Lit authors and their books thread; beneficial or just Vanity?

[lovecraft68]

Curious on the opinions of people here-published or unpublished- if they think the "Literotica authors and their books thread" is something that has actually drummed up sales for anyone or is just pure "look at me vanity"

I have placed several of my works there, but many more I have not bothered to. I see no difference in sales for the ones I have advertised here and in general have found lit not to be a great place to drum up sales.

The people reading here have access to thousands upon thousands of free stories. They have no need to spend and at this point even if they drift over to kindle or other sites they are gobbling up free books like pac-man and not spending.

Another factor here, is who is really looking at that thread? Many readers have no idea there are forums and many of the heavy forum posters are here to argue or flirt on line and look at picture threads, there is not a lot of traffic to that thread. 133k views in just under ten years is not a big number.

I once put an announcement on my page that I had a book out and anyone e-mailing me telling me they were from lit could get a coupon for 50% off. So the book would be a whopping $1.50. I got about 4 replies.

For shits and giggles I said once the coupon would get it for free and I had 3 dozen responses in a little over a day. I believe that is the lit reader in a nutshell.

But I am curious of others experience. Granted its hard because unless someone e-mails you and says "I'm from lit and just bought your book..." there is no sure way of knowing.

Anyone have any experiences one way or another with this platform?

[PennLady]

Originally Posted by lovecraft68

Curious on the opinions of people here-published or unpublished- if they think the "Literotica authors and their books thread" is something that has actually drummed up sales for anyone or is just pure "look at me vanity"

What does it matter? Even if it is "look at me," isn't that what all advertising is? And whether you get 10 responses or 100 to a post in that thread, that may be more than you would have gotten if you had not posted there.

Originally Posted by lovecraft68

For shits and giggles I said once the coupon would get it for free and I had 3 dozen responses in a little over a day. I believe that is the lit reader in a nutshell.

You know, I really wish you'd stop painting people with that broad brush. You've said several times how well off you are financially, between your overtime pay and your wife's salary, so why do you care whether people pay or not for your book? You made the offer, and no one forced you. Why wouldn't you get something for free if you could?

I know not everyone is in the same boat, but you know how I've said I love my Kindle, and books in general. I have hundreds of books on my Kindle and most of them I got free? Am I cheap? A little. You know what else I am? Strapped a bit for cash like most everyone else. So I don't buy a ton of books, e- or print. I get a lot of stuff at the library free table, and the Top 100 Free books at Amazon.

That doesn't mean I won't, or wouldn't pay for books. It just means I can't do it too often right now. So please stop slamming people for taking advantage of an offer you made. They opted to spend their money elsewhere; that's the market.

[SEVERUSMAX]

Quick answer to that dilemma of benefit or vanity? Yes.

[bashfullyshameless]

I think it's totally reasonable for any Lit author to want to post his or her books on the AH, or even the GB, as a way of advertising. I also think it's totally reasonable for the board mods to want to manage that and put it all on one thread so such advertising doesn't clutter up the boards.

I dunno, I guess my answer is... meh?

[SevenSquared]

Well I've never paid for erotica in my life and never really plan to in the future either. I just don't see the need when this site has such a large archive for free, some of which is excellent. Of course, a lot of the free stuff on this site is, shall we say 'non-excellent', but I can always click 'Back' and try again. And who's to say something I pay for will be to my tastes anyway? I've read plenty of stories here where the actual writing quality has been great but it just hasn't done anything for me.

As for the thread... well, I've never been there. Didn't know it existed actually. If I did open it, it would be more for curiosity about what various forum members had written rather then with any intent to actually buy something. I would guess once you removed people like me, the authors themselves, and random automated web trawlers, that 133k is probably a much smaller number, whether or not you think it is a big number to start with (which is a matter of perspective).

So in answer to your question, I would guess probably a little of both or, more accurately, all three. Partly because it's beneficial (even if it only generates one sale it's worth spending 2 minutes typing a post). Partly because of the perception that it might be more beneficial than it actually is, and part vanity and wanting to see their name in lights. Not that there's anything wrong with that, after all writing is one of those professions that generates the feeling of accomplishment far beyond the actual monetary return. I will freely admit one of the main reasons I write for this site is because I know so many people will read my work and many will give me direct feedback.

[talismania]

I don't have a clue if posting a book announcement in the thread helps my sales. I'm pretty sure it doesn't hurt, but that's about it. Sales aren't why I do it. I do it because Lit is where I started and where many of my most loyal readers still hang out.

Some of the books I'm publishing originated here on Lit. I found encouragement and support from so many lovely readers who gave me feedback and wanted me to publish these stories. They didn't give me their email addresses. Posting an announcement is a way for me to let them know it happened and to find the book if they still are interested. I'm not forcing it down anyone's throat, or waving a look-at-me sign. I'm putting up a notice and a thank you.

And just to leave a general thought... good for anyone who does get published! That's something they should be proud of and maybe it's just me, but I'm happy for them.

[Ironiclaconic]

No idea if the thread helps sell (I might have gotten one sale from it, but I am uncertain), but its main purpose seems to be to consolidate all the self promotion announcements in one thread rather than have separate "read my book" announcements that would likely clutter the forums.

[Fag-Ash_Lil]

I ain't an author but telling folks about your writing, particularly anywhere where it's free, is worthwhile.

I keep asking for ciggies. That too costs nothing.

Sometimes it works.