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Post by K'Sennia Visitor on Aug 17, 2018 7:34:30 GMT
I had a separate erotica forum but it wasn't getting visited much, so it got deleted, but it could always be put back if wanted.  Until then, I thought we could have an all purposes erotica thread for the discussion of writing erotica, or even the reading of it. I have 5 erotica pen names, right now. Amy Allard (vanilla werewolf done badly) Leah Stardust (experimental erotic sci-fi/futas) Tanner Hyde (spanking as therapy) Audra Black (Femdom) Stephanie Kelly (Lesbian) I have a ton of electic writing interests, but most of my publishing so far has been done in erotica cos erotica can be short, so I can finish a short in a day (when I have the motivation). I haven't had the motivation to write a new short for quite some time. What I can tell you from my meager experience is that writing a series and sticking to one kink and pen name will pay off for you. It's amazing how long the tail can last once you get going. July was the first month in a year where I had a $0 month. To be fair, my biggest, most successful months were $50 months, so what I call successful you may call failure. But to me if I sell even one copy of a new story then I have not failed, and I celebrate every single one. I sell on KDP and through D2D, but I'm not on Smashwords or anywhere else yet. I haven't had any book blocked or dungeoned yet cos I write pretty safe and make all my stuff consensual, even if I do like to add a bit of Findom in my Audra Black stuff. But that could always change in the future. If you write erotica you are free to link to any of your books if you'd like, and you can ask questions about anything erotica related. If you want to discuss more sensitive stuff, let me know, and I'll add the erotica sub forum back in. |
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DD
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Post by DD on Aug 18, 2018 1:52:23 GMT
Tanner Hyde is an inspired pen name. |
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Post by K'Sennia Visitor on Aug 18, 2018 1:57:36 GMT
*teehee* Thanks!
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Post by prolificwriter on Aug 18, 2018 5:34:44 GMT
I wrote smut for the $$$! Then KU2 happened and I haven’t written anything erotic since. Can’t say I miss it. Writing all those sex scenes was mind-bogglingly boring after the first few. It’s been over three years since I’ve published anything on that pen name, and it still gets some reads/sales.
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DD
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Post by DD on Aug 18, 2018 19:03:41 GMT
Excitica and Lot's Cave are two different companies, aren't they? I have some "out there" shorts, and thinking about trying to expand beyond Smashwords.
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Post by K'Sennia Visitor on Aug 18, 2018 19:19:21 GMT
Excitica and Lot's Cave are two different companies, aren't they? I have some "out there" shorts, and thinking about trying to expand beyond Smashwords. https://www.reddit.com/r/eroticauthors/comments/70ni74/ama_im_selena_kitt_from_excitica_one_of_the/ lotscave.wordpress.com/ https://www.reddit.com/r/eroticauthors/comments/709vy1/were_lots_cave_a_controversial_taboo_publisher_ama/ |
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Post by K'Sennia Visitor on Aug 19, 2018 7:32:12 GMT
Lot's Cave specializes in novel length incest, especially mother/son. That's what their small readerbase mostly wants. So if you're into that I think you could do modestly well there. But if you write smutty shorts, incest or not, you won't sell much, if anything. And Excitica tends to have a lot of technical problems, and Selena is a really awesome person, but she's super busy, and doesn't quite have the money or the time required to create a true smutty competitor to amazon. Still, if you have PayPal, I don't see how adding your books could hurt. If you're motivated enough to do it. If you're lazy like me then it prolly wouldn't be worth it. But I don't write incest/rape/non-con stuff, either. If I ever wrote my twincest story I would upload it to both sites.  |
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DD
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Post by DD on Aug 19, 2018 17:28:25 GMT
Mostly alien mind control/non-consent/tentacle-type stuff. It's all against the major retailers content guidelines, even though there's plenty of it to be had on all of them. For example: Taken by the Tentacles, which is the tale of a hapless boat captain (I imagined him as Sawyer, from Lost, for some reason) getting raped and impregnated by a giant telepathic octopus/squid/kraken thingie. But I know if I slapped something nice and innocuous (like an archaeologist getting nonconsensually sodomized by some Cthulu fish-people in the ruins of a seaside temple) up on Amazon, the first person to read it would report me, and I would get a full account ban and the CIA, DEA, ATF, IRS, the Postmaster General, and the BBB would all probably show up on my doorstep with a SWAT team and shackles. That's just the way my luck is. So I like to stay well, WELL within the confines of what each retailer defines as acceptable. WTH Amazon or Kobo worry about what fictional people do with imaginary creatures and imaginary abilities, I don't know, but it does seem to tear them out of their frames. |
