New writer seeks advice

[sugarisnice]

I am a fairly new writer seeking to make a little income off my stories. Any advice on where to look, how much to ask for, etc.

 

[SweetWitch]

I am a fairly new writer seeking to make a little income off my stories. Any advice on where to look, how much to ask for, etc.

No, but good luck.

And welcome to the AH.

 

[sr71plt]

Ummm. Sorry, but if you are a fairly new writer, you really have a fair distance to go before you should be thinking of making money off of writing. Sorry, but there it is. Reality.

 

[SweetWitch]

Ummm. Sorry, but if you are a fairly new writer, you really have a fair distance to go before you should be thinking of making money off of writing. Sorry, but there it is. Reality.

What Pilot means is welcome to the AH and good luck.

Sorry, Pilot. Couldn't resist.

 

[Boxlicker101]

Hi, Sugar, and welcome to the AH. Selling stories, unless you are a well-established author is very hard. There really isn't much market for what we write here. Most of us do it for fun and for the recognition of our readers. I have made a few - very few - dollars from some of my stories, but not enough to keep me writing. I keep writing bevause it's fun and I like getting feedback from readers.l

 

[sr71plt]

What Pilot means is welcome to the AH and good luck.

Sorry, Pilot. Couldn't resist.

Yes, although I think my way of saying "good luck" might be different than yours.

It's not like slinging burgers at McDonalds, ya know.

 

[TxRad]

Yes, although I think my way of saying "good luck" might be different than yours.

It's not like slinging burgers at McDonalds, ya know.

Yeah, Mickey D's gives ya a funny hat. We have to bring our own.

Sugar, Lit is a good place to practice your writing skills and to learn. There are some very good writers here and several E-publishing groups among us so there is hope. Hang around and see what develops and good luck.

Welcome to the AH.

 

[DeeZire]

I am a fairly new writer seeking to make a little income off my stories. Any advice on where to look, how much to ask for, etc.

Other than E Publishers, who pays for erotica?

Nerve dot com is one such site, but they don't publish stroke stories, they publish very clever fiction, some of it X-rated.

I've seen erotica collections in paperback and hardcover - I've even bought a few - but to get a story in one of those, you've got to be a damn good writer. Generally, your story needs a 'hook' as was discussed in a recent thread. This will make your work memorable, so that your story stands out from the thousands of other stories just like it.

I compare writing erotica to writing songs - if you're doing it for the money, you'll be disappointed. If you're doing it because it's what you love to do, the money (or lack thereof) won't matter. There's one major difference - you can get rich off of one song, but you can't get rich off of one stroke story, unless, perhaps, it gets sanitized and turned into a movie. But movies rely on plot and character development, so you're back to the requirements of good writing.

Stephen King has done pretty well for himself, (check out his movie credits) but he's not writing stroke stories. Funny thing though, in his memoir, 'On Writing' he alludes to the fact that the first money he ever made with his writing was in skin mags, and also science fiction. (Already he was diversifying, and he was just starting out!)

 

[LeonBasin]

Just focus on improving your craft first.

 

[SweetWitch]

Other than E Publishers, who pays for erotica?

Nerve dot com is one such site, but they don't publish stroke stories, they publish very clever fiction, some of it X-rated.

I've seen erotica collections in paperback and hardcover - I've even bought a few - but to get a story in one of those, you've got to be a damn good writer. Generally, your story needs a 'hook' as was discussed in a recent thread. This will make your work memorable, so that your story stands out from the thousands of other stories just like it.

I compare writing erotica to writing songs - if you're doing it for the money, you'll be disappointed. If you're doing it because it's what you love to do, the money (or lack thereof) won't matter. There's one major difference - you can get rich off of one song, but you can't get rich off of one stroke story, unless, perhaps, it gets sanitized and turned into a movie. But movies rely on plot and character development, so you're back to the requirements of good writing.

Stephen King has done pretty well for himself, (check out his movie credits) but he's not writing stroke stories. Funny thing though, in his memoir, 'On Writing' he alludes to the fact that the first money he ever made with his writing was in skin mags, and also science fiction. (Already he was diversifying, and he was just starting out!)

The fun thing about erotica is that it doesn't have to be X-rated. It only needs to be stimulating. Erotica and porn are not really the same thing. Not always.

 

[sugarisnice]

Thanks for the posts. I took them to heart. I won't be flipping burgers at Mickey D's, though it's always there as an option. I thought there might be a market for sex stories about women who are married to each other. I have written maybe 10 stories here with that hook.

 

[starrkers]

Thanks for the posts. I took them to heart. I won't be flipping burgers at Mickey D's, though it's always there as an option. I thought there might be a market for sex stories about women who are married to each other. I have written maybe 10 stories here with that hook.

There is a market for them. Point is, it is a limited market and you have to be good to get into it. But there's lots of good writers out there, so you need more than that.

You need to raise your profile high enough to be seen. Choose a pen name you plan to publish under and use it. Look at Selena Kitt for example. She has one a number of contests here, entered Survivor, wrote lots.

She is now on top of the "most favoritest" (cringe) authors list. She has her own website, and yahoo group. And she is beginning to get somewhere with getting paid for her work.

If you really want to be published, you have to work at it. Seek out publishers in the genre you wish to write in. Read what is currently available. Work out what they will and will not take. It's no use writing the world's best erotic horror piece and expecting Harlequin to take it.

I think you have a rather romantic vision of publication. You don't ask for an amount per story. You get told what they'll pay. There are a lot of internet sites offering all sorts of BS to get stories. Usually it boils down to "we want your stories to make our site look good, but we don't want to actually pay for them". There are some good ones, but there's a lot of dross too.