How much can I make writing sex stories?

[mserotic81]

Can I generate a good living writing erotica? Has anyone here done it?

Thanks

 

[sr71plt]

You can make a bit of cash if what you write finds buyers, but, as with all writing, very few make a living wage from it.

 

[SikFuk]

If you write a 50 Shades of Gray, you'll make some money. If you write a 50 Shades of Gray that never catches on, you'll make virtually nothing. Writing for money is like buying lottery tickets. There aren't very many winners. Even best selling mainstream authors have day jobs.

You might try coming up with a concept that could attract Netflix or HBO for a series, but even then, if you're not in their inner circle, or you don't have an agent or lawyer, no one is going to read your stuff.

 

[JKendallDane]

If you write a 50 Shades of Gray, you'll make some money. If you write a 50 Shades of Gray that never catches on, you'll make virtually nothing. Writing for money is like buying lottery tickets. There aren't very many winners. Even best selling mainstream authors have day jobs.

You might try coming up with a concept that could attract Netflix or HBO for a series, but even then, if you're not in their inner circle, or you don't have an agent or lawyer, no one is going to read your stuff.

One of my small hometown, childhood friends is also one of my Lit and Facebook author page fans...and is a three time Emmy winner with his name currently scrolling in the credits of LOGO's "Rupaul's Drag Race."

One of these days when I get the Pizza Boy trilogy finished, I really need to see if he can get my foot in a door to sell a toned-down version to Hollywood for a mini series.

I know I write better than EL James, so why not dream big?
.

 

[TxRad]

With enough titles you can make a few bucks with e-books. There are other avenues to make a little more but you have to think outside the box. Breaking into the mainstream market is more who you know or blind luck.

So, until you get the checks cashed, keep your day job.

 

[SikFuk]

For the sake of the OP, what would a dollar amount be for someone with a big, active ebook catalogue like SR71? I'm guessing $50 to $100 a month, but it would be nice to see some real numbers. I can just see aspiring LIT authors telling their spouses "but I don't have to get a job because I can make money with my erotic writing!"

 

[sr71plt]

$8,000 to $11,000 a year--from the erotica. I have mainstream too (but the erotica pays better).

 

[TxRad]

I've set up my own publishing setup and sell though retail outlets. I make about 18-20k a year that way, even though I have a paid editor and pay for the printing. A percentage is a good thing.

I make just a little less on my mainstream stuff but I've been lucky that the stuff i write has fell right into what my publisher is looking for. Lucky to start and lucky to stay but my luck won't last.

 

[SamScribble]

As others have already said, making real money out of any writing often comes down to luck.

In my experience, you’re going to need a good agent. And finding a good agent who will take you on often comes down to luck. I met my first agent on a Sydney-Hobart yacht race. How lucky was that?

You’re also going to need a publisher who will get behind your stuff. Not all books are treated equally. A good agent will help you get a good publisher, but then you need a bit of luck – chemistry, if you like – with your editor. My first editor and I hit it off when we discovered that we both liked drinking decent Bordeaux wine and playing backgammon.

Writing is only half of the job. You need to be able to pitch your book in person – book signings, press interviews, interesting talks wherever there are readers gathered. Some writers are good at this; some are not. I’ve known terrible writers who could make a good pitch; and I’ve known excellent writers who were hopeless. It always seems to be the writers who can pitch who sell the most books.

Some people will tell you that success in publishing often comes down to who you know. I’d refine that a little and say that it often comes down to who you meet. A friend of mine took ten years to sell her first story. And then one night – even before her story had made it into print – she happened to sit next to BBC producer at a dinner party. The rest, as they say, is history.

Another friend just happened to sit next to a film producer on a flight from London to Miami. Somewhere over the Atlantic, the producer got talking about a film that was already ‘in the can’ but wasn’t quite working. My friend pitched a few suggestions and, before they had landed at Miami, the producer had hired my friend as a story consultant.

