRODell said:


> Also I have had some serious discussions with some of our more seasoned erotica/romance writers and I see a lot of the mistakes I made with my first offerings that may turn away potential readers. I have a better plan of attack moving forward. We'll just chalk up what I've written so far as learning experience and maybe one day, when I've improved leaps and bounds, I can look back on it and laugh. I hope....
> 
> I'm glad everyone here is so helpful!


The first few erotica books I wrote are lucky if they sell one copy a month now. Even when I first published them, I think they sold maybe 5 copies a month a piece (which was still a lot better than my horror did). I had no idea what I was doing and I hadn't read much erotica before writing them. They were basically written for men, and some of the reviews I got pointed that out. 

It really is a learning process, figuring out how to research what will sell. Once you get it down, you're as good as gold though.


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## Twizzlers

Well I haven't gotten any reviews yet. Maybe one day, if I'm selling well, they'll just be shuffled in the background gathering cobwebs. Which will be fine if my other stuff is giving me a foothold.


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## S.D

Hi Marla, thanks for all the information and help. Do you think it is worth the time and effort to use different promo sites like Ebook Booster to promote your free books? Or is it better to you write, publish, make 1st in the series permafree, and keep going? 

I've been having success since I switched over to romance/erotica but I'm trying to find some ways to turn things up. I have 4 series titles (total of 21 books) and I really see things moving thanks to your advice. What promo activities do you do?


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## KMatthew

SolaeDehvine said:


> Hi Marla, thanks for all the information and help. Do you think it is worth the time and effort to use different promo sites like Ebook Booster to promote your free books? Or is it better to you write, publish, make 1st in the series permafree, and keep going?
> 
> I've been having success since I switched over to romance/erotica but I'm trying to find some ways to turn things up. I have 4 series titles (total of 21 books) and I really see things moving thanks to your advice. What promo activities do you do?


The only two promotional methods I've found so far that have had any type of impact on sales has been the What to Read After Fifty Shades of Gray Facebook page and the Korner Kafe Exposed Facebook page. Both are free to promote on. Otherwise, I would just write, publish, do your perma-freebies, rinse, and repeat.


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## Anabelle Sunday

AKMartin said:


> Hi
> 
> this is why i like this community, Ana if you would be interested in having one of your books reviewed on www.razberryjuice.com just let me know, good deeds deserve good deeds smiles .... grow your twitter account followed
> 
> PS My Grammar is Crap but My Imagination is Amazing


Wow, I would be honored if you would review my latest book. I very much appreciate the offer. I will send you a .mobil copy of Echoes by the end of the day according to your instructions in your signature. Thank you very much, and I hope you like it!

I totally agree. The entire Kindle community and this thread in particular feels like home to me whenever I come on. KMatthew has answered all of my questions (not to mention everyone else's) and as a result of the advice and motivation this thread provides I have no doubt that I'll be able to start making a living from my fiction by the end of the year. I don't mind helping others because I have learned so much from this thread. KMatthew has been very patient with us, answering our qestions and posting her sales stats, giving those of us who dream of making a living writing fiction the most important thing of all to have - hope.

@JRODell I'm glad you told me! I will visit your pen name site and grab a book sometime today. Not sure when I'll be able to read it, but I'll try to make it soon. I really, really have to finish the free book that I'm giving away for signing up for my mailing list because amazingly, I am still getting downloads and subscribers from Smashwords, and they are all probably wondering where their free book is! LOL! I am hoping to have it done and published today.

@AKMartin Thank you again for the review, and I will send it out sometime this evening!

-Ana


----------



## Twizzlers

Well if you can grab, Boardroom: Punishment.
The other three are first tries and well, just not as good as they can be since I've learned more.


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## Anabelle Sunday

JRODell said:


> Well if you can grab, Boardroom: Punishment.
> The other three are first tries and well, just not as good as they can be since I've learned more.


Okay, I took your recommendation and got Boardroomunishment. Excited to start reading it!


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## Veronica Michaels

Hi to everyone in this thread!

This is a question for Anabelle, or whoever else wants to answer it.

I'm thinking of publishing some material, and am trying to get all of the peripherals, like a website, up and running.  Anabelle, I noticed you're using a theme called Sugar & Spice, which I don't see listed in the regular themes on Wordpress.  What kind of Wordpress account would you advise creating?  Is it important to have either a Premium account or the one with ECommerce attached?  Or does the free account provide everything you need?


----------



## Anabelle Sunday

Veronica Michaels said:


> Hi to everyone in this thread!
> 
> This is a question for Anabelle, or whoever else wants to answer it.
> 
> I'm thinking of publishing some material, and am trying to get all of the peripherals, like a website, up and running. Anabelle, I noticed you're using a theme called Sugar & Spice, which I don't see listed in the regular themes on Wordpress. What kind of Wordpress account would you advise creating? Is it important to have either a Premium account or the one with ECommerce attached? Or does the free account provide everything you need?


Uh, I've never heard of a premium or ecommerce account for Wordpress lol. Here is where I got the theme. http://wordpress.org/themes/ I just searched for a couple of hours until I found one that seemed perfect and installed it. I don't even have an account at wordpress.com. I just downloaded the theme and installed it via FTP. Hope that helps.

Hey, for those of you on ARe. How long does it take for your books to have a page? My books are active and in the publisher catalog, but when you search the site for my name or my book titles, they come up without covers. When you click on them they go to a 404 page. Do I just keep waiting or did I do something wrong?


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## Veronica Michaels

Anabelle Sunday said:


> Uh, I've never heard of a premium or ecommerce account for Wordpress lol. Here is where I got the theme. http://wordpress.org/themes/ I just searched for a couple of hours until I found one that seemed perfect and installed it. I don't even have an account at wordpress.com. I just downloaded the theme and installed it via FTP. Hope that helps.


Well, you'd have to have an account with wordpress to have heard of their premium and business (the one with ecommerce) plans, which both include more features than their free plan, and cost more. But you also managed to answer the other question I was thinking and something I've been debating... whether or not to use them for hosting, or to set up hosting separately and just use some of their features for formatting. So thanks x2! 

Also, I checked ARe for you and got the same result you did. I can't answer your question, but I remember reading something in this thread or elsewhere about needing to hit a button to publish/approve the material on ARe sort of after the fact. Is it possible you still need to complete that step?


----------



## Veronica Michaels

I've actually been lurking around these boards for awhile, and writing erotica and erotic romances is something I've been considering doing for the last year or two.  I've been a reader and writer my whole life, but committing to writing a full novel, and the time it would take without any guaranteed income from it, and then trying to find a legitimate publisher... is something that's always stopped me.  I started doing some research into self-publishing recently, assuming that the online world and the decline of brick-and-mortar bookstores and the surge of popularity of e-readers may have changed all of that.  It seems like there are so many opportunities out there, and they're continuing to grow.  Of course the more I continued to research, the more I found that erotic romance is probably a great genre to pick right now, for many reasons, not the least of all being its financial potential.  The combination of that and the ability to self-publish and instantly have exposure to a huge audience makes the entire combination seem like a real no-brainer.

I'm getting to my question. 

First of all, I have several stories I'm beginning to plot, and see a lot of potential.  But I've also had my share of experiences in real life, particularly recently.  I thought it might be interesting, and sort of an experiment, to make my first serial autobiographical.  I figure it will give the potential readership a different sort of hook, and the writing will automatically veer towards the more personal and intimate, and most of what I'm writing will be re-telling instead of creating, which will make the process easier.  I figure for the first time out, why not make it as easy as possible for myself.  At a certain point in the serial, I may even pose some questions to the readership (I figure it can't hurt to make it interactive and could also help to gain an early readership, plus I'm genuinely confused in my real life about the choices I should make regarding my current situation).  The feedback (if I get any) may inform what I do in real life, and in turn how the serial ends in its last chapter or two.

I've begun the first part, and I'm finding that, as Marla has described sometimes happens with her, I may not get to any sex in the first chapter.  I know the third part is going to be chock full of it to the point of being pure smut, but the first part not so much.  Things started slowly in real life, and to give everything its proper time and to properly balance the timeline, it just doesn't feel right to rush ahead.  I'm hoping that the personal nature of the writing will help assuage that, but I'm considering putting a fantasy scene in near the end of the first chapter so the readers at least get something and want to come back-- I don't want to lose readers before I've even begun.  Recently I read the first installment of H.M. Ward's The Arrangement, which also doesn't feature any sex.  She's a solid writer, and between the quality of the writing and the general suggestive tone she gets away with not having any actual sex in it, but at this point her name is also going to help her pull that off.  I figure as a first-time author I won't be able to do the same thing.

And then a funny thing happened.  As I was writing, and because it's autobiographical, I found myself also writing a lot about my past and growing up.  I went with it, because again, it can only help to create a personal, more intimate tone that could be the hook that sells some early copies.  I know all of this bucks a lot of conventions, but I'm willing to go with it as an experiment and see where it leads.  Worst case scenario, it doesn't sell and I continue on with fictional pieces and it's a curiosity for future readers to stumble upon later.  But as I was writing, I found myself including material about having sex in high school and when I lost my virginity.  And I know I've seen warnings before about under-age sex leading to problems with publication.  Which seems silly because I can think of fairly graphic sex scenes in Stephen King books between high-schoolers, but I suppose they're nowhere near as graphic as erotica.  So I'm curious what your experiences are with it affecting publication and/or banning.

Do you think this is going to be a problem?  There's nothing non-consensual or statutory about it (myself and the boy were both 16 at the time).  And if it is, I thought of a way I could possibly work around it... and wanted to see what you all thought of it.  Since this will be my first piece, and I don't have anything yet to give away for signing up for a mailing list, what if I published the version without those scenes and included a note in the text at the point it occurs that there's a bonus scene available as a freebie for signing up for my mailing list on my website?  That way the readers could either get the missing material as an insert, or as a second full version of the story that includes the objectionable material, and those parts would never have to be published through Amazon or the other sites.  I thought this might do the trick as a workaround, and also drive readers to the mailing list when I otherwise wouldn't have a freebie to provide.  But I also didn't know if Amazon would have a problem with something being sold that included a (sort-of) advertisement to material they might find object-able.

I could continue to use it as a freebie for the collected version, again using it to drive traffic to the mailing list.  Of course, over time, I'd probably replace that freebie with a full original story or a copy of a published story.  

So the question is ultimately in two parts... 1) would I have problems publishing those scenes through Amazon, Google Play, All Romance, and the like, and 2) from those of you in the know, does the idea of including the omitted scene as a mailing list freebie sound like a workable workaround?

V


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## AssanaBanana

Veronica Michaels said:


> So the question is ultimately in two parts... 1) would I have problems publishing those scenes through Amazon, Google Play, All Romance, and the like, and 2) from those of you in the know, does the idea of including the omitted scene as a mailing list freebie sound like a workable workaround?


I love your idea! To answer your questions I don't think you'd have any problems publishing a story with that kind of content. As long as your cover is tasteful and your description doesn't contain something like "hot teens f*cking" the filters won't bother you. It sounds like you intend to approach the subject/scenes in a realistic way. I believe if it's handled intelligently and is germane to the plot then you shouldn't have an issue.

I deal with the subject of teen sex in my own novel and my editor didn't balk at it (it's under contract right now and in the final stages of editing). My characters were both fifteen and it was completely consensual. I don't go into intense detail in that particular scene, however. Partly because I wanted to avoid the "ick" factor, but it made sense to include some of it because it is a coming of age story, after all. Both characters are losing their virginity. I write the initial exploration, getting naked, touching, then the guy decides he wants to go down on the girl - I write that with sparse details (it's written from his POV, not hers). Then some unexpected humor pops up and I fade to black before they get down to real business. I suppose the scene was semi-autobiographical in that the girl was the one who instigated the encounter and provided the condom (which was how I lost my virginity, except it was in the back seat of a Chevy Malibu, not in my own bed - I was also fifteen).

I think you'd run into bigger issues if one of the characters was much older, but bottom line the things that will get you filtered aren't the content of the book itself so much as the cover and description - the parts that are visible to readers without having to buy the book first.


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## Veronica Michaels

JessePearle said:


> I love your idea!


Thanks, Jesse!  But which part? The overall hook for the story being autobiographical, or the part of including a bonus scene as a mailing list freebie since I don't have anything else to use as an incentive at this point?

Now that I've thought of it, I'm almost tempted to use the bonus scene idea anyway just to try to bring people onto the mailing list asap, even if I'd be safe publishing it on Amazon. It's a pretty graphic scene and it doesn't cut away the way yours does, and I think I'd prefer to keep it with lots of intense detail, hahaha. Plus, I'm happy to have a good one in the first chapter when I thought I might not have one at all.

Oh, and I was 15 as well... it was sophomore year of high school, but I always remember things by grade and not age and then have to count backwards from high school graduation. Whenever I'm talking about things in grade school it always takes me a minute to figure out how old I was. I have a chiropractor who does a lot of intuitive/emotional work, and he'll find something in your body and be able to identify the age of an experience that's at the root cause of it. Then when he asks me to identify what it is, it always takes a minute for me to count backwards from the end of high school and figure out what grade I was in, and then from there I can try to figure out what it was-- him telling me what age I was doesn't really help me at all. Blargh, I'm terrible.


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## AssanaBanana

Veronica Michaels said:


> Thanks, Jesse!  But which part? The overall hook for the story being autobiographical, or the part of including a bonus scene as a mailing list freebie since I don't have anything else to use as an incentive at this point?
> 
> Now that I've thought of it, I'm almost tempted to use the bonus scene idea anyway just to try to bring people onto the mailing list asap, even if I'd be safe publishing it on Amazon. It's a pretty graphic scene and it doesn't cut away the way yours does, and I think I'd prefer to keep it with lots of intense detail, hahaha. Plus, I'm happy to have a good one in the first chapter when I thought I might not have one at all.
> 
> Oh, and I was 15 as well... it was sophomore year of high school, but I always remember things by grade and not age and then have to count backwards from high school graduation. Whenever I'm talking about things in grade school it always takes me a minute to figure out how old I was. I have a chiropractor who does a lot of intuitive/emotional work, and he'll find something in your body and be able to identify the age of an experience that's at the root cause of it. Then when he asks me to identify what it is, it always takes a minute for me to count backwards from the end of high school and figure out what grade I was in, and then from there I can try to figure out what it was-- him telling me what age I was doesn't really help me at all. Blargh, I'm terrible.


The whole thing!  I've thought about doing the same off and on. One of my writer friends is self publishing a series that's somewhat similar, though from a male perspective. It's a bit autobiographical, and very sexy. He isn't as rabid about building a big backlist as us erotica authors (his stuff is closer to humor than erotica). If you're interested, check out Featherstone's First Time.


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## iheartwords

KDP will block erotic books that have characters under 18 having sex. You can write those scenes in almost any other genre and get away with it, but not erotica. All Romance won't allow it either. (My first erotic book had teen characters having sex too, before I knew it would be blocked pretty much everywhere.) It's also against Smashwords' TOS. It's probably not allowed on any retailer's website in the erotica genre.


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## AssanaBanana

iheartwords said:


> KDP will block erotic books that have characters under 18 having sex. You can write those scenes in almost any other genre and get away with it, but not erotica. All Romance won't allow it either. (My first erotic book had teen characters having sex too, before I knew it would be blocked pretty much everywhere.) It's also against Smashwords' TOS. It's probably not allowed on any retailer's website in the erotica genre.


What about something labeled Erotic Romance?


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## iheartwords

JessePearle said:


> What about something labeled Erotic Romance?


I'm guessing it would still not be okay because the book would have an erotic focus.


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## Veronica Michaels

So it sounds like the best thing for me all around is to just make that scene a mailing list freebie.


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## Veronica Michaels

Actually, I don't know what I was thinking.  If I'm sending it as a freebie, it still has to go through a publisher so it's compatible with e-readers, right?  So it still needs to be published somewhere.  If it's against everyone's ToS, there's no real way for me to distribute it short of sending out an attachment with a .doc file that would be edit-able, or something completely lame like that.


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## Kia Zi Shiru

Veronica Michaels said:


> Actually, I don't know what I was thinking. If I'm sending it as a freebie, it still has to go through a publisher so it's compatible with e-readers, right? So it still needs to be published somewhere. If it's against everyone's ToS, there's no real way for me to distribute it short of sending out an attachment with a .doc file that would be edit-able, or something completely lame like that.


Actually, pick up a free program called Calibre. It will turn your doc (or pdf, or whatever) into both epub and mobi. It is originally a book management program, but it's great for conversions.
Or, download an addon for word that will allow you to save your doc file as a pdf. You can find that one through one of the menus within word (if I remember correctly, probably best to just google it  ).

You can then offer those files quite easily so people even have a choice what they like best.


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## Veronica Michaels

Kia Zi Shiru said:


> Actually, pick up a free program called Calibre. It will turn your doc (or pdf, or whatever) into both epub and mobi. It is originally a book management program, but it's great for conversions.
> Or, download an addon for word that will allow you to save your doc file as a pdf. You can find that one through one of the menus within word (if I remember correctly, probably best to just google it  ).
> 
> You can then offer those files quite easily so people even have a choice what they like best.


Thanks. Yes, .pdf conversion is actually easy, and I'd forgotten about it.

I've known about Calibre, so I went ahead and downloaded it. I'm not great with computers, and at first glance, converting to epub and mobi formats seems complicated (not the actual conversion, but dealing with the pages of variables if you really want to know what you're doing). I converted some sample files, and the page breaks were changed, so it also seems like it will require a good deal of editing and reformatting. I'm honestly not sure if I'll be able to figure it out, but I'll start researching it and see if anyone I know irl can help guide me through it.

But many thanks for letting me know I do have some options after all and pointing me in the right direction- it's much appreciated! I believe if I can have a freebie to offer with the publication of the first volume of my first serial, particularly if it's something the distributors won't publish, it could really help jumpstart my mailing list from the get-go.


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## Kia Zi Shiru

Veronica Michaels said:


> Thanks. Yes, .pdf conversion is actually easy, and I'd forgotten about it.
> 
> I've known about Calibre, so I went ahead and downloaded it. I'm not great with computers, and at first glance, converting to epub and mobi formats seems complicated (not the actual conversion, but dealing with the pages of variables if you really want to know what you're doing). I converted some sample files, and the page breaks were changed, so it also seems like it will require a good deal of editing and reformatting. I'm honestly not sure if I'll be able to figure it out, but I'll start researching it and see if anyone I know irl can help guide me through it.
> 
> But many thanks for letting me know I do have some options after all and pointing me in the right direction- it's much appreciated! I believe if I can have a freebie to offer with the publication of the first volume of my first serial, particularly if it's something the distributors won't publish, it could really help jumpstart my mailing list from the get-go.


Depending on what you really need for formatting I'd give you two tips:
1. Save as html. Save your doc to html and put that html into calibre to convert, that is the cleanest and easiest conversion to use.
2. (this is the only option I ever change in Calibre apart from the cover and stuff) If you use indents instead of blank space between paragraphs, go to "look and feel" and tick the "Remove spacing between paragraphs" box. The "indent size" option will become available. If you have already done this in your HTML file and don't want to redefine it, put in a 0 for the size and click the arrow down button. This will make the message "No change" appear. That way it will keep the formatting the same as before.

I don't usually do much else with the options. You can check them out if you don't get the results you want, but if you already have a file the way you want, there is a good chance it will come out (almost) as you want it without changing a thing.


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## Veronica Michaels

Kia Zi Shiru said:


> Depending on what you really need for formatting I'd give you two tips:
> 1. Save as html. Save your doc to html and put that html into calibre to convert, that is the cleanest and easiest conversion to use.
> 2. (this is the only option I ever change in Calibre apart from the cover and stuff) If you use indents instead of blank space between paragraphs, go to "look and feel" and tick the "Remove spacing between paragraphs" box. The "indent size" option will become available. If you have already done this in your HTML file and don't want to redefine it, put in a 0 for the size and click the arrow down button. This will make the message "No change" appear. That way it will keep the formatting the same as before.
> 
> I don't usually do much else with the options. You can check them out if you don't get the results you want, but if you already have a file the way you want, there is a good chance it will come out (almost) as you want it without changing a thing.


Thanks again-- I really appreciate it!


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## Kia Zi Shiru

Veronica Michaels said:


> Thanks again-- I really appreciate it!


No prob, just helping out 
Good luck with everything!


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## Anabelle Sunday

Just got on audition for CR on ACX. My first book is going to be an audiobook as well it looks like! So excited, and the audition sounds amaazzzingggg! I would post the link to hear it but I'm not sure if I would be violating some TOS clause so I won't. If you want to hear it, PM me and I'll give you the link though. 

So excited!


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## KMatthew

Congrats on the audio book audition. I'm now making more with audiobooks every month than I am selling on Kobo.


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## Veronica Michaels

KMatthew said:


> Congrats on the audio book audition. I'm now making more with audiobooks every month than I am selling on Kobo.


Does that mean you're starting to make a lot from audiobooks, or just that Kobo sucks?


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## KMatthew

Veronica Michaels said:


> Does that mean you're starting to make a lot from audiobooks, or just that Kobo sucks?


Kobo has always sucked for me, but I do have a lot of audio books. Not as many audio books as I have ebooks on Kobo, so I guess the answer leans towards that Kobo just sucks.


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## Skylar Cross

How's the novel coming?


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## KMatthew

The release date is set for 4/27 and my ARC team loved it, so I can't complain.


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## jcalloway

Congrats on the novel!