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DD
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Post by DD on Aug 19, 2018 19:22:53 GMT
Mostly alien mind control/non-consent/tentacle-type stuff. It's all against the major retailers content guidelines, even though there's plenty of it to be had on all of them. For example: Taken by the Tentacles, which is the tale of a hapless boat captain (I imagined him as Sawyer, from Lost, for some reason) getting raped and impregnated by a giant telepathic octopus/squid/kraken thingie. But I know if I slapped something nice and innocuous (like an archaeologist getting nonconsensually sodomized by some Cthulu fish-people in the ruins of a seaside temple) up on Amazon, the first person to read it would report me, and I would get a full account ban and the CIA, DEA, ATF, IRS, the Postmaster General, and the BBB would all probably show up on my doorstep with a SWAT team and shackles. That's just the way my luck is. So I like to stay well, WELL within the confines of what each retailer defines as acceptable. WTH Amazon or Kobo worry about what fictional people do with imaginary creatures and imaginary abilities, I don't know, but it does seem to tear them out of their frames. Well! I don't know, I'm sure. That "Taken by the Tentacles" thing is male(thing)-on-male(person) though, and I think horrid things being done to men get a much easier time of it than the same acts done to women. For example, my second-best-selling story of all time (!) features a hapless man in full maid's uniform being strapped down to a gym horse and taken from behind with a strap-on by his mother-in-law! Ummm... I think we left consensus away back over there somewhere... What I am trying to say is, the big distributors have all this legalese stuff to cover themselves, but unless it is out-and-out incest, carnal knowledge of farm animals, or graphic rape of women, they really do not care what goes on. Oh, and when in doubt, do it to men! And honestly, this whole tentacle thing does not sound like a wildly-profitable niche to me. But what do I know?! ;-) Oh, I doubt it's a hot seller, but I do know there are people who enjoy reading it, and every so often a whole little story like that will just pop into my head at some random time and the only thing to do is write it down so I don't keep it on the infinite play-loop in my head. |
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Post by K'Sennia Visitor on Aug 20, 2018 0:40:05 GMT
I love tentacles!!! And Femdom. Tentacle Femdom should totes be a thing. *adds it to my notes list* PS: just downloaded your freebie DD! Your pen name is super cute, too. |
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DD
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Post by DD on Aug 20, 2018 0:57:13 GMT
I love tentacles!!! And Femdom. Tentacle Femdom should totes be a thing. *adds it to my notes list* PS: just downloaded your freebie DD ! Your pen name is super cute, too. Oh, it's not mine; I wish I had erotica with 19 good reviews. It's one of the favorites that I've read, though, even if it's content is technically a no-no. It's a little more involved and complex than the typical tentacle tale, so I think that's why I liked it so much. That, and imagining Sawyer, of course. |
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Post by K'Sennia Visitor on Aug 20, 2018 1:42:51 GMT
I love tentacles!!! And Femdom. Tentacle Femdom should totes be a thing. *adds it to my notes list* PS: just downloaded your freebie DD ! Your pen name is super cute, too. Oh, it's not mine; I wish I had erotica with 19 good reviews. It's one of the favorites that I've read, though, even if it's content is technically a no-no. It's a little more involved and complex than the typical tentacle tale, so I think that's why I liked it so much. That, and imagining Sawyer, of course. Well, it looks good, whoever wrote it. I was into Juliet, so I liked Sawyer once Suliet happened. Lost would could have been an awesome tentacle story. |
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DD
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Post by DD on Aug 20, 2018 1:47:07 GMT
Oh, it's not mine; I wish I had erotica with 19 good reviews. It's one of the favorites that I've read, though, even if it's content is technically a no-no. It's a little more involved and complex than the typical tentacle tale, so I think that's why I liked it so much. That, and imagining Sawyer, of course. Well, it looks good, whoever wrote it. I was into Juliet, so I liked Sawyer once Suliet happened. Lost would could have been an awesome tentacle story. Oh, definitely. So much weird stuff happened, it would have fit right in. I didn't finish watching the series - did they ever explain the "smoke monster" from season one? |