Yep, now that I come to think about it, it’s pretty easy really. All you need is lots and lots and lots of luck, and a good agent.

Good luck.

 

[SikFuk]

So... for a writer just starting out, getting his/her work into the "right" hands, one or two ebooks would be worth ??? a year?

That's great that you guys are making decent money off your erotica. I'm assuming it took a while to amass such a lucrative catalogue?

 

[sr71plt]

As others have already said, making real money out of any writing often comes down to luck.

In my experience, you’re going to need a good agent. And finding a good agent who will take you on often comes down to luck. I met my first agent on a Sydney-Hobart yacht race. How lucky was that?

You’re also going to need a publisher who will get behind your stuff. Not all books are treated equally. A good agent will help you get a good publisher, but then you need a bit of luck – chemistry, if you like – with your editor. My first editor and I hit it off when we discovered that we both liked drinking decent Bordeaux wine and playing backgammon.

Writing is only half of the job. You need to be able to pitch your book in person – book signings, press interviews, interesting talks wherever there are readers gathered. Some writers are good at this; some are not. I’ve known terrible writers who could make a good pitch; and I’ve known excellent writers who were hopeless. It always seems to be the writers who can pitch who sell the most books.

Some people will tell you that success in publishing often comes down to who you know. I’d refine that a little and say that it often comes down to who you meet. A friend of mine took ten years to sell her first story. And then one night – even before her story had made it into print – she happened to sit next to BBC producer at a dinner party. The rest, as they say, is history.

Another friend just happened to sit next to a film producer on a flight from London to Miami. Somewhere over the Atlantic, the producer got talking about a film that was already ‘in the can’ but wasn’t quite working. My friend pitched a few suggestions and, before they had landed at Miami, the producer had hired my friend as a story consultant.

Yep, now that I come to think about it, it’s pretty easy really. All you need is lots and lots and lots of luck, and a good agent.

Good luck.

You don't really need any of that in the erotica e-book world--and that's the world we're really addressing here, isn't it? You don't need a lot of fancy promotion. In fact, it's not cost effective. You need a great cover and blurb and, if you want to keep them buying (and you have to keep producing to get they to keep buying), you need to have good content that meets the requirements of a sizable audience. And you need to get the book listed on as many distribution platforms as possible in as many formats as possible.

There are no book signings, etc. for e-book erotica.

 

[sr71plt]

So... for a writer just starting out, getting his/her work into the "right" hands, one or two ebooks would be worth ??? a year?

That's great that you guys are making decent money off your erotica. I'm assuming it took a while to amass such a lucrative catalogue?

The bad news is that the crest of the wave in erotica e-booking has passed. There's now more on offer than can be crammed into people's Kindles and reading time, and it's mostly the established authors--the ones who got in front of the wave--who have a significant buying base for new works.

The badder news is that you aren't going to sell many of one- or two-off e-books anyway. The authors who sell are the ones who drop the next one on the market before the last one is forgotten from the "new" lists. I drop a new e-book every two weeks.

The last time I pointed this on the boards I got "you can't stop me from trying" hate posts. I don't say this to stop anyone from trying. I say it because it's the current state of the publishing reality. It's not my fault folks are only now getting to a saturated market still occupied/dominated by authors who got into a hungry and underserved market early.

 

[SamScribble]

You don't really need any of that in the erotica e-book world--and that's the world we're really addressing here, isn't it?

I was talking about making money out of writing in general. Erotica is a tiny bit of what I do. In fact, I don't really know any writers who live on erotica alone. Maybe I mix with the wrong crowd.

 

[sr71plt]

I was talking about making money out of writing in general. Erotica is a tiny bit of what I do. In fact, I don't really know any writers who live on erotica alone. Maybe I mix with the wrong crowd.

But the question was about erotica, so I think your response was misleading for the question being asked.

 

[SamScribble]

But the question was about erotica, so I think your response was misleading for the question being asked.

