[Sara Pierce]

So true. I think it would be hard to put out more stories than that per month and still keep up the quality. However, I don't judge those who are able to put stories out faster. If they are single and not working long hours, it would be soooo much easier to put out more stories than it is for someone like me. Public Display of Arousal is taking much longer to re-write than I anticipated, but as you said, I don't want it to just be about a sex scene. For this story it's definitely the wind-up that is the most intense part, and that's the way I like it. (Actually, I think that's the way most women like it. )

My writing pace is usually about 1k words (give or take a couple hundred words either way) every hour. However, whenever I'm doing erotica that pace slows to a crawl because you have to really think about what's going on. Sex scenes are like action scenes: there has to be a fluid flow to them, a progression of events leading to a climax (no pun intended... okay, yeah, intended ). Instead of taking 80k words however you have to do it in one scene, maybe 3-5k (or more) words. It's the nature of these type of scenes anyway, but to race through it would do it an injustice no matter how "good" you are at writing them.

A short takes me about 2-3 days minimum as I like to think about what I'm writing as I do it. Obviously I edit after that (I'm totally an adder, and am adamant about my personaly 4-sentence paragraph rule) which may change and add bits and pieces. It's so weird: short stories used to be so difficult for me, but I see them as short scenes now, tiny pieces to a larger story. Continuing that story used to be my hangup - I didn't know when to stop - but short stories really are liberating and prove that, yes, you CAN finish something.

Blah. Not on the original topic, but for anyone who thinks writing erotica (GOOD, readable erotica) is easy should try it sometime.

 

[jackKate]

Blah. Not on the original topic, but for anyone who thinks writing erotica (GOOD, readable erotica) is easy should try it sometime.

A shame you cannot write it like software...

initiate
strip(obstructions)
while (!orgasm) do
move in
if (random) moan "Oh yes"
move out
done

I think I've just created geek porn.

 

[Retired]

If they are single and not working long hours, it would be soooo much easier to put out more stories than it is for someone like me.

Juliette, I hear you. I can manage about 1K words on an average day, but boy has this summer sucked the average out of my days. Between work, The Renovation That Will Never End, and a lot of wonderful family things going on, I've been lucky to write 1K words a week lately. I'd planned to have my second short story out by now, but though I've finished the first draft (and it grew into a novella, yay), it's tapping its foot at me from my hard drive at the moment. Soon, dear wip, soon.

 

[dominique.sloane]

I only have the one short story published through Amazon so far - it is not selling as well as I would have liked it to, but I know there is potential there. I am currently working on a few more stories to publish and hoping to have the drive to publish a new one every other week or so. Not sure if you can make a living writing erotic stories, but I'm going to try to find out..

 

[Guest]

As someone with only three eBooks out, I guess I'm doing okay.

Not making a living yet, but that takes a while.

 

[Artemis Hunt]

Ironically, it was this thread that spawned me to write some erotic short stories, the first I have ever written in my life. I take approximately 6 hours to write each of them.

In the span of the last 3 weeks or less, I have cranked out 4 under another pen name. The first I sold at 99 cents. Stories 2,3,4 are sold at $2.99. I maximized my distribution channels to include All Romance EBooks and Bookstrand. Each story is around 5500 words.

In the last 3 weeks, I have sold 613 books this month alone. 3 of those shorts have become All Romance Ebooks bestsellers. I don't know if this will continue....but I sure am stoked. I'm on my way to earning more than $800 this month.

My conclusion? Erotic shorts sell, and they also sell at a higher price point.

 

[CDChristian]

Thanks for sharing your experience, Artemis. It's great info to read.

 

[GerrieFerrisFinger]

I don't write erotica, but since it's axiomatic that sex sells, my guess is YES!

 

[lynnduvana]

I'm new to writing erotica but the books I have out right now sell decently. Enough to make me want to continue writing erotica.

 

[Guest]

I'm new to writing erotica but the books I have out right now sell decently. Enough to make me want to continue writing erotica.

With only two titles out, you're doing well to reach that level. You'll accumulate more. (Both titles and sales.)

