Marketing Strategies

Tags

Erotica, Marketing, Self-publish, smut

When it comes to selling smut, there are a lot of different attitudes about how to do it, and like most things, there’s more than one way to skin a cat. Some people go with volume, producing mid-high range pieces, others write even more, of middling quality. Some writers put out only a few pieces of the highest quality. Really, the only constant is that all of these people have a back list.

I’ve got a little bit of a backlist, four pieces to be exact. Aubrey Watt (a wonderful author who will certainly be put on my blog list when I get around to it) did an AMA on Reddit, where she said don’t bother checking sales until you have ten pieces up. With that in mind, I’m going to self-publish Vanessa’s Affair (after all, Ellora’s Cave isn’t going anywhere), rewrite the bits of Vampire’s Gallery that needs work and get it out the door, and finish up with reworking Cthulhu Loves Geordi. I might make him an anime fan instead of Star Trek, because I’m actually into anime. Had I been thinking, I would written it that way to start with.

My marketing strategy is to offer decent work for free, while giving people the option to support me with money. I’ve been exploring the marvelous fonts available out there, and found one company, Misprinted Type, that has amazing free fonts, and a suite of ones to purchase at reasonable prices ($15-$40). I love that model. I’ll use a bunch of free fonts, and then buy one as a thank you. Obsidian Dawn does something similar. I’ve purchased commercial licenses for a few of her brush packs (not the ones I ended up using, of course). Regardless, it was a way to thank her for her hard work (at least, I think it’s a her).

Probably the biggest flaw of my strategy is thinking people are like me. I mean, I don’t pirate music/books. I don’t get my panties in a knot about people who do—hell, I don’t even use DRM when I publish. Even without the threat of a million dollar lawsuit, I probably wouldn’t download music. When someone gives me something nice, for free, the psychological effect on me is I want to return the favor.

The second biggest flaw is that it requires me to produce a fair amount of smut for free. The Princess of Cleves was kind of a practice run. I’m happy she’s found people to read her. What I post here every other Thursday, and my smut-on-demand piece on Literotica are another thing entirely. While they’re a lifesaver when I’m editing, sometimes they can be distracting.

Then, there’s the blog itself. While I’ve come to enjoy blogging, the main point of this was to get my books out there, etc. I don’t know if it’s really working for me. I don’t think many people who come here click on a link for a book, let alone buy one. This isn’t an attempt to garner pity, just the statement of facts. It’s my hope by having the book covers on the side, people will look more often. We’ll see how that goes. If it was a matter of people checking out my books then not buying them, I’d just lower the price.

The other great adventure is my participation in SmutWriters (see badge). You should check it out! There’s information for all manner of writers there, with reviews of software, tips on making covers and getting reviews.

A new way to edit

Tags

Editing, pro writing aid, self-editing, Self-publish

After reading the excellent article from Lindsey Flinch Bedder on self-editing (to which I contributed a lot of hot air), I decided to try some of her suggestions. I’m still working on Vanessa’s Affair. Grammar Check cleared up a few issues like “and I” instead of “and me”. Sticking it into The Writer’s Diet yielded nothing but lean results. It was time for something new, so I stuck it into Pro Writing Aid.

I discovered a plethora of problems. Luckily for me, there’s a handy summary of them. Now, this is a 10k text, so it takes a moment for the software to crank through it. It’s nice that there’s no word limit on it. I started at the beginning of the list, Overused Words. I stayed at that point for a while. Dear god, I never thought I was so dull, but it would seem I repeated myself endlessly.

That finished, I went on tackle other concerns:

• Cliches and Redundancies (cleaned up a few good things)
• Sentence Length (I’ve been keeping an eye on that, and it seems with editing I’m also breaking up some of my longer sentences).
• Diction Report (catches dangling participles, which I only fret about when I’m trying to sound archaic)
• Vague and Abstract Words (helps track down words like really and some)
• Sticky Sentences (probably my favorite feature, it highlights the stones we trip our readers with, those sentences that read like a box of rock)
• Consistency (looks like it would yell at if you if had a penchant for the British grey, like me, but it doesn’t know what an em dash is)

Left out of this list are the Complex Words Report and Alliteration Report (I have happy little green check marks, not angry red Xs, for those). On the side, there’s also a host of other little scuppers one can click on. I like both the Repeated Words and Phrases and also Phrases Summary. On my list was “moving in and out of her”, which I used twice. A startling revelation, I know.

Well, I leave you all to head off a play with this software some more. I’ll let you know how the new draft comes out. I’d mentioned previously sending out something for the Geek Love Anthology, and I finally got my rejection notice. I’m not really bummed. They received 300 stories, and accepted 30. I’m wondering what to do with it now though, as it’s a decidedly odd tale, titled Cthulhu Loves Geordi, about gay tentacle love.

Redheaded Step-Child

Tags

blog hops, blogging, Erotica, Marketing, Self-publish, Writing

So, this is a post about sales, blogging, and how not to publish a story.

I see two blondes and a brunette, but no redheads.

Don’t publish it like a redheaded step-child, without even so much as an announcement on your blog. I mean, I’d like to welcome you all to purchase A Tale of Two Clitties, my latest smut! And yes, Dickens is rolling in his grave, and no, there’s nothing to be done about it, all his works are public domain.