I shall consider myself reprimanded.

 

[JKendallDane]

For the sake of the OP, what would a dollar amount be for someone with a big, active ebook catalogue like SR71? I'm guessing $50 to $100 a month, but it would be nice to see some real numbers. I can just see aspiring LIT authors telling their spouses "but I don't have to get a job because I can make money with my erotic writing!"

$8,000 to $11,000 a year--from the erotica. I have mainstream too (but the erotica pays better).

As others have already said, making real money out of any writing often comes down to luck.

In my experience, you’re going to need a good agent. And finding a good agent who will take you on often comes down to luck. I met my first agent on a Sydney-Hobart yacht race. How lucky was that?

You’re also going to need a publisher who will get behind your stuff. Not all books are treated equally. A good agent will help you get a good publisher, but then you need a bit of luck – chemistry, if you like – with your editor. My first editor and I hit it off when we discovered that we both liked drinking decent Bordeaux wine and playing backgammon.

Writing is only half of the job. You need to be able to pitch your book in person – book signings, press interviews, interesting talks wherever there are readers gathered. Some writers are good at this; some are not. I’ve known terrible writers who could make a good pitch; and I’ve known excellent writers who were hopeless. It always seems to be the writers who can pitch who sell the most books.

Some people will tell you that success in publishing often comes down to who you know. I’d refine that a little and say that it often comes down to who you meet. A friend of mine took ten years to sell her first story. And then one night – even before her story had made it into print – she happened to sit next to BBC producer at a dinner party. The rest, as they say, is history.

Another friend just happened to sit next to a film producer on a flight from London to Miami. Somewhere over the Atlantic, the producer got talking about a film that was already ‘in the can’ but wasn’t quite working. My friend pitched a few suggestions and, before they had landed at Miami, the producer had hired my friend as a story consultant.

Yep, now that I come to think about it, it’s pretty easy really. All you need is lots and lots and lots of luck, and a good agent.

Good luck.

You don't really need any of that in the erotica e-book world--and that's the world we're really addressing here, isn't it? You don't need a lot of fancy promotion. In fact, it's not cost effective. You need a great cover and blurb and, if you want to keep them buying (and you have to keep producing to get they to keep buying), you need to have good content that meets the requirements of a sizable audience. And you need to get the book listed on as many distribution platforms as possible in as many formats as possible.

There are no book signings, etc. for e-book erotica.

Preserving this little exchange for posterity.

 

[sr71plt]

All righty, although I have no idea why you'd think that it would disappear (or that there's anything wrong with it other than Sam's post not being relevant to the book market the OP was querying).

Just doing your usual neophyte backbiting?

 

[TxRad]

All righty, although I have no idea why you'd think that it would disappear (or that there's anything wrong with it other than Sam's post not being relevant to the book market the OP was querying).

Just doing your usual neophyte backbiting?

Since my post on what I make wasn't quoted, I'd guess the not so secret society, is using your numbers to set their sites for the future. kind of flattering don't ya think?

 

[sr71plt]

Since my post on what I make wasn't quoted, I'd guess the not so secret society, is using your numbers to set their sites for the future. kind of flattering don't ya think?

Since JKDuane didn't cite your better numbers than mine, he obviously is just backbiting me again. Backbiting what, I don't know, as I've never claimed better numbers--I write to niche audiences--and I think my advice on e-booking is solid from extensive experience.

 

[FantasyXY]

Wanna make money from writing erotica?

Practice your writing craft by writing erotica. Do everything you can to make readers think, want, and feel. Then take that same writing skill and write proposals that make people think, want, and feel.

 

[sr71plt]

Write proposals for who to what purpose? Erotica publishing doesn't work this way. Even if you are going for a mainstream publisher for print (which just doesn't happen much at all for erotica), you don't start with a proposal unless you are a name brand already and that, rather than the book, is the selling point. You have a finished manuscript.

