Making a Living Writing Erotica

Renee Rose's getting-started story (and what she's learned) is highly instructive:

When I fell into writing spanking romance, I got lucky. It just so happened that the thing I wanted to write most in the world also happened to be a niche in which it’s easy to make a solid living. Within six months I was making enough each month to pay the mortgage and in a year I was making what I consider a full-time living. I read a figure (which I’m sorry, I can’t seem to dig up the reference now) that only seven percent of authors make it to five figures a year.  Really? I’m in the top seven percent?  Am I that good?  Nope. Not at all.
I cringe over some of my earlier works–overly wordy with too much passive voice, overused words like “that” and beating the reader over the head with the character’s emotions. But I always think how lucky I was to be able to hone my craft while still making money. I didn’t spend the last two years working on one perfect novel. I wrote 20 novellas, which provide a passive income stream while I work on the new books.

Be a Big Fish in a Small Sea – Find your Niche
The trick, I think to making a living writing erotica, is to find that targeted niche. Spanking romance is one of them. We learned at Eroticon 2014 from Josephine Myles and Anna Martin that M/M Erotic Romance is another highly lucrative niche.  I’m quite certain there are a great deal of other ones, and I’d love it if you’d add them to the comments to help other writers.  It’s easier to make a name for yourself amongst a smaller pool of books. There are many ready-made markets out there to small, targeted niches.  Spanking romance is far smaller a pool than BDSM. I think it was quite easy for me to get noticed and gather a following in this smaller pool.

Read the full article here: http://writesexright.com/blog/renee-rose-making-living-writing-erotica/
photo credit: Top Floor Painting via photopin (license)

Make $10k a Month Writing Erotica

You'll definitely want to listen to this podcast interview with a successful erotica writer.

Listen here: http://authormarketingclub.com/blog/podcast-how-to-make-10000-a-month-writing-erotica-books/

The highlights

• 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.

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

Points above from the author's original Kboard post here: http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,162157.0.html photo credit: Bridal Boudoir via photopin (license)

How to Write a Good Sex Scene

There's a certain sense in which a sex scene is like any other scene: the plot has to advance or we have to learn something important about the characters, something has to shift or change between the beginning and the end of the scene. But, refreshingly, G. Doucette also says this:

2. Sex scenes are not like anything else. The relationship between the reader and the writer is slightly different in a sex scene. The writer is trying to convey a mood and a feeling that... well, there's no easy way to say this: The writer is trying to turn the reader on. This means figuring out how to use words to establish a mood and a rhythm and a feeling that I can't really describe accurately in polite company. It's a skill that is just not really applicable to any other kind of fiction writing. A novel also has to have the kind of authorial voice that allows for the sort of tone necessary to establish that rhythm and mood. And this means...

 Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/g-doucette/how-to-write-a-good-sex-s_b_4957087.html

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Erotica Writing Tips from K.D. Grace

4) Always remember the same rules apply for good erotica that apply for any other story. Sex should never be gratuitous. It should always serve a purpose. Sex should move the story forward. Sex should give us insight into the characters we didn’t have before. Sex is a fabulous tool to create the chaos or the bliss needed to shape the plot.

Source: http://howtowriteeroticfiction.blogspot.com/2014/09/five-tips-from-k-d-grace.html


photo credit: Blue Monday via photopin (license)

Erotica Writing Tips from Justine Elyot

1) Start by writing about what turns you on. Don't worry about catering for every taste – you can't.

2) Don't be coy. Don’t fret about what people will think of you, or your writing will feel watered down and lacking in force.

3) A lot of the eroticism of a story will come from the characters, the predicaments, the settings or other details. Don't invest everything in the acts themselves.

4) Hmm, a lot of 'don'ts' here. Don't take any notice of a list full of don'ts.

5) Do enjoy it, or it won't work.
Almost everything wrong with an early draft can be fixed with thorough revisions.

Source: http://howtowriteeroticfiction.blogspot.com/2014/10/five-tips-from-justine-elyot.html

Getting Started on Good Reads for Erotica Writers

Renee Rose tells how to deal with that necessary evil, GoodReads. Here's an excerpt from the middle of her article so you can see she knows her shit:

IMPORTANT:  This should go without saying, but I was overly critical at first and a friend of mine just posted about this.  If you are an author and have an author account, it does not behoove you to leave negative reviews of other author’s books using that account. You’re just asking for bad karma.

2)  If your books are not already in Goodreads (search first), you can add them by hitting “Manually add a book”.  Enter the ISBN or Amazon number and upload your cover pic and you’re good to go.  You can also add a book in advance of your book release this way and get people to add it to their TBR list.

3).  Mark your own books as read (but don’t add any star ratings or reviews!) and then add categories for your book (e.g., paranormal MM, BBW, domestic discipline, Net Galley Read, cheap smut– whatever you want listed for your book)

4) Add them to any Listopia lists. For my friends in my genre, I just set up the “Best Domestic Discipline Books of 2015.”  Please add yours and any favorites you have so far.