Seriously though, the woman listed as its editor wasn’t aware it was out in the public, and a few people have bought it.

To boost sales, I’m going to try a Virginia, and burn out all my free days on Amazon. I’m going to take advantage sites listing books for free, and hope all goes well. Gutter Punk is a hop and a skip away from being ready to rock and roll, so I’ll finish off with that and get it out the door. Ditto Vanessa’s Affair (which will actually be sent off to a publisher).

After that, Vampire’s Gallery needs dealt with. I suspect most of my writing efforts will be going to produce little snippets of text for here and Literotica. I just can’t pursue a complex story and edit.

I’m on the fence about the utility of Blog Hops (I am the last person on the list for the Alpha-Male Hop), but at the same time too, not a lot of effort is required. I can pitch $5 in the pot, give away a book, and it’s not cost me much. Speaking of blog hops, I wish I wrote horror so I could put this Coffin Hop badge up. I might do it anyways. The Superjail! smut I wrote is kind of horrific.

One way I’ve increase blog traffic (and general levels of knowledge and amusement) is spending more times on other blogs. If I’m lucky, people come here and share their miscellaneous head leavings. The comments on my blog about picking up dog crap are pretty funny/informative.

While my dreams of going on a Lolita shopping spree have not materialized, altogether it could be worse.

Some Very Solid Advice

Tags

Self-publish, Writing

Virginia Flower’s had a great post where she shared an image generated by StatCounter. It shows the bump she received during a blog hop, and her sustained traffic after.

She said I should get it, and she’s right. I don’t even have a tag for mine, so it’s not like it’s mussing up my vibe of classic nudes, amateur GIMP covers, and inane thoughts. Oh, and there’s smut smattered about as well.

It should be noted that this handy device will count you poking around at your own site, something I discovered when an unpublished blog showed up among the popular pages.

Preparing for the Blog Hop

Tags

Erotica, hysteria, madness, Self-publish, Writing

So, I’m doing this:

More info here.  (others coming up to, so don’t fret if you missed this one).

I have to say, something’s wrong with me, because I’m getting married July 28th and will be posting with a disclaimer stating I’ll probably be a bit slow getting back to people, cuz you know, wedding.

Regardless, I’ve been getting The Altar of Deimos ready to rock and roll. He has a new cover, a new blurb, and I’ve done a day in the life of an Incubus entry for the hop. I’m going to give away a $10 gift card for Amazon, and spend some money for the pot, probably a $20 investment total. Hopefully it will pay off.

In regards to Carrie Ann, the woman in charge, the words pleasant and professional spring to mind. She’s got some great advice on her blog. Her emails about the hop are timely (neither too late nor too early), easy to understand. And she responds to questions fast. A+, will hop around with again.

On a personal note, I really hope this does get a bit more traffic. I can honestly say, while I’ve had some great confidence building moments as a writer, my sales remain rather dismal. Thankfully, I’m kind of a dork, and get a lot of satisfaction from interacting with people. If you’re in the same spot, just starting out, bummed out by not moving product, may I suggest bullshitting with some of the writers you know online.

You can also give away your book, via Kindle Select or something. There’s a bevy of information out there about people’s experiences with doing this. Mine via Kindle select is a mix of “OMG people are reading shit I wrote!” and “meh”.

The Altar of Deimos: Cover Design

Tags

Erotica, GIMP, Self-publish, Writing

In preparation for this blog hop, I redesigned the cover for The Altar of Deimos. Last day to sign up is the 20th!

For the curious, a summation of my experiences thus far, something I think bears repeating: In regards to Carrie Ann, the woman in charge, the words pleasant and professional spring to mind. She’s got some great advice on her blog. Her emails about the hop are timely (neither too late nor too early), easy to understand. And she responds to questions fast. A+, will hop with again.

But, back to the matter at hand, what I’ve learned thus far.

First piece of advice:
Use an image that speaks to you. I found this picture at Romance Novel Covers, and the way the woman’s hair fanned out over the bed struck me.
Scanning through the shoot, I found this one picture where she has her finger stuck in her mouth all “oh my” and I knew I had the perfect image. I whipped up a quick cover using this great tutorial by Aubrey Watt. Since her hair was what I really loved, I ended up inverting the image and cropping a bit of the bottom.
Which brings us to the second piece of advice—

Never Ever Design One Cover:
Design many. Make sure they pass this test from Popular Soda. My first one, where I had just inverted the image, didn’t. Cropping it to give me more space for the text (which could stand to be larger yet) and changing the color helped:

The third thing you need to do is play with GIMP.

Seriously, it’s just a program. Hit ctrl+z if it gives you shit.

If you’ll notice, the third piece of advice works well with the second piece of advice. These are two attempts of mine. The first image doesn’t work because it’s just two random images crammed together. The second is black and white, which, while artistically appealing, will never have that pop to it. Also, no sexy lady. First image source. Second image source.

