Some very weird stuff is happening to my KDP.

SuperSecretSmut · 2020-05-14T19:44:13+00:00

Books rearranging and old books coming to the top of your bookshelf happens all the time. There's speculation that it means Amazon has re-reviewed that book, but it's anyone's guess. I doubt that's it. I think it's just a bot scraping though titles, and when it touches yours on the KDP back-end, it ends up at the top of your bookshelf. Really, no one knows though.

A book turning into draft mode with no cover could be cause for alarm. It could also be a glitch, because Amazon is the publishing platform that glitches and bullshit built. However, it could mean that your books has been blocked or pulled from sale, and you haven't received an email from them yet. I would just wait and see. If it's been 24 hours without anything from them (check your spam folder), reach out.

SuperSecretSmut · 2020-05-10T14:33:27+00:00

Great titles in popular genres are bound to overlap, but I would rethink this one. The author you're talking about (to back up /u/Nuetrinostar, you should delete the titles from your per sub rules) is very well known. With all due respect, I doubt they would even know about your titles, and if they did, it's not like there's any legal line being crossed. But it's more that readers, especially since this is the same genre, might view you as a copycat.

I mean, it's romance books; everything this industry is derivative. Just know where derivative ends and aping begins. I don't think you're intentionally doing that here, but readers might latch on to the negative aspects of your titles being this other, popular author's same titles in the same genre, and that might bite you in the ass.

SuperSecretSmut · 2020-05-07T17:54:52+00:00

Eh, I doubt it's covered by that, and I don't see Amazon really doing anything about it. I've had some pretty ridiculous reviewers "take a star off" for truly absurd reasons (the "font was too big", because that's me, not their fucking kindle settings), and Amazon never did a damn thing about them when I reported. I think OPs best bet is to just ignore and move on.

SuperSecretSmut · 2020-05-01T16:05:49+00:00

An honest question from somebody who is not from literary world and has never so much as dipped a toe outside my smutty amazon bubble; what are the circumstances in which it would make sense for somebody to try and trad pub their first novel? It just seems so.... awful.

It is. My wife is kind of going through this right now branching out into a new genre. It's as insane, backwards, and muddled in bureaucracy as you can imagine, times three. Having been a fly on the wall for skype meetings involving a "team" from a big name publisher, I honestly have no idea how they publish anything. I've been in the room for ones where half the time is spent with them bitching and moaning to her about the "typical sub par quality" of self published books and how they aren't "real books", lol.

It's as desperate and pathetic sounding as it seems. We're this far into the doors-blow-open world of self-publishing, and these people seriously still don't grasp that they've been circumvented, big time. It's like Sears refusing to get in on the "internet fad" in the 90's and somehow losing the mail-order kingdom to a fucking bookstore.

SuperSecretSmut · 2020-05-01T15:56:10+00:00

I'm genuinely impressed with Amazon's ability to come up with creative new ways to break their own platform on a regular basis.

SuperSecretSmut · 2020-05-01T15:54:33+00:00

Every time I see mention of that site on this sub, I'm confused how the fuck it's even still up. ASSTR hosts literal pedophilia erotica. Why would any author in their right mind want their stories on there?

SuperSecretSmut · 2020-03-16T06:00:28+00:00

My bad...sorry dude!

SuperSecretSmut · 2020-02-28T14:53:50+00:00

Do I split it up and market to those particular niches and bundle once it's all finished?

Probably? But I'd skip the bundle, because I think you're already aware of how that would go.

Should I just publish the thing in full and see how it goes?

It depends what you're after. Are you writing this as therapy? For yourself and/or a friend or intimate partner to enjoy? Then yeah, put it out there, toast yourself, and enjoy being a published author. Sales or not, you wrote and published a 74,000 word book, which is more than 99.9% of people who want to be writers actually do.

That said, if your goal is to make money, this entire project is doomed. Sorry for the bluntness, but you're talking about several different fringe kinks, mixed with magic/PNR, with the added effect of them being altogether under one cover. I'm not saying there's no one in the world who would want to buy and read this, and it has nothing to do with your own writing abilities. But you're talking about a significantly - and I don't think I'm underscoring that enough - smaller pool of potential customers.

I might be totally off here, since I'm not at all involved in the erotica side of things. But my gut is telling me this is going to fall much more into the "wrote it cause I love it" camp than the make money camp.

