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

   

Sex Sells - Five Tips For Writing Erotica - And One Big No-No

Sex sells.  And it seems like hundreds of new writers of erotica are popping up every day, especially now that self-publishing has taken off.  Ebook readers are faced with thousands of choices in erotic fiction.  Unfortunately, many of them in my opinion are pure crap.

People may buy your 10,000 word book for just under a buck based solely on the title or the cover.  But if there's nothing inside but a mish-mash of poorly written sex scenes, they probably won't buy a second book from you.  There are too many genuinely good writers out there competing for that same dollar.

Recently I skimmed through a "how to write sex" book by a male author.  The guy started out bragging about how he just got started, he knows nothing about writing, never read much himself - but he's already making enough writing erotic books to buy all the booze he can drink.  He refused to divulge the pen name he uses so it was impossible to check out his story.  But judging from the quality of his self-published Ebook, I believe the part where he says he knows nothing about writing.

Here are five tips for writing erotica that I've picked up along the way from some very good writers - and one no-no I learned from the booze-swilling braggart:

1.  Come up with a good story.  Most readers of erotic romance are women.  And most women want the romance part as much as they want the erotic part.  

2.  Remember show and tell.  Bring all the senses into your writing.  Let them hear the harsh smack of the Dom's paddle echoing off the stone walls of the dungeon, shiver at the chill of the whipped cream that the hunky pastry chef smears on her nipples, catch the scent of the leather blindfold.

3.  Use real words, not tacky cliches.   Unless you're writing a story set in Victorian times, try to refrain from having the hero's throbbing manhood brazenly invade the heroine's nether regions.

4. Create characters we can like.  I want to imagine myself as the heroine, not hate her for being a whiny, spoiled brat or a slut with no redeeming social value.  Same goes for the hero.  No one wants to be romanced by a man with all the depth of a stick figure.

5. Go ahead and break the rules - AFTER you learn them   Good writers of erotic fiction know the basics.  They grab the reader's attention right off the bat and tell a compelling tale.  The sex is woven into the fabric of the story.  We all know famous authors who break rules, switching POV ( that's point of view), popping in and out of their characters' heads from one paragraph to the next.  But they can get away with it because they've learned how to make it work.  If you start out ignoring basic rules, don't be surprised if your readers become confused or annoyed.

And the One No-No I learned from the booze-swilling braggart:

Don't Treat Your Readers Like They're Stupid.  You may think people will buy anything if it has enough raunchy sex in it, but trust me - things like grammar, spelling, punctuation and the ability to put words together and form a cohesive thought really are important.  If you've never been an avid reader, you probably don't have any business trying to be a writer.

Don't miss these recent posts:
Renee Rose's Four Tips That Guarantee You'll Make Money Writing Erotica
Deduct Your Dildo - Tax Tips for Erotic Authors  
Why Write Erotica - Here are 10,000 Reasons
Sex Sells - A Sneak Peek At the Last Taboo

         

Bared by the Billionaire - Sex/Tech Hits Amazon's Top 100 BDSM LIst

       Thank you to everyone who sent my latest BDSM novel Bared by the Billionaire to Amazon's Top 100 BDSM List!  Kyra's introduction to the dark, erotic world of BDSM included using wild sex toys created just for her by the brilliant scientist/inventor Jake Harmon.  It was so much fun to write.

I thought I had loads of great new ideas for sex tech, but as I researched the subject, I found out a whole lot of the inventions I dreamed up already exist!  By the way, having an excuse to spend time looking up hot new sex toys on the Internet is one of the things I love best about writing erotic romance novels.

Here's a little peek:

“Take off the rest of your clothes.”

Her cheeks flushed but she did as she was told, trembling a little, eyes downcast the entire time. She dropped the bra and her hands moved to the nipple rings.

“Not those,” he said.

He saw the look of dismay on her face, but she never protested. She bent forward to unhook the garters. Slipping off her shoes and balancing on one foot, then the other, she peeled the stockings off. Finally she reached behind her and unhooked the lace garter belt, letting it fall to the floor. He let her stand there for a moment under the bright lights of the lab, naked, and just stared. Her body was beautiful. Full, lush breasts, narrow waist, hips that flared out.

“Come here and lie across my lap.” As she walked toward him, the portions of her brain that registered fear and anxiety responded strongly. But so did the center for arousal. She put one knee on the sofa, awkwardly supporting her weight with her hands as she draped herself across his lap.

