Success publishing erotica

[Maxus]

Does anyone have any success in publishing erotica writing either as an ebook or in standard publishing? I am thinking of expanding my stories into the erotica format and would like some advice. thanks

[origen01]

Originally Posted by Maxus

Does anyone have any success in publishing erotica writing either as an ebook or in standard publishing? I am thinking of expanding my stories into the erotica format and would like some advice. thanks

Sure. I just published "50 Shades of Grey"...


No. seriously. PM clarise and ThisFNG--they have a lot of success with publishing (specifically for Kindle and ebooks).

[Pandorius999]

yep i was approached by a certain company for the right to publish my stories but haven't heard from them for a long time.

[haramiru]

Looks to me like the two big indie publishing sites to check out are lulu.com and smashwords.com. Getting a good artist to draw some cover art seems to be critically important, though.

[Nicola Matthews]

To toss in my 2 cents worth, I have successfully published 4 novels and a whole host of short stories through ebook, print (LuLu) and for the Kindle. I create my own covers and own the 'publishing' company that is sited on the copyright page. Once you get the hang of it, the actual publishing part is easy. It is the formatting and the promotion part of it that really gets to you. Just because you get it set up on Amazon doesn't mean you will instantly start making money. And if you are like the rest of us and have an Evil Day Job and writing is something you do when you can steal a few spare minutes between work and family, then your success is going to be slow coming but all the more sweet. Still, if that is what you want to do, then go for it. I do not regret a single moment spent learning the self-publishing business from the inside out (I've been doing it for 7 years now), I just wish I had more time, and money, to devise and implement ideas for self-promotion.

As stated, a good cover is one of your best selling points. Unlike the old saying, a book really is judged by its cover, so putting your best face forward is always a good idea. The synopsis is also another great selling point, as most people make a snap judgement based solely on the cover art and synopsis. Bottom line, don't rush things. I made the mistake of rushing my first novel into print and I absolutely cringe every time I order a new copy and see all the mistakes in it. If you have the money, invest in a good editor, just make sure you do your homework and ask for references and then actually contact those references. Better yet, order a copy of whatever book they edited and take a look for yourself. I could go on and on about this, but there isn't enough space to cram seven years worth of information. So I offer this brief advice.

1. Do your homework. I use LuLu for ebook and print because it is the cheapest and easiest print-on-demand site I have found. If you do all the work yourself, you can have your own books and ebooks up for sale for $0.00 out of pocket expense. Beware of sites that force you into purchasing packages or want to charge you to upload your work, proof your work, etc. In other words, read the fine print. You don't want to find yourself roped into purchasing 2000 copies of a book that you then have to try to sell on your own website.

2. Don't rush things. Self-publishing isn't exactly hard, but it takes learning the trade and knowing how to format your work for various platforms. Ebooks aren't formatted like print books and neither are Kindle books, so you MUST learn how to format and do it properly. Also, most of these formats will only support certain font styles, so again, do your homework and see what works. You don't want to spend all that time and energy making your book look good only to discover the font won't work for the platform you are using.

The best thing you can do is research, research, research. Find a print-on-demand company that you are comfortable with, learn how to format properly, and ask questions. Yes, you can slap together stuff quickly and post it on Amazon in a day, but it probably won't look that good. I chose to learn the business through and through before I jumped into it, but you don't need to spend years like I did learning things. For the most part, self-publication is about trial and error. And trust me, no matter how many books you have formatted, you will always have one that you can't seem to get the formatting to turn out just right when you upload the damn file.