 

[Artemis Hunt]

UPDATE: Since I started writing erotic short stories 5 weeks ago, I have sold around 2340 stories, mostly at $2.99 each and made well above $3000. So yes! I'm stoked to continue writing erotica!

 

[AFernandez]

I don't know how it's been done historically, but there are a lot of freelance editors out there trying to charge a reading fee plus a per-error charge. Which is bogus, because if they're real perfectionists, they can rack up a bundle for themselves. For instance, they could count the word "ain't" as a mistake, even though you put it in there deliberately, because that's the way your character talks. I think they're doing that because they're being hired by indies who, in some cases, are handing in total crap laden with 4th grade level mistakes, and taking the editor 3 times as long to work on.

I know of only one person who does that and he is a scammer.
A prenegotiated fixed rate (pay per hour/word/page) is the norm.
[shameless plug] I edit erotic stories, including every fetish imaginable. [/shameless plug]

 

[Lilah]

This was my question also. I've only put up one short story so far (7k), but I've been having sales way beyond my expectations. I'm averaging $5 a day- even after I cut my prices to 99 cents- with no advertising and only one short story on the market.

I know that seems kind of pathetic, but since I only spent about 3 days working on the story and no one has even heard of my pen name, it's impressive to me. I'm hoping this means that once I have a few titles up, I'll sell exponentially more.

Soon, soon.....

 

[Vanessa Wu]

I've been at it every spare moment since the summer. I almost fainted from exhaustion in the office at the end of August. My readers send me very sweet messages on Twitter and tell me they adore what I do. But I make very little money. In fact you could say I'm making a loss, if I deduct the cost of stationery, lip gloss and lube.

 

[AFernandez]

I don't advertise my erotica here. Two reasons for that:
- I don't think people are going to want to buy erotic short sories from me/my pen name just because they see me posting. It's different in other genres, but the whole "trust/connection = sales" dynamic sems weird when it comes to sex. I know I certainly don't want to know who the author is when reading it.
- If it's on the internet, it stays on the internet forever. Someone at some point in the future could use it against me. As long as there are people who have a problem with erotica, it's just an unnecesary risk.

 

[Lilah]

I hear you. There's a reason all of my accounts are under my pen name, and nothing here is from my 'real' writing career.

On the other hand, in my week of experience, I can say that erotic shorts really do sell. Surprisingly well.

 

[Austin_Briggs]

This thread is so convincing. I had a rather wild youth. Maybe I can draw a few erotic stories from it, which, with some imagination, may be worth selling?

Ah, choices, choices. So little time!

* goes off to invent yet another pen name *

 

[Lilah]

I feel I should point out that all erotica writers should be posting their stuff to All Romance. I keep finding only disparaging things said about the site, but I have only good things to say:

-Your book is instantly for sale, the minute you upload it.
-Readers are there looking for EXACTLY what you are selling, instead of getting distracted.
-The staff is really nice and easy to work with, and really prompt in their communications.
-60% royalties even at 99 cents

On top of all that, I've been selling FIVE TIMES as many books there as on amazon.

Also, most of the readers there want PDF, so make sure that's one of your formats. I'd say 60% of my sales have been PDF, with the rest spread out on epub, .lit and .mobi.

 

[SamanthaSands]

Hi Fellow Eroticists (is that a word?)

Thanks to this thread and others like it, I recently placed three erotic books up on Amazon. Today, the first in the series is Free. Grab your copy of Mr. X Games, Slow Torture while you can. I'm also considering the bundle route without waiting for one month to do so. Any insight?

Samantha

 

[Retired]

Also, most of the readers there want PDF, so make sure that's one of your formats. I'd say 60% of my sales have been PDF, with the rest spread out on epub, .lit and .mobi.

Lilah, when you make a pdf for ARE, do you just use the Word file as is (8.5 x 11 inches)? It's been bugging me to do that because of how awful it is to read a pdf on either of my e-readers, but then I suppose using a smaller page size for people with e-readers would be kind of silly, since those people would probably be downloading the epub or mobi versions.

I think I just answered my own question.