It was another striking image by Mikhail Vrubel that I ended up using to create my new cover. I was fooling around with the colorize tool and paint bucket. The background from the watercolor “dripped” down into the model’s hair and on the bed. Once I figured out the right shade, I used a textured paint tool to blend the image of the woman into the watercolor. Fiddling with the text size, I was able to make my title  flow in the available space. Using a guideline, I aligned the text, and bam! I had a snazzy new cover.

I owe an extra thanks to my fiance for lending his eye and his expertise.

Beta-Readers/Pen-Pals, 2nd Addition

Tags

Beta-readers, Editing, Self-publish, Writing

So, I’ve been getting a bit of feedback from my beta-readers on The Vampire’s Gallery.

This time I used Calibre to convert the files, but thus far they’re both reading it on Google Docs. I tend to upload every chapter together in a folder, then give them access via email to the folder. I like having each chapter separated because I feel it produces a more manageable size of a document.

In the case of the one woman, who is also a writer, when she didn’t get back to me I just started working on her stuff. I mean, I should have been working on it anyways, but this is why I think exchanging manuscripts works well. There’s a bit more give and take to the situation. You generally don’t agree to look at someone’s stuff intending to ignore them, and when you do ignore them, you feel guilty. Getting feedback from that person generally works well in motivating you. I say this from someone who’s been on both sides. Essentially, you can can keep each other motivated. We’ve been in touch a lot lately, and I think we’ve both gotten good notes.

The other woman, who does not have stuff for me to read, I just harassed her via chat on gmail and she caught some typos for me. She’s ridiculously busy right now, so I probably won’t be harassing her much. I did send her a some e-card for her birthday, but that’s more because I like to find excuses for sending people some e-cards.

I put little questions at the end, just to give direction in case they wanted it, and I’ve gotten an answer for one: Yes the orgy is gratuitous but also awesome.

Altogether though, I’m very happy with the way things are working out. I have an “every little bit helps” attitude about this stuff, and I also really enjoy working with the first woman on her writing.

Me Tod, You Horny

Tags

Editing, Erotica, Self-publish, typo demon, Writing

I found this gem of a typo in the draft for the published copy of Love on the 500 (formerly Ass Grabber, now part of the Ass Grabber series):

When he moved to kneel between my legs, I moaned. He touched the velvet soft skin of my inner thighs. “I going to taste you,” he said, his breath cool on my heated sex.

To quote my fiance, “Does he club her next?”

I’ll have to go over it again when my eye is fresher.

Save you Half-Assery for the Kitchen

Tags

Marketing, Self-publish, Skye Warren, Writing

You know, those nights you’re too tired to cook so you make “dinner salad” with whatever meat that is all wrapped up in tinfoil, and you eat a bowl of cereal later cuz you’re still hungry. At least, that’s what happens in my house. But yeah, that half-assery has a place in your life, but it’s not in your marketing efforts.

Skye Warren’s guest post got me started, and I moved on to looking at things like this excellent website (recommended by Lindsey). All the while I had no page with stories on this blog. I hadn’t even bothered tagging any of my posts.

I mean, what the hell is the point of blathering on if I’m not going to take 30 seconds to tag my stuff so people can search for it? Why am I even wondering what SEO means when I don’t have a bloody avatar?

I think I got a little overwhelmed, trying to read everything, join everything. If I do everything half-assed, it’s like doing nothing. So, I’m going focus on this blog a bit. I’m going to tag, I’m going to do a great post about designing covers (please note: the post will be great, not the covers), I’m going to post more free smut and tag it free smut!

Beta-Readers

Tags

Beta-readers, Editing, Self-publish, Writing

Getting Beta-Readers

I’ve had, probably moderate success with beta-readers. I’ve generally found them somewhat haphazardly on Reddit.

Warning: Reddit will Eat your Life

In between being consumed, try and find some beta-readers, skulking around the writing subreddits. I did a trade off with this one woman who is great. We bullshit a fair amount, commiserate, etc. She’s more my writing buddy than anything, and she always has great feedback.

I’ve gotten beta-reads from various writing groups on Reddit. There’s a fair amount of shifting around, fracturing, and when that happens there’s a lot of energy, and if you have stuff ready to rock and roll, you can get critiques. Brief note on critiques: if you put a link to an entire work in a public forum, it is considered published. If you send people the link privately, post it on a private subreddit, or post only a portion, it’s not considered published.

More people have offered to read for me than gotten back to me, which is the way it goes to a certain extent. I don’t really harass people too much either. I would probably get more feedback if I did.

My Thoughts on Being a Beta-Reader

I like it when people communicate with me, about what they want, what they think about my comments, what they’re finding useful. Pat me on the head, and I’ll do more work for you. If I get almost no response, I’ll probably get bored with a longer piece (part of the reason why I don’t harass people about reading my stuff, I don’t always finish what I say I will). It’s work, trying to do a close reading, and people work better with encouragement.

Also, try and get me the file in a format I like. Sometimes people post stuff from their blogs, and there’s a very basic problem of readability. Like, the text is tiny or the contrast is brutal.

Calibre is an easy way to make files for ereaders. I love Google Docs for sharing stuff. You can enable comments, or even allow people to edit.

I hope you found this helpful, and I’ll probably revisit this topic at some point.