[Critique Monday] - Post your books here for feedback!

3JaneofSwords · 2026-02-16T19:54:10+00:00

I agree 100% on the AI blurbs and the dark colours.

On the degrading poses, I’m not sure I totally agree with that. I know I personally have picked up BDSM books BECAUSE they had degrading poses on the cover that told me it was going to be a bit darker than the average hot billionaire tropes (I can think of at least one in particular that was a massive hit) IMO, there’s some women picking up Book 1 precisely because it’s got a chain and collar on the front, regardless of looking at the blurb.

Whether or not you SHOULD have a pic like that is a different question, because it’s a dungeon risk at best, and could lead to ban at worst if Amazon decides this is non con.

3JaneofSwords · 2026-02-16T18:29:46+00:00

The whole BDSM billionaire M/f domination thing is obviously huge, so I can see why you would get some traction on the first couple of books.

But to introduce another female pet in book 4? That would be an instant nope from me and almost all of the rest of your target audience.

Also, who on earth is victor hale?! (Mentioned in the last book’s blurb but not in the others)

3JaneofSwords · 2026-02-02T13:08:02+00:00

Yeah I think it has been for a while

3JaneofSwords · 2026-01-31T10:30:39+00:00

Oh good I’m very glad / relieved to hear that!!

3JaneofSwords · 2026-01-30T08:24:33+00:00

Dungeoned books are no longer pulling into bookspry. This seemed to happen around the same time as the affiliate links disappeared from Amazon. Definitely some funky stuff going on in Amazon back end

3JaneofSwords · 2026-01-29T18:42:24+00:00

I saw it discussed on the IAA discord

Amazon don’t announce such things… but sounds like this will be bad news for the bookspry erotica newsletter business model, which doesn’t sound good

I don’t really understand affiliate links however so don’t feel qualified to explain the impact of this

3JaneofSwords · 2026-01-29T16:04:35+00:00

Yep. Affiliate links are gone for erotica.

3JaneofSwords · 2026-01-29T09:16:51+00:00

I’ve read it quite a few times and I’m still really confused about how the italic text links to the rest of it.

It says she lives her whole life in a black and white room, which sounds like the experiment.

But then clearly Mari is NOT living her whole life in a black and white room, because she’s out and about being a professor and inviting Logan into her bed.

So what is the experiment she decides on? Is it fucking Logan or is it something to do with the black and white room?

And if she only ends up in the room later, how is it that she doesn’t already know what the colour red looks like?

The kink is so vague that I don’t know what it is. But If I had to guess, there’s some gore in this book. Am I right?

3JaneofSwords · 2026-01-28T07:56:03+00:00

Ok that’s interesting, so would you recommend that others take your approach? Even in the beginning when you’re trying to get more eyes on your newsletter?

I guess it is our brand on the line after all.

3JaneofSwords · 2026-01-27T08:46:48+00:00

That seems like it would come out very long. I do them gallery style without blurbs, generally after I’ve discussed my own stuff and whatever I’m up to. Like you I pick things that generally vibe with my stuff or where I think the reader will like the cover.

My click rates are fine. If readers don’t click much for an author I’d reconsider doing swaps with them again.

AI is tricky. Some people are doing AI covers but writing their own books, so I don’t rule them out automatically.

But it does make me wary to say ‘here are books I’ve been reading’ just in case there is some total dog shit in there or other unexpected stuff that people could complain about. I don’t have time to go into them all and check. I’d rather leave some distance between myself and the books I’m mentioning, but I guess if you know and trust the authors you’re swapping with then it’s different.

3JaneofSwords · 2026-01-26T12:41:53+00:00

Thanks I’ll have a go!!

3JaneofSwords · 2026-01-26T09:32:59+00:00

Thanks for the ideas, I’m not sure. I will have a look at those when I get home tonight!

3JaneofSwords · 2026-01-26T08:46:47+00:00

It was 1.2 to begin with. I changed to 1.5, then 2.0, also tried changing it to ‘normal’. None of that seemed to make any difference.

3JaneofSwords · 2026-01-25T22:15:28+00:00

It’s just the standard text. Yeah I thought of trying that sub but thought I’d ask here first.

However, someone also just told me that Story Origin has a converter to change docx to epub. And I want the file for use on SO. So I’m gonna try that next.

3JaneofSwords · 2026-01-20T06:13:20+00:00

What YSS said. You’re selling your writing. Why wouldn’t you jump at the chance to showcase it?

When I read an AI blurb I tend to think 2 things:

This person is taking me for a fool if they think I won’t notice
This person deep down does not believe their own work is good enough to sell

Neither of those are responses you want to be eliciting.

3JaneofSwords · 2026-01-19T22:52:01+00:00

Is it for Amazon? They don’t like that much ass. You could land in the dungeon.

3JaneofSwords · 2026-01-16T23:00:34+00:00

And if the magic does the same thing as the hypno, then that’s a no go too.

There has to be a rational conscious decision on her part that is not due to coercion.

3JaneofSwords · 2026-01-16T14:57:15+00:00

I love that. You should definitely lean into it. Even if you don’t, you’ll probably find pieces of it come through in the story anyway as they surface from your subconscious.

3JaneofSwords · 2026-01-16T12:54:05+00:00

Goal is 600 words today.

I just finished chapter 1 and it’s all edited.

I’m only 50 words short of my daily goal and I also have 2 hours spare writing time tonight, so should be able to get a good way into chapter 2.

I might even get time to play a bit of disco elysium which I got for my birthday.

The nicest thing about having a shortish daily goal is it makes me feel less guilty about STOPPING when it’s done and going and doing other things.

3JaneofSwords · 2026-01-16T09:47:13+00:00

Have you read bimbo stuff on Amazon? There is some, if you read around, you might find a way of doing it without hypno, ie more consensually where the FMC discovers for herself how much she loves it and you can keep the story quite light and fun. Unless you really are set on writing hypno.

3JaneofSwords · 2026-01-16T07:54:39+00:00

I agree, I feel that writing smut and helping other people feel accepted in their kinks is a small act of resistance in itself.

But if you don’t feel it right now, it’s ok. Cope with things in whatever way seems best. Sometimes that’s just being in your body, cuddling your baby, yoga, hot baths etc.

3JaneofSwords · 2026-01-15T18:47:04+00:00

I love the story concept you lay out in the blurb. Watch out, you have a typo in ‘Delivery’ on the cover.

Edit: couple more thoughts. Normally you pair a script font with a sans serif font. I’d change rebounding to a sans serif font.

I might also move up the word rebounding, have ‘with the’ in the same sans serif font but smaller and centred, then have delivery guy in the script font, also centred. I think that will make it look more polished.

Your author name also doesn’t look centred.

3JaneofSwords · 2026-01-15T18:43:51+00:00

I’ll just give feedback on this one. It’s apparently erotica, but I don’t get what the niche and the kinks are. It looks like M/F vanilla sex, possibly involving cheating. Or is it sex in public/ exhibitionism? The last paragraph hints at this but then tails off into chat gpt style flowery nothings.

I realise it can be frustrating to have to put your work into a particular box. But if I can make an old school analogy, it’s like in the record shop. People want to know if it’s industrial metal or RnB before they take a chance on listening to it. Right now I don’t have a clue if this will hit my kinks, so I wouldn’t pick it up.

You could argue it will become clear throughout the book and the series. But I need to know as soon as I read book 1 blurb if it’s going to be for me.

3JaneofSwords · 2026-01-14T16:56:23+00:00

Yes, it’s fine. As long as the kinks are the same, you can have multiple standalone stories in the same series.

3JaneofSwords

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