Monetizing and Ebooks

[Farmerboy]

Hi everyone,

First, thanks to all for making this such a great site. I've had a terrific time writing for the audience I've found here.

I've just finished up a big (170,000+ word) novel. I published the first section in 2008 and have had hundreds of positive emails and comments about it (lucky me!) which inspired me to complete it. The thing is, a lot of people said they would part with actual money to read the conclusion. I'm a grad student, in a ton of debt, and I'd love to cash in a little on my new-found fame (!)

How do I go about creating an erotic E-book, getting it out there, and receiving $3 or $5 from people to read it? I'm brand new to this idea, so any help is appreciated. My thanks to Eilan for recommending I post in this section, rather than the general area.

Best,

Farmerboy

 

[amicus]

Smashwords, Amazon Kindle, Google Ebooks, all free to publish. If I can be of assistance, please PM me...

amicus

 

[Firebrain]

Google epublishing and you'll find buckets.

I would not anticipate a decent income, though. Most self-pubbers are lucky to sell in double digits. Readers do not always translate to buyers, regardless of what they might say.

If you do want to make good money from epublishing: have a good backlist, promote your work and engage in competitive pricing strategies.

 

[sr71plt]

I echo Firebrain on not expecting much income from a one-shot title (the money comes from building up a reader/buyer base from reguarly released offerings) and on reinventing the wheel not being the best approach. E-publishers are easier to find than print publishers are and they will distribute more broadly than you'll have the fortitude to do and will give your book higher visibility.

For starters, you might read the section on how to get e-published in:

http://www.literotica.com/s/some-whys-and-hows-of-e-publishing

If you really want to self e-publish, though, Kindle/CreateSpace and Smashwords have step-by-step directions in self-publishing with them, Kindle is, by far, the largest volume seller of any, incidentallly.

I have to teach a workshop on doing this in early August and am putting together handouts. If you pm me with an e-mail and I can try to remember to send you copies when they're done.

 

[Jake Marlow]

I've self published 4 titles through Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords over the past month and I'm happy with my sales so far. They don't seem radically diffferent than when I was going through an ebook publisher. Oddly, I find my sales through Amazon and Barnes & Noble to be running about even.

 

[bashfullyshameless]

Recent Experience

Your situation with your story sounds similar to mine when I went e-pub with "Good Intentions." I'm REALLY happy with how things have turned out for me, but my expectations were realistic. It's not like I'm making thousands on this or anything. Be aware that there is a delay between making sales through Amazon and SmashWords and then actually getting paid. You won't see the money for a couple of months at the earliest. And keep your price set low. Yes, some of your readers feel like your work is worth $10 a copy or more, but having a low price really encourages the casual shopper who's clicking through Amazon looking for something mildly interesting. $2-$3 doesn't sound like real money anymore, so you'll more likely catch people that way.

There's not much more I can add to what Firebrain and sr71plt have said -- they're both dead on with their advice & input.

Go on Amazon, scroll down to the bottom of the main page and hit the "publish with us" or whatever link it is. Click through to the little video they have about how to publish. It's about five minutes and you'll see how simple it is.

Polish the hell out of your work. Communicate actively with your reader base. And get thinking about cover art NOW, because it's absolutely necessary to look professional to anyone cruising through Amazon or Smashwords.