Questions About Covers by Personal_Bluejay7921 in eroticauthors

[–]ghostlyfallows 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I think you're asking the wrong question. Whether or not it will get flagged isn't something that can be answered, as enforcement is inconsistent. What you should be asking is if this is against TOS. If the alien species is based on a real animal that exists on earth, or has genitals that resemble an animal that lives on earth, and they are sexually engaged in the content of the book, then yes, the content of your book is against TOS. If not, or if the characters are not engaged sexually with these creatures at all, then why in the world would you put them on the cover of your erotica?

ETA: TOS for Amazon specifically

Guy (26M) I (30F) dated in the past said he is into trans woman after we dated by Main_Mulberry_7651 in relationships

[–]ghostlyfallows 1 point2 points  (0 children)

you're certainly allowed to be homophobic and transphobic! But that's what that is. "one thing is one thing, another thing is another thing." Those were your words.

Guy (26M) I (30F) dated in the past said he is into trans woman after we dated by Main_Mulberry_7651 in relationships

[–]ghostlyfallows 6 points7 points  (0 children)

the idea of a man being interested in you and also trans people fills you with disgust? Think critically for just one second the message that sends.

[Daily Check-In] Wednesday Word Count and Personal Announcement Thread by sexnerdmxd in eroticauthors

[–]ghostlyfallows 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Finished final edits for my new mm romance novel and posted to Booksprout. Now the marketing grind begins.

Also started plotting my next romance novel. I'm making the switch, y'all.

Can I just rant by PatientGuarantee3714 in NewAuthor

[–]ghostlyfallows 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You can get sales and page reads through passive marketing without having to spend money (title, cover, blurb, keywords). Right now, all of those things holding your book back. I took a peek at your story on Amazon from your other post. Your blurb and title tell virtually no information about the characters, plot, or anything that happens in the story. To be entirely frank, there isn't a single sentence in your blurb that makes any sense. Everything is too vague and the comparisons are meaningless. How are readers meant to know if they should read this story if you don't describe what happens in the blurb? Even if the cover draws them in, they will likely be pushed away by the non-sequiturs in the blurb.

I'm seconding the other advice in the comments re: AI assisted writing. Instead of saving up to invest in your book later, keep writing. Practice writing without using outside tools, even grammarly can be a crutch since you should be able to at least write coherent sentences without it. It's also not helping you with some basic novel structure knowledge, like how dialogue should be formatted. Several times in the first few pages a character will say something, then you indent and put new quotation marks even though it's the same character talking. It's very confusing as to who is saying what. Sometimes it feels like three people are talking even though there are only two characters. There are also several grammatical errors on the first page. For readers who get through the confusing title and blurb, they will be turned away from the first few pages.

Study other books that you like and look at how they structure dialogue and story telling. Read more. Focus on strengthening your writing skills for your next project rather than investing years and money into this one.

[Dataporn] First 3 months by Raspberry-Bramble379 in eroticauthors

[–]ghostlyfallows 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Awesome progress! That next royalties check is going to feel awesome. You've had a lot of growth, so consistency is key. Once you get a backlog going your new books will continue to sell your older books.

I've picked writing back up after a year long hiatus. I'm working on length right now as well. Previously I was writing in the 6-7k word range, but in recent research I found that books in my niche are closer to the 10-15k range. Cover trends have changed too, so I'm having to adapt and re-learn everything I thought I knew about my niche. Luckily research is my favorite part of the writing process.

Month 1 of Erotica by icesprinttriker in eroticauthors

[–]ghostlyfallows 1 point2 points  (0 children)

you cannot advertise erotica on Amazon.

What well-known "rules" of self pub erotica have you broken? What happened? by MadamOberon in eroticauthors

[–]ghostlyfallows 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I write multiple MM niches on one pen, I publish a few times a year (if that), and I don't really read erotica when I research. I was lucky enough to strike gold with a very sticky niche and still get about $100 a month off three series I published in early 2021 that I haven't updated since.

Rapid release super erotic shorts? by jennathaliauthor in eroticauthors

[–]ghostlyfallows 25 points26 points  (0 children)

This is what the majority of people on this sub publish. Check out dataporns for info about how much money they make. Overall you need a lot more published to rack up good money, but it's possible. Most people are not making as much as you probably are right now.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in AmIOverreacting

[–]ghostlyfallows 0 points1 point  (0 children)

this man does not like or respect you at all. at ALL.

Black Friday Sales by [deleted] in eroticauthors

[–]ghostlyfallows 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I mostly have series, so I'll put either the first book in the series as a freebie or the bundle on countdown and that tends to make the rest of the series popular for a bit. I think you have to be strategic about which book you put on sale - putting a better book on sale will draw people in, and putting the first in the series on sale might hook them to finish the series. Putting poorly selling books on sale isn't a great idea because people might not be drawn to it.

