Sex Sells - Renee Rose's Four Tips Guarantee You'll Make Money Writing Erotica

Wondering if you can REALLY pay the bills selling what you write?  Are you struggling just to make enough to cover the cost of the endless cups of coffee you consume while sitting at the computer?  Today,  Renee Rose spills the beans on how much she makes as an award-winning author of erotica.

Renee, how did you get started writing erotica? 

  

Renee:  When I fell into writing spanking romance, I got lucky. It just so happened that the thing I wanted to write most in the world also happened to be a niche in which it’s easy to make a solid living. Within six months I was making enough each month to pay the mortgage and in a year I was making what I consider a full-time living. I read a figure (which I’m sorry, I can’t seem to dig up the reference now) that only seven percent of authors make it to five figures a year.  Really? I’m in the top seven percent?  Am I that good?  Nope. Not at all.

I cringe over some of my earlier works–overly wordy with too much passive voice, overused words like “that” and beating the reader over the head with the character’s emotions. But I always think how lucky I was to be able to hone my craft while still making money. I didn’t spend the last two years working on one perfect novel. I wrote 20 novellas, which provide a passive income stream while I work on new books.

Here are Renee's Top Four Tips ( from her guest post on Write Sex Right )

1.  Be a Big Fish in a Small Sea – Find your Niche
The trick, I think to making a living writing erotica, is to find that targeted niche. Spanking romance is one of them. We learned at Eroticon 2014 from Josephine Myles and Anna Martin that M/M Erotic Romance is another highly lucrative niche... There are many ready-made markets out there to small, targeted niches...I think it was quite easy for me to get noticed and gather a following in this smaller pool.

2.  Shame Sells
Another reason spanking romance makes for quick sales there is more shame associated with it. I think people who are into BDSM, have probably admitted it to themselves and their partner, while people with spanking fantasies are often in the closet. I believe where there’s more shame and therefore less self-actualization with the sexual kink/orientation, sales are higher. Readers are looking for an outlet/expression of their kink because they may not be asking for it at home.

There are many other kinks like this. Age play, diaper play, lactation, pony play, monster erotica, anything considered taboo. There are a few targeted publishers that serve these genres, and therefore have a ready made audience.  With spanking romance, there are two major publishers, and if you publish with them, you are practically guaranteed decent sales, even as a brand new author.

3.  Know Your Audience
There are by far, more female readers than male, so in spanking fiction, femme dom books are not the big sell.  M/f are.  Josephine Myles and Anna Martin explained the same thing for the M/M romance– most of their readers are hetero women.  If you don’t write to that audience, it’s fine, I’m not suggesting you “sell out” but just consider how to target your audience.

4.  Keep Writing
Back when I was in my twenties, a therapist gave me an article on perfectionism. In it, the author described how limiting it can be to our success– you never publish that book because you are waiting to get it just right. As I mentioned above, I guess I might have one kick ass book if I’d spent the past two years refining it to submit to a top five publisher (who of course wouldn’t take spanking romance!) but instead I made  money while improving with each book I wrote. One of the major tricks to making a living writing is to keep your output up.  Your new books sell your back list and keep your name out there.  If you think you don’t have enough time to produce books at the rate of one every couple months, try a productivity tool like the Write or Die web app (it’s free, you don’t have to download it, just use the one on the screen). You’ll be amazed at how many words you can write in 30 minutes a day!  Certainly enough to publish a novella every two months!

About Renee Rose

Renee Rose has published over twenty erotic romance titles, all centered around her favorite kink: spanking. Named Eroticon USA's Next Top Erotic Author in 2013, she is also a contemporary dance teacher, Feldenkrais Practitioner(R), energy worker and mama.  She also writes under the name Darling Adams.

Check out Mob Mistress, her new release on Amazon

Don't miss the other posts in this series:

Deduct Your Dildo - Sex Sells Tax Tips For Erotic Authors

Sex Sells - Why Write Erotica? Here Are 10,000 Reasons

Sex Sells - A Sneak Peek at the Last Taboo

   

Renee Rose's New Sugar Daddy Likes to Watch

Today I'm thrilled to be talking with one of my favorite authors, Renee Rose about her hot new release Mob Mistress.  It's a sequel to her wildly popular book The Bossman.  