Since your business model revolves around releasing new material quickly and often, have your sales held steady since you put the shorts/novellas on hold for the novel? Not asking for figures since I know you aren't comfy giving those out anymore, but I'd be curious to know if you have noticed any major differences.


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## Hermit Crab

Wow, KMatthew, you are an inspiration! I'm new at this (writing smut for fun and profit, hee) and would like to shout out a big THANK YOU for sharing all of this. Congratulations on your success!


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## KMatthew

jcalloway said:


> Congrats on the novel!
> 
> Since your business model revolves around releasing new material quickly and often, have your sales held steady since you put the shorts/novellas on hold for the novel? Not asking for figures since I know you aren't comfy giving those out anymore, but I'd be curious to know if you have noticed any major differences.


Sales are definitely down right now, but it's hard to tell if it's because of the long pause between publishing or the summer slump. My sales decreased around the same time last year.

I'm working on another novel right now, whether I keep writing novels or not is going to depend on how these two perform, but I know that I have to write at least two more in the future because I'm kind of contracted in (not with a publisher, but with a few boxed sets I'm doing).

I REALLY miss writing serials. Being able to publish things frequently has always filled me with a sense of accomplishment. I can easily see myself going back to it.


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## NerdyWriter

KMatthew said:


> Sales are definitely down right now, but it's hard to tell if it's because of the long pause between publishing or the summer slump. My sales decreased around the same time last year.
> 
> I'm working on another novel right now, whether I keep writing novels or not is going to depend on how these two perform, but I know that I have to write at least two more in the future because I'm kind of contracted in (not with a publisher, but with a few boxed sets I'm doing).
> 
> I REALLY miss writing serials. Being able to publish things frequently has always filled me with a sense of accomplishment. I can easily see myself going back to it.


When you go in to Novel mode, is it hard to focus on short stories? Is writing the tiring part or the market research/preparation to sell part?


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## KMatthew

GregFigueroa said:


> When you go in to Novel mode, is it hard to focus on short stories? Is writing the tiring part or the market research/preparation to sell part?


Writing novels drains me. I get tired of having to focus on the same thing for so long. I get frustrated at the time it takes. I often go off track and take days off of writing at a time.

I have market research down to a science right now. It doesn't take me long to figure out what will sell.

Preparing the novel and getting the ARC readers together and everything like that is easy. For me, it's the writing and staying focused that's the hard part.


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## RichardWolanski

Hi KMatthew, 

I just wanted to pop in and say thank you for starting this topic. I'm a sci-fi/fantasy writer by trade, and most of my work is New Weird (so not highly marketable)! However, I embarked on doing romance and I got my first fan letter today. It was extremely humbling. I never would have tried if it wasn't for you. Thank you. I get the sense that you genuinely want to help other writers. You're awesome!

Also, what resources do you use to do market research (if you don't mind me asking)?


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## KMatthew

RichardWolanski said:


> what resources do you use to do market research (if you don't mind me asking)?


I just get on Amazon, do some searching around in the top 100 category of whatever genre I'm writing in, and I look for trends.


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## Skylar Cross

KMatthew said:


> Sales are definitely down right now, but it's hard to tell if it's because of the long pause between publishing or the summer slump. My sales decreased around the same time last year.


Looking forward to the novel. Congrats on finishing it!

Yeah, I noticed the same thing with my sales. February was spectacular, March was good, but in April I watched the summer slump beginning. Sales are steady, but even with three new titles there is a clear drop-off pattern. Good to know it's not just me.


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## Skylar Cross

Hermit Crab said:


> Wow, KMatthew, you are an inspiration! I'm new at this (writing smut for fun and profit, hee) and would like to shout out a big THANK YOU for sharing all of this. Congratulations on your success!





RichardWolanski said:


> However, I embarked on doing romance and I got my first fan letter today. It was extremely humbling. I never would have tried if it wasn't for you. Thank you. I get the sense that you genuinely want to help other writers. You're awesome!


Hermit Crab and Richard,

K Matthew is awesome! Do everything she tells you to do! I did. I went from $100 a month in January to $1,500 a month now (which would be higher if not for the summer slump beginning, I'm sure.) Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

I had been floundering before I found her. Then, with just a few tweaks to what I was doing based on what she does, my income exploded. Go back and read this entire thread, then do a Google search for her podcasts and other materials. She has changed my life... seriously. It works!


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## KMatthew

Skylar Cross said:


> Yeah, I noticed the same thing with my sales. February was spectacular, March was good, but in April I watched the summer slump beginning. Sales are steady, but even with three new titles there is a clear drop-off pattern. Good to know it's not just me.


It's definitely not just you, and unfortunately, it's not going to matter how many new things you put out. The same happened to me last year. I kept publishing and publishing and wondering why my sales figures weren't going up. At least when you publish regularly, you can hit the bottom slope of the summer slump and maintain. But when school went back in, my sales began to climb again, and over the winter holiday, they exploded, so it's definitely good to keep publishing through the slump.

On a non-related note, one of my ARC readers mentioned in an e-mail that she loves your Controlled By His Voice series. I thought you might like to know.


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## Skylar Cross

KMatthew said:


> On a none related note, one of my ARC readers mentioned in an e-mail that she loves your Controlled By His Voice series. I thought you might like to know.


Thanks, you just made my day! Woot!


----------



## Alexis Adaire

Sorry, but I just had to exhume the thread that got me started writing erotica. While it's still early for me, my unit sales and revenue have been increasing every month by 50%. This month looks to be on target to do the same. My monthly publishing income has gone from candy bar money to dinner money to paying down the credit cards money, and I have to thank KMatthew for being so helpful and inspirational. Two books a week is more than I can seem to do at this point, but I'm getting at least one done, from blank page to published book, every single week.

I only wish KMatthew were still publishing her monthly totals. Every time I saw those, I immediately got off of social media and wrote more.  

Anyway, thanks very much, KM. I fully expect to resurrect this thread every few months as my sales continue to climb.


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## katrina46

Oh, good. I only started publishing erotica the past month and I'm at around 63 dollars. I was wondering if that sucked, but it sounds like I'm about where you started.


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## Drake

Congratulations on your success and all of the hard work!


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## KMatthew

EelKat said:


> It's the exact same with me, that's why I don't write novels. I'll get halfway into a novel and just feel bored out of my mind with the monotony of a single story, than toss it and go back to shorts. I love writing shorts I never tire of it, enough to be putting out a new one almost every week. I just love it, love it, love it, whereas novels it's ho-hum, when will this get done. I end up putting off writing when I start writing novels.
> 
> I agree, I loved seeing the numbers - so inspirational.


My novels never make as much money as my serials. I can only assume it's because I tend to write stand alones when I do put out a new novel. I think I'm pretty much done with them though. My writing style is better suited for writing serials. And unless I price my novels at $0.99, they tend to completely tank.


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## 77071

That is fascinating!  Thank you for sharing so much information w/ us!


----------



## wtvr

So, do you think it's still possible to do this? Is the market still there for works <20K words? Serials still addictive?

It looks like all your prices changed - KMatthew... Was that in response to reviewer pressure or something else?

BTW, I read 2 of your titles last night. Extremely well written!


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## KMatthew

LisaGloria said:


> So, do you think it's still possible to do this? Is the market still there for works <20K words? Serials still addictive?
> 
> It looks like all your prices changed - KMatthew... Was that in response to reviewer pressure or something else?
> 
> BTW, I read 2 of your titles last night. Extremely well written!


I changed my prices because my focus shifted. Instead of writing to make money, I'm trying to boost my ranking and get a best seller.

Serials are still very much alive, and it seems like 20k is the sweet spot right now (the spot at which people don't 1 star as much for length vs. pricing).


----------



## AmpersandBookInteriors

KMatthew said:


> $0.99 > Short Shorts: Under 3k
> $2.99 > Stories: 3-15k
> $3.99 > Stories: 15-35k
> $4.99 > Stories: 35-50k
> $5.99 > Novels: 50-70k
> $6.99 > Novels: 70-90k
> $7.99> Novels: 90-110k
> $8.99> Novels: 110-130k
> $9.99> Novels: 130k-150k


I just have to jump in here and say, holy crap!!! If we followed this pricing we'd have all of our novels at $8.99 or higher.

But I'm not going to act like I'm not tempted some days.

Anyway, back to our regularly scheduled posting...


----------



## 67499

KM - Even a two-fisted prude can unclench his fists to applaud your success and business smarts!


----------



## wtvr

KMatthew said:


> I changed my prices because my focus shifted. Instead of writing to make money, I'm trying to boost my ranking and get a best seller.
> 
> Serials are still very much alive, and it seems like 20k is the sweet spot right now (the spot at which people don't 1 star as much for length vs. pricing).


Ahhhhhh, I get it. Good luck.

20K words, gotcha. It's going to make 100 titles a year a lot harder, LOL. How about a series at:
Book 1: 10K, permafree
Book 2: 5K+, $0.99
Book 3: 20K, $2.99
Series, $3.99


----------



## Redacted1111

KMatthew said:


> My novels never make as much money as my serials. I can only assume it's because I tend to write stand alones when I do put out a new novel. I think I'm pretty much done with them though. My writing style is better suited for writing serials. And unless I price my novels at $0.99, they tend to completely tank.


I'm finding this too. I started out doing erotic serials. Had a small amount of success with erotic romance. Was disappointed with the negativity from some reviewers. Switched to novels. Found ROI on all the front end work plus time spent writing was not very good. Now I'm going back to serials/series of at least 20-40k in multiple genres. I'm glad you said this. Readers may say they want standalone novels, but the market doesn't prove that to be true.


----------



## KMatthew

Kalypsō said:


> I'm finding this too. I started out doing erotic serials. Had a small amount of success with erotic romance. Was disappointed with the negativity from some reviewers. Switched to novels. Found ROI on all the front end work plus time spent writing was not very good. Now I'm going back to serials/series of at least 20-40k in multiple genres. I'm glad you said this. Readers may say they want standalone novels, but the market doesn't prove that to be true.


I think what readers really want is novel trilogies. I honestly can't see myself putting in that much of a time investment though. Novel series are like short serials. Not all of them are going to be a hit. And it takes a lot of time to put out a trilogy of novels. For me, that would take 3 months, and that's with keeping at a minimum word count of 40k - 60k per book. Plus, the pricing on bundling is a whole other beast.



LisaGloria said:


> Ahhhhhh, I get it. Good luck.
> 
> 20K words, gotcha. It's going to make 100 titles a year a lot harder, LOL. How about a series at:
> Book 1: 10K, permafree
> Book 2: 5K+, $0.99
> Book 3: 20K, $2.99
> Series, $3.99


People may complain (or 1 star) about the 5k one. It's really a crapshoot. I would say your next paid book should be at least as long as your freebie or as close to the same word count as possible. This is only my opinion though.



RaventideBooks said:


> I just have to jump in here and say, holy crap!!! If we followed this pricing we'd have all of our novels at $8.99 or higher.
> 
> But I'm not going to act like I'm not tempted some days.
> 
> Anyway, back to our regularly scheduled posting...


Yeah. It's a pricing strategy I've only ever seen work for erotica and trade published books. Now it doesn't even work for erotica much anymore.


----------



## AmpersandBookInteriors

Ah, well. I wasn't getting too hopeful since we don't do erotica anyway.


----------



## wtvr

KMatthew said:


> People may complain (or 1 star) about the 5k one. It's really a crapshoot. I would say your next paid book should be at least as long as your freebie or as close to the same word count as possible. This is only my opinion though.
> Yeah. It's a pricing strategy I've only ever seen work for erotica and trade published books. Now it doesn't even work for erotica much anymore.


Thanks so much for all your advice.


----------



## Mahalo

KMatthew - halfway into 2014 - what is currently your bestselling series? Do you feel like any trends have shifted?


----------



## KMatthew

Ana Munroe said:


> KMatthew - halfway into 2014 - what is currently your bestselling series? Do you feel like any trends have shifted?


My best selling series is whatever I'm actively promoting at the time. Not counting multi-author boxed sets I'm in, right now it's my Wrong or Write: Boxed Set, but that's only because I'm running a new release marketing campaign on it. If I wasn't, it would probably be languishing. As for series that have organically performed well, my His Indecent Training series has done the best in the US. I'm also really popular in the UK. Sometimes my UK sales beat my US sales. In the UK, my best selling series is His Indecent Lessons, which is the prequel to His Indecent Training.

Trends shift slightly every few months, but there are a lot of things that continue to remain popular. Since I've been publishing, there have been a lot of crazes. For a while, rock stars were hot. Now it's bikers. Billionaires is still holding really steady.


----------



## Calista Cage

I'm curious about what you said about trilogies.  So do you think trilogies are the best for a serial?  It looks like you have done some that are more than 3 books.  Would you say that you made more from a good trilogy or from the ones with more books?


----------



## KMatthew

Calista Cage said:


> I'm curious about what you said about trilogies. So do you think trilogies are the best for a serial? It looks like you have done some that are more than 3 books. Would you say that you made more from a good trilogy or from the ones with more books?


If something is selling well, there's no harm in extending it. However, I try to always plan my serials to be three parts, just in case one doesn't take off. I've also given well performing serials sequels. For instance, my His Indecent Lessons serial did so well that I wrote a sequel serial to it (His Indecent Training).


----------



## Veronica Michaels

KMatthew said:


> If something is selling well, there's no harm in extending it. However, I try to always plan my serials to be three parts, just in case one doesn't take off. I've also given well performing serials sequels. For instance, my His Indecent Lessons serial did so well that I wrote a sequel serial to it (His Indecent Training).


Based on your pricing, it seems like you'd make more money off of longer serials-- that way only the first of many would be free instead of the first of every three as it stands when writing three-episode storylines. It seems like you'd be able to make a lot more money if you weren't giving away one out of every three publications for free. Plus, with a longer serial, if it did well, you'd be able to continue to reap the monetary rewards of a built-in audience. I'm also not sure why you couldn't simply publish a "novel" in many more installments. Say release it as a 10-installment serial, and then collect it into one published novel when you're done.

I'm also wondering about publishing things in the equivalent of cable television seasons. It seems like 20,000 words is probably about the length of a television episode, give or take. I wonder what would be the result of starting with your model, but expanding it into a television equivalent where the series, or seasons, are 8-13 "episodes." You could still make the first perma-free, and charge an extra buck or so for the final one, and then the collected version would be more based on the total number of installments. Depending on the success of a "season," you could choose to "renew" it for additional seasons.

I realize the answer here may simply be that you're still chasing a best-seller, but it seems like there could be something to consider in this kind of adjustment to your model, and I'm wondering what your thoughts are. I'm about to publish something autobiographical that will probably run for 5 installments, but then I have several ideas for longer serials and I may explore this kind of revised publishing model with those.

I guess the caveat is that, just like with poorly performing shows, you'd have to consider ending it early if it really underperformed. Although one possibility could be to release future installments more slowly while also releasing other things, or perhaps to simply set it aside indefinitely to work on other things and leave it hanging for awhile, and then possibly pick it back up if people started to find it and it became more popular over time while it just sitting there unfinished. And if not, to just let it remain unfinished while working on things more popular that are selling better.


----------



## KMatthew

Veronica Michaels said:


> Based on your pricing, it seems like you'd make more money off of longer serials-- that way only the first of many would be free instead of the first of every three as it stands when writing three-episode storylines. It seems like you'd be able to make a lot more money if you weren't giving away one out of every three publications for free. Plus, with a longer serial, if it did well, you'd be able to continue to reap the monetary rewards of a built-in audience. I'm also not sure why you couldn't simply publish a "novel" in many more installments. Say release it as a 10-installment serial, and then collect it into one published novel when you're done.
> 
> I'm also wondering about publishing things in the equivalent of cable television seasons. It seems like 20,000 words is probably about the length of a television episode, give or take. I wonder what would be the result of starting with your model, but expanding it into a television equivalent where the series, or seasons, are 8-13 "episodes." You could still make the first perms-free, and charge an extra buck or so for the final one, and then the collected version would be more based on the total number of installments. Depending on the success of a "season," you could choose to "renew" it for additional seasons.
> 
> I realize the answer here may simply be that you're still chasing a best-seller, but it seems like there could be something to consider in this kind of model, and I'm wondering what you're thoughts are. I'm about to publish something autobiographical that will probably run for 5 installments, but then I have several ideas for longer serials and I may explore this kind of model with those.


I've actually been considering revamping my pricing strategy since I hit the USA Today Best-Seller list. I don't know too many USA Today Best-Sellers who have as many freebies as I do. For me, the whole point of starting a series with a freebie is to hook readers into the series so that they buy future installments, whether there be 2 additional installments or more. I think the longest serial I have has 11 parts.

From an income earning perspective, it does make more sense to have more than 3 installments. If the first installment is free, the second one is $0.99, and the third one is $2.99, the customer pays $3.98. Whereas if they purchase the complete work, it costs them $3.99. It's cheaper for them to buy it in parts, even if it's just a penny. And I lose out on royalties if they do it that way.

The main reason I don't write super long serials though has nothing to do with making money and more to do with the fact that I get bored easily. I could never put out a series like Harry Potter or Game of Thrones or even H.M. Ward's The Arrangement series. Even if my characters are great, I tend to get bored of writing them long before I even hit the three novel mark. And I know that I could extend several of my serials as it is, because I do get requests from readers to create more installments. I just don't. So, I basically work on a line between making money and keeping my sanity. lol


----------



## Carradee

Veronica Michaels said:


> I'm also wondering about publishing things in the equivalent of cable television seasons. It seems like 20,000 words is probably about the length of a television episode, give or take. I wonder what would be the result of starting with your model, but expanding it into a television equivalent where the series, or seasons, are 8-13 "episodes." You could still make the first perma-free, and charge an extra buck or so for the final one, and then the collected version would be more based on the total number of installments. Depending on the success of a "season," you could choose to "renew" it for additional seasons.


I've one story idea in particular that I think would lend itself very well to that model as a 3-season series. It could be cut short at 2 seasons&#8230;but I have other projects to get done before I can get to work on that one. (Besides which, it's perhaps 40 years in the future of something I'm working on. I have to get at least through book 5 in that series before I could do the serial.)

Which kinda sucks, because it would fit the post-apocalyptic dystopian vibe that's popular, right now. Oh, well.

I have a suspicion that somebody's going to do "Major publishers come a-knocking" well with that model, though.


----------



## pauldude000

KMatthew said:


> I am not going to lie. I would much rather be writing horror. In fact, I've tried to crawl away from writing erotica several times, but the result has been dismal at best.


Starting in a new genre is the same as starting over. You can do it, but have a separate pen name for that genre and expect your sales in that genre initially to be equivalent to when you first started out with self-publishing. I would keep writing what is paying your bills, but throw in stories of what you want to write here and there until you get a following and then switch over completely. Your following right now wants what you are writing and there is no reason to assume that they would be willing to jump genres to follow you.

With the information you have collected, I would personally like to know how the percentages per price point stack up on a monthly basis. I am too much of a chicken to risk such a variegated pricing plan, though I would switch to a more reasonable plan if I thought it wouldn't alienate my readers and kill my current fan base.


----------



## KMatthew

pauldude000 said:


> Starting in a new genre is the same as starting over. You can do it, but have a separate pen name for that genre and expect your sales in that genre initially to be equivalent to when you first started out with self-publishing. I would keep writing what is paying your bills, but throw in stories of what you want to write here and there until you get a following and then switch over completely. Your following right now wants what you are writing and there is no reason to assume that they would be willing to jump genres to follow you.
> 
> With the information you have collected, I would personally like to know how the percentages per price point stack up on a monthly basis. I am too much of a chicken to risk such a variegated pricing plan, though I would switch to a more reasonable plan if I thought it wouldn't alienate my readers and kill my current fan base.


The thing is that income levels are different in different genres. More people like romance than horror, which means that more people buy romance than horror, which means that romance authors typically make more money than horror authors (except for Stephen King and the few other biggies). That's just the reality of it. If I started a new pen name in horror right now and a new pen name in romance at the same time, the romance pen name would likely make more just because there's a greater demand for romance. It's economics. Supply and demand.

I think I did an income analysis per price point a while back, but for the sake of staying current, I'll make one up real quick using Amazon US data only from the sales I made last month

Percentage of sales per price point
$0.99 = 54.62%
$2.99 = 19.62%
$3.99 = 16.71%
$4.99 = 4.14%
$5.99 = 0.47%
$6.99 = 0.60%
$7.99 = 3.70%
$9.99 = 0.14%


----------



## Mahalo

KMatthew said:


> The thing is that income levels are different in different genres. More people like romance than horror, which means that more people buy romance than horror, which means that romance authors typically make more money than horror authors (except for Stephen King and the few other biggies). That's just the reality of it. If I started a new pen name in horror right now and a new pen name in romance at the same time, the romance pen name would likely make more just because there's a greater demand for romance. It's economics. Supply and demand.
> 
> I think I did an income analysis per price point a while back, but for the sake of staying current, I'll make one up real quick using Amazon US data only from the sales I made last month
> 
> Percentage of sales per price point
> $0.99 = 54.62%
> $2.99 = 19.62%
> $3.99 = 16.71%
> $4.99 = 4.14%
> $5.99 = 0.47%
> $6.99 = 0.60%
> $7.99 = 3.70%
> $9.99 = 0.14%


Good to know! And, thanks again for your continued support in this thread and across the boards. Much appreciated!


----------



## cadetanderson

Could you give me some advice on my books? Read your post and literally just starting putting out books a week ago. Already have four up.

