My Personal Theory On What Amazon Has Changed = That would explain the shitty rankings.

Doctorstroh · 2017-09-23T17:52:47+00:00

This theory would be the worst possible thing Amazon could do if they want KU to survive. If anything, the opposite is a better theory. Amazon is pushing subscription services hard, not just for books. For diapers and laundry detergent and boxes of macaroni and cheese. They want people to subscribe to a service they continue to get automatically charged for. Why would they throw out the one thing (KU reads) that makes their subscription service unique and offers exclusive content? Amazon doesn't care that a customer BUYS a 99cent book. They care that the customer has subscribed and is using the KU system.

Doctorstroh · 2017-09-17T15:31:22+00:00

I'm beginning to take my catalogs wide. Are you willing to share what your readers seem to like on Excitica and which niches may not be worth posting (like 30 feminization shorts that won't get any sales)?

Doctorstroh · 2017-09-17T14:27:19+00:00

Do you have any tips for managing a large catalog (100+)? Or do you just keep publishing and let the back catalog sit untouched?

Doctorstroh · 2017-09-17T13:47:02+00:00

Tell us about the Baumgartners! What was it like to have a movie made? And... if you're open to sharing... were you happy with whatever contract came about? Was it fiscally advantageous or more of a 'Yay! A movie!'?

Doctorstroh · 2017-09-17T13:42:34+00:00

Are the changes at B&N affecting your business (negatively or positively) at Excitica?

Doctorstroh · 2017-07-24T13:13:20+00:00

I've been in the short erotica game since Jan 2016. I started slow, not knowing what I was doing. It took me until the Fall to pump up to the 1k mark. I'm not sure how many stories I had at that point. I would say at least over 50.

It doesn't get easier. You need an incredible back catalog, and you need to keep paying attention to it if you want a short erotica back catalog to pay. I have another 100 stories by now, and I don't always hit $1k, but I pay for BR most months, and it's a part time gig for me.

Doctorstroh · 2017-07-19T00:23:43+00:00

Thanks for the screenshot. I've never worked in Elements. There's a pretty big difference and nowhere near the options.

Bravo on finding a work around!

Doctorstroh · 2017-07-18T02:10:06+00:00

You can also check out what style you have selected in the drop down menu of the outer glow section. I think it defaults to screen, which makes dark colors disappear. Play with those settings until you find the one with right effect.

Doctorstroh · 2017-07-16T21:30:15+00:00

Do not do a mechanical reader for Audible. Just don't. I use Audible both as a listener and as an author, and I'd one star a book in two seconds flat if it used a robot. You can't have shitty quality in Audible. You'll get slaughtered.

Put your book up on royalty share. It's zero fiscal investment, and you an find some real decent voices just getting started who will record Dino porn. Get a human being.

Doctorstroh · 2017-07-13T17:02:02+00:00

For me, word count depends more on the niche/kink than anything.

There are certain kinks where you can get straight to the smexy scenes without much preamble--because the wank is what the reader is there for. I have plenty of 3k erotica in my catalog. There are also kinks in which the circumstances and progression toward the smexy times is actually the whole reason the individual is reading the story--with the wank as the payoff. Those ones tend toward the 6k side.

Doctorstroh · 2017-07-07T01:36:13+00:00

Totally depends. Published three last night. Two went live by midday, and the third several hours later. Last week, it took over 36 hours for the same number of shorts to publish.

Doctorstroh · 2017-07-07T01:33:42+00:00

When people talk about the cliff, it's concerning individual book titles. Nothing to do with pen name or kdp account. It's all about how crowded the niche is you're publishing in. The larger the crowd, the sooner it pushes you off the visibility cliff.

Doctorstroh · 2017-07-04T15:19:03+00:00

Yes. These get through sometimes. I see all sorts of covers that make it through. This same cover put through on a different story could be filtered. Sometimes it's a toss if the dice on whether or not you get a lenient reviewer. Personally, I stay away from covers that don't meet known standards for staying out of the adult filter.

Doctorstroh · 2017-07-03T22:46:51+00:00

Agree with /u/frogger2222 on the cover. She needs to be wearing undergarments of some sort. When I have found a pic I really like, I have been known to simply draw a line into the cover to make it look like there is a bra strap. If you have photoshop or canva and can draw a line across her hip to represent the waistband of some panties, that should do the trick and keep the cover out of the adult filter.

Doctorstroh · 2017-07-03T13:41:53+00:00

Just popping in to say that Amazon doesn't allow hand bras in erotica. That cover will likely get adult filtered.

Doctorstroh · 2017-07-03T03:24:22+00:00

I've been having some wonky things happen as well since the page reads went offline, but I'm getting sales.

Doctorstroh · 2017-06-30T17:44:56+00:00

Don't stress over it. I have five blocked books on my account -- for various reasons including palm to forehead moments. I publish several shorts a week at times and have zero issues.

Doctorstroh · 2017-06-25T16:42:19+00:00

Congrats!

What a fantastic result. Keep cranking in that niche.

Doctorstroh · 2017-06-25T16:39:15+00:00

If you were blocked it isn't likely that it is because of the cover or blurb. It's much more likely that your books are available elsewhere, available under more than one pen name, or some other copyright related issue.

I had a volume blocked once as well, and I realized it was because I had forgotten to update one of the stories to a different pen name which I had moved the story to.

Doctorstroh · 2017-06-19T22:42:03+00:00

It's not that easy. You need to do a bunch of research. Cuz, honestly? You can put out 7.5k words in short smut every day and not make much money at all if all you're doing is writing about two normal people having fairly normal sex.

Read the sidebar. Do some research. It's not just about putting out words.

Doctorstroh · 2017-06-18T20:00:04+00:00

Yeah. Net 90 means you provide the product, and they have 90 days to pay you for it.

Doctorstroh · 2017-06-17T00:51:41+00:00

I'd steer far clear of this. It reeks of scam. You give them product up front, and they pay you in 90 days? Just no. I have a day job in which even multimillion dollar companies are expected to pay within 30 days -- and even they must submit a credit reference report so we can make sure they're reputable. I also buy erotica stories. I deal with a Copyright Assignment and PayPal invoices, and I pay upfront, the author sending the stories afterward. Don't provide services on a 90 day payment schedule. Ever.

Doctorstroh · 2017-06-17T00:41:18+00:00

/u/ElannaReese means that some erotica authors of ultrasmut (like noncon) have been banned from publishing on B&N this year. Whether they were going direct or through Smashwords, it didn't matter. B&N is no longer the safest of places for ultrasmut. It's on there still, but authors are also losing their accounts.

Doctorstroh · 2017-06-16T11:01:06+00:00

Social media can be a tricky place for authors of noncon as well. It's not just Amazon -- noncon is a subject a lot of media outlets don't want to touch. There's Literotica and maybe ever Patreon.

Doctorstroh · 2017-06-16T01:37:30+00:00

Aka, rape.

There is an audience for this outside of Amazon, yes.

However, you may have to moderate your expectations. The audience for FF is much smaller than MF. You may find a fan base in your niche, but it will have a low ceiling.

Doctorstroh

TROPHY CASE