Renee, I have to tell you - one of the first erotic spanking books I ever read was written by you and I love your stories now as much as I did when I first discovered them.  Can you tell us a little about your latest book?

     Hi Kallista.  Thank you so much for having me here today!  My new book, Mob Mistress was just released.  It’s about a hairstylist in financial crisis who makes a deal with mobster Bobby Manghini to be his sugar baby.
 
Here’s what happens when her friend Gina, first introduces them:

      “I told her you’d make a good sugar daddy,” Gina said with a smirk.
     She felt her cheeks grow warm.  Good God, now he would think she was a money-grubbing, desperate floozy.
     The statement only seemed to interest Bobby, though. He turned his attention to her. “Is that so?”
     She opened her lips to deny it, but found herself caught in his heated gaze, the appreciative assessment obvious. Forcing herself to exhale, she said, “No, she was only kidding.”
     Bobby reached over and grasped the seat of her chair, pulling it forward until her knees came between his.
     She gasped at the sudden movement and gave a nervous giggle. “What are you —?”
     He made a show of looking her up and down. “Yes, I would definitely say you are sugar baby material.”
     Dean and Gina laughed, egging him on.
     She looked skyward again. “I feel like a horse at auction. Look, I never said —”
     Bobby grinned and took hold of her jaw. “Right! Let’s see those teeth, little pony,” he said, pulling her face toward him. Instead of looking in her mouth, he lowered his face, sweeping his lips lightly across hers. Softer than she expected, they tasted faintly of whiskey. Though she ought to be turned off by being so manhandled, the moment he pulled away, she missed his touch, wanting more.Her heart rate quickened. Was this actually happening?
     Bobby grinned and sat back, releasing her from his scrutiny.
     Recovered from her fluster, she gave herself a quick pep talk. What did she have to lose, really? A sugar daddy would solve all her problems, if this was for real. She gave him a seductive look. “Are you in the market for a sugar baby?”
     He threw his head back and laughed, a deep, rich rumbling sound that for no known reason made her tingle.
     “As a matter of fact, I am. But when I take a goomah, I expect her to be at my beck and call, available any time I please.”
     She swallowed, her panties dampening at the idea of being his sexual servant. “And what exactly would you offer in return?”
     Bobby placed both his hands on her thighs and made little circles around her knees. “Living expenses and spending cash. How does that sound?”
     Gina and Dean made enthusiastic murmurings as their eyes locked. Heat pooled in her center core, traveling up until her face grew warm. Her breath rose and fell in a rapid rhythm.
     He leaned closer and spoke in a low, rumbling voice, “But you should know, I would use you however I wanted, whenever I wanted. And I would demand fidelity. No other men.”
     “What about women?” she asked.
     “Only if I get to watch.”

When hair stylist Lexi Tyler finds herself evicted from her apartment, her best friend setsher up with the mobster Bobby Manghini, knowing he likes to play sugar daddy. He offers her a luxury apartment overlooking the city and spending cash every time he seesher, but one thing is clear: he is the bossman. Lexi soon discovers Bobby backs up his rules with firm, over the knee discipline, but he also takes responsibility for all her problems, giving her more support than she ever dreamed of having from a manMobster Bobby Manghini likes to be the man in control, particularly with women, which is why he prefers a mistress for sex, even though he’s no longer married. When he strikes a deal with Lexi to be at his beck and call, he finds in her the full package -- a hot, intelligent woman who is turned on by his dominance and willing to submit to his punishment. But when she finds out he doesn’t have a wife, she is hurt by the deceptionand severs all ties.Can he prove to her their relationship meant more than a business arrangement?  Or will he lose the one woman willing to give him everything he ever desired?

                        Amazon     Amazon UK    ARe     Barnes and Noble

Renee Rose is a naughty author and kinkster who loves writing about hot alpha males, Dominance/submission and power exchanges. Named Eroticon USA's Next Top Erotic Author in 2013, her books are all centered around kink, namely: spanking.  She also writes BDSM under the name Darling Adams.

Renee is a busy girl!  She can be found at all of these places:

                    Blog     Twitter      Facebook    Goodreads    Amazon    Pinterest

Renee Rose will be joining me for my series Sex Sells on January 28 to tell us whether a brand new erotic author can REALLY make money writing this stuff!  Be sure to join us...