Here's a link to all my books:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Rachel%20Okada&search-alias=digital-text&sort=relevancerank

Do you think I'm pricing too high or I just need to give it more time? Only sold 3 books so far, two when i had the price at 2.99 and one when i lowered it down to 99 cents. Also when I gave it away for free I had over 100 downloads but then changed it to be priced again.

Also I am planning on continuing the series to at least 15-21 books as I think it is most marketable to do a series. And yes my primary concern/interest is to profit as much as I can from the books so any advice you have will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

-Theo


----------



## asd1978

cadetanderson said:


> Could you give me some advice on my books? Read your post and literally just starting putting out books a week ago. Already have four up.
> 
> Here's a link to all my books:
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Rachel%20Okada&search-alias=digital-text&sort=relevancerank
> 
> Do you think I'm pricing too high or I just need to give it more time? Only sold 3 books so far, two when i had the price at 2.99 and one when i lowered it down to 99 cents. Also when I gave it away for free I had over 100 downloads but then changed it to be priced again.
> 
> Also I am planning on continuing the series to at least 15-21 books as I think it is most marketable to do a series. And yes my primary concern/interest is to profit as much as I can from the books so any advice you have will be greatly appreciated.
> 
> Thanks
> 
> -Theo


I think one of your issues is that book 1 and book 2 have been adult filtered by Amazon. Book 3 and the bundled set appear to have escaped the filter.


----------



## KMatthew

cadetanderson said:


> Could you give me some advice on my books? Read your post and literally just starting putting out books a week ago. Already have four up.
> 
> Here's a link to all my books:
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Rachel%20Okada&search-alias=digital-text&sort=relevancerank
> 
> Do you think I'm pricing too high or I just need to give it more time? Only sold 3 books so far, two when i had the price at 2.99 and one when i lowered it down to 99 cents. Also when I gave it away for free I had over 100 downloads but then changed it to be priced again.
> 
> Also I am planning on continuing the series to at least 15-21 books as I think it is most marketable to do a series. And yes my primary concern/interest is to profit as much as I can from the books so any advice you have will be greatly appreciated.
> 
> Thanks
> 
> -Theo


I sent you a PM.

-KMatthew


----------



## sjmarquis

I am a neophyte at self-publishing, with just two titles out. I have taken the time to read and think about this entire thread. (That took three days, reading off and on, as I had time.) I would like to thank KMatthews for the invaluable advice. But I'd also like to thank everyone else who commented and shared. This thread is not only helpful, but inspirational. Thanks, everyone.


----------



## rachelmedhurst

Veronica Michaels said:


> I'm also wondering about publishing things in the equivalent of cable television seasons. It seems like 20,000 words is probably about the length of a television episode, give or take. I wonder what would be the result of starting with your model, but expanding it into a television equivalent where the series, or seasons, are 8-13 "episodes." You could still make the first perma-free, and charge an extra buck or so for the final one, and then the collected version would be more based on the total number of installments. Depending on the success of a "season," you could choose to "renew" it for additional seasons.


This is exactly what I'm doing with Avoidables, my dystopian fantasy serial. I started to release each episode of 5k once a week for 5 weeks. I'm giving the whole first serial away for free. I then have serial 2 ready to go straight away when serial 1 ends. I'm still working on how to price as I've seen on here that people don't like paying .99 for 5k. I may have a subscription for fans (which I have on my website for the free one already.) then release the whole of the serial on the main channels. I'm almost finished on serial 3, so will have a 4 week break between serial 2 and 3, then release that too.

That takes me right up to November, which gives me plenty of time to write the next one.

Fingers crossed!


----------



## sha66ir

Hey KMetthew,

I have a question regarding pricing...

I have a 3 part series coming up and I was wondering how to price it.

Each story is about 30,000 words.

so...
Story 1 = Free
Story 2 = 0.99
Story 3 = 2.99

What do you think of this strategy?

Also how is your novel coming up?

Thanks


----------



## KMatthew

That sounds like a good pricing strategy.

My novels crashed and burned. I ended up going back to writing serials. It was a good lesson learned though. Unless you're going to write a series of novels (at least a trilogy), then don't bother. Stand alones rarely do well. I hate writing novels though, so I don't think I could put together a series. For me, serials are where the money is at, so that's what I'm going to stick with aside from this one project I'm already committed to.


----------



## Alexis Adaire

Yes, here I am bumping this thread again, but it's an amazing source of info and inspiration AND I have a question for Marla (or anyone else who may know the answer).    

I'll be publishing my 21st title this week. Try as I might, I can't seem to get more than one finished each week. Sales have been increasing 150% every month and I just sold about 350 books in July.

I noticed in Marla's original post in the thread that in November of 2012, she sold nearly 10 times as many books as she had the previous week, and that jumped her into a totally different ballpark from that point on. 

I'm wondering if there's some part of Amazon's algorithm that sees a certain threshhold of titles by an author and suddenly says, "Okay, this person has published __n__ books now, they're legit and will be around a while, so let's move them up in the algorithm." For Marla, that jump happened around the time she published her 30th book.

Can anyone shed some light on this? Does total number of titles factor heavily?


----------



## wtvr

Alexis Adaire said:
 

> I'm wondering if there's some part of Amazon's algorithm that sees a certain threshhold of titles by an author and suddenly says, "Okay, this person has published __n__ books now, they're legit and will be around a while, so let's move them up in the algorithm." For Marla, that jump happened around the time she published her 30th book.


I would like to know this too!


----------



## KMatthew

Alexis Adaire said:


> Yes, here I am bumping this thread again, but it's an amazing source of info and inspiration AND I have a question for Marla (or anyone else who may know the answer).
> 
> I'll be publishing my 21st title this week. Try as I might, I can't seem to get more than one finished each week. Sales have been increasing 150% every month and I just sold about 350 books in July.
> 
> I noticed in Marla's original post in the thread that in November of 2012, she sold nearly 10 times as many books as she had the previous week, and that jumped her into a totally different ballpark from that point on.
> 
> I'm wondering if there's some part of Amazon's algorithm that sees a certain threshhold of titles by an author and suddenly says, "Okay, this person has published __n__ books now, they're legit and will be around a while, so let's move them up in the algorithm." For Marla, that jump happened around the time she published her 30th book.
> 
> Can anyone shed some light on this? Does total number of titles factor heavily?


If I remember correctly, November 2012 was when I pulled all of my books out of Select and published them with the other retailers. So it wasn't that Amazon was showing me love. It was that I broadened my reach by distributing to other platforms. I still think it's one of the best publishing decisions I've ever made, which is why I don't fall into any of the new programs that Amazon rolls out with. As of right now, I make around $5,000 every month from the other retailers, with the largest chunk of that coming from iTunes and Google Play. I've said it a lot, and I'll say it again, if you're not publishing in as many places as you can, then you're leaving money on the table.


----------



## Guest

But how can anyone publish with google play? They make box sets free for no reason. Amazon pricematch. It was bad enough with the mathematic equations to make sure your price wasn't discounted lower that your list price for all other retailers, but this BS is just impossible. Google need a serious kick in the head.


----------



## KMatthew

ShaneJeffery said:


> But how can anyone publish with google play? They make box sets free for no reason. Amazon pricematch. It was bad enough with the mathematic equations to make sure your price wasn't discounted lower that your list price for all other retailers, but this BS is just impossible. Google need a serious kick in the head.


I've personally never had a problem with them. If you price according to TK's pricing chart, there usually aren't issues. I would not give up publishing over there. I know some authors who make around $4k every month just from Google Play alone. For me, they are second to Amazon, with iTunes trailing closely behind.


----------



## Guest

I don't doubt their customer base.

But ever since Viola posted that they 'freed' her boxset, I knew I couldn't ever work with them. I know, you can argue, it won't happen to you, but for me, that was just INSANE. I really want to be able to move my books to google but I cannot trust them. Personally, I think it is NUTS a publisher needs to consort TKs pricing chart, just to be able to sell there. They're mental in my book.


----------



## NerdyWriter

ShaneJeffery said:


> But how can anyone publish with google play? They make box sets free for no reason. Amazon pricematch. It was bad enough with the mathematic equations to make sure your price wasn't discounted lower that your list price for all other retailers, but this BS is just impossible. Google need a serious kick in the head.


Gp isn't that bad. Are there WTF moments? Yes! But it doesn't make all your boxsets or books free. People still publish there because there is a big global audience there, they pay MONTHLY (my favorite part), reviews are less harsh, it is a consistent money maker when you figure things out, their pond is less crowded, it's worth it if your books sell, I could be wrong, but returns seems to happen way less there compared to Amazon. I just think more often than not people are happy with GP. As a publisher of my own stuff, I expect to deal with the quirks of the different retailers.

Major Complaints
Uploading is a pain [With experience it will be EASY as pie/takes me 5-10 minutes to upload a book]
They discount heavily and often [raise your prices/no one has ever complained that my prices are cheaper on other sites]
No discovery tools like a dedicated keywords section [Add keywords to the description and I wish they would tell people to SEO their description]
Needs better sales lists
Needs action [is a problem and can be vague, but with any change I give it a day or two before sounding the alarm]
Customer service [I feel like they are helpful, but a little sterile, like, techies talking to average customers, but they are improving]
Sales reports [SUCKs monkey balls! I hate waiting a day for updated sales and glitches that could less days of no sales reporting, thankfully, it happens once a month for a few days at most]


----------



## Guest

Thanks for the input Greg.

My beef is that Amazon are KING. Google can F with Amazon due to pricematching. That's completely taboo for me. This isn't the case of one smaller company causing problems with a bigger company to me.

This is an ANT messing with GODZILLA. And might I just say, a completely unreasonable and stupid ant. As if it would matter.


----------



## Honeybun

Kmatthew,

You mentioned that you make about $5k a month from non Amazon channels (primarily Google Play and iTunes).  Would you mind sharing what your royalties are like through Amazon?  And, how many titles are you up to now?

Also, do you publish direct with iTunes or go through an aggregator?

Thanks!


----------



## NerdyWriter

EelKat said:


> I've kind of had this same feeling. I joined GP a few months back, but than that same day, there was a thread here about how GP was messing up author's prices, and at first I wasn't worried, but then there were SO MANY authors replying to the thread saying they'd experienced the same issues as well as others and it kind of made me back off and rethink GP.
> 
> But than a few weeks later another thread showed up about GP pulling down a lot of Erotica and Erotica was what I was planning to put up there, so I was waiting to see what was causing the ban, but no one really knew, because it wasn't cover art like it usually is on Amazon. well, my covers are always "clean" even if the story is screaming taboo, so cover art bans have never been a problem for me, and it worried me that no one could figure out what had caused the ban - there just was no common thread across the books that got pulled.
> 
> So, I've yet to upload anything there. I'm still on the fence over it. I'm still in a wait and see if things get better or worse for others. But than I see posts like KMathew's and think, maybe GP ain't so back, she's doing okay with them, right?
> 
> I don't know, I'm still hesitant to use GP at this point. It's like I want to, but I don't dare to, sort of thing.


The only issue I have with my erotica short stories on GP was my Bundles (I released 20 short erotica stories before the 4 bundles and not one issue except when I mis-priced my books). Gp kept pulling them because of the explicit nature of my keywords. I just neutered them and clicked enable to google play store and hoped for the best and it's been two weeks and no issues.

Erotica does really well, EeLKat!


----------



## Christa Wick

ShaneJeffery said:


> I don't doubt their customer base.
> 
> But ever since Viola posted that they 'freed' her boxset, I knew I couldn't ever work with them. I know, you can argue, it won't happen to you, but for me, that was just INSANE. I really want to be able to move my books to google but I cannot trust them. Personally, I think it is NUTS a publisher needs to consort TKs pricing chart, just to be able to sell there. They're mental in my book.


do bundles with different names that don't have the exact selection of stories in them - do doubles instead of standalone, etc. it will reduce the amount of sales you'll have on google, but it will keep your amazon sales safe and increases your google sales over not having any because you aren't on the platform.


----------



## Honeybun

I asked KMatthews permission and she generously approved of what I'm about to do. I would like to share my own experience/experiment/goal of releasing 100 short story, erotica titles within 6 months. These 100 titles will be a mix of about 15 previously released titles which are being re-released (they had been pulled from publication for about the previous 6 to 8 months) and 85 new works. These are estimates because I haven't done a full, exact count. I am currently publishing on Amazon, D2D (iTunes, Scribd, Barnes & Noble, and Page Foundry), and Kobo. From what has been discussed in this thread recently with regard to Google Play, I will look into expanding to include them.

My decision to do this occurred mid June with my first publications June 28th (I think) so I'm counting my clock as rolling for my 6 as of July 1st and ending December 31st. My personal objective is to get my royalties high enough to say goodbye to my day job on December 31st. I'm a little nervous how this will work since, at least with Amazon, royalties are paid on a two month delay, so I recognize that even if I get my royalties up high enough by December, I still might not be able to quit my job until December's royalties (or whatever month's royalties are high enough) come in.

On Amazon, I currently have 20 titles released. 10 are new works, 10 are re-releases. I have a slightly different number of releases via D2D because all of my The substitute series has been released there where I am still rolling them out on Amazon. And, the Horny Chad series is still in KDP Select (a rash decision which I feel was not a good decision) and so it's not out on D2D, etc. So, there is a little bit of a mix-match between the publishers.

In July, I made close to $80, $74 of which was made via D2D (specifically Barnes & Noble), predominantly sales from my The Substitute (also titled Daddy Substitute on D2D releases but due to be updated eventually to the new title of The Substitute) which is a re-released series. [edit: In reading this, I just realized I made over $80!   I think the last day add up for D2D snuck up on me and I just didn't connect that $74 + $12+ (Amazon) was more than $80. lol]

A (very) bad habit of mine is starting a new series and then letting it drop. However, I am on the verge of launching a new series, and it is one which I intend to follow through with to some length to give it a chance to catch hold as a seller. It is a werewolf, erotica series and I made my choice to go that route from the success of that subgenre by either KMatthews or Viola Richards.

I have fingers crossed that I can mirror the success of Viola Richards and KMatthews by aggressively publishing at a fast pace. It is my hope that I can release 20 more titles during the month of August. I know that August is traditionally a slow month and that things start to pick up in September with strong growth in October. Given that trend, I am in a race to get my author ranking as strong as possible with some material (and a lot of material) out there that has some strong selling potential by the time October rolls around so that I will be in a position for an excellent earnings month that month.

This weekend, I plan to release my first episode of my new werewolf erotica series plus re-release another title from my The Substitute series. I have written 5286 words today on episode 1 of the new werewolf series. After finishing this post, I will set to work on designing the cover for the first episode, will hopefully begin edits on episode 1 tonight and hope to write a large chunk of episode 2 tomorrow. My goal for next weekend is to release Episodes 2, 3, & 4 of my new series plus re-release two more episodes from The Substitute series (yes, I do have a full time job other than writing). If I succeed in all of that, I will have 7 of this month's 20 episodes released by the end of next week.

When I started this process, my author ranking was in the 12,000's. It is now bouncing around anywhere from 1,000 to 5,000. On July 15th, my Author Ranking went from the 12,000's to the 10,000's and it has since increased from there. That was the first improvement in my Author Ranking since beginning this adventure. I had one sale on Amazon on June 29th and no more sales on Amazon until July 15th. Since July 15th, I've been averaging sales 50% of the days but that average has strengthened as the month has progressed so that in the last week, it's been a sale nearly every day. During July, I think I made around $12 on Amazon (maybe a dollar or so more) and $74 plus change via D2D. No sales on Kobo.

Well, that's all I can think to share at the moment. A big "Thank you!" to KMatthews for letting me share my experience via her thread! I will make an effort to give an update here and there to how things are going but will also try to limit my time spent on here (hard to do! The advice has proven so valuable and coming here is down right addictive!).


----------



## Honeybun

Christa Wick said:


> do bundles with different names that don't have the exact selection of stories in them - do doubles instead of standalone, etc. it will reduce the amount of sales you'll have on google, but it will keep your amazon sales safe and increases your google sales over not having any because you aren't on the platform.


Neat idea!


----------



## Redacted1111

What length are you shooting for and are you hiring an editor? I'm in kind of a financial bind with a young kid, and I'm really curious what methods others use to make money quickly.


----------



## VEwoodlake

Kalypsō said:


> What length are you shooting for and are you hiring an editor? I'm in kind of a financial bind with a young kid, and I'm really curious what methods others use to make money quickly.


To be honest, I wouldn't look at writing erotica as a means of making money "quickly." It looks like you have to have 30 or so titles out before you get meaningful traction. And even then there's no guarantee that volume alone will help get you readers.


----------



## Redacted1111

I've already got a bunch of titles. Maybe 20? Most of those are 10k word erotic romance serial installments. I ventured into longer length books trying to avoid the dreaded bad reviews, but I haven't seen my income increase enough to justify the increased effort. I'm just curious about what others are doing. I've already been publishing for a year. Let's face it, pounding out erotica shorts will probably make me money faster than writing science fiction novellas.


----------



## VEwoodlake

Kalypsō said:


> I've already got a bunch of titles. Maybe 20? Most of those are 10k word erotic romance serial installments. I ventured into longer length books trying to avoid the dreaded bad reviews, but I haven't seen my income increase enough to justify the increased effort. I'm just curious about what others are doing. I've already been publishing for a year. Let's face it, pounding out erotica shorts will probably make me money faster than writing science fiction novellas.


Well it definitely makes sense because you have titles already in the erotic romance genre. You have a base, and you obviously like writing erotica.

But if you think about it: 30 titles at around 5,000 words apiece is 150,000 words. That's three short novels. Is it really obvious that someone writing 30 erotica shorts will be ahead of someone who has written a trilogy of novels in a different genre?

This thread has almost taken on mystic properties as a surefire way to make money and seems to draw people to erotic short fiction who wouldn't have an interest in it otherwise (I am not referring to you, obviously, or anyone else specifically). But when I read K Matthew's first post, I can't help but notice how many titles she put out before she started making even $1,000 a month in royalties. Publishing three cozy mysteries might generate thousands in royalties a month as well. As would a trilogy of novels in any other genre.


----------



## Honeybun

Kalypsō said:


> I've already got a bunch of titles. Maybe 20? Most of those are 10k word erotic romance serial installments. I ventured into longer length books trying to avoid the dreaded bad reviews, but I haven't seen my income increase enough to justify the increased effort. I'm just curious about what others are doing. I've already been publishing for a year. Let's face it, pounding out erotica shorts will probably make me money faster than writing science fiction novellas.


I'm currently aiming for between 5k - 10k words. My werewolf WIP is currently around 8.5k. I haven't edited it yet and my length usually goes up with editing. It will probably top 9k, which is a long length for me.

With erotica, from my reading the experience of other authors and from what I've seen in my current and past experience, volume + velocity is key. So, it's not just the # of titles you put out there but also how fast you put them out. I know that's tough for someone whose day is already full but if you were able to dedicate three months to functioning at a full tilt speed, there's a chance that soon you would be able to afford help on the daily chores you're able to hire out to someone else, thus giving you a little bit more breathing room to continue to do the writing and to get it to a higher income.

I have some longer term goals besides writing the erotica shorts. I want to quit my job, try to push out a second 100 erotica shorts over the course of another 6 months and during that same time begin learning more about writing romance novels. I will, hopefully, close to the end of the 2nd 6 months, begin to branch out into some novel length works (presumably under another pen name unless they are erotica novels).



Kalypsō said:


> What length are you shooting for and are you hiring an editor? I'm in kind of a financial bind with a young kid, and I'm really curious what methods others use to make money quickly.


I wasn't sure this question was intended for me but I'll answer it just in case. I don't have an editor--I can't afford one. I edit my own work by reading through it a couple of times and then having Scrivener read it to me. Having Scrivener read it to me ALWAYS catches more errors and I cannot advocate that as an editing step enough. And, I do my own covers (which I'm not particularly good at but trying to get better). I use GIMP (free online software, VERY powerful) and stock photos that I purchase.

Someone mentioned that Google Play pays monthly. In terms of quick money, that has my attention! Good luck to you!


----------



## Redacted1111

VEwoodlake said:


> Well it definitely makes sense because you have titles already in the erotic romance genre. You have a base, and you obviously like writing erotica.
> 
> But if you think about it: 30 titles at around 5,000 words apiece is 150,000 words. That's three short novels. Is it really obvious that someone writing 30 erotica shorts will be ahead of someone who has written a trilogy of novels in a different genre?
> 
> This thread has almost taken on mystic properties as a surefire way to make money and seems to draw people to erotic short fiction who wouldn't have an interest in it otherwise (I am not referring to you, obviously, or anyone else specifically). But when I read K Matthew's first post, I can't help but notice how many titles she put out before she started making even $1,000 a month in royalties. Publishing three cozy mysteries might generate thousands in royalties a month as well. As would a trilogy of novels in any other genre.


I think you are probably right in many ways. I have less racy romance books that do pretty okay. The problem is the commitment. Short erotica doesn't require very much of it. It's all about motivation and drive and there is always something new around the next corner. I'm a bit at a loss right now. I'm in the middle of a romance novella series that looks like it will do okay, but I've had some personal stuff that keeps coming up that makes me feel really financially insecure. I should probably just stick with something. lol. At the end of the day, sticking with something would probably give me the biggest payoff.

Although, I do have a pretty commercial idea for an erotic romance serial that I've been thinking about writing under my erotic romance pen name. New things always seem to motivate me the most, that and seeing my work sell.