I'm not sure that it's being understood that, for more than a handful of authors, the realm of erotica is limited to e-booking (with paperback option). It is approached in an entirely different way than mainstream publishing is.

 

[JKendallDane]

Since my post on what I make wasn't quoted, I'd guess the not so secret society, is using your numbers to set their sites for the future. kind of flattering don't ya think?

Quite to the contrary TR. I didn't quote you because you aren't making blanket (and incorrect) statements as fact about such things as promotion isn't necessary nor worth the effort, and that there are no such things as eBook signings, press interviews, and personal appearances at bookstores and other groups to speak. Just because pilot chooses to not do those things, doesn't mean other authors ignore them also.

Our little group did all that and even more with our first anthology and it paid off. Big time! And still is. The Amazon numbers back up that statement. More than 1,000 downloads its first week and ranked #6 in erotica for nearly two weeks. #1 on Amazon Canada for over a week. Even three months after the release, it is sitting at #109 in anthologies...which is 1,590 places ahead of the anthology he released at the same time, and 305 places ahead of the one he just released last week. That's not backbiting or hype or blustering or even fluffing...just FACTS.

So while I and most of my co-authors may well be "neophytes" to the actual publishing side of this game, I'm pretty sure we'll stick with what is being proven to work. And that takes in all those items Sam ticked off on his list. His post was an excellent one.

 

[sr71plt]

I'd love to see a photo of you at an e-book signing, Duane. You don't know squat about publishing. You're just here to backbite.

That you and a handful of "the best writers of erotica" have self-selected/self-published one e-book anthology that you only have on Amazon for the cut rate of $2.99 and in Kindle Unlimited for free doesn't make you an expert in anything. You guys have probably spent more on this vanity work than any of you will make. You're living your dream on gas fumes and unbridled ego.

I'm surprised your secret voting block friends haven't reined you in on your puppy dog enthusiasm about not much of anything as yet. You're a real embarrassment to them. You got one short story in a self-published anthology and suddenly you know all about e-publishing.

This thread is about making money off of erotica--which mostly occurs in e-booking. If you try to promote e-books as Sam was noting is done with mainstream print books (which is an entirely different industry from e-booking), there's very little chance that you'll make more than you have to spend. Don't even try to tell me you've made a profit from doing any of that promoting on a single ten-split self-published anthology offered only on Amazon for $2.99 and Kindle Unlimited for free.

You want to lead folks seeking good advice on publishing themselves down the road to disappointment just to tee off on someone you can't touch in popularity here in your chosen story category? Nice guy.

 

[DreamCloud]

My plan for becoming a financially successful author.

1) Work hard, make lots of money.
2) Quit job and write lots of stuff.
3) Live off money made in step 1.

 

[FantasyXY]

Write proposals for who to what purpose? Erotica publishing doesn't work this way. Even if you are going for a mainstream publisher for print (which just doesn't happen much at all for erotica), you don't start with a proposal unless you are a name brand already and that, rather than the book, is the selling point. You have a finished manuscript.

I'm not sure that it's being understood that, for more than a handful of authors, the realm of erotica is limited to e-booking (with paperback option). It is approached in an entirely different way than mainstream publishing is.

How about a proposal to sell toilet paper to the government? Okay, so maybe creating desire (think, want, feel), isn't a big goal for selling TP. But what about newer better road signs for National Parks and Monuments.

It doesn't matter what you are writing proposals for. If you can write a compelling story that makes people think, want, and feel, you can easily write proposals that will more often than not make the sale. If you constantly write crap that is merely insert tab A into slot B, then both your proposals and your erotica will likely never make a dime.

In other words, If you can write in a way that quietly pulls your customer to a product, your services will always be in high demand.

My point was that you don't have to directly sell your erotica to make money from it. In fact, it is much much more likely that you will make money from a related product or activity. One in which writing erotica provides a skill that others simply don't have.