If there isn’t a good Listopia list for you book, create one (e.g., Best Lesbian BDSM of 2015).  Obviously add some other books to that list, so it doesn’t just include your book, and invite others to add to it.

Renee instructs you step by step, with screenshots, on how to set up your GoodReads author account the right way.

Read the whole article here: http://writesexright.com/columnists/renee-rose/goodreads-and-the-rated-review/



photo credit: Potter files via photopin (license)

Erotica Writing Tips from George Storey

1. Writing a story is like seducing a lover. You want to intrigue, delight and ultimately move your reader so that she or he will want to come back to your imaginary world over and over again. It’s a tall order, but the easiest way I’ve found to connect with my ideal reader is to write about what intrigues, fascinates and turns me on. It doesn’t always have to be based on real experience. I’ve discovered many new varieties of sexual pleasure in fantasy, and later in the flesh, through my explorations for a story. However, unlike a lover, a reader can always tell when you’re faking it, so make sure you want to be there and enjoy.

2. When planning a seduction, you dress to look your best, turn on the charm, and give your partner your full attention. How does this translate into a story? Don’t stint on the planning phase. Let the ideas simmer, play around with the plot and characters, let them take on a life of their own. The “charm” is your willingness to make the scenes and all the senses come alive. Paint a picture for your reader, but also write a symphony of language and cook up deliciously naughty scents and tastes. Finally, a strong first line that grabs ‘em by the nose, quick and clever transitions, and a satisfying final line are the literary equivalents of courtesy to your “date.”

Source: http://howtowriteeroticfiction.blogspot.com/2014/11/five-tips-from-donna-george-storey.html

5 Erotic Writing Tips from Tilly Hunter

1. Turn off your inner censor... 

You can’t write about sex with a projection of your mother, father, gran, uncle, priest or teacher sitting on your shoulder expressing shock or moral outrage at every sentence. If you have young children or a sensitive job, you’ll probably need to pick yourself a pseudonym and guard it closely. Then you can give yourself permission to write freely, unrestrainedly, uninhibitedly. Without anyone whispering to you that it’s not art, that it’s cheap and smutty, that it’s wrong or filthy.

2. ...then write dirty 

I mean really dirty. Think of a sexual act that you, personally, find shocking, or weird, or distasteful, or even disgusting. Then write a short scene incorporating that act. And not in a shocking, weird, distasteful or disgusting way. In a way that is hot and positive and leaves you with that tight little feeling in your throat. Even if you never show this to another soul, I think it’s useful to get the worst you can think of out of your system rather than tiptoeing towards more and more risqué things and also to learn how to make anything sexy, even if it’s totally beyond your own experience or fantasies. Another useful exercise is to make something really mundane sound hot. Something like knitting, say...

Source: Tips from Tilly Hunter

The Do's and Don'ts of Writing Erotica

A few years ago at LitReactor they published a great article called The Do's and Dont's of Writing Erotic Fiction. See the excerpt below:

Sex is at the heart of what it means to be human. It’s vitally important to nearly all of us. It’s a driving force in our daily lives (even when we’re celibate), and its mysteries are infinite. So it bewilders me that — as a rule — erotica is seldom taken seriously, either by writers or readers. Intelligent, well-written erotica is a rare, rare thing (and I’ve been looking for it all of my life).
I believe that in order to write well about sex, we have to resist the version of sexuality that’s brandished at us every day by the advertising and fashion industry: most especially the idea that we can only be aroused by superficiality and perfection. How can we make sex — on the page as well as in life — less a performance and more a source of communion? How can we go deeper?
The following are some of my own tips for writing erotic fiction:

---

1. Respect The Genre. Respect The Reader

Bring the same attention and regard to writing about sex as you would to anything else you’d write. Assume the reader wants — and is capable of appreciating — something beyond a jerk-off vehicle. There’s nothing wrong with getting off — I always hope my readers are getting off on what I write! — but I want to affect people between the ears as much as between the legs.

See the rest of the article here.


 photo credit: The Keys via photopin (license)

At Last, Quality Resources for Erotica Writers

In my own journey as a beginning erotica writer, I've it's actually been somewhat difficult to find good resources and helpful advice. I think many people get into writing erotica and get out again quickly because they don't see immediate success or because they feel it's just not their calling. This leaves a trail of internet corpses: dead sites, outdated advice, promises unfulfilled.

And then you have the stuff that's just poor quality: no sense of design, poor production values, rank amateurism.

Much of the "good stuff" is behind a paywall, but if you're just starting out you're probably broke or can't justify spending any money on your "little hobby" just yet.

I'm constantly on the prowl for good advice and resources. Instead of keeping them to myself, I'm going to share them with you here. Of course I'll also be writing my own original articles, but I'm still learning, too, so I don't want to come across as some kind of expert. Think of me more like a curator of the best of what's out there.

Writing erotica can be fun and profitable, so let's have fun and make some money.