----------



## KMatthew

EelKat said:


> My problem with novels, as my readers informed me, was that they didn't read like typical novels, instead they read like lots of short stories strung together! LOL! I've been writing shorts so long that when I tried novels (I did 3) that I had lost touch with how to write them. Sales of them was pretty much nothing at all, so I unpublished them (at reader recommendations) and am going to rewrite them as a serial instead. It seems that I had rushed the story(s) to make it all one big story, when in fact it should have been lots of little stories. One of my readers came right out and told me it felt like each 1k word chapter felt like it wanted to be fleshed out into at least 5k long short story.
> 
> Well, it was a lesson learned: I suck at novels.


My readers say that they wish I would write novels instead of serials, yet when I write novels, no one buys them. I'm going with what my sales figures say. I can write a serial and have each part sell over 1,000 copies a month. If I write a novel, I'm lucky if I sell 50 copies of it a month.



Ada O'Flaherty said:


> Kmatthew,
> 
> You mentioned that you make about $5k a month from non Amazon channels (primarily Google Play and iTunes). Would you mind sharing what your royalties are like through Amazon? And, how many titles are you up to now?
> 
> Also, do you publish direct with iTunes or go through an aggregator?
> 
> Thanks!


I'm not going to give exact royalty figures, but I will tell you that I made over $10,000 in royalties from Amazon alone this past month. It is extremely rare that I don't have a 5 figure month these days. I currently have 135 titles available. And I use Draft2Digital for iTunes. I actually also use them for Barnes & Noble and Kobo as well if the book is $0.99, because the royalty payout is bigger than going direct.



GregFigueroa said:


> The only issue I have with my erotica short stories on GP was my Bundles (I released 20 short erotica stories before the 4 bundles and not one issue except when I mis-priced my books). Gp kept pulling them because of the explicit nature of my keywords. I just neutered them and clicked enable to google play store and hoped for the best and it's been two weeks and no issues.


When Google Play had their big erotica sweep, they nixed about 20 of my titles. All I had to do was change the keywords and blurbs and they re-published them.


----------



## Honeybun

KMatthew,

Do you use a mailing list to connect with your readers?  If yes, what type of info do you send them?  Do you distribute a newsletter?  Use twitter?  fb?

Thanks!


----------



## KMatthew

Ada O'Flaherty said:


> KMatthew,
> 
> Do you use a mailing list to connect with your readers? If yes, what type of info do you send them? Do you distribute a newsletter? Use twitter? fb?
> 
> Thanks!


I do have a mailing list, as well as a Twitter and Facebook page. I used to promote all of them in the back of my books, but now I'm dropping down to only promoting my mailing list. That is what matters most. Facebook charges you to boost posts so you can reach all your fans. Not everyone uses Twitter. The mailing list is where it's at.

The only time I send out mailings to my subscribers is when I have a new book out, I'm doing a Rafflecopter, a retailer is having a sale, or I'm giving something away for free.


----------



## sha66ir

Hey KMatthew,

If you do not mind can you share how many subscribers do you have on your mailing list?

And also what is the open rate?


Thanks


----------



## KMatthew

sha66ir said:


> Hey KMatthew,
> 
> If you do not mind can you share how many subscribers do you have on your mailing list?
> 
> And also what is the open rate?
> 
> Thanks


I currently have 1,694 subscribers with a 40.5% open rate.


----------



## Scott Daniel

Are there other categories besides erotica where this approach works? And by work, I mean $2K per month and up.

I know Dean Wesley Smith uses a similar kind of "system," if you will, but I've looked at many of his titles and his rankings are nowhere near as good as K Matthew. For me, writing less than novel length stories is what works. I'd really interested to hear how other authors are doing in non-erotica genres.


----------



## VEwoodlake

Scott Daniel said:


> Are there other categories besides erotica where this approach works? And by work, I mean $2K per month and up.
> 
> I know Dean Wesley Smith uses a similar kind of "system," if you will, but I've looked at many of his titles and his rankings are nowhere near as good as K Matthew. For me, writing less than novel length stories is what works. I'd really interested to hear how other authors are doing in non-erotica genres.


Yes, two other people have written threads on using non-erotica short fiction (stories and novellas) to build an audience and harvest income:

http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,121594.0.html

http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,121594.0.html


----------



## OW

KMatthew said:


> I do have a mailing list, as well as a Twitter and Facebook page. I used to promote all of them in the back of my books, but now I'm dropping down to only promoting my mailing list. That is what matters most. Facebook charges you to boost posts so you can reach all your fans. Not everyone uses Twitter. The mailing list is where it's at.
> 
> The only time I send out mailings to my subscribers is when I have a new book out, I'm doing a Rafflecopter, a retailer is having a sale, or I'm giving something away for free.


Hi K Matthew

Firstly, thanks for the brilliant thread. Secondly, in regards to mailing lists. Does having your address publicised not put you off or do the benefits far way any apprehension you may experience?


----------



## Honeybun

KMatthew said:


> I currently have 1,694 subscribers with a *40.5% open rate.*


Total education moment here, what does "open rate" mean?


----------



## Desmond X. Torres

Ada O'Flaherty said:


> Total education moment here, what does "open rate" mean?


That just means of the people who had the email pop into their inbox opened it (and, the assumption is they read it). Oftentimes people who subscribe to lists just delete the email. 40% is an awesome rate!


----------



## Honeybun

Desmond X. Torres said:


> That just means of the people who had the email pop into their inbox opened it (and, the assumption is they read it). Oftentimes people who subscribe to lists just delete the email. 40% is an awesome rate!


Thanks!!!


----------



## MindyWilde

Olivia Wilson said:


> Hi K Matthew
> 
> Firstly, thanks for the brilliant thread. Secondly, in regards to mailing lists. Does having your address publicised not put you off or do the benefits far way any apprehension you may experience?


The trick to this is setting up a mailbox at the local UPS store. You get a mailing address and just use your pseudonym as the name belonging to that address. That way you maintain your privacy.


----------



## Honeybun

MindyWilde said:


> The trick to this is setting up a mailbox at the local UPS store. You get a mailing address and just use your pseudonym as the name belonging to that address. That way you maintain your privacy.


I'm a little lost. Why would an email mail list divulge a personal, physical address?


----------



## wtvr

Ada O'Flaherty said:


> I'm a little lost. Why would an email mail list divulge a personal, physical address?


It's a legal requirement, part of the CAN SPAM laws. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAN-SPAM_Act_of_2003


----------



## daringnovelist

Desmond X. Torres said:


> That just means of the people who had the email pop into their inbox opened it (and, the assumption is they read it). Oftentimes people who subscribe to lists just delete the email. 40% is an awesome rate!


Also, I believe that if you have your email set to more private settings (such as not displaying images or certain other html functions) it won't let the server know that you opened it. A lot of us don't like being spied on, so we turn off every option they have of knowing such things as whether we opened something or not.

Camille


----------



## Veronica Michaels

KMatthew said:


> That sounds like a good pricing strategy.
> 
> My novels crashed and burned. I ended up going back to writing serials. It was a good lesson learned though. Unless you're going to write a series of novels (at least a trilogy), then don't bother. Stand alones rarely do well. I hate writing novels though, so I don't think I could put together a series. For me, serials are where the money is at, so that's what I'm going to stick with aside from this one project I'm already committed to.


Even if you're writing a novel, I don't see why you can't release it in parts as a serial, and then in a collected version.


----------



## LBrent

Veronica Michaels said:


> Even if you're writing a novel, I don't see why you can't release it in parts as a serial, and then in a collected version.


There are certainly writers who can do that gracefully, but often it's awkward and doesn't exactly make for a satisfying read.


----------



## KMatthew

Olivia Wilson said:


> Hi K Matthew
> 
> Firstly, thanks for the brilliant thread. Secondly, in regards to mailing lists. Does having your address publicised not put you off or do the benefits far way any apprehension you may experience?


At risk of getting in trouble, I use a fake address. I know several authors who have gone to the post office and got a P.O. Box just to have a legit address to use at the bottom of their emails, but I also know others who use fake addresses.


----------



## Honeybun

KMatthew said:


> At risk of getting in trouble, I use a fake address. I know several authors who have gone to the post office and got a P.O. Box just to have a legit address to use at the bottom of their emails, but I also know others who use fake addresses.


Is this only an issue if you are using an email service like mailchimp? Is it an issue if you send stuff out via an email group from your email account?


----------



## Silly Writer

KMatthew said:


> At risk of getting in trouble, I use a fake address. I know several authors who have gone to the post office and got a P.O. Box just to have a legit address to use at the bottom of their emails, but I also know others who use fake addresses.


I accidentally used a fake address. Thought it was my hubs' work address. Didn't know until I got a pm from a reader telling me she sent me a package .

Chased that package all over town. Finally, the reader found it. Thank God she'd used a tracking number. It ended up being in the middle of a baseball field, in the tower, surrounded by a huge park! I was all sweaty when I finally tracked it down and climbed the last three flights of steps to get my first fan mail--which ended up being in a rather large package.


----------



## KMatthew

Ada O'Flaherty said:


> Is this only an issue if you are using an email service like mailchimp? Is it an issue if you send stuff out via an email group from your email account?


I'm honestly not sure.


----------



## Diane Patterson

The requirement is for any mailing list service, because of spammers.


----------



## Rin

Ada O'Flaherty said:


> Is this only an issue if you are using an email service like mailchimp? Is it an issue if you send stuff out via an email group from your email account?


Running a mailing list out of your email account isn't advisable, due to the potential for it to get flagged as spam/held up by the provider, etc.


----------



## NerdyWriter

Rin said:


> Running a mailing list out of your email account isn't advisable, due to the potential for it to get flagged as spam/held up by the provider, etc.


Agreed. Use the email address of your own Author website like [email protected] (as a fictitious example)


----------



## AnyaWrites

L.L. Akers said:


> I accidentally used a fake address. Thought it was my hubs' work address. Didn't know until I got a pm from a reader telling me she sent me a package .
> 
> Chased that package all over town. Finally, the reader found it. Thank God she'd used a tracking number. It ended up being in the middle of a baseball field, in the tower, surrounded by a huge park! I was all sweaty when I finally tracked it down and climbed the last three flights of steps to get my first fan mail--which ended up being in a rather large package.


That's awesome! I'm glad you finally tracked it down, and what a fun story now. 

I signed up for Mailchimp and it didn't seem like they needed a full address. I believe I just put my city and state. I'm using the free service though, so maybe the more followers then the more information I will need to fill out.


----------



## ravenkult

Hey man, thanks for the thread.

At some point Amazon was adult filtering a lot of erotica out there. Did you get a lot of your stories filtered or are you not writing ''controversial'' stuff?


----------



## KMatthew

ravenkult said:


> Hey man, thanks for the thread.
> 
> At some point Amazon was adult filtering a lot of erotica out there. Did you get a lot of your stories filtered or are you not writing ''controversial'' stuff?


My stories didn't get hit as hard as some, but I did have issues with about a dozen or so of my stories. Everything I write now is pretty mainstream. Most of it is still erotica, just packaged differently to fly under the radar.


----------



## Bulkarn

I so appreciate this post. I have an odd question. My writing tends to be long. I just published book 1 in my first erotica series (I have 15 books and at total of 25 titles including paperbacks and compilations in various genres but not making the sales). I intended it to be 5 books, 25k each but it came to 40K. I'm shooting myself in the foot at that length because I can't write fast enough. Could you tell me which of your titles are short, say 15K and under and I'll buy them to see what that looks like? I've read in the erotica series genre but still ended up writing long. So far readers love the book but I'm doing this for the money . . . . many thanks and kudos on your success and willingness to share.


----------



## Bulkarn

Question for Russell Blake and anyone else in the summer slump. Do you do anything to jumpstart your books when sales in general start to pick up? Or does it happen organically. Not a big advertiser or marketer because I've had enough titles to eek out my living. Was going great guns (for me, living off my SS and earnings) from September until May and then everything crashed, all 25 titles. July a bit better but it's scary. I'm looking at my 2 year anniversary coming up in December so this is my first real slump.


----------



## Alexis Adaire

L.L. Akers said:


> I accidentally used a fake address. Thought it was my hubs' work address. Didn't know until I got a pm from a reader telling me she sent me a package .
> 
> Chased that package all over town. Finally, the reader found it. Thank God she'd used a tracking number. It ended up being in the middle of a baseball field, in the tower, surrounded by a huge park! I was all sweaty when I finally tracked it down and climbed the last three flights of steps to get my first fan mail--*which ended up being in a rather large package*.


Nothing like a large package to get a woman's attention.


----------



## Honeybun

Any idea how well short-short erotica stories (about 1200 words) sell if priced at 99 cents?


----------



## Silly Writer

Alexis Adaire said:


> Nothing like a large package to get a woman's attention.


You're right about that 

BUT, this was from an older lady. My stories revolve around a red dragonfly tattoo. She was in Africa, and was able to snap a picture of a Red Darter Dragonfly. Two, actually. She blew them up and framed them, and also sent a tiny crystal dragonfly statue, two children's books about a dragonfly, and a pack of notecards (yes, with dragonflies on them.) She had discovered my books and luurves her some dragonflies, so she was sharing the love. I was touched.


----------



## 77071

Sounds like you have pretty much the sweetest fan ever.


----------



## KMatthew

Bulkarn said:


> I so appreciate this post. I have an odd question. My writing tends to be long. I just published book 1 in my first erotica series (I have 15 books and at total of 25 titles including paperbacks and compilations in various genres but not making the sales). I intended it to be 5 books, 25k each but it came to 40K. I'm shooting myself in the foot at that length because I can't write fast enough. Could you tell me which of your titles are short, say 15K and under and I'll buy them to see what that looks like? I've read in the erotica series genre but still ended up writing long. So far readers love the book but I'm doing this for the money . . . . many thanks and kudos on your success and willingness to share.


I wouldn't worry about it if you write long. In general, readers prefer longer stories. So, as long as you plan on writing a series, you should be okay. Instead of using the $0.00, $0.99, $2.99 pricing strategy, I'd go with $0.99, $3.99, $3.99. Just make sure you heavily promo the first book. And if that doesn't get sales rolling, then drop the first in the series to permafree. That is what I would do.

My His Indecent Lessons series is made up of serials around 15k.



Bulkarn said:


> Question for Russell Blake and anyone else in the summer slump. Do you do anything to jumpstart your books when sales in general start to pick up? Or does it happen organically. Not a big advertiser or marketer because I've had enough titles to eek out my living. Was going great guns (for me, living off my SS and earnings) from September until May and then everything crashed, all 25 titles. July a bit better but it's scary. I'm looking at my 2 year anniversary coming up in December so this is my first real slump.


The only way I've found to beat the summer slump is to promo your stuff. I'll drop a boxed set down to $0.99, throw a bunch of ads at it, and that will usually drive sales to my other stuff.

As far as new releases go, there are some ad services that will take them. Another thing you can do is blog tours. But your best marketing tool by far is going to be your mailing list.



Ada O'Flaherty said:


> Any idea how well short-short erotica stories (about 1200 words) sell if priced at 99 cents?


From my current knowledge, not well. You have to remember though that a lot of people complain when they pay $0.99 for 20,000 words. At only 1200, you're almost guaranteed to get a ton of one stars for length. And if you're very unlucky, Amazon will pull the book down. If someone reports a bad reading experience on a book under 2,000 words, Amazon will typically pull it.


----------



## maggie2

I was wondering if you are still keeping up the pace that you were in 2013 and how sales are doing currently. Do you have any current information? Are you still producing as much and having as much success?
Thanks,
Marg Ruttan


----------



## KMatthew

maggie2 said:


> I was wondering if you are still keeping up the pace that you were in 2013 and how sales are doing currently. Do you have any current information? Are you still producing as much and having as much success?
> Thanks,
> Marg Ruttan


I don't think I'm writing quite as much as I used to. I definitely am not publishing as many stories per month because my stories have gotten longer. I do keep a log of all of my sales and royalties every month, but I've chosen not to make that information public. But to give you an idea of my current level of success, I make 5 figures every month now.


----------



## Diane Patterson

Ada O'Flaherty said:


> Any idea how well short-short erotica stories (about 1200 words) sell if priced at 99 cents?


1) I'm pretty sure Amazon discourages publishing anything under a certain amount. Probably at least 10,000 words.

2) Serious question: how would YOU feel about paying for a story that short? Even if it were just $1? Maybe if it were my favorite author....but Ray Bradbury's dead.


----------



## Diane Patterson

KMatthew said:


> I don't think I'm writing quite as much as I used to. I definitely am not publishing as many stories per month because my stories have gotten longer. I do keep a log of all of my sales and royalties every month, but I've chosen not to make that information public. But to give you an idea of my current level of success, I make 5 figures every month now.


Btw, having watched your journey, this is freakin' awesome to hear! Many congratulations. I know you have to be more circumspect these days, but thank you for sharing as much as you have.


----------



## wtvr

Diane Patterson said:


> Btw, having watched your journey, this is freakin' awesome to hear! Many congratulations. I know you have to be more circumspect these days, but thank you for sharing as much as you have.


^^ what she said. You're a major inspiration to me too.


----------



## NerdyWriter

Diane Patterson said:


> 1) I'm pretty sure Amazon discourages publishing anything under a certain amount. Probably at least 10,000 words.
> 
> 2) Serious question: how would YOU feel about paying for a story that short? Even if it were just $1? Maybe if it were my favorite author....but Ray Bradbury's dead.


Amazon discourages 1k or 10k words?


----------



## Alexis Adaire

Diane Patterson said:


> 1) I'm pretty sure Amazon discourages publishing anything under a certain amount. Probably at least 10,000 words.


Do you have anything concrete to base that on, Diane? This is the first I've heard about it. I've published 21 titles and only 5 of them are over 10,000 words, and Amazon has never directly discouraged me. Do you know of some way in which the word total affects the ranking algorithm? Just wanting to make sure I'm not shooting myself in the foot.



Diane Patterson said:


> 2) Serious question: how would YOU feel about paying for a story that short? Even if it were just $1? Maybe if it were my favorite author....but Ray Bradbury's dead.


For me personally, I'd rather read a well-written book of 5K words than a poorly written 100K. I don't feel ripped-off in the slightest buying a short book for a dollar or two (or three), as long as the quality is there.


----------



## RaeC

If it hits the right niche (or kink), I'd pay 99 cents. But I'd have to be  familiar with the author to do so, since at that length there's no sample.


----------



## CoraBuhlert

Diane Patterson said:


> 1) I'm pretty sure Amazon discourages publishing anything under a certain amount. Probably at least 10,000 words.


Not really. Most of my catalogue is under 10000 words and I have never had any problems with Amazon.

I have heard scattered tales of people who published extremely short stories (under 2000 words) getting nasty mails from Amazon, if people complained. However, these are individual cases (and there might well have been some other problem with the story in question as well) and there is no blanket "nothing under 2000 words" policy. Though personally I wouldn't publish a story under 2000 words as a standalone (I think my shortest standalone is 2300 words)



> 2) Serious question: how would YOU feel about paying for a story that short? Even if it were just $1? Maybe if it were my favorite author....but Ray Bradbury's dead.


People buy my short stories for 99 cents all the time (and my novelettes for 2.99), so obviously they feel it's all right to pay for a short story. I get the occasional "This was too short" review, but that's a risk you have to take.

I believe that stories are as long as they are. Artificially padding a story beyond its natural length is as bad as artificially shortening a story. That said, if a story ends up under 2000 words, I don't publish it as a standalone, but either bundle it with a thematically similar story or several, or sometimes submit it to a magazine or anthology.

When publishing short fiction, it's important to be very clear about length (I always put "This is a short story/novelette/novella of XXX words or approx. XX print pages" in my blurb), making it easy for people to know what they're buying.


----------



## Diane Patterson

Thanks for mentioning all that, Cora. Indeed, every anecdote about Amazon having a problem with very short postings has come from KBoards, not personal experience.

Though I would have to add: Yes, if you're going to have something this short, PLEASE put it up front in your product description.



CoraBuhlert said:


> Not really. Most of my catalogue is under 10000 words and I have never had any problems with Amazon.
> 
> I have heard scattered tales of people who published extremely short stories (under 2000 words) getting nasty mails from Amazon, if people complained. However, these are individual cases (and there might well have been some other problem with the story in question as well) and there is no blanket "nothing under 2000 words" policy. Though personally I wouldn't publish a story under 2000 words as a standalone (I think my shortest standalone is 2300 words)
> 
> People buy my short stories for 99 cents all the time (and my novelettes for 2.99), so obviously they feel it's all right to pay for a short story. I get the occasional "This was too short" review, but that's a risk you have to take.
> 
> I believe that stories are as long as they are. Artificially padding a story beyond its natural length is as bad as artificially shortening a story. That said, if a story ends up under 2000 words, I don't publish it as a standalone, but either bundle it with a thematically similar story or several, or sometimes submit it to a magazine or anthology.
> 
> When publishing short fiction, it's important to be very clear about length (I always put "This is a short story/novelette/novella of XXX words or approx. XX print pages" in my blurb), making it easy for people to know what they're buying.


----------



## maggie2

KMatthew said:


> I don't think I'm writing quite as much as I used to. I definitely am not publishing as many stories per month because my stories have gotten longer. I do keep a log of all of my sales and royalties every month, but I've chosen not to make that information public. But to give you an idea of my current level of success, I make 5 figures every month now.


I can appreciate you choosing not to disclose any further information. You have been more than generous in your previous posts and I know I'm not alone is saying how very much I appreciate all the information you have shared. Glad to hear you're still writing and publishing regularly and that your income from that work is doing so well. Thanks again.


----------



## KMatthew

Amazon isn't keen on stories under 2,000 words. If someone reports one, they'll typically send you an email stating that oftentimes books under 2,000 words provide a poor reading experience. I have received this email before when they pulled down a short story I had that was 1,100 words.