Her body was warm and soft and when she let her full weight rest on him, he felt his own body respond. Without thinking, he stroked her bare ass and ground himself up against her, just a little. Harmon didn’t need a machine to tell the instant she felt his cock pressing up, hard and ready. Her sharp intake of breath did that.

Grabbing her wrists with one hand and holding them out in front of her, he smacked her bottom sharply with the flat of his palm. The computer screen exploded in lights. He started spanking her steadily, firm but not too hard at first, watching with clinical detachment as her lovely bottom turned pink.

He spanked harder and it took on a darker shade of red. As it did, her pain centers on the monitor glowed brighter and brighter. Her fingers dug into the fabric of the sofa but she never moved or made a sound.

He wanted more, wanted to see what she’d do once he broke her tight control. He shifted his legs a little and spanked her slowly, sensuously, rubbing the hard bulge in his pants back and forth across her wet slit with every whack. A soft moan escaped her lips. The sensors recorded a huge spike in endorphins. The pleasure centers of her brain were sending off fireworks. Harmon smiled to himself.

“Get down on your knees in front of me,” he demanded, letting go of her wrists.

                                                           Buy it now on Amazon


Kyra Thornton is in serious trouble. Her former boss has disappeared after stealing every dime from the company' trust account and framing her for the theft, so when the FBI offers her a way to prove her innocence and escape prosecution, she hesitantly agrees. All she has to do is go undercover, take a job working for billionaire technology entrepreneur Jake Harmon, and find evidence to prove the FBI’s claims that he masterminded the crime.

There's just one catch: Jake is a Dom, and he’s looking for someone who can be both a financial officer for his company and the perfect sub for him. Kyra has never been a sub—but under the circumstances she is left with little choice, and she soon finds herself stripped bare and on her knees awaiting Jake’s every command.

To make matters worse, her new master quickly proves more than ready to punish any disobedience with a long, hard, deeply humiliating spanking.But to Kyra’s shock, Jake’s firm-handed dominance and skillful mastery of her body leaves her not only blushing with shame and aroused far beyond anything she's ever experienced, it also leaves her yearning for more.

It isn't long before she feels a growing need to submit both her body and her heart to the dark, mysterious billionaire. But when the time comes to fulfill the bargain that kept her out of prison, can she trust Jake to protect her, or will she cast aside her new-found love to save herself?

Publisher’s Note: Bared by the Billionaire is an erotic romance novel that includes spanking, sexual scenes, BDSM, anal play, exhibitionism, elements of medical play, and more. If such material offends you, please don’t buy this book. 

Her First Spanking From The Devil's Cowboy

I'm not officially a member of the SatSpanks blog hop, but in honor of the release today of my new Western BDSM novel The Devil's Cowboy, I thought I'd offer everyone a little sample.

Ellen Jacobs is a struggling writer making ends meet by doing psychic readings.  After receiving a desperate plea for help from an old friend, she flies to Dallas and meets hot, hunky Rafe Cummings, who has spent most of his life debunking phony mystics.  He's an old-fashioned guy who believes in old-fashioned discipline.

Here's what happens when they're brought together to help Ellen's friend:    


     Ellen wriggled on his lap, but there was no escaping his hard callused palm cracking down on her ass. Here she was, finally in the position she’d fantasized about so often, but this was no sexually charged daydream. This was sharp, stinging, burning pain.
     “Let me go, you asshole, or I’ll call the cops.”
     “You’re staying right here until you promise to listen to me next time.”
     “Screw you! There’s not going to be a next time! You’re going to jail for this. I swear I’ll press charges.”
     “Then I might as well do a proper job of it while I’ve got you here,” he replied. To her horror, he jerked her panties down around her knees, baring her ass completely. “It’s already a little pink, but maybe I need to spank it till it’s bright red before you’ll listen to reason...”
     With a loud crack, his hand came down again. Ellen gasped. “Dammit, that really hurts!”
     “It’s supposed to hurt. It’s supposed to remind you that I’m the one in charge and if you do things I tell you not to do, you’re going to get hurt much worse than this.” He smacked her again, harder, and Ellen shrieked. She began struggling, desperate to get away.
     Rafe simply locked one strong thigh over her flailing legs, rendering her immobile, and started spanking in earnest. She thought it had been bad before, but now he seemed to be putting every ounce of his considerable strength into the job. Ellen forgot her embarrassment, forgot her anger. Her whole world centered around the relentless wallop of his palm on her tender bottom.