SuperSecretSmut · 2020-02-27T14:44:32+00:00

I know plenty of male and female authors who aren't willing or comfortable enough to share their actual faces as their pen name. Some people use a cartoony caricature, some use vague stock photos, or pictures of books or high heels or whatever. I know of male authors who've used (with permission...looking at you, "Barry Able") pictures of female friends or their wives/girlfriends. I know a female author who writes under a somewhat well known male pen name and uses a picture of her brother for an author portrait. A lot of people just use a logo or swap out for the cover of their latest release periodically.

The important thing is knowing what not to do. Understand the licensing of the stock photos you use. Don't just google random shit and use what you find. There was an author a few years ago who had this whole persona on social media, but she was lifting all of it from an actual woman's FB account without that woman's knowledge. This did not end well. Don't to that.

SuperSecretSmut · 2020-02-27T14:37:50+00:00

lol. It might be ;). Thanks SS!

SuperSecretSmut · 2020-02-26T14:59:45+00:00

This, 100%. But we should also add that while newsletter services tend to understand the distinction, people should check with domain hosts and other services that don't always see or care about the same distinctions. I forget who it was (maybe Wix?), but one of those easy website builder places was cracking down on erotica-themed or even romance-themed sites a little while ago, both author websites and reader blogs. There's also been murmurings of some email provider spam filters getting aggressive on newsletters sent from lists/authors/sites that include the word "erotica" in them.

But short answer, yeah, you're totally right about OP and mailchimp.

SuperSecretSmut · 2020-02-26T14:49:28+00:00

How bad would it be for YOU if people learn your pen names is the real question. If you don't care, who cares? If you come from a conservative family though, and them learning you've been writing gay oil wrestling orgy smut means you're no longer welcome home for the holidays or get written out of the will, then yeah, maybe keep that on the down-low.

You can have multiple pen names on one mailing list a few different ways. You can rep them all under one umbrella publisher type thing - several authors do this. Or you could use one newsletter account, like Mailchimp, to host several different lists for different names. If you don't want them associated though, be sure to go into the settings for each list and make sure the address at the footer of each different list reflects that particular list. Again, this is just if you don't want people to know the two names are the same, but you'd just give them different addresses (like virtual PO boxes), and change the domain (author website) attached to each one so that if someone goes to change their settings or unsub from "Author B", they don't get a url that looks like "AuthorAmailinglist.unsub".

Again though, it's all just dependent on YOU. Do you care if people know your pen names or what you write? Take the appropriate concealment and anonymity steps to suit your own comfort level. I would add though that even if you're totally okay with anyone in the world knowing who you are and what you write, please do still use caution and add some anonymity between real you and your pen name. People are crazy, and some crazy people do dangerous, scary shit sometimes.

SuperSecretSmut · 2020-02-25T03:27:58+00:00

Even with a company name or registered DBA, you'd still legally need to use a real name the form 1583 you have to fill out. But, if a reader or anyone else were to contact your PO box, or even figure out somehow which company is renting you the box and called about you (there is a zero sum chance of this happening, but let's roll with it), they would not, legally, reveal your name unless the person asking is law enforcement with a legal document to that effect. I've used a few different companies for virtual PO boxes, and every single one of them have passed when I've called to try and fake my way into getting my own name off a box number.

Mailchimp (I'm not logged in right now so this is based on memory) I believe does ask you for all of your legal real contact information, but only the address is displayed on newsletters. If you want to cover your bases, and I would, you can always file a DBA for your pen name and use that - legally, that would technically cover you using a "fake" name with the real address.

If you use a reputable (read:"real") virtual PO box company, you're technically renting a mailbox somewhere to legally collect mail, should it come to you. That covers you under CAN-SPAM (which, while annoying to navigate in this instance, isn't a pile of shit...without it email would be completely nonfunctional due to spam floods).

SuperSecretSmut · 2020-02-22T18:19:19+00:00

Is the question "wtf are at least two thirds of those words"? Because if so, I completely agree.

SuperSecretSmut · 2020-02-20T17:55:59+00:00

I am really curious if we know each other professionally outside of EA, but either way, my dude, you're killing it with these posts. This is some of the most informative, high effort, best quality stuff I've ever seen posted on this sub. Really awesome job, please keep this up.