----------



## ScriptLand

Thank you for sharing this, KMatthew. It's super motivational.


----------



## BGArcher

The rule I've heard is 2,500 hundred words. People seem happy to pay 2.99 for erotica shorts, which average (at least mine) between 4,000 to 7,000 words. That's my bread and butter while I get my romance and mystery pen names jump started.


----------



## Honeybun

BGArcher said:


> The rule I've heard is 2,500 hundred words. People seem happy to pay 2.99 for erotica shorts, which average (at least mine) between 4,000 to 7,000 words. That's my bread and butter while I get my romance and mystery pen names jump started.


I did publish a 1200 word short but I'm thinking of pulling it. Amazon fussed at me pretty hard over one of my titles and banned the book. I subsequently pulled the entire series. Just because I'm wanting to avoid getting fussed at any more by Amazon, I am considering pulling the short-short from them but leaving it up elsewhere. It's intended as the first to a series of short-shorts.


----------



## KMatthew

Ada O'Flaherty said:


> I did publish a 1200 word short but I'm thinking of pulling it. Amazon fussed at me pretty hard over one of my titles and banned the book. I subsequently pulled the entire series. Just because I'm wanting to avoid getting fussed at any more by Amazon, I am considering pulling the short-short from them but leaving it up elsewhere. It's intended as the first to a series of short-shorts.


That's what I did when they pulled my book. Amazon might not have wanted it, but everywhere else did.


----------



## Honeybun

KMatthew,

As your situation has changed, I'm guessing your expenses have also changed.  Can you talk to us a little bit about your expense overhead?  Accountant? Editors? Assistant? etc?


----------



## Honeybun

KMatthew said:


> That's what I did when they pulled my book. Amazon might not have wanted it, *but everywhere else did*.


That's what I'm doing with the series I pulled as well. As modest as it is, it's my best money maker. So, I left it up where they seem to be okay with it and continuing to let it be an earner for me.


----------



## KMatthew

Ada O'Flaherty said:


> KMatthew,
> 
> As your situation has changed, I'm guessing your expenses have also changed. Can you talk to us a little bit about your expense overhead? Accountant? Editors? Assistant? etc?


The only place where my expenses have really risen is with marketing. I still do my own taxes. I don't have an assistant. And I'm hiring an editor for the first time after I finish my current WIP, but that's only because it's going into a boxed set and the group is requiring that all manuscripts be edited. Otherwise, I wouldn't be getting one.


----------



## Redacted1111

KMatthew said:


> The only place where my expenses have really risen is with marketing. I still do my own taxes. I don't have an assistant. And I'm hiring an editor for the first time after I finish my current WIP, but that's only because it's going into a boxed set and the group is requiring that all manuscripts be edited. Otherwise, I wouldn't be getting one.


Wow. You are awesome. I wish I had your guts, or ability to self edit, or both. Do you still have editing errors or are your manuscripts really clean. What do you do to get them super clean? Do you have a proofreader even? I'm so curious because I'm about to spend a bunch of money upping my editing, which is painful. My Achilles heel is my spelling, specifically homophones. Is there any way around this? I spent a bunch of money recently and it came back with errors still in it. Now I have pretty darn good grammar and punctuation, and I do a lot of proofreading before I send it off, so it's annoying as heck to still have errors in my text.


----------



## Gentleman Zombie

My two cents. Spending lots of money to have erotic shorts edited isn't wise.  You'll be better off hiring a good proofreader or "ooops" detector to look through your work. If you are writing Novellas and Novels - then yes an editor is a great investment. But if you're publishing lots of erotic shorts, you'll be significantly out-of-pocket.  Most short erotica writers I've chatted with, self-edit. And it's not as hard you think. Also, let go of the fallacy of perfection. You'll never publish anything (esp. short stories) that way. Even big publishers with huge staffs don't catch every single error in a book.  Erotica readers  are very forgiving of minor spelling and grammar mistakes. I'm not saying publish garbage, but don't let anxiety about the story being perfect keep you out of the game.  When it come to making money with shorts, the name of the game is write, edit, release, repeat.


----------



## KMatthew

Kalypsō said:


> Wow. You are awesome. I wish I had your guts, or ability to self edit, or both. Do you still have editing errors or are your manuscripts really clean. What do you do to get them super clean? Do you have a proofreader even? I'm so curious because I'm about to spend a bunch of money upping my editing, which is painful. My Achilles heel is my spelling, specifically homophones. Is there any way around this? I spent a bunch of money recently and it came back with errors still in it. Now I have pretty darn good grammar and punctuation, and I do a lot of proofreading before I send it off, so it's annoying as heck to still have errors in my text.


For someone who self-edits, my manuscripts are pretty clean, but I do still miss things from time to time. Basically, my process is to write the entire book, then I go back through it and edit it. At that point, I'm not so much reading the story as I am looking for mistakes. I also run it through White Smoke editing software (which I no longer recommend due to software updates that have made it crappy, not to mention they have the worst customer service ever). I don't have my books proofread by anyone. The only person who reads them before they get published is me. If readers point out mistakes, I'll usually go back and correct them. I definitely don't freak out about my books being perfect though. I've read books by New York Time Best-Selling authors that have more mistakes than my self-edited ones (I'm talking a mistake on every page). So, I don't really sweat it.


----------



## Redacted1111

KMatthew said:


> For someone who self-edits, my manuscripts are pretty clean, but I do still miss things from time to time. Basically, my process is to write the entire book, then I go back through it and edit it. At that point, I'm not so much reading the story as I am looking for mistakes. I also run it through White Smoke editing software (which I no longer recommend due to software updates that have made it crappy, not to mention they have the worst customer service ever). I don't have my books proofread by anyone. The only person who reads them before they get published is me. If readers point out mistakes, I'll usually go back and correct them. I definitely don't freak out about my books being perfect though. I've read books by New York Time Best-Selling authors that have more mistakes than my self-edited ones (I'm talking a mistake on every page). So, I don't really sweat it.


I actually love that attitude. I've seen NY Times best sellers that are totally full of errors. When people love a book they seem to not notice. I write more in the scifi romance genre at this point, so I'm not sure if it is very different or not. I've actually edited other people's work, quite a bit. I just hate it when people point out errors in my books. Especially if I've paid someone. Makes my stomach sink and my face turn red. Still think my best proofreader was a non professional because she looked for the important errors, spelling mistakes, dropped words etc., rather random trying to perfect my punctuation, which is already pretty good. We'll see. Maybe I'll by a copy of the Chicago Manual of Style or something. At this point, the expense of a copy edit and proofread will eat up most of my income, which is way I've only ever used a proofreader before. The upside is that it saves time.


----------



## Kia Zi Shiru

Kalypsō said:


> Wow. You are awesome. I wish I had your guts, or ability to self edit, or both. Do you still have editing errors or are your manuscripts really clean. What do you do to get them super clean? Do you have a proofreader even? I'm so curious because I'm about to spend a bunch of money upping my editing, which is painful. My Achilles heel is my spelling, specifically homophones. Is there any way around this? I spent a bunch of money recently and it came back with errors still in it. Now I have pretty darn good grammar and punctuation, and I do a lot of proofreading before I send it off, so it's annoying as heck to still have errors in my text.


For my editing class (masters degree) last year they made us get a copy of Practical English Usage by Swan or English Usage by Collins. I used the Swan book, and it really helped me get a better grasp on the language because it is so clear in explaining the errors, it doesn't really do punctuation and stuff like that. Just words, grammar and sentence structure (and my edition has a section on 130 most misused words too), which were also my weaknesses.
Also, might sound childish, but you can make flashcards with the words that you keep messing up. There are a lot of flashcard programs these days, some even sync between computers and phones (Anki is the one I use, for for example irregular verbs). It only takes a few minutes a day but can really help increase your language skill.

Anyway, that's what I do and I've seen a huge improvement of my writing, not just in my editing, but my writing as I go also improved immensely, so I need to edit less.


----------



## Honeybun

I posed this question over on the serialized romance thread and now I'll pose it on this thread to capture the opinions of what I'm thinking might be a larger group of erotica minded people.  I'm going to write a serialized erotic romance short story serial but I'm unsure of what POV to use.  I feel like I got some solid advice from the serial romance thread and I'll either go with close up 3rd person focused on the heroine or 1st person with the heroine, both past tense.  I am concerned, though, of alienating romance readers by not giving them a better look inside the hero's head yet I definitely don't want to alienate my erotica readers, which are my main audience.  Does anyone have any opinions or advice to offer?


----------



## Dormouse

Ada O'Flaherty said:


> I posed this question over on the serialized romance thread and now I'll pose it on this thread to capture the opinions of what I'm thinking might be a larger group of erotica minded people. I'm going to write a serialized erotic romance short story serial but I'm unsure of what POV to use. I feel like I got some solid advice from the serial romance thread and I'll either go with close up 3rd person focused on the heroine or 1st person with the heroine, both past tense. I am concerned, though, of alienating romance readers by not giving them a better look inside the hero's head yet I definitely don't want to alienate my erotica readers, which are my main audience. Does anyone have any opinions or advice to offer?


Ada, it might make more sense to start your question as a new thread. That way more people will see it and be able to comment on it.

And it might be of interest to others as well and as such easier to bookmark instead of having to wade through two different threads.


----------



## KMatthew

Ada O'Flaherty said:


> I posed this question over on the serialized romance thread and now I'll pose it on this thread to capture the opinions of what I'm thinking might be a larger group of erotica minded people. I'm going to write a serialized erotic romance short story serial but I'm unsure of what POV to use. I feel like I got some solid advice from the serial romance thread and I'll either go with close up 3rd person focused on the heroine or 1st person with the heroine, both past tense. I am concerned, though, of alienating romance readers by not giving them a better look inside the hero's head yet I definitely don't want to alienate my erotica readers, which are my main audience. Does anyone have any opinions or advice to offer?


I agree with Alix about starting a new thread on this.

As for my opinion, I've seen the most success with writing first person present tense through the heroines POV. First person past tense has worked well for me too. My third person books don't do as well.


----------



## Honeybun

Thanks for the input!  And, sorry about the thread hopping. That thought literally just occurred to as I was popping back in here to check to see if I had a response.  My bad!

Edit:  I think I've settled on first person, past tense.  I've been visualizing the language some and it is coming nicely with a good tone.  -- Sorry again!


----------



## wtvr

I just wrote my first 1st-person past tense smut from the fella's pov. That was loads of fun.


----------



## Honeybun

LisaGloria said:


> I just wrote my first 1st-person past tense smut from the fella's pov. That was loads of fun.


I was reading the peak section of one written that way. I can't remember the name of the author but I was very impressed!


----------



## Lovelife

@KMatthew

I see you've been mentioning more promotional things lately compared to when you started. I know you don't like to share numbers anymore, but I was wondering about your promotions now and some advice. 

*Do you do much more promotional things now compared to last year besides your mailing list? If so, would you mind saying what?

*If you were to start over with a new pen name would your advice on mainly focusing on writing-publishing-building mailing list-repeat be the same or would you focus more now on promotional things from the start? Mailing list is always best, but since you wouldn't have one in the beginning I'm wondering if you would pay for ads or whatever starting out?


----------



## SA_Soule

That is awesome! And your novels are so short. ;-)

I need to learn to write faster. (Might help if I didn't hang out on the kboards so much. LOL)


----------



## KMatthew

Lovelife said:


> @KMatthew
> 
> I see you've been mentioning more promotional things lately compared to when you started. I know you don't like to share numbers anymore, but I was wondering about your promotions now and some advice.
> 
> *Do you do much more promotional things now compared to last year besides your mailing list? If so, would you mind saying what?
> 
> *If you were to start over with a new pen name would your advice on mainly focusing on writing-publishing-building mailing list-repeat be the same or would you focus more now on promotional things from the start? Mailing list is always best, but since you wouldn't have one in the beginning I'm wondering if you would pay for ads or whatever starting out?


I'm going to opt not to share my exact promotional strategy, mainly because if too many people jump on board with it, I worry about its effectiveness in the future. Of course, the effectiveness of most ad services changes periodically.

Having said that, I do use a lot of the bigger advertising companies, minus BookBub. I can't get a BookBub ad to save my life. If I could, they would be at the forefront of my arsenal, and I advise anyone who can afford to take advantage of them and to actually get a paid ad booked with them to use it. I know a few authors who attribute their best seller status to BookBub. As of right now, they are the best company you can advertise with.

Using the various ad companies that I do all combined, I can typically get a book under the top 1,000 in ranking. You can hit the top 100 with only a BookBub ad.

If I had to start over again, I would use ads to get a better jump start on my writing. The only issue with that is that they cost money, and most of the good ad companies are quite pricy. So, more realistically, I would probably wait until my income built up a bit before I went there, but I would definitely start utilizing them as soon as I could, especially for new releases and promotions.

I do a lot more advertising now than I ever have, but I still don't advertise a lot. It really depends on the book and what types of ads I can get. The fact that I serialize limits the advertising that I can buy greatly. A lot of places only want novel length works. Since I put the first in a series permanently free, there aren't too many places to submit it to. And I don't advertise the second or third in a series at all. Usually, when a new installment of one of my serials comes out, I pimp the first in the series instead of focusing on the newer installment.

So basically, I only launch large advertising campaigns on novels and boxed sets, and I typically only do it if they're on sale because that's when I can get the most advertising companies to participate.


----------



## Lovelife

KMatthew said:


> I'm going to opt not to share my exact promotional strategy, mainly because if too many people jump on board with it, I worry about its effectiveness in the future. Of course, the effectiveness of most ad services changes periodically.
> 
> Having said that, I do use a lot of the bigger advertising companies, minus BookBub. I can't get a BookBub ad to save my life. If I could, they would be at the forefront of my arsenal, and I advise anyone who can afford to take advantage of them and to actually get a paid ad booked with them to use it. I know a few authors who attribute their best seller status to BookBub. As of right now, they are the best company you can advertise with.
> 
> Using the various ad companies that I do all combined, I can typically get a book under the top 1,000 in ranking. You can hit the top 100 with only a BookBub ad.
> 
> If I had to start over again, I would use ads to get a better jump start on my writing. The only issue with that is that they cost money, and most of the good ad companies are quite pricy. So, more realistically, I would probably wait until my income built up a bit before I went there, but I would definitely start utilizing them as soon as I could, especially for new releases and promotions.
> 
> I do a lot more advertising now than I ever have, but I still don't advertise a lot. It really depends on the book and what types of ads I can get. The fact that I serialize limits the advertising that I can buy greatly. A lot of places only want novel length works. Since I put the first in a series permanently free, there aren't too many places to submit it to. And I don't advertise the second or third in a series at all. Usually, when a new installment of one of my serials comes out, I pimp the first in the series instead of focusing on the newer installment.
> 
> So basically, I only launch large advertising campaigns on novels and boxed sets, and I typically only do it if they're on sale because that's when I can get the most advertising companies to participate.


Thanks Marla. That's actually what I was asking. I didn't mean to suggest you tell us where you advertise/specific strategy. I just meant in general terms. Since you haven't been able to get a BookBub do you find you need to advertise with a bunch of other places? I guess I'm trying to ask what is "a lot" of advertising vs not so much to you... Like 2-3 places is about what you'd suggest for someone who is a new author/starting a new pen name in erotica/romance or more like 5+ places? I have personally only heard of Bookbub and like one or two other ones that have fallen out of favor. But I also haven't researched much on advertising as I didn't think it was all that helpful to the majority (other than Bookbub). Seemed like gambling to me, but maybe the climate has changed enough that it is starting to be necessary.


----------



## KMatthew

Lovelife said:


> Thanks Marla. That's actually what I was asking. I didn't mean to suggest you tell us where you advertise/specific strategy. I just meant in general terms. Since you haven't been able to get a BookBub do you find you need to advertise with a bunch of other places? I guess I'm trying to ask what is "a lot" of advertising vs not so much to you... Like 2-3 places is about what you'd suggest for someone who is a new author/starting a new pen name in erotica/romance or more like 5+ places? I have personally only heard of Bookbub and like one or two other ones that have fallen out of favor. But I also haven't researched much on advertising as I didn't think it was all that helpful to the majority (other than Bookbub). Seemed like gambling to me, but maybe the climate has changed enough that it is starting to be necessary.


Looking at my last big ad campaign. I did paid advertising with 17 different companies. It cost close to $400. And the book got all the way down into the 300s in ranking. It may seem like a lot of money to spend, but it's worth it when you have a big backlist. If I could only do one or two companies, there are a few I would select/recommend. But you have to realize you're likely not going to get the same results you would as if you did them all. Any exposure is better than none though, and if your book ends up on the right also-boughts, it can take off on its own. I've had books hit in the 1,000 ranking with no advertising at all (and this was before I even started building a list). It's really luck of the draw.

And the thing about marketing a lot is that you really need to stay on top of the results from the different advertising companies. There are some duds and some that don't perform as well as others. So it's important to know what's going on so you can mark the less successful ones off your list. And of course, new advertising opportunities are popping up all the time as well. Since I'm not deeply immersed in advertising, it's hard for me to stay on top of it.


----------



## Chrysta Euria

Did you also put any of your book in KU? 
Also if you put a perme book for free at 1.5 - 2k words,  will you still get the fuss from amazon.


----------



## KMatthew

hoangvu71 said:


> Did you also put any of your book in KU?
> Also if you put a perme book for free at 1.5 - 2k words, will you still get the fuss from amazon.


I actually wrote a short story specifically for KU, but Amazon ADULT dungeoned it right out of the gate, so I abandoned plans to work with KU anymore. There's a friend of mine doing a study on how many readers are enrolled in KU. I personally don't know any bigger name authors (not speaking of the ones who got in without exclusivity) who have put their books in. It seems like a better fit for short story authors than novel authors. For now, I'm staying out of it.

As far as any book under 2k words, you're always taking a risk. If you've already published it and put it up, I wouldn't worry about it. I have a book that is literally only one word that they haven't taken down yet.


----------



## Chrysta Euria

Are you a male or female? And have you ever tried writing erotic for men? If so, what was your results?


----------



## KMatthew

hoangvu71 said:


> Are you a male or female? And have you ever tried writing erotic for men? If so, what was your results?


I am transgender and identify as male. The very first erotica I published was probably more in the realm of erotica for men. At least, this review I got would imply that.

"I WOULD NOT recommend this product at all. Am a fan of romance novel but this was just pure TRASH. The story starts off well but soon turns pornographic and one can instantly tell that its written by a male writer and his fantasies after watching too much porn. As the writer cant tell the difference between sensual and hardcore porn it turned out to be a waste of my time and money as i did not even finish the book"

One of my favorite reviews, to this day. lol And yes, it was a one-star.

But anyway, that was before I had read any erotica and had any idea what I was doing. So no, I have never purposely tried to write erotica for men, but I know that the majority of erotica readers are female and that men's erotica isn't very popular.


----------



## Chrysta Euria

Thank you for your fast reply. Very insightful, I learned at lot from you. Whenever I get unmotivated, which is a lot, I always click on my bookmark and scroll down for this thread. You are my motivation. 
And I know that the market for women's erotic is extremely popular, however I somehow just couldn't bring myself to write in a woman's perspective. Just have never enjoyed it.


----------



## wtvr

Big shout out, support, and love for everybody, every which way they are.


----------



## KMatthew

Aww Thanks for the support, everyone.



EelKat said:


> {{{hugs}}} I didn't realize that.
> 
> I am transgender and identify as female or other times "what"
> 
> People often ask me:
> 
> THEM: "So what are you?"
> 
> ME: "Exactly!"
> 
> THEM: "What?"
> 
> ME: "Yep."
> 
> I love going all Abbot and Costello on people when they try to figure out what gender I was born as. ROTFLMAO!
> 
> Thing is I wear more makeup then Macy's has in the makeup counter, and got more Rhinestones and sequins on my cars and wardrobe then Liberace ever dreamed existed. Drag queen, 24 hours a day. I can make Liberace look normal.  It's why I write tranny and screaming drag queen characters both in and out of Erotica.


lol Eel, I'm pretty much the same in regards to answering to just about anything. My appearance is pretty androgynous. I'm not super masculine, but I'm definitely not feminine either.

I really wanted this to be something I kept private, but after all the confusion with my name on here changing from MarlaB to KMatthew and then meeting a lot of people at the Romance Writers Association conference this year, I figured I might as well come out with. It's hard to stay in the shadows when you're trying to connect with people and get your name out there. But I'm very grateful that so many people have been accepting of it. At the end of the day, we're all just human beings trying to get by. What's on the outside doesn't change what's on the inside, and that's all that matters, I think.


----------



## Chris P. O&#039;Grady

LisaGloria said:


> Big shout out, support, and love for everybody, every which way they are.


Exactly!


----------



## AnyaWrites

KMatthew said:


> At the end of the day, we're all just human beings trying to get by. What's on the outside doesn't change what's on the inside, and that's all that matters, I think.


This. ^^ Thanks for the post!!


----------



## S. Shine

KMatthew said:


> Aww Thanks for the support, everyone.
> But I'm very grateful that so many people have been accepting of it.


That made me sad to read because it shouldn't be that you end up feeling grateful for people accepting you the way you are. Why shouldn't they? You are cool just the way you are.


----------



## LBrent

S. Shine said:


> That made me sad to read because it shouldn't be that you end up feeling grateful for people accepting you the way you are. Why shouldn't they? You are cool just the way you are.


EXACTLY what I was thinking!