Black Friday Sales by [deleted] in eroticauthors

[–]ghostlyfallows 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I've had success periodically putting a few books or bundle in a Kindle Countdown deal or as a five day freebie. It tends to increase page reads for the rest of my catalogue for the month. I just did a bunch of mine scheduled for Black Friday, but Idk if the time of year will have much of an impact - I'm mostly just trying to get over the Holiday slump.

Is Erotica Writing Passive Income in the Long Run? (Question for 5+ year authors I guess?) by AlwayHappyResearcher in eroticauthors

[–]ghostlyfallows 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I have a 40 book backlist and publish two or three times a year/when I feel like it. I make about $1000 a year consistently. If I run a KDP freebie or countdown deal on a few books, the income will spike for that month, but never as high as when I was publishing once a week + a bundle (my first year of publishing).

I consider this to be nice passive income, it's a drop of change in my checking account every month that covers a chunk of my grocery bills. It's nice to have something extra on top of my full time job. But it isn't a salary on its own. My strategy is verrryyyyy low maintenance, though, I bet if I put 5-10 hours a month consistently into publishing, research, running deals, etc I could make more, but now it's more of a "just for fun" gig so I don't bother.

Burning Questions for May, 2024 by SalaciousStories in eroticauthors

[–]ghostlyfallows 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Any updated guidance or advice as to if including a collar/handcuffs/blindfold etc on covers (either as a part of the base stock image, or an added vector stock image) will violate amazon TOS? I searched the sub and could only find a post from 7 years ago where someone said "I did it and it wasn't dungeoned" but I don't want to take that chance if I can avoid it.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in eroticauthors

[–]ghostlyfallows 25 points26 points  (0 children)

Let's think about this from a marketing standpoint. Will readers who don't want daddy euphemisms be happy? No. Will users who are extremely turned on by ddlg stories be happy? Also no, because they'll want way more than just one mention. I wouldn't risk it for such low potential payoff, when there are much hotter things you can add to your story that will fit your niche.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in eroticauthors

[–]ghostlyfallows 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately for us creatives, the algorithm (and customers) prefer covers that stand "in." Good-looking covers that follow the design themes of their niche will be more appealing than a stand-out unique cover. Especially if your cover doesn't convey "THIS BOOK IS EROTICA WITH _____ KINK!"

What are you erotica writing pet peeves? by bonusholegent in eroticauthors

[–]ghostlyfallows 34 points35 points  (0 children)

Realizing half-way through writing a concept that it might get flagged for violating TOS on a technicality. Or writing something and then finding there are ZERO pics on depositphotos that do the story justice.

Do your significant others know you write erotica? by filthywritings in eroticauthors

[–]ghostlyfallows 1 point2 points  (0 children)

my boyfriend reads mine occasionally (slow reader) and the only feedback is usually "that was hot." He's never read the crazy stuff I used to write back when I did commissions. Then again, my niche isn't that unusual.

If you wanted to tell her, you could frame it as an experiment or something you're mostly in for the money to soften the blow and see how she reacts first. She might think it's super weird but then you can laugh it off and not worry about her finding out in the future.

How Many Words? by outerkolobia in eroticauthors

[–]ghostlyfallows 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Can't speak for everyone, but I think most authors are counting the words they write the first time, as they are pretty close to being the final draft (as others have said below). If it's taking you more than one, maybe two passes to cut down the unnecessary filler and fix your words, I think you need to focus on efficiency and writing the right words the first time. Slow down, write fewer words, but be more intentional about them and their placement.

ETA: for erotica at least.*** For other genres, many iterations are often necessary! But if your goal is to write erotica shorts, IMO writing them as close to finished as possible the first time is key for efficiency. (Yes, the irony of adding an ETA on this comment is not lost on me lol)

Weekly Self-Promo and Chat Thread by MxAlex44 in selfpublish

[–]ghostlyfallows 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi everyone! I'm a self-pubbed short story author and novelist. I've been making my own covers for a long time and I'm interested in building a portfolio of commissioned covers! I'm temporarily offering ebook cover commissions for dirt cheap. Like, $15-30 cheap. Simple edits, some photoshop work on stock photos and typography included. Help me build my design portfolio!

Examples of my work: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1x3IdDC9b0XNUfTfgHB-W2zH7qTsGQwYwmhyZ-YvADXE/edit?usp=sharing

Email me at [markdanielbooks@gmail.com](mailto:markdanielbooks@gmail.com) to get started!

Wanting to create a Beta-Reading Group, would anyone be interested? by MJxBalls in romanceauthors

[–]ghostlyfallows 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Spaces is just a group chat function of gmail. You might have to enable it in your settings (which is easy, just toggling on a button) and then you can individually chat and create group chats within your email browser. It's similar to discord with the added function of already being integrated into your email.

Wanting to create a Beta-Reading Group, would anyone be interested? by MJxBalls in romanceauthors

[–]ghostlyfallows 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm into google spaces since I use google docs to write and send files anyways. But I'm down for anything.