Does Amazon still allow the sale of explicit erotica?

Jessicathe69

Literotica Guru
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Jun 28, 2016
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Sorry if this question has been asked before, but I've searched online over the past few weeks and get mixed reports. Does Amazon still allow the sale of explicit erotica?

Also, if anyone has a Amazon erotica sales story to share or tips to offer, I'm sure you'd be helping more than just me. The more details the better as I am completely lost on the matter.
 
Yes, it does allow it. But in my experience, their usual marketing options are mostly off limits to erotica. As for sales tips, my advice is if your stories appeal to any particular fetish, advertise on sites catering to that interest.
 
I have something close to 150 titles on Amazon, in both e-book and paperback (when they are long enough) form that are explicitly erotic and they are all still being offered by Amazon for sale.

I have few tips for working with Amazon, as I have a publisher that handles that. One tip, though, is that one-off titles aren't going to sell much. You have to keep them coming and build a buyer base.
 
I have about fifteen shorts on Amazon and some bundles and novellas.

Amazon won't offer much as far as sales or ads for smut. You can use the free give aways and the countdown deals, but that's about it.
 
I have about forty titles there. They do allow explicit erotica, but they do keep it under wraps but making it really hard to find. Unless you use the author's name in your search they don't display erotic titles.
 
Amazon will publish erotica. They don't really like to do it and your titles, covers and descriptions need to be backed way off.
 
I have about forty titles there. They do allow explicit erotica, but they do keep it under wraps but making it really hard to find. Unless you use the author's name in your search they don't display erotic titles.

They will display them with a key stroke beyond an adult content notice. I just pulled one of mine, "Fetish Xtra47: Gang Bang," up by title alone on Amazon. (And it has current sales.)
 
Thanks for the input everyone. I have another rookie question:

When e-publishing at Amazon, what's a good general rule on word count per book?

Just thinking out loud as I type this, I realize there are different book types (short stories, novels, etc.). I guess my question is aimed at short stories but I'll take all the seasoned advice I can get.

Thanks!
 
Thus far mine have gone from about 11,000 words to 350,000 words. I haven't noticed that wordage is a determinant in buying. The sales price is geared to the wordage. It's more the content, the cover, and the blurb that drive sales.
 
Thanks for the input everyone. I have another rookie question:

When e-publishing at Amazon, what's a good general rule on word count per book?

Just thinking out loud as I type this, I realize there are different book types (short stories, novels, etc.). I guess my question is aimed at short stories but I'll take all the seasoned advice I can get.

Thanks!

Back in the day, the range was about 5k-7k words. These days, Amazon rewards length because they changed how kindle unlimited is paid out.

My stories range from about 10k-18k. Prices range from 2.99 to 4.99 depending on the length and time I put into them.
 
Back in the day, the range was about 5k-7k words. These days, Amazon rewards length because they changed how kindle unlimited is paid out.

My stories range from about 10k-18k. Prices range from 2.99 to 4.99 depending on the length and time I put into them.


Thank you. Do you (or anyone else) use other e-publishing sites?
 
What about the following? Anyone with any good things to say about any of these?

Nook Press

Smashwords (as mentioned above already)

Kobo

Lulu

Lot's Cave (I've actually looked into them some)
 
In addition to Amazon, mine go on Smashwords and Kobe (and B&N--Nook) as well as a few others e-platforms and they all make money there. My publisher does all of the setup and maintenance work, though. I wouldn't try to do that myself.
 
In addition to Amazon, mine go on Smashwords and Kobe (and B&N--Nook) as well as a few others e-platforms and they all make money there. My publisher does all of the setup and maintenance work, though. I wouldn't try to do that myself.


Thanks. I actually walked through the "Lot's Cove" submission page and it looks pretty simple and straightforward. Even gives you the opportunity for a strictly offline and hidden real name and a place for a pen name for the public.

I've also looked at Amazon's sign-up and it seems a little more complicated. It won't let you list a pen name except on your second book you submit, which I found odd.
 
Can't help with any of that. Someone else handles all of that for me. There are self-publishers around here who should be able to comment on such work, though.
 
When you publish on Smashwords or Amazon, they automatically distribute to smaller publishers. You don't need to do that.
 
When you publish on Smashwords or Amazon, they automatically distribute to smaller publishers. You don't need to do that.

Presumably you mean they put it on other distributors' lists. Sending it to other publishers won't do anything for you.
 
I’ve been self-publishing through Amazon for about a year now and also used Smashwords. You may find the following blog post I wrote helpful:
Publishing platforms for the indie writer.

Re: the pen name thing - you’ll need to set your KDP account up in the name of your pen name if you don’t want to publish under your real name. This won’t cause a problem for royalties etc. but will mean you need to set up a different Amazon account to the one you use to shop with. So you’ll need a separate email address. It’s a good idea to have these things anyway though.

It’s not Amazon forcing you to publish under your own name, they just assume if you write under a pen name you’ll want your account in that name from the start, and so only offer you multiple aliases if you are publishing multiple books.
 
Re: the pen name thing - you’ll need to set your KDP account up in the name of your pen name if you don’t want to publish under your real name. This won’t cause a problem for royalties etc. but will mean you need to set up a different Amazon account to the one you use to shop with. So you’ll need a separate email address. It’s a good idea to have these things anyway though.

It’s not Amazon forcing you to publish under your own name, they just assume if you write under a pen name you’ll want your account in that name from the start, and so only offer you multiple aliases if you are publishing multiple books.

Thanks! I could still get royalties to my credit card in my name though, right?
 
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Question: To those of you who self-publish e-book short stories, what, if anything, do you place between your cover and the first page of your story?
 
Thanks! I could still get royalties to my credit card in my name though, right?

That I don’t know, I have my royalties paid direct to my bank account. There were forms within the KDP process I had to complete with account details: I of course used my own name for that and everything works very smoothly. But I never looked at whether royalties could be paid to a credit card. But if they can I’m certain the same applies - you only need to use your real name for the banking details, and it doesn’t matter that the KDP account is in your pen name.
 
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