----------



## August8

S. Shine said:


> That made me sad to read because it shouldn't be that you end up feeling grateful for people accepting you the way you are. Why shouldn't they? You are cool just the way you are.


+1 I wholeheartedly agree.

And you're a total inspiration. Also wanted to say I've read your works and I always find them really engaging  I like the way you write your characters, especially the females.


----------



## M.G. Russell

S. Shine said:


> That made me sad to read because it shouldn't be that you end up feeling grateful for people accepting you the way you are. Why shouldn't they? You are cool just the way you are.


I'm with you and L. Brent on this. We're all just humans doing the best we can with what we were born with.


----------



## Al Dente

S. Shine said:


> That made me sad to read because it shouldn't be that you end up feeling grateful for people accepting you the way you are. Why shouldn't they? You are cool just the way you are.


I feel the same way.


----------



## KMatthew

August8 said:


> +1 I wholeheartedly agree.
> 
> And you're a total inspiration. Also wanted to say I've read your works and I always find them really engaging  I like the way you write your characters, especially the females.


Thanks.


----------



## Perro Callejero

I just wanted to pop in to thank KMatthew for sharing so much information in this thread. When I first joined kboards at the end of last year (November 2013), this thread (as well as the _12 Months, 12 Novels: My Results_ thread by V.J. Chambers http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,172355.msg2448250.html#msg2448250) totally blew me away. To see people setting such lofty writing goals, and then going on to surpass them, is incredibly inspiring!

In fact, this thread was so inspiring that it motivated me to try writing erotica for the first time. I cranked out a 10K novelette in a few days, and really had a lot of fun doing it--probably a greater fun-to-effort ratio than any other writing I've done. That title never went on to sell much, so I went back to my horror serial and kind of forgot about it. (I published the erotica novelette in January 2014, and the only time it's moved any copies at all was during two separate BKnights promotions, with a total of around 30 sales).

I finished my horror serial a few months ago, and the release of its omnibus edition resulted in several sales milestones for me... but greater visibility means greater scrutiny, and I've suffered some of my worst reviews since its publication. I've also been struggling to finish a crime novel, and the thrashing my ego received from those poor reviews has sent me into a bit of a tailspin--running in circles with the crime novel, second-guessing and third-guessing the plot--bleeding a lot more energy into non-productive/non-fun writing days.

Because of that, I've started reminiscing about the erotic novelette, and how much fun I had writing it. I also stumbled across Edo Van Belkom's book _Writing Erotica_ (http://www.amazon.com/Writing-Erotica-Edo-Van-Belkom/dp/1551803070) at the library, and I've been thinking about trying my pen at erotica again. So I came back to this thread, and reread the entire thing (including the dozen+ additional pages it now has), and found myself inspired and excited all over again.

I realized I never thanked KMatthew for this thread before. I wanted to do so now. Thanks, KMatthew! You're awesome!


----------



## KMatthew

Marcos Fenton said:


> I realized I never thanked KMatthew for this thread before. I wanted to do so now. Thanks, KMatthew! You're awesome!


You're welcome.


----------



## Perro Callejero

KMatthew said:


> You're welcome.


----------



## Chrysta Euria

Matthew, is there any requirement for uploading a bundle? I have just finished my trilogy and I would love it to make them into a bundle as well as three separate books.


----------



## KMatthew

hoangvu71 said:


> Matthew, is there any requirement for uploading a bundle? I have just finished my trilogy and I would love it to make them into a bundle as well as three separate books.


No, there's not. Just remember that if any of the books in the bundle are enrolled in Select that you can't go wide with the bundle (publish it at other retailers).


----------



## M.G. Russell

KMatthew said:


> No, there's not. Just remember that if any of the books in the bundle are enrolled in KDP that you can't go wide with the bundle (publish it at other retailers).


Do you recommend going with KDP or going wide with 5K to 10K short erotica stories?


----------



## Drake

I read this post months ago, and still find it inspiring.  Any chance of an update on the numbers for 2014?


----------



## zoe tate

Drake said:


> I read this post months ago, and still find it inspiring. Any chance of an update on the numbers for 2014?


If you read the updated posts since you last looked at the thread, you'll see that the OP has (wisely, in the circumstances) decided not to continue to update the figures. That doesn't detract from the thread's enormous value and interest, though.


----------



## KMatthew

M.G. Russell said:


> Do you recommend going with KDP or going wide with 5K to 10K short erotica stories?


From what I've been told, going Select with shorts is a gold mine right now, or was a gold mine these past few months. Things are shifting in the Amazon marketplace where they make it harder to gain visibility if you're not in Select. Having said that, if I was starting all over again with 5k to 10k shorts, I would enroll them in Select.

And as far as sales figures are concerned, while I won't give out specifics, I will say that by the end of the year I will have made over $150k.


----------



## Lola Carson

I followed this thread avidly when I was a lurker (still am a lurker, I suppose!) and it's been such an inspiration, so much so that it kickstarted my motivation. I've released a handful of shorts across a couple of pen names in the past few days and I've made $201! That's borrows + sales, and assuming the borrows remain at around $1.50 for this month. I'm pretty gobsmacked about it, tbh. And it's motivated me to keep up with the volume to see if I can build on it over the next few months.

Thank you for all the inspiration!


----------



## M.G. Russell

KMatthew said:


> From what I've been told, going Select with shorts is a gold mine right now, or was a gold mine these past few months. Things are shifting in the Amazon marketplace where they make it harder to gain visibility if you're not in Select. Having said that, if I was starting all over again with 5k to 10k shorts, I would enroll them in Select.


I just wanted to say a huge thank you for taking the time to respond to my question. So: *THANK YOU!*



> And as far as sales figures are concerned, while I won't give out specifics, I will say that by the end of the year I will have made over $150k.


And although this wasn't my question, I appreciate your willingness to share also.


----------



## OW

Lola Carson said:


> I followed this thread avidly when I was a lurker (still am a lurker, I suppose!) and it's been such an inspiration, so much so that it kickstarted my motivation. I've released a handful of shorts across a couple of pen names in the past few days and I've made $201! That's borrows + sales, and assuming the borrows remain at around $1.50 for this month. I'm pretty gobsmacked about it, tbh. And it's motivated me to keep up with the volume to see if I can build on it over the next few months.
> 
> Thank you for all the inspiration!


Are those erotic shorts Lola?


----------



## Redacted1111

I'm so thrilled by what is happening in erotica right now, I'm not even worried if that is all I ever write for the conceivable future. Who knows if the borrow rate will continue to be $1.50, and I wonder how to transition out of a KU borrow mentality into a broader approach. I guess I"ll just have to wait and see. I've been busting my butt for over a year and suddenly its like I hit the easy button. (Easy for someone who's written a million words and has been publishing for a year). Writing pure smut has allowed me to disconnect my_self_ from my writing and to become totally unattached to the work. That sounds horrifying as an artist, but as a business person it is a massive boon. I can see the market in a whole new light. And I'm amazed at how easy it all looks now.


----------



## Honeybun

Marcos Fenton said:


> I just wanted to pop in to thank KMatthew for sharing so much information in this thread. When I first joined kboards at the end of last year (November 2013), this thread (as well as the _12 Months, 12 Novels: My Results_ thread by V.J. Chambers http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,172355.msg2448250.html#msg2448250) totally blew me away. To see people setting such lofty writing goals, and then going on to surpass them, is incredibly inspiring!
> 
> In fact, this thread was so inspiring that it motivated me to try writing erotica for the first time. I cranked out a 10K novelette in a few days, and really had a lot of fun doing it--probably a greater fun-to-effort ratio than any other writing I've done. That title never went on to sell much, so I went back to my horror serial and kind of forgot about it. (I published the erotica novelette in January 2014, and the only time it's moved any copies at all was during two separate BKnights promotions, with a total of around 30 sales).
> 
> I finished my horror serial a few months ago, and the release of its omnibus edition resulted in several sales milestones for me... but greater visibility means greater scrutiny, and I've suffered some of my worst reviews since its publication. I've also been struggling to finish a crime novel, and the thrashing my ego received from those poor reviews has sent me into a bit of a tailspin--running in circles with the crime novel, second-guessing and third-guessing the plot--bleeding a lot more energy into non-productive/non-fun writing days.
> 
> Because of that, I've started reminiscing about the erotic novelette, and how much fun I had writing it. I also stumbled across Edo Van Belkom's book _Writing Erotica_ (http://www.amazon.com/Writing-Erotica-Edo-Van-Belkom/dp/1551803070) at the library, and I've been thinking about trying my pen at erotica again. So I came back to this thread, and reread the entire thing (including the dozen+ additional pages it now has), and found myself inspired and excited all over again.
> 
> I realized I never thanked KMatthew for this thread before. I wanted to do so now. Thanks, KMatthew! You're awesome!


From reading on kboards, I learned that there is such a thing as a developmental editor. They help to plan out the book, look at character development, voice, etc. They look at the book as a whole versus the individual sentence structure. So, with regard to your crime novel, maybe enlisting the help of a developmental editor would allay your fears regarding your crime story by ensuring that the product you create is an awesome one from anyone's perspective.


----------



## Lola Carson

OW said:


> Are those erotic shorts Lola?


Yes.


----------



## anotherpage

Kalypsō said:


> I'm so thrilled by what is happening in erotica right now, I'm not even worried if that is all I ever write for the conceivable future. Who knows if the borrow rate will continue to be $1.50, and I wonder how to transition out of a KU borrow mentality into a broader approach. I guess I"ll just have to wait and see. I've been busting my butt for over a year and suddenly its like I hit the easy button. (Easy for someone who's written a million words and has been publishing for a year). Writing pure smut has allowed me to disconnect my_self_ from my writing and to become totally unattached to the work. That sounds horrifying as an artist, but as a business person it is a massive boon. I can see the market in a whole new light. And I'm amazed at how easy it all looks now.


I'm about to test out this market this week with 9 shorts 3 combos going live by the end of the week. I'm like yourself I have busted my butt for over 2 years in regular romance and thriller market and seen little traction. If this erotica takes off I will go 100% into it until i build up a nice little nest egg and then I will return to the writing I enjoy.


----------



## Redacted1111

kalel said:


> I'm about to test out this market this week with 9 shorts 3 combos going live by the end of the week. I'm like yourself I have busted my butt for over 2 years in regular romance and thriller market and seen little traction. If this erotica takes off I will go 100% into it until i build up a nice little nest egg and then I will return to the writing I enjoy.


That's great. I'm actually really enjoying being a dirty smut peddler at the moment. I have a series I'm committed to finishing, but see myself doing this for the foreseeable future. I can always transition back into romance with a greater focus on the market. I would never have been able to write about the kinds of twisted relationships that seem so popular in romance if I hadn't started writing smut. Writing it and making money with it has cracked my attachment to my writing. I feel sooo much more chill now it isn't even funny, and I'm actually enjoying my writing more. Funny that.


----------



## Perro Callejero

Honeybun said:


> From reading on kboards, I learned that there is such a thing as a developmental editor. They help to plan out the book, look at character development, voice, etc. They look at the book as a whole versus the individual sentence structure. So, with regard to your crime novel, maybe enlisting the help of a developmental editor would allay your fears regarding your crime story by ensuring that the product you create is an awesome one from anyone's perspective.


Thank you for the suggestion, Honeybun.  Money's very tight for me right now, so hiring and editor is currently out of my reach... but having said that, I do think I've learned a bit from the reviews my horror serial received, and I've got an idea about how to minimize such rancor in future efforts.


----------



## ravenkult

Hey KM,
I do have a question. At this point (I think last time you talked numbers you had broken $10k/month) are you still seeing growth when you're doing your regular books or not? Or have you diversified to the point where you're not doing erotica shorts any longer?


----------



## KMatthew

ravenkult said:


> Hey KM,
> I do have a question. At this point (I think last time you talked numbers you had broken $10k/month) are you still seeing growth when you're doing your regular books or not? Or have you diversified to the point where you're not doing erotica shorts any longer?


I haven't been doing erotica shorts for a while. I switched to writing erotic romance serials about a year ago. I also wrote two novels this past year and am getting ready to start working on another one.

As far as income growth goes, I haven't seen anything steadily substantial. For instance, I've had months close to $20k in royalties and other months barely over $10k. That's still a lot more than I was making in the prior year though.


----------



## ravenkult

I guess if 20k is the ceiling, that's pretty damn good! Were you making that when you were writing erotica? Is erotic romance selling better for you?


----------



## KMatthew

ravenkult said:


> I guess if 20k is the ceiling, that's pretty damn good! Were you making that when you were writing erotica? Is erotic romance selling better for you?


$20k definitely isn't the ceiling. I think the ceiling is a lot closer to $400k a month(though that's obviously not typical). And yes, when I switched to writing erotic romance, I saw another huge sales bump. The bad things is that common practice is to price lower on installments of erotic romance serials, so you really make most of the your money on either the last installment in the serial (priced at $2.99 after you've hooked the reader into all the other installments at $0.99 and they can't stand to not know how the story ends) or the boxed set. Erotic Romance serial installments are longer too, around the 20k word mark to keep people from one-starring you to death, so it takes a bit longer to write/publish them.


----------



## ravenkult

And still you make more doing erotic romance. That's super weird, but then again, everything about publishing is. I'm mostly asking all this because I'm not really one to write romance, so I'm hoping that I can make some money writing straight up erotica. I'm starting exactly what you did, November 1st. Currently trying to avoid the dreaded Adult filter on Amazon and reading up on some keywords, but otherwise ready to go.


----------



## KMatthew

ravenkult said:


> And still you make more doing erotic romance. That's super weird, but then again, everything about publishing is. I'm mostly asking all this because I'm not really one to write romance, so I'm hoping that I can make some money writing straight up erotica. I'm starting exactly what you did, November 1st. Currently trying to avoid the dreaded Adult filter on Amazon and reading up on some keywords, but otherwise ready to go.


Erotica is still very effective if you can avoid the ADULT filters. I do know people who make around $10k a month who only write short erotica. I transitioned to erotic romance because I wanted to hit the USA Today and New York Times best seller lists, and that's extremely difficult to do with erotica.


----------



## ravenkult

Aye aye. Avoiding the filter basically means giving up on keywords, except for a few safe ones (Billionaires, alpha male, whatever) because most of the things people would search for would get you filtered if found in the title, so...
I'll let you know how it goes around March. I'm doing Amazon, D2D and Smashwords. AllRomance might be tough, with their whole application process thing. 
Thanks for the thread, you're basically the reason I'm doing this.


----------



## Honeybun

KM, I know that it's been said before but I'm gonna say it again.  Thank you so much for having this thread and sharing your experience.  It is amazing to watch your writing carrier grow and adapt.  Thank you so much for sharing!  It is an education for the rest of us to experience through you and it is invaluable.


----------



## KMatthew

You're welcome. If we don't help each other out, who will?

And definitely keep us posted, raven.


----------



## M.G. Russell

Honeybun said:


> KM, I know that it's been said before but I'm gonna say it again. Thank you so much for having this thread and sharing your experience. It is amazing to watch your writing carrier grow and adapt. Thank you so much for sharing! It is an education for the rest of us to experience through you and it is invaluable.


I second this comment over and over again. Thank you so much for sharing. It has been so useful for me and many others I'm sure.

M.G.


----------



## dragontucker

Amazing dude. This inspires me to write short pieces of serials. The cannot write erotica though...lol.....mostly fantasy


----------



## Chrysta Euria

Alright. I have just started to use the DWS method and I have released 2 trilogies for far. After that, I went on fiverr and took some 20$ worth of advertising on the 25th and 26th. 
Results:
24th: 3 sales 2 borrows
25th: 2 sales 6 borrows
26th: 14 sales 4 borrows
27th: 14 sales 18 borrows
28th: 0 sales 7 borrows (sad day).
What do you guys think? Is this normal? 
P/S almost all of my books are 2.99
P/S 2: Author rank from #2803 (on 24th) to #590 (28th)


----------



## SawyerPentecost

That's fantastic!


----------



## funthebear

Is that genre author rank? If not, something is off. At author rank 1k in kindle store, that's ~150 sales/borrows a day.


----------



## Chrysta Euria

I have no idea.


----------



## OW

What's the DWS method please?


----------



## Diane Patterson

OW said:


> What's the DWS method please?


I recommend going to the first page of this thread and following KM's links to the other threads, where the DWS method (basically: write a lot, publish a lot, don't worry so much about the marketing) is described in great detail.


----------



## ravenkult

Chrysta Euria said:


> Alright. I have just started to use the DWS method and I have released 2 trilogies for far. After that, I went on fiverr and took some 20$ worth of advertising on the 25th and 26th.
> Results:
> 24th: 3 sales 2 borrows
> 25th: 2 sales 6 borrows
> 26th: 14 sales 4 borrows
> 27th: 14 sales 18 borrows
> 28th: 0 sales 7 borrows (sad day).
> What do you guys think? Is this normal?
> P/S almost all of my books are 2.99
> P/S 2: Author rank from #2803 (on 24th) to #590 (28th)


Don't check sales numbers that often. Commit to a couple of months, stick with it. I'd recommend against going Amazon exclusive (why is everyone doing this?), but it's too late for these books. 
When I was doing this last year, I was aiming for each book to make 60$ per month, either the first or the second month. Some will have staying power, some won't. 
My 2 cents.


----------



## Chrysta Euria

Since I have a very small backlist, it was Matthew that recommended me to put my books in select for more traction at the beginning. I, on the other hand, think that it is the best advice ever. When I put my books in other dealers, I have received 10$ for a week (the constant uploading, fixing catalogs, and formatting drive me crazy!) When I enrolled my books in select, I have come close to make 100$ after the promo in just those 5 days. But who knows? I might pull it out once I get a substantial amount of books.


----------



## ravenkult

I won't argue because I honestly don't know. Barnes and Noble makes me more money than Amazon, but it might just be me. If do, use Draft2Digital to get into Barnes and Noble, Kobo and Apple. Makes things easier.


----------



## Chrysta Euria

ravenkult said:


> I won't argue because I honestly don't know. Barnes and Noble makes me more money than Amazon, but it might just be me. If do, use Draft2Digital to get into Barnes and Noble, Kobo and Apple. Makes things easier.


I got scared when someone posted that when books got distributed to major retailers like Barnes and Noble, Kobo... they would get "sink" and lost in the eternal dungeon of doom. So i had to manually do it, and it was a pain in my pale white a**.


----------



## ravenkult

I personally never had any problems. I still sell copies of books published in January 2013.


----------



## SA_Archer

You’ve convinced and inspired me.

After writing urban fantasy serials since 2011, I have laid that genre aside. Even after doing all the promotional strategies (perma-free, paid advertising, social media, mailing list) and with 4 collections and 25 episodes I am doing good to break $200 a month. I’ve wrapped up the serial, laid it aside, and re-evaluated where I am and where I want to be.

I’ve decided to try and follow your example and see if I can simulate some of your success. I used to write PNR erotica and romance for Ellora’s Cave. So I believe I have the skills to do good work in this genre.

So… I am challenging myself to try and write 100 titles in a year.  

I am currently working up a strategy. I’ve got 3 pen names I want to start with, using different ones for different heat levels. I want to put out 2-3 books per pen name per month. The plan is to start binge writing on November 1st, and start releasing on the new year with a backlog so I can try and stay on schedule. 

I know everyone’s mileage will vary, but if I could at least move my family’s finances onto a better footing, it will be more that worth the attempt.


----------



## Chrysta Euria

ravenkult said:


> I personally never had any problems. I still sell copies of books published in January 2013.


raven, I see that your books' rankings are ranging from 100k to 500k. Can you tell me how many sales does each book need to sell to get to those rankings?


----------



## ravenkult

SA_Archer said:


> You've convinced and inspired me.
> 
> After writing urban fantasy serials since 2011, I have laid that genre aside. Even after doing all the promotional strategies (perma-free, paid advertising, social media, mailing list) and with 4 collections and 25 episodes I am doing good to break $200 a month. I've wrapped up the serial, laid it aside, and re-evaluated where I am and where I want to be.
> 
> I've decided to try and follow your example and see if I can simulate some of your success. I used to write PNR erotica and romance for Ellora's Cave. So I believe I have the skills to do good work in this genre.


Hey, PM me if you wanna chat. I'm doing the same starting November 1st.


----------



## sha66ir

Hello KMatthew,

Any update on this thread on your results to date?

Thanks


----------



## MikeDavidson

sha66ir said:


> Hello KMatthew,
> 
> Any update on this thread on your results to date?
> 
> Thanks


^^^This.

And how many titles do you have now? Which ones perform the best? (word count, topic, price, etc)


----------



## KMatthew

I currently have 138 titles. 
My latest release is typically the one that's performing the best. 
My serials do well at around 20k words each.
Billionaire stuff is pretty much my bread and butter.
$0.99 will always outsell $2.99, but you won't make as much money. 

Sorry the update isn't more in-depth. I just got back from vacation and am not feeling too great right now.


----------



## sha66ir

KMatthew said:


> I currently have 138 titles.
> My latest release is typically the one that's performing the best.
> My serials do well at around 20k words each.
> Billionaire stuff is pretty much my bread and butter.
> $0.99 will always outsell $2.99, but you won't make as much money.
> 
> Sorry the update isn't more in-depth. I just got back from vacation and am not feeling too great right now.


Thanks for the update. get well soon


----------



## MikeDavidson

KMatthew said:


> I currently have 138 titles.
> My latest release is typically the one that's performing the best.
> My serials do well at around 20k words each.
> Billionaire stuff is pretty much my bread and butter.
> $0.99 will always outsell $2.99, but you won't make as much money.
> 
> Sorry the update isn't more in-depth. I just got back from vacation and am not feeling too great right now.