                                                  The Devil's Cowboy

After receiving a desperate plea from a childhood friend, Ellen Jacobs boards the next plane to Dallas. The message warns of a dark and malevolent presence which shrouds her friend’s home, but perhaps even more disturbing for Ellen is the fact that she will not be working alone. Her friend has enlisted the help of Rafe Cummings, the tall, brash, sexy demon-hunter better known as The Devil’s Cowboy.

From the moment they meet, Rafe knows Ellen will be trouble. Though she agrees to work with him, it is abundantly clear that she is far from ready to trust him, let alone follow his lead. But when her prideful defiance nearly results in disaster, Rafe takes Ellen over his knee, bares her bottom, and gives her a long, hard spanking—the first of her life—to impress upon her that as long as they are working together, she will do as she is told or face the consequences.

Despite his arrogance and his willingness punish disobedience in such an uncivilized fashion, not only does Ellen’s body cry out for Rafe’s firm hand, her soul itself seems bound to his in some way. His skillful, dominant lovemaking leaves her breathless and begging for more, but even as their passion grows they still must concentrate on the task at hand. Can they stand as one to overcome the evil they came to confront, even if that means a date with the Devil himself?

Publisher’s Note: The Devil’s Cowboy is an erotic romance novel that includes spanking, sexual scenes, anal play, elements of BDSM, and more. If such material offends you, please don’t buy this book

                                                  Buy this book on Amazon

Top Ten Reasons To Write Erotic Novels

     I don't know about you, but I'm a sucker for articles that promise to transform your life in six minutes or less.  The ones with the catchy titles, like Seven Dirty Things Your Lover Wants To Hear You Say in Bed.  I even find myself occasionally clicking on Five Halloween Costumes to Make From Dryer Lint, but that's only when I'm trying to avoid that blank page on my computer screen titled "Work in Progress - Chapter Four."

     So today I thought I'd steal a page from David Letterman and give you my top ten reasons to write erotic novels.  Here they are - in no particular order of importance.

1.  You can actually get paid for all those naughty fantasies you're always making up in your head.
2.  It's a great way to let your significant other (if you have one) know what you'd secretly like but don't have the guts to admit.
3.  It's a great way to get a significant other.  Just try saying "Me? Oh, I write erotic romances about spanking and domination" in a crowded room.
4.  You can save a fortune on therapy by working out your daddy( or mommy ) issues on paper
5.   The fantasies you write are always perfect.  No one's going to go off-script, like they often do in real life.  (eg.  "Baby, let's have your hot girlfriend Ashley come over and BOTH of you can suck my cock while I watch football.  Doesn't that sound like fun?)
6.  Everyone has a happy ending and the orgasms are always fantastic
7.  It will give you something useful to do when there's nothing good on TV
8.  You can read other dirty books and call it research
9.  You can deduct sex toys as business expenses.

and finally
10.  It's nice to find out you're not the only one in the world who gets off on your special kink.  Whatever it may be, you'll find others who love it too, and accept you without judging.  And like the commercial says, that's priceless.

Welcome to Kallista's World

My name is Kallista.  Like my legendary ancestor Scherezade, I cannot dance or sing or play an instrument. I have but one talent - I am a weaver of words.

If you seek chronicles of maidenly virtue and innocent romance, go no further.

But if you yearn to be entertained with exotic escapades that will fill your Soul with passion, sensual tales of lustful desires, bold adventures where powerful males clash with impetuous, headstrong women, then join me as we explore the many dimensions of love and romance.

As for my story, I've been married to the love of my life for over 25 years and it just keeps getting better and better. We've been through great times and tough times, through nighttime feedings and teenage rebellions, through richer and poorer, just like in those vows.  Take it from me, richer doesn't always mean happier!

But through it all, we've kept the passion alive in our relationship.  I don't know how other couples do it, but as for me, I tell him stories - very naughty stories. Sometimes ( if I'm lucky!) my naughty fantasies earn me a spanking.  Other times, if the tale is really wicked, we may take it from fantasy to reality.  Those are the stories my husband likes best!

Some of the best scenes in my books are based on real experiences we've had.  But I won't confess all my secrets here...at least not today.

What do I believe? 

I believe you can live happily ever after - most of the time.  Other times, life gets in the way, with all its messy crises