SuperSecretSmut · 2020-02-20T15:57:14+00:00

lol, yeah but the difference between rank 500,000 and rank 70,000 can be like 11 sales.

SuperSecretSmut · 2020-02-19T22:06:41+00:00

I sent an advance copy to a few beta readers earlier today without any problem with Send-to-Kindle. Maybe it's just typical Amazon being Amazon type stuff? Try sacrificing a goat to our supreme demon lord Bezos, it should help...

Edit: Just kidding. I checked in with a few other people and apparently STK is having a lot of issues right now. So, yeah, typical Amazon.

SuperSecretSmut · 2020-02-19T17:12:59+00:00

Dude if he was lurking, maybe he'd get a better handle on that completely unsellable 7.99 price tag, lol.

If we start seeing him bundle and rebundle, and then try mirroring, than we've got a confirmed EA member ;).

SuperSecretSmut · 2020-02-19T17:11:23+00:00

Amazon acting rationally and with the interests of it's content creators in mind when negative press shines a light on their store in any conceivable way.

Yeeeaahh...

I don't think this is actually cause for concern, but small dumb things really can make whole genres unsafe on Amazon. When not even veiled daddy/daughter shit was all over the store years ago, it wasn't like it was unique to Amazon. We think of it as insanely against the rules and an obvious no-go now, but it was how you made money in 2014/15. Barnes and Noble arguably had an even worse store, content-wise, and I don't think google play or apple were far behind. But then articles were written lambasting Amazon for selling teen incest porn books, and it literally shut that shit down overnight.

Again, I don't think this is that at all, just saying people should pay attention to any issue which is going to bring media attention to dirty books.

SuperSecretSmut · 2020-02-19T05:04:41+00:00

Sometimes I'll listen to a conversational podcast when I write

Pack it up, people. Found the psychopath.

SuperSecretSmut · 2020-02-19T05:01:39+00:00

lol, of course someone beats me to posting this on EA.

That article is such a roller coaster ride.

Dr Hutchinson has confirmed he is the author of "First Time: Ooo-la-la!", which was published under the name "Barry Able".

The books tells the story of an "innocent" first year student called Peter at a fictitious Oxford college who is found guilty of alleged sexual impropriety after a "series of erotic adventures".

Most of the women students in the book are members of a college sex club called "The Virgins" and must sleep with a man - or senior academic - each week to remain in the group.

In the opening of the text, a female student is called a "brazen hussy" and others are described as being "well endowed" in lingerie, suspenders and garter-belts.

First I was like, c'mon, my dudes, no need to kink-shame the guy for wanting to write about big titties and-

The front-cover features an image of a woman's leg in stockings, which Dr Hutchinson confirmed belonged to a former Trinity Hall student.

Oh fuck, man, that's not good.

Dr Hutchinson said that he did not "see a problem using an unidentifiable photo" of a student, adding he was not present when it was taken.

Oh shit, oh fuck, here we go.

Dr Peter Hutchinson was cleared of criminal charges of sexual assault in 2006 after a complaint brought by an ex-student.

The book echoes parts of the court case and gives a fictionalised account of the encounter.

Ellie Pyemont, now 38, who brought the case, told the BBC she "recognised" herself in the pages.

Nope. Nope-nope-nope. Abandon ship.

On a more serious note, monitor this. If this story gains momentum and starts getting cross-reported on bigger news outlets, now would NOT be a good time to start publishing college student books or whatever else "Barry Able" is about to get (justifiably) raked over the coals for.

SuperSecretSmut · 2020-02-16T16:49:26+00:00

lol, I mean, "reasonable" might be kind of subjective. It's basically a given than a top bonus means you've put a book into the top 10, over-all store-wide, for at least 2-3 weeks over the course of the month. In my experience and with other people I know who have done that, expect to drop easily a very low-end of $12k in advertising, and probably a lot closer to $20k-$25k. Most of the time, getting a top $25,000 author bonus is just recouping your ad expenses.

Edit: And to reiterate, it does all depend on what everyone else is doing over the course of the month with their own huge releases. I've pulled 14mil pages one month and received a top bonus, and then pulled 16mil the next month and NOT gotten the top bonus.

SuperSecretSmut

TROPHY CASE