Hope you get well. Sorry to hear you're sick 

Love hearing your story. It's very encouraging.


----------



## Ann Brian

KMatthew said:


> I currently have 138 titles.
> My latest release is typically the one that's performing the best.
> My serials do well at around 20k words each.
> Billionaire stuff is pretty much my bread and butter.
> $0.99 will always outsell $2.99, but you won't make as much money.
> 
> Sorry the update isn't more in-depth. I just got back from vacation and am not feeling too great right now.


Just found this thread as I am new here.
Thank you for sharing, very inspiring for me.

Get to feeling better!


----------



## S. Shine

KMatthew said:


> Sorry the update isn't more in-depth. I just got back from vacation and am not feeling too great right now.


Get well soon, ok, dude?  And hey, sorry? You? For what? You started and kept an epic thread alive filled with valuable information! We should be thanking you, not you saying you are sorry. 

Again, get better soon, ok?


----------



## KMatthew

S. Shine said:


> Get well soon, ok, dude?  And hey, sorry? You? For what? You started and kept an epic thread alive filled with valuable information! We should be thanking you, not you saying you are sorry.
> 
> Again, get better soon, ok?


Aww Thanks. I still feel crappy. lol


----------



## bobbic

KMatthew said:


> Aww Thanks. I still feel crappy. lol


Vacations are supposed to make you feel better! Get well soon. And thanks for the information.


----------



## sha66ir

Can you tell us how much do you spend on advertising for each new book you release?


----------



## KMatthew

sha66ir said:


> Can you tell us how much do you spend on advertising for each new book you release?


I only spend money advertising the first book in a series, and I split up the advertising so that the first book will get a bump every time a new installment is released. Depending on what my game plan is for that series, I can spend anywhere from $0 up to $500 per series. And yes, it really varies that much, because I'm constantly experimenting with ads. Right now, I'm actually backing away from paid ads. I recently did a marketing experiment that showed that most of the advertising companies weren't that great.

If you do pay for advertising, stay on top of it. During my experiment, I had companies that ran my ad on the wrong day, and some that took my money and didn't run the ad at all(I either had to contact them to see what was up or do a charge back to get a refund). My best advice for anyone starting out is to stick to reputable companies that have a track record of proven results. BookBub is always number one. ENT is still pretty decent too.


----------



## sha66ir

KMatthew said:


> ENT is still pretty decent too.


ENT?? Do you perhaps have a link to it?


----------



## MikeDavidson

sha66ir said:


> ENT?? Do you perhaps have a link to it?


http://ereadernewstoday.com/


----------



## HappyToHelp

KMatthew said:


> I really wanted this to be something I kept private, but after all the confusion with my name on here changing from MarlaB to KMatthew and then meeting a lot of people at the Romance Writers Association conference this year, I figured I might as well come out with. It's hard to stay in the shadows when you're trying to connect with people and get your name out there. But I'm very grateful that so many people have been accepting of it. At the end of the day, we're all just human beings trying to get by. What's on the outside doesn't change what's on the inside, and that's all that matters, I think.


Just wanted to say hugs to to you and thank you for sharing as much as you do...about everything. You are very inspirational. <3


----------



## Skylar Cross

Do you still advise against listing books in the "Erotica" category on Amazon? I see some authors who I know are making big money and their books only show up in the "Erotica" category on their Amazon sales pages. I still use the "Coming of Age" category as you suggested in the past (and it appears you still do too, which is encouraging), but I can't help notice the success some others are having there... one in particular whose stories are similar to mine in that they have a lot of plot wrapped around a lot of sex. She prices each installment at $2.99 (23,000 words or so each), which is my goal for the new year. I'm all about the money, not getting on any lists.

Oh, and Happy Anniversary!  

It's been one year since I've taken up the writing mantle based on your success and it's the best decision I've ever made. I'm only making a sixth of what you are but that's only because of my own foolish mistakes. Thank you again for all you do... and for helping me to live a much better life doing work I love!


----------



## Guest

Skylar Cross said:


> Do you still advise against listing books in the "Erotica" category on Amazon? I see some authors who I know are making big money and their books only show up in the "Erotica" category on their Amazon sales pages. I still use the "Coming of Age" category as you suggested in the past (and it appears you still do too, which is encouraging), but I can't help notice the success some others are having there... one in particular whose stories are similar to mine in that they have a lot of plot wrapped around a lot of sex. She prices each installment at $2.99 (23,000 words or so each), which is my goal for the new year. I'm all about the money, not getting on any lists.
> 
> Oh, and Happy Anniversary!
> 
> It's been one year since I've taken up the writing mantle based on your success and it's the best decision I've ever made. I'm only making a sixth of what you are but that's only because of my own foolish mistakes. Thank you again for all you do... and for helping me to live a much better life doing work I love!


This is a controversial topic. Some authors believe that by categorizing erotica in other categories, you're making it harder for those who don't. The reason for that is that it makes erotica authors in general look unprofessional and some believe it's part of what causes Amazon's unfair treatment of erotica (if we don't play by their rules, they'll just make things harder on us).

Others simply do what they need to do to get visibility and market share, damn the consequences, even if it means risking a total ban of your KDP account.


----------



## KMatthew

genrehopper said:


> This is a controversial topic. Some authors believe that by categorizing erotica in other categories, you're making it harder for those who don't. The reason for that is that it makes erotica authors in general look unprofessional and some believe it's part of what causes Amazon's unfair treatment of erotica (if we don't play by their rules, they'll just make things harder on us).
> 
> Others simply do what they need to do to get visibility and market share, damn the consequences, even if it means risking a total ban of your KDP account.


A lot of New York Times best selling authors do this. If you've ever read anything by Deborah Bladon, her stuff is erotic romance, but she puts it in the Romance category, and she's ALWAYS on the best seller list with several books.

I really don't think romance readers mind much unless you're writing pure smut. Obviously, taboo stories should stay in the erotica category, but I think there's a grey line with anything else that has a story to it.

I have yet to see someone have their account banned for not putting their erotica in the erotica category. If anything, Amazon usually either slaps an adult filter(which kills sales) on it or moves it to the erotica category themselves.



Skylar Cross said:


> Do you still advise against listing books in the "Erotica" category on Amazon? I see some authors who I know are making big money and their books only show up in the "Erotica" category on their Amazon sales pages. I still use the "Coming of Age" category as you suggested in the past (and it appears you still do too, which is encouraging), but I can't help notice the success some others are having there... one in particular whose stories are similar to mine in that they have a lot of plot wrapped around a lot of sex. She prices each installment at $2.99 (23,000 words or so each), which is my goal for the new year. I'm all about the money, not getting on any lists.
> 
> Oh, and Happy Anniversary!
> 
> It's been one year since I've taken up the writing mantle based on your success and it's the best decision I've ever made. I'm only making a sixth of what you are but that's only because of my own foolish mistakes. Thank you again for all you do... and for helping me to live a much better life doing work I love!


I write primarily erotic romance now, so I don't have many thoughts about things strictly related to erotica. As far as erotic romance is concerned though, yes, I am still all for keeping it out of the erotica category for expanded visibility. This is mainly because I'm still chasing lists and because Romance has more readers than Erotica.

However, as you've probably noticed, romance readers don't like to pay as much. You'd probably have an easier time making sales at $2.99 in the erotica category. I haven't tested this in a LONG time though, so this is purely speculation.

And congrats on your one year anniversary!


----------



## Michelle Lowery

KMatthew said:


> No, there's not. Just remember that if any of the books in the bundle are enrolled in KDP that you can't go wide with the bundle (publish it at other retailers).


I don't understand this. I thought KDP was the only way to publish ebooks on Amazon. If I publish a book on Amazon, I can't put it in a bundle anywhere else?


----------



## KMatthew

Michelle Lowery said:


> I don't understand this. I thought KDP was the only way to publish ebooks on Amazon. If I publish a book on Amazon, I can't put it in a bundle anywhere else?


Sorry. I meant Select. I have a bad habit of just calling it KDP. Glad you pointed this out. Going to edit now.


----------



## Michelle Lowery

KMatthew said:


> Sorry. I meant Select. I have a bad habit of just calling it KDP. Glad you pointed this out. Going to edit now.


OH! Haha! OK, that makes more sense. Man, I was freaking out for a minute, thinking Amazon was making a monopoly move or something. 

Thanks so much for clearing that up, KMatthew. And thanks for all the information you've shared here. The HuffPo article about your 100 books in a year is what motivated me to finally get off my butt and start writing for publication, so you were inspiring me before I even got to KBoards.


----------



## Sharlow

Very inspiring thread. One of the main reasons I love this forum. Been coming here off and on since 2009.


----------



## MouseEscape

I know its been done a million times - but thank you Marla. I'm new to Kboards - but I was inspired to start on this path one month and a bit ago when I read this thread from a search on the net. Then I listened to the radio interview - you were great on that. Also - I think your voice is perfect for a narration - you have a nice voice and would sound good reading I think. 

But anyway . . .

I went down your path - been on it one month. I have 11+ titles right now and my sales are starting to pick up. 

I'm going to keep pumping out titles. I'll also updated after one year on this road - although I don't think I will be where you are. Your results were amazing! 

My work ethic at the moment is 2 titles a week - so I write 10,000 words and then edit the same day, and then do the cover. I try not to look back at my work because of spelling mistakes etc. But it's the best I can do atm. 

This thread is the best and most helpful thread I have read on the internet for keeping motivated. 

I will go back to lurking now . . .


----------



## KMatthew

Updating this thread to let everyone know I recently did another podcast interview with Jim Kukral from Author Marketing Club. If you haven't heard the first one, you can listen to it here: http://kmatthewbooks.com/author-marketing-club-podcast-interviews/. You can listen to the new interview here: http://authormarketinginstitute.com/10000-a-month-from-erotica-books-with-kindle-unlimited/. Sorry for the squeaky mic. >.<


----------



## Guest

Q - are you happy?

Genuine question, not snark or negative in any way. I used to write a lot and it was very draining. I can't even imagine writing 100 books in a year.

So

Are you happy?


----------



## KMatthew

ireaderreview said:


> Q - are you happy?
> 
> Genuine question, not snark or negative in any way. I used to write a lot and it was very draining. I can't even imagine writing 100 books in a year.
> 
> So
> 
> Are you happy?


I am very happy that I am able to write full time. There's nothing I would rather be doing with my life. The only way that I could be happier is if I wrote in a genre I actually enjoyed.

Writing as much as I do can be draining, but I look at this as a business, definitely no worse than working a desk job. I know I have to put the hours in to make money, and so I do. And even though I'm prolific, I do have a lot of downtime, days when I don't do much--like today, I outlined a serial installment, which took a whole total of 30 minutes. That was the only thing on my agenda today. When you compare the amount of money I make to the amount of hours I actually work...I couldn't get that anywhere else. So yes, I am very happy.


----------



## Scout

KMatthew said:


> Updating this thread to let everyone know I recently did another podcast interview with Jim Kukral from Author Marketing Club. If you haven't heard the first one, you can listen to it here: http://kmatthewbooks.com/author-marketing-club-podcast-interviews/. You can listen to the new interview here: http://authormarketinginstitute.com/10000-a-month-from-erotica-books-with-kindle-unlimited/. Sorry for the squeaky mic. >.<


Thanks for the heads up about the interview. Great follow up. Glad to see you are doing well. Cheers.


----------



## jillb

Thanks for this thread and the updates OP. It is really one of the inspiring threads on the board and really helped to push me forward. I write in a very different genre but I'm ready to publish my 7th & 8th book (starting my 9th) after 5 months in the business. Thank you!!


----------



## DGS

KMatthew said:


> I am very happy that I am able to write full time. There's nothing I would rather be doing with my life. The only way that I could be happier is if I wrote in a genre I actually enjoyed.
> 
> Writing as much as I do can be draining, but I look at this as a business, definitely no worse than working a desk job. I know I have to put the hours in to make money, and so I do. And even though I'm prolific, I do have a lot of downtime, days when I don't do much--like today, I outlined a serial installment, which took a whole total of 30 minutes. That was the only thing on my agenda today. When you compare the amount of money I make to the amount of hours I actually work...I couldn't get that anywhere else. So yes, I am very happy.


What genre would you like to write? I am in a similar situation, when I finished the 3rd book in my romantic suspense series, I actually asked on here if anyone is "tired of writing explicit romance." I felt like the feelings/anxiety of romantic suspense in the book was draining me. I kind of wanted to write a sweet story of a boy meets girl. And I had/still have no idea if my readers would love it or hate it - and that fear is strong. Maybe that's just writing in general. But no matter how successful, we always think "but what if I really suck in that other genre? What if it doesn't make any money?" You know, I've thought about it, and I always saw my romance stuff as stepping stones to better craft. And then writing stuff I want, better. (But writing what pays too.) If we never start we'll never know, right?


----------



## naughty kim

DGS said:


> What genre would you like to write? I am in a similar situation, when I finished the 3rd book in my romantic suspense series, I actually asked on here if anyone is "tired of writing explicit romance." I felt like the feelings/anxiety of romantic suspense in the book was draining me. I kind of wanted to write a sweet story of a boy meets girl. And I had/still have no idea if my readers would love it or hate it - and that fear is strong. Maybe that's just writing in general. But no matter how successful, we always think "but what if I really suck in that other genre? What if it doesn't make any money?" You know, I've thought about it, and I always saw my romance stuff as stepping stones to better craft. And then writing stuff I want, better. (But writing what pays too.) If we never start we'll never know, right?


If you had read the first or possibly the second page of this thread, she mentions that her first love is the HORROR genre. Erotica/erotic romance just proved to be too lucrative.


----------



## Lhhansen

KMatthew said:


> -Pure smut can command higher prices at lower word counts.
> -Deviating from erotica and erotic romance causes a decrease in my sales


Thank you for the post and congrats! Erotica sometimes confuses me because if I write an erotic/mystery, I will get a one star saying something like "this book was mostly sex! Pure trash!"
I thought that's what they wanted!
The other part that is confusing is ranking. Does erotica really do that well? I see that for erotica/mystery around a 50-60 ranking is already close to a 30,000 overall ranking, which means to me not the strongest catetory.
I see other books that just stay in the top 200 month after month and there is really no difference in the books, except maybe the one in the top 200 is 25 pages, its really erotica, but it is categorized as new adult.
Why would someone borrow a book that is 25 pages, and not the higher priced one at 300 pages that is ranking rather well?

Finally, New Adult and other Romance categories seem a lot stronger than Erotica, but would be much harder to break into.

I guess I am not sure why Erotica is supposedly so strong when the ranking shows them as rather weak compared to categories like new adult, romance, etc.


----------



## KMatthew

Lhhansen said:


> Thank you for the post and congrats! Erotica sometimes confuses me because if I write an erotic/mystery, I will get a one star saying something like "this book was mostly sex! Pure trash!"
> I thought that's what they wanted!
> The other part that is confusing is ranking. Does erotica really do that well? I see that for erotica/mystery around a 50-60 ranking is already close to a 30,000 overall ranking, which means to me not the strongest catetory.
> I see other books that just stay in the top 200 month after month and there is really no difference in the books, except maybe the one in the top 200 is 25 pages, its really erotica, but it is categorized as new adult.
> Why would someone borrow a book that is 25 pages, and not the higher priced one at 300 pages that is ranking rather well?
> 
> Finally, New Adult and other Romance categories seem a lot stronger than Erotica, but would be much harder to break into.
> 
> I guess I am not sure why Erotica is supposedly so strong when the ranking shows them as rather weak compared to categories like new adult, romance, etc.


You're actually right about it being harder to break into a decent ranking with erotica now. It's really over-saturated. I recently tried to get back in. My last series, actually, was paranormal erotica. I put it in the erotica category, which is the first time I've done that in a really long time. I hit 3,000 in ranking right out of the gate because I cross-promoed to my erotic romance list, but the rank rose like it had floaties tied to it. It was fast, and no matter what promo I did, I couldn't hold a low rank for very long. When I saw that, I immediately switched the series over to romance. It did better for a while, but it's still not ranking where I want it to be. Lesson learned, I'm staying out of the erotica category.

As far as why people tend to borrow shorter books, it's really a psychological thing in regards to perceived value. If I'm paying $9.99 for an all you can eat/read membership, and it takes me one week to read a novel, which is typically priced at $3.99, I'm reading $15.96 worth of books per month. However, if I read even just one short story a day, even if the short story is priced at only $0.99, I'm reading around $30.69 worth of content per month(not all short stories are $0.99. A lot of them are $2.99). It probably makes most borrowers think they're getting a better deal for their money if they're reading a bunch of shorts instead of novels.


----------



## Lhhansen

KMatthew said:


> You're actually right about it being harder to break into a decent ranking with erotica now. It's really over-saturated. I recently tried to get back in. My last series, actually, was paranormal erotica. I put it in the erotica category, which is the first time I've done that in a really long time. I hit 3,000 in ranking right out of the gate because I cross-promoed to my erotic romance list, but the rank rose like it had floaties tied to it. It was fast, and no matter what promo I did, I couldn't hold a low rank for very long. When I saw that, I immediately switched the series over to romance. It did better for a while, but it's still not ranking where I want it to be. Lesson learned, I'm staying out of the erotica category.


_I had the opposite experience._ I switched it from romance/suspense to erotica/suspense. It halted the freefall in overall ranking only because erotica was a weaker category and it started to show up in erotica/suspense (better to show up somewhere than nowhere I suppose). The overall ranking bounced around from 20,000-30,000 though when it was in romance it was much better, but hard to maintain. I did some digging and noticed that many of the erotica titles that were in the top 100 had *overall* rankings that were much higher, esp. compared to new adult or romance, i.e. they continue to fall in the overall rankings even though they are still in the top 100 of some erotica sub-category. That is why mine showed up in the category # rank in the first place. But even then, romantic erotica appears to be much stronger than other sub categories of erotica, and romance and new adult are much stronger than erotica at all levels. But then the bestsellers in "new adult" and "romance" are some pretty hard core erotica books!

That is why I was not sure why erotica was supposed to be such a strong category, but it seems it is by another name (new adult, romance, etc.) as authors move them into stronger categories.


----------



## KMatthew

Lhhansen said:


> That is why I was not sure why erotica was supposed to be such a strong category, but it seems it is by another name (new adult, romance, etc.).


A lot of erotica ends up in the new adult category. It's still a fairly easy category to rank in, though I'm sure that will change eventually, as all things do.


----------



## Catperson

I'm enjoying reading through this thread. I, too, am about to embark on an erotica-writing experiment. Not romance -- pure (haha!) erotica in one or two of the subgenres (with different pen names).

To the erotica authors reading this thread, do you have an email list that you're building and if so, do you make most of your sales that way? Thanks in advance for your insights.


----------



## KMatthew

Catperson said:


> I'm enjoying reading through this thread. I, too, am about to embark on an erotica-writing experiment. Not romance -- pure (haha!) erotica in one or two of the subgenres (with different pen names).
> 
> To the erotica authors reading this thread, do you have an email list that you're building and if so, do you make most of your sales that way? Thanks in advance for your insights.


If there's one thing I could do over again, it would be to start building my list from the very first book I published. You should be building a list of subscribers, no matter what genre you're in. Having a list will give you a big push the moment you publish something and mail out to them, which helps to put you on the lists, which drives other readers to your books. It's almost guaranteed money in the bank. From my experience, the more people you have on your mailing list(genuine buyers, not freebie seekers), the more successful you will be.


----------



## Ebook Itch

KMatthew, you are one of our heroes. Long live the indies!


----------



## mwright

Lurker extraordinaire!

I have a question for you, KMatthews. How do you decipher between Erotica and Erotic Romance. Or how to you decipher when you are listing your work on Amazon? By its categories? 

I'm without a doubt writing Erotic Romance because I simply can't write sex without love or at least intimacy, and intimacy needs lead in.  Still, didn't think to look into what the difference is when you're listing it.
Thank you again! Or for the first time...


----------



## KMatthew

mwright said:


> Lurker extraordinaire!
> 
> I have a question for you, KMatthews. How do you decipher between Erotica and Erotic Romance. Or how to you decipher when you are listing your work on Amazon? By its categories?
> 
> I'm without a doubt writing Erotic Romance because I simply can't write sex without love or at least intimacy, and intimacy needs lead in.  Still, didn't think to look into what the difference is when you're listing it.
> Thank you again! Or for the first time...


Picking the proper categories is crucial to getting the most eyeballs on your writing. If you're writing erotic romance, and want to reach a broader audience, then make sure you don't pick any categories with the words 'erotic' or 'erotica' in them. Once you do that, the book will be categorized in erotica no matter what other subcat you picked out. If I were you, I would go with the most relevant categories under romance. And if your characters are young (college aged), you could also use the new adult/coming of age category.

Hopefully, that made sense and I answered your actual question. I'm pretty doped up on pain meds right now.


----------



## Betsy the Quilter

Feel better, KM!


----------



## KMatthew

Thanks Betsy!


----------



## Priya

I've been following this thread and wanted to thank everyone for their insights.

I started publishing erotic romance a few months ago in KU and have no impressive sales to mention.    The handful of reviews I have for each book have been very positive so I'm going to keep at it. However, I'm totally revamping my strategy.  After spending time doing research/reading best sellers and reviewing several threads, I'm going to focus on serials. (8-10K) in 5 installments.  And more importantly, I need my covers and blurbs to demonstrate exactly what the reader will be getting.  