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Post by K'Sennia Visitor on Aug 20, 2018 2:25:19 GMT
Well, it looks good, whoever wrote it. I was into Juliet, so I liked Sawyer once Suliet happened. Lost would could have been an awesome tentacle story. Oh, definitely. So much weird stuff happened, it would have fit right in. I didn't finish watching the series - did they ever explain the "smoke monster" from season one? If you really wanna know. The final season got way weird. Not that the whole show wasn't weird, but the last one took that weirdness to the next level. IMHO lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/The_Man_in_Black |
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Post by K'Sennia Visitor on Aug 25, 2018 6:32:52 GMT
So I've been watching you guys in this thread and the deleted ones with great interest, and I wondered if I may ask some questions? I've been giving thought to writing erotica shorts (for a bunch of reasons) while I work on my series in another genre. I've actually already started a story, and have been doing a bit of reading to get my head around things. Something that has been bothering me, is all the talk about getting blocked, adult-dungeoned, or even having an account terminated. I want to make sure everything I do is kosher, and I'm worried I will do something wrong (out of ignorance) that could potentially jeopardise my account, and therefore my ability to publish in my other genre. So I'm wondering how you guys go about things? Do you just use multiple pen names under the one kdp account, or can you use an aggregator to publish the erotica and then sign up direct for a non-erotica pen name? Is that even doable/allowed, or is it considered having two kdp accounts even though one isn't direct? Sorry if it's a stupid question, but I couldn't find the answer by googling, and I haven't published before so not completely sure how it works. One of my reasons for writing shorts, was to learn the publishing side by doing. I'd also like to know, given all the hoopla regarding book stuffing etc, what is allowed exactly? I have zero interest in recycling the same stories over and over, but wasn't sure on the rules regarding individual titles, and then a box-set/collection of them in KU. For instance, can I have a series of books A, B, C, D, E in KU individually, then a box-set of those five in KU as well (provided none of those books are used again in another set), or must I have the box-set out of KU, but still exclusive to amazon? (Or vice versa-the box-set in KU, the individual titles that make up the box-set out of KU but for sale only on amazon). The other main question I have for now (I'm sure there will be many more as I move through the process), is regarding names. I have picked a pen name that I like, and is not being used by anyone else. Except, a google search reveals a consultancy company (I can't even figure out what it is they do to be honest, it's all a bit vague) with the exact same name. It's not the name of the person behind the company, it's just the business name, from what I can tell. Do you think it's likely that will be an issue? Or is is safer to come up with something else? Thanks to anyone who responds, hopefully I've made my questions clear. I just don't want to inadvertently fall in the zon's bad graces while I figure out how this all works, I would be gutted if I couldn't publish my series in another genre. I'm also interested in any tips you might have for a newbie :-) If you wanted to start up a private forum for erotica authors I certainly wouldn't object! :-D Thanks again> There is definitely more risk when you write erotica, but it's not that hard to stay on amazon's good side, most of the time. Amazon is very inconsistent in what they let through and what they don't, so it can really confusing for newbies. Incest, pseudo incest (step-siblings, step-parents), non-consent/rape/mind control, bestiality, and under 18 are all the big ones that can get you in trouble. Sometimes amazon lets these stories sail through and then once they get enough complaints, or the right complaints from the right people they go in and purge the catalog and ban accounts. But if you make sure none of your characters having sex are related, all are over 18, they all have human anatomy when they're having sex, are not a real animal shifter, and they consent to the act you should't have to worry about that. Nothing with amazon is ever guaranteed, but going back through all the purges those are the subjects that have caused it. I write Femdom with a dash of financial domination, so I do use a bit of blackmail sometimes in my story, but I make sure my guys think out loud about how they could choose to say no and leave but