My biggest concern is getting reviews. I am thankful the few I have are really good but when I see what's selling, most authors are launching with tons of reviews. I realize it may take me time to launch with 20 reviews but I'd like to aim for 3 reviews to start.

Here's what I've done:
- The Naughty Lists ARC club 
- Read to Review programs on Goodreads group (Kiss and Tell)
- Post ARCs on other Goodreads groups (short and smutty, WTRAFSOG)
- Submit to Books and Beyond 50 Shades Facebook group
- Used 1 Free promo day the first week of book launch (resulting in 50-75 downloads) List on awesomegang during promo
- Front/Back Matter have email sign up list. I don't offer anything free yet. As my library grows I plan to provide something exclusive for free 

I've found that bloggers and free advertising sites prefer longer work so I'm hoping for advice on other channels I can explore that are willing to review short work.  Thanks in advance.

KMatthew - you're a perfect example of launching with multiple reviews. When you were starting out, how did find reviewers willing to read short work?


----------



## KMatthew

Priya said:


> KMatthew - you're a perfect example of launching with multiple reviews. When you were starting out, how did find reviewers willing to read short work?


I didn't. For the longest time, I didn't seek out reviewers. It actually wasn't until the end of 2014 that I began putting together an ARC team. I e-mailed my reader list to see if anyone wanted to join. I honestly wish I would have done it a lot sooner, because positive reviews do help to sell books.


----------



## LondonCalling

Hi KM,

Is the pricing tier you list in the first post of this thread still the pricing you go by?


----------



## KMatthew

Alexandra Little said:


> Hi KM,
> 
> Is the pricing tier you list in the first post of this thread still the pricing you go by?


No.


----------



## Julianna

KMatthew said:


> You're actually right about it being harder to break into a decent ranking with erotica now. It's really over-saturated. I recently tried to get back in. My last series, actually, was paranormal erotica. I put it in the erotica category, which is the first time I've done that in a really long time. I hit 3,000 in ranking right out of the gate because I cross-promoed to my erotic romance list, but the rank rose like it had floaties tied to it. It was fast, and no matter what promo I did, I couldn't hold a low rank for very long. When I saw that, I immediately switched the series over to romance. It did better for a while, but it's still not ranking where I want it to be. Lesson learned, I'm staying out of the erotica category.


KM: You don't write erotica anymore at all? If not, what made you walk away from it?


----------



## KMatthew

Julianna said:


> KM: You don't write erotica anymore at all? If not, what made you walk away from it?


Publishing in the romance categories gives you a greater market reach, so more potential for money. My erotic romance is still very raunchy though.


----------



## DGS

KM, I am hearing people say under new KU it makes sense to transition to longer works. I wonder if you disagree, as I do, considering that if you take 1 90k book vs 3 30k books, the 3 books give you 3 shots at rankings as well as algo boost from releasing more often (correct me if I'm wrong here).  Cheers


----------



## Julianna

DGS said:


> KM, I am hearing people say under new KU it makes sense to transition to longer works. I wonder if you disagree, as I do, considering that if you take 1 90k book vs 3 30k books, the 3 books give you 3 shots at rankings as well as algo boost from releasing more often (correct me if I'm wrong here). Cheers


I was wondering about that myself.


----------



## KMatthew

DGS said:


> KM, I am hearing people say under new KU it makes sense to transition to longer works. I wonder if you disagree, as I do, considering that if you take 1 90k book vs 3 30k books, the 3 books give you 3 shots at rankings as well as algo boost from releasing more often (correct me if I'm wrong here). Cheers


I have no opinion on this at this time.


----------



## Julianna

For brand new writers, do you think it's still a good idea to begin writing in erotica and then transition to erotic romance, or just begin in erotic romance? I like them both so not sure which to do first.


----------



## DGS

Julianna said:


> For brand new writers, do you think it's still a good idea to begin writing in erotica and then transition to erotic romance, or just begin in erotic romance? I like them both so not sure which to do first.


I would recommend ER and I think KM will do the same, more exposure.


----------



## FanOfFantasy

Hello there, and a pleasure to meet all of you!

Like many posting in this thread, I've been incredibly inspired by KMatthew's incredible successes, and in the last couple of weeks I've jumped into the fray. After years of mulling over a particular fantasy world for novelization, I was ready to move forward quickly once I made the commitment, and that's exactly what I did. 

At this point I'm three 12,500 word books into my serial, with three more plotted out to finish out the "first act" of my long-running serialization. But having hammered through them, I have a few questions, most specific to the erotica element of the books.

1. In each 12,500 word book I have 3-4 extended sex scenes. While this is completely okay in an "erotica" novel, it's quite a lot for a "romance" novel... right? Is there any way to position a serial with that level of sex content in "romance", so it can benefit from the larger reader base?

2. Is there a readily available list of "taboo" topics that Amazon and other publishers will punish you for writing? I know that incest and underage sex have been big topics, and while my stories don't have either of those elements, there are forced sex (or outright rape) scenes once in a while that I hope don't result in censorship. I'd love to know what I'm up against when my storytelling takes me in an unusual direction. (Regarding the forced sex, it's a major plot point and the protagonist comes to the rescue of the victim, not the entire sexual storyline of the book.)

3. My plan is to wait until I have each "act" complete before I publish anything, in this case, six serials totaling about 75k words. There are a couple of reasons - first, I want readers to be able to buy the next book when they finish the last one, second, I would like to have more than a couple of titles attached to my author, and third, I don't want to lose faith in my concept two books in because I'm not seeing results... better to finish the whole thing and hope for the best. What do you all think of that strategy?

4. This is kind of a silly question... any suggestions for positioning the pen name as a male or female? Conventional wisdom says that female-penned erotica will sell better, but I'm curious if there's any truth to that. The pen name is kind of a red herring, but if there are potential benefits to either side, it's worth thinking about. 

5. Finally... as my username states, I am a fan of fantasy. This six title serial is all magic and mysticism and old-timey robes and whatnot. Any particular suggestions for performing well in this sub-genre?

Thank you all so much for being here. I'm just glad that this forum (and KMatthew's work ethic) have inspired me to stop thinking about writing and START WRITING. I welcome any user to correspond here or through PM. Thanks!


----------



## mica

FanOfFantasy said:


> Hello there, and a pleasure to meet all of you!
> 
> Like many posting in this thread, I've been incredibly inspired by KMatthew's incredible successes, and in the last couple of weeks I've jumped into the fray. After years of mulling over a particular fantasy world for novelization, I was ready to move forward quickly once I made the commitment, and that's exactly what I did.
> 
> At this point I'm three 12,500 word books into my serial, with three more plotted out to finish out the "first act" of my long-running serialization. But having hammered through them, I have a few questions, most specific to the erotica element of the books.
> 
> 1. In each 12,500 word book I have 3-4 extended sex scenes. While this is completely okay in an "erotica" novel, it's quite a lot for a "romance" novel... right? Is there any way to position a serial with that level of sex content in "romance", so it can benefit from the larger reader base?
> 
> 2. Is there a readily available list of "taboo" topics that Amazon and other publishers will punish you for writing? I know that incest and underage sex have been big topics, and while my stories don't have either of those elements, there are forced sex (or outright rape) scenes once in a while that I hope don't result in censorship. I'd love to know what I'm up against when my storytelling takes me in an unusual direction. (Regarding the forced sex, it's a major plot point and the protagonist comes to the rescue of the victim, not the entire sexual storyline of the book.)
> 
> 3. My plan is to wait until I have each "act" complete before I publish anything, in this case, six serials totaling about 75k words. There are a couple of reasons - first, I want readers to be able to buy the next book when they finish the last one, second, I would like to have more than a couple of titles attached to my author, and third, I don't want to lose faith in my concept two books in because I'm not seeing results... better to finish the whole thing and hope for the best. What do you all think of that strategy?
> 
> 4. This is kind of a silly question... any suggestions for positioning the pen name as a male or female? Conventional wisdom says that female-penned erotica will sell better, but I'm curious if there's any truth to that. The pen name is kind of a red herring, but if there are potential benefits to either side, it's worth thinking about.
> 
> 5. Finally... as my username states, I am a fan of fantasy. This six title serial is all magic and mysticism and old-timey robes and whatnot. Any particular suggestions for performing well in this sub-genre?
> 
> Thank you all so much for being here. I'm just glad that this forum (and KMatthew's work ethic) have inspired me to stop thinking about writing and START WRITING. I welcome any user to correspond here or through PM. Thanks!


Welcome to Kboards. Sorry I'm a little confused. Are you writing a fantasy, romance or erotica series?


----------



## AuthorX

FanOfFantasy said:


> Hello there, and a pleasure to meet all of you!
> 
> Like many posting in this thread, I've been incredibly inspired by KMatthew's incredible successes, and in the last couple of weeks I've jumped into the fray. After years of mulling over a particular fantasy world for novelization, I was ready to move forward quickly once I made the commitment, and that's exactly what I did.
> 
> At this point I'm three 12,500 word books into my serial, with three more plotted out to finish out the "first act" of my long-running serialization. But having hammered through them, I have a few questions, most specific to the erotica element of the books.
> 
> 1. In each 12,500 word book I have 3-4 extended sex scenes. While this is completely okay in an "erotica" novel, it's quite a lot for a "romance" novel... right? Is there any way to position a serial with that level of sex content in "romance", so it can benefit from the larger reader base?
> 
> 2. Is there a readily available list of "taboo" topics that Amazon and other publishers will punish you for writing? I know that incest and underage sex have been big topics, and while my stories don't have either of those elements, there are forced sex (or outright rape) scenes once in a while that I hope don't result in censorship. I'd love to know what I'm up against when my storytelling takes me in an unusual direction. (Regarding the forced sex, it's a major plot point and the protagonist comes to the rescue of the victim, not the entire sexual storyline of the book.)
> 
> 3. My plan is to wait until I have each "act" complete before I publish anything, in this case, six serials totaling about 75k words. There are a couple of reasons - first, I want readers to be able to buy the next book when they finish the last one, second, I would like to have more than a couple of titles attached to my author, and third, I don't want to lose faith in my concept two books in because I'm not seeing results... better to finish the whole thing and hope for the best. What do you all think of that strategy?
> 
> 4. This is kind of a silly question... any suggestions for positioning the pen name as a male or female? Conventional wisdom says that female-penned erotica will sell better, but I'm curious if there's any truth to that. The pen name is kind of a red herring, but if there are potential benefits to either side, it's worth thinking about.
> 
> 5. Finally... as my username states, I am a fan of fantasy. This six title serial is all magic and mysticism and old-timey robes and whatnot. Any particular suggestions for performing well in this sub-genre?
> 
> Thank you all so much for being here. I'm just glad that this forum (and KMatthew's work ethic) have inspired me to stop thinking about writing and START WRITING. I welcome any user to correspond here or through PM. Thanks!


If you've got rape or forced sex in an erotica, you're going to run into issues. If it's other genres it depends... Basically, if the forced sex scene is written in a way that it is meant to be sexually exciting in some way, then it's not going to be permitted at most vendors, including Amazon.

If you're writing a mystery or thriller however which involves someone getting raped, then it's okay if it's part of the storyline. However it must be written as just a part of the story and not a drawn out erotic sex scene. There are a few smaller vendors that will not allow any rape or forced sex at all regardless of the situation.


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## KelliWolfe

FanOfFantasy said:


> At this point I'm three 12,500 word books into my serial, with three more plotted out to finish out the "first act" of my long-running serialization. But having hammered through them, I have a few questions, most specific to the erotica element of the books.
> 
> 1. In each 12,500 word book I have 3-4 extended sex scenes. While this is completely okay in an "erotica" novel, it's quite a lot for a "romance" novel... right? Is there any way to position a serial with that level of sex content in "romance", so it can benefit from the larger reader base?
> 
> 2. Is there a readily available list of "taboo" topics that Amazon and other publishers will punish you for writing? I know that incest and underage sex have been big topics, and while my stories don't have either of those elements, there are forced sex (or outright rape) scenes once in a while that I hope don't result in censorship. I'd love to know what I'm up against when my storytelling takes me in an unusual direction. (Regarding the forced sex, it's a major plot point and the protagonist comes to the rescue of the victim, not the entire sexual storyline of the book.)


Based on this description you're writing erotica, not romance or anything else. That being the case your books are going to be blocked and you run the risk of having your account banned for publishing rape stories, which are against the TOS of every major ebook distributor except B&N.


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## FanOfFantasy

Thank you all for the information - my main question about erotica vs. romance was whether you can position your erotica tales as romance in the way KMatthew had suggested, and if so, what % of the story should be each.

Regarding the non-consent stuff, I'm not writing rape stories, and I'm sorry if I gave that impression. There is a rape situation that happens to one of the main characters early on that moves the story ahead in a meaningful way and colors the actions/beliefs of the others from the early going, but after seeing all of this I'll be certain to limit the number of words associated with that sequence and carefully pluck through any erotic terminology so it's just conveying the negative aspect. But to be honest, I wanted to represent all sort of fantasy situations, and that's why I'm asking these questions. Good to know. 

Anyhow, the assault itself is plot-intensive, so I'll just be as careful as I can with it. Thanks! Any other advice is greatly appreciated.


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## Gentleman Zombie

FanOfFantasy said:


> Thank you all for the information - my main question about erotica vs. romance was whether you can position your erotica tales as romance in the way KMatthew had suggested, and if so, what % of the story should be each.
> 
> Regarding the non-consent stuff, I'm not writing rape stories, and I'm sorry if I gave that impression. There is a rape situation that happens to one of the main characters early on that moves the story ahead in a meaningful way and colors the actions/beliefs of the others from the early going, but after seeing all of this I'll be certain to limit the number of words associated with that sequence and carefully pluck through any erotic terminology so it's just conveying the negative aspect. But to be honest, I wanted to represent all sort of fantasy situations, and that's why I'm asking these questions. Good to know.
> 
> Anyhow, the assault itself is plot-intensive, so I'll just be as careful as I can with it. Thanks! Any other advice is greatly appreciated.


If it's erotica.. or erotic romance leave the rape scene out entirely. When it comes to erotica most of the book sellers are very heavy handed, especially Amazon. For example, I had a friend who had her account suspended for something similar.

In erotica it's best to avoid: 
- Any mention of teens or teenagers
- Rape, Hypnosis, or Sleep Sex of any kind

I know it sounds ridiculous but people have had their accounts unfairly banned for these things and Amazon is often less than understanding about it.


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## Julianna

Vicky Foxx said:


> If it's erotica.. or erotic romance leave the rape scene out entirely. When it comes to erotica most of the book sellers are very heavy handed, especially Amazon. For example, I had a friend who had her account suspended for something similar.
> 
> In erotica it's best to avoid:
> - Any mention of teens or teenagers
> - Rape, Hypnosis, or Sleep Sex of any kind
> 
> I know it sounds ridiculous but people have had their accounts unfairly banned for these things and Amazon is often less than understanding about it.


Are those accounts banned permanently or can they be reinstated once the offending content is removed? I want to write erotica but it seems like it's more trouble than it's worth, especially since romance seems to get away with almost everything.


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## cinisajoy

To the ones that want to get into erotica writing,  have you read any in the particular kink you want to write? 
Please read before writing.  Your readers will thank you.


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## Gentleman Zombie

Julianna said:


> Are those accounts banned permanently or can they be reinstated once the offending content is removed? I want to write erotica but it seems like it's more trouble than it's worth, especially since romance seems to get away with almost everything.


No she wasn't permanently banned.. but it was a hassle. From what I remember she just couldn't republish the title again.

And to be honest (boy I'm going to take flack for this) - writing short erotica just doesn't seem to make much sense anymore. For myself, I'm moving on to longer spicy romances (specifically shifter and paranormal romance). Those genre's have readers who practically devour books and they seem to be a loyal fan base. I was rebooting from the ground up anyway - so why not make a fresh start!

But publishing short erotica is no longer the key to riches in my humble opinion. That ship has sailed.

YMMV of course. It's just my opinion.


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## Briteka

FanOfFantasy said:


> Hello there, and a pleasure to meet all of you!
> 
> Like many posting in this thread, I've been incredibly inspired by KMatthew's incredible successes, and in the last couple of weeks I've jumped into the fray. After years of mulling over a particular fantasy world for novelization, I was ready to move forward quickly once I made the commitment, and that's exactly what I did.
> 
> At this point I'm three 12,500 word books into my serial, with three more plotted out to finish out the "first act" of my long-running serialization. But having hammered through them, I have a few questions, most specific to the erotica element of the books.
> 
> 1. In each 12,500 word book I have 3-4 extended sex scenes. While this is completely okay in an "erotica" novel, it's quite a lot for a "romance" novel... right? Is there any way to position a serial with that level of sex content in "romance", so it can benefit from the larger reader base?


My erotica shorts used to be about 9k long and feature one sex scene an installment about 7k long.
My erotic romance shorts are usually between 10k-15k and feature about 4k of sex with the rest all relationship build up.



> 2. Is there a readily available list of "taboo" topics that Amazon and other publishers will punish you for writing? I know that incest and underage sex have been big topics, and while my stories don't have either of those elements, there are forced sex (or outright rape) scenes once in a while that I hope don't result in censorship. I'd love to know what I'm up against when my storytelling takes me in an unusual direction. (Regarding the forced sex, it's a major plot point and the protagonist comes to the rescue of the victim, not the entire sexual storyline of the book.)


There is no real list because Amazon changes its censorship all the time, usually based on outside media pressure. Rape to titillate is a no-no in any genre, and even its presence in erotica may be a no-no. If it's important to your plot but not as an erotic tool, then just speak of it briefly. Go into very little about what is actually happening.



> 3. My plan is to wait until I have each "act" complete before I publish anything, in this case, six serials totaling about 75k words. There are a couple of reasons - first, I want readers to be able to buy the next book when they finish the last one, second, I would like to have more than a couple of titles attached to my author, and third, I don't want to lose faith in my concept two books in because I'm not seeing results... better to finish the whole thing and hope for the best. What do you all think of that strategy?]


It's a good strategy, I always now publish at least two things at once.



> 4. This is kind of a silly question... any suggestions for positioning the pen name as a male or female? Conventional wisdom says that female-penned erotica will sell better, but I'm curious if there's any truth to that. The pen name is kind of a red herring, but if there are potential benefits to either side, it's worth thinking about.


A female pen name is easier to market. It's hard for to become a male seductress.


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## mica

You can get away with a bit more in romance than erotica. 
I have read books about women being kidnapped, being raped or abused in some way, then later falling for her kidnapper. Books with dubious consent. They are under the cats romantic suspense or new adult romance.


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## cinisajoy

Rape to titillate is a BIG NO NO in erotica.


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## mica

Vicky Foxx said:


> No she wasn't permanently banned.. but it was a hassle. From what I remember she just couldn't republish the title again.
> 
> And to be honest (boy I'm going to take flack for this) - writing short erotica just doesn't seem to make much sense anymore. For myself, I'm moving on to longer spicy romances (specifically shifter and paranormal romance). Those genre's have readers who practically devour books and they seem to be a loyal fan base. I was rebooting from the ground up anyway - so why not make a fresh start!
> 
> But publishing short erotica is no longer the key to riches in my humble opinion. That ship has sailed.
> 
> YMMV of course. It's just my opinion.


yeah reading around I am seeing more short erotica authors switching to writing romance. It must be beyond frustrating dealing with all the changes and rules and now for some authors a decrease in income. I think i would tear out my hair if i was a short erotica author, one day this is ok the next day it could get you banned.


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## TThames

Thank you so much! I've just submitted my first erotica to KDP. Your work and words have inspired me!


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## Julianna

Briteka said:


> My erotica shorts used to be about 9k long and feature one sex scene an installment about 7k long.
> My erotic romance shorts are usually between 10k-15k and feature about 4k of sex with the rest.


Is the sex all towards the end or spread throughout the story?


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## Briteka

Julianna said:


> Is the sex all towards the end or spread throughout the story?


It depends with my erotic romances. If it's the first book in a series, then the sex is at the end. Later books may have the sex at the beginning, but it's really rare. Oddly, it's never in the middle.


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## Nic

cinisajoy said:


> To the ones that want to get into erotica writing, have you read any in the particular kink you want to write?
> Please read before writing. Your readers will thank you.


Or maybe also not so much


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## Anavar2late

So... how is the smut market right now ?


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## chalice

Anavar2late said:


> So... how is the smut market right now ?


*That is a very good question. Hopefully someone has the answer.*


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## tovadahlman

Hi, 

I guess I am really late here, but have found this thread really interesting!

Out of interest, how many of the original posters are still active and writing?

Also, I read that many writers suggested that their most successful erotica was written first person, from the point of view of the heroine, in the present tense.  I wondered, can anyone suggest me something short and snappy to read from this perspective?

If no-one comes here anymore ... I guess I'll be waiting!

Tova


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## jb1111

tovadahlman said:


> Hi,
> 
> I guess I am really late here, but have found this thread really interesting!
> 
> Out of interest, how many of the original posters are still active and writing?
> 
> Also, I read that many writers suggested that their most successful erotica was written first person, from the point of view of the heroine, in the present tense. I wondered, can anyone suggest me something short and snappy to read from this perspective?
> 
> If no-one comes here anymore ... I guess I'll be waiting!
> 
> Tova


I don't know about the answer to your first question but there is plenty of erotica and erotic romance out there, and just look at the sales ranking and the LookInside of some of the books -- that should give you an idea of what's selling and how its written.

Good luck in your endeavors.


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## johnnyfootlong

Hi, 

I would also love to know if many of the original posters on this thread are still active - it is a great read!

Johnny


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