they really don't want to, making clear that it is consensual, even if they needed a bit of a push to get started. So far this has passed through all sensors, even on D2D, which can be even more prudish than amazon. Of course, men being abused is not taken as seriously as women being abused, so you get more leeway with it anyway. I don't think anyone actually reads our books unless they get flagged by a bot, and even then it's likely more of a skim than a careful reading. So you need to worry most about your title, cover pic, and blurb. If you get dungeoned/adult tagged, where your book doesn't show up in general searches it is almost always an issue of the cover or the blurb. Fix those and your book will generally be taken out of the dungeon. If you blocked/dungeoned a certain number of times you could get banned, at least temporarily, but no one knows the exact number that triggers this to happen. Your best bet is to share your covers/blurbs with either this forum or another author you trust to make sure you aren't doing anything dangerous before you publish. If you're nervous when you first start publishing. You could message me anytime, if you wanted. And feel free to ask as many questions as you want. We aren't Reddit, and won't yell at you for asking anything. Things they don't like on covers are: women tied up/handcuffed, nudity, hand bras, female nipple, side boob, a couple in a sexual position, or in a state of undress. And they don't like words likes these in titles and in blurbs: Daddy, Mommy, Father, Dad, Mom, Brother, Sister, Teen, Babysitter, Virgin, Sex, Cock, Cunt, Pussy (other sex words). Basically anything that could be innocently googled by a kid who isn't looking for smut, and anything that loudly announces that sex is going on. This is erotica, we wouldn't want anyone to think there was sex in it. *teehee* So you have to learn to use code words and less offensive naughty words that are't going to be innocently typed into the search box. I love pen names. I have 10, so far. I like to use a different one for each niche/kink. Amazon doesn't care how many pen names you have. If you get in trouble with one pen name, it will effect your account, and everything you do will be scrutinized more carefully. So it's good to try and stay off their radar, if possible. I'm not sure if you could publish books to amazon through D2D and have your own amazon account, but maybe? I'm pretty sure that authors using this loophole to get their banned books through was the reason D2D lost their amazon privileges the last time. But if you wanted to try and just do smut through them from the beginning, before you had problems, under a separate pen name, that would probably be okay. I love D2D, however, as I said, they are even more prudish than amazon, and their bannings are usually more final. So only use them if you're going to write very vanilla, lesbian first time college student, or something. With the business that has your pen name, as long as they aren't an erotica/porn business you're prolly fine. You would have to be super creative to come up with a name that hasn't been used by someone, by now. I wouldn't worry too much about writing erotica. I've written children's books, Christian romance, horror, non-fiction, and smut all on the same account and I haven't had a single problem yet. As long as you don't get dinged they don't pay any attention to you or what else you write. I will post this and then go re-create the members only erotica forum and move this there! |
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DD
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Post by DD on Aug 25, 2018 16:01:32 GMT
So I've been watching you guys in this thread and the deleted ones with great interest, and I wondered if I may ask some questions? I've been giving thought to writing erotica shorts (for a bunch of reasons) while I work on my series in another genre. I've actually already started a story, and have been doing a bit of reading to get my head around things. Something that has been bothering me, is all the talk about getting blocked, adult-dungeoned, or even having an account terminated. I want to make sure everything I do is kosher, and I'm worried I will do something wrong (out of ignorance) that could potentially jeopardise my account, and therefore my ability to publish in my other genre. So I'm wondering how you guys go about things? Do you just use multiple pen names under the one kdp account, or can you use an aggregator to publish the erotica and then sign up direct for a non-erotica pen name? Is that even doable/allowed, or is it considered having two kdp accounts even though one isn't direct? Sorry if it's a stupid question, but I couldn't find the answer by googling, and I haven't published before so not completely sure how it works. One of my reasons for writing shorts, was to learn the publishing side by doing. I'd also like to know, given all the hoopla regarding book stuffing etc, what is allowed exactly? I have zero interest in recycling the same stories over and over, but wasn't sure on the rules regarding individual titles, and then a box-set/collection of them in KU. For instance, can I have a series of books A, B, C, D, E in KU individually, then a box-set of those five in KU as well (provided none of those books are used again in another set), or must I have the box-set out of KU, but still exclusive to amazon? (Or vice versa-the box-set in KU, the individual titles that make up the box-set out of KU but for sale only on amazon). The other main question I have for now (I'm sure there will be many more as I move through the process), is regarding names. I have picked a pen name that I like, and is not being used by anyone else. Except, a google search reveals a consultancy company (I can't even figure out what it is they do to be honest, it's all a bit vague) with the exact same name. It's not the name of the person behind the company, it's just the business name, from what I can tell. Do you think it's likely that will be an issue? Or is is safer to come up with something else? Thanks to anyone who responds, hopefully I've made my questions clear. I just don't want to inadvertently fall in the zon's bad graces while I figure out how this all works, I would be gutted if I couldn't publish my series in another genre. I'm also interested in any tips you might have for a newbie :-) If you wanted to start up a private forum for erotica authors I certainly wouldn't object! :-D Thanks again> I am an extremely paranoid person who doesn't trust Amazon (or any big entity, really) so keep this in mind when you're reading my answer. Also keep in mind that erotica is just something I play around with every now and then when a story hits me. Seven shorts in two years isn't exactly churning it out. Every so often, there occurs a critical mass of erotica writers behaving badly (straight-up underage/non-consent/blood incest, etc.), which causes a big backlash against the genre. Because the bad writers usually miscat into romance, many romance authors get caught up in the backlash as well. Sometimes they block all of an author's catalog if it has erotica or erom in it, even if it's only a couple of stories and the rest of it is something non-erotic. Sometimes they rank-strip everything, or adult-dungeon everything, even if it's a clean romance. I've known a few people who've had their royalties withheld after the books were blocked, and one who had their account banned (and also lost all their non-romance/erotica royalties). It isn't just Amazon who does this, either. Generally, everything is fine until it isn't, and Kobo/B&N/Amazon/whoever doesn't give warning. For instance, the author who got their account shut down wrote dub-con/age-play with some incestuous overtones. You might think that would be an obvious no-no, but here is Exhibit A right on the top 100 in a romance category, so evidently it's ok again until some 12-year old reads it and her parents complain, and then the "omg the kidz!" frenzy will happen again, and there will be more weeping and wailing. So I don't publish any erotica under a direct account; I go through an aggregator, and use different pen names. I can't enroll them in KU b/c of it, but I've heard shorts aren't that great in KU anyway unless you can produce a lot and bundle them, so it's not that big of a blow. Smashwords more than makes up for lost KU reads with the shorts. Maybe if erotica was my main thing, I'd be a little more aggressive about pushing boundaries, but as unpredictable as the retailers can be, I save my direct accounts for non-erotic/non-romance books. I wish there was a better system that would allow us to write what people want to read, but I also know that even if they made a special adult section on the storefronts, there are still going to be writers deliberately putting them in the non-adult section for visibility, and we'll be right back where we started. |
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Post by K'Sennia Visitor on Aug 25, 2018 18:42:28 GMT
You get like 8 cents a full read for a 5,000 word short in KU, so I never choose KU. If you go on reddit, everyone there is in KU and they make it seem like every new writer has to do it for visibility, but I don't believe that. The best thing you can do is write a bunch of different shorts in different kinks until you find something you like, and then publish a series in that kink. Then bundle the series. Or even just bundle the kink. Bundles are great. Just don't go overboard with it. Don't bundle all your books into the back of every new book you publish. Make your bundles make sense, be a good deal, and be totally transparent about it, and you'll be fine. And make sure you don't bundle KU stories and then publish the bundle wide. Big no-no.
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Until then, I thought we could have an all purposes erotica thread for the discussion of writing erotica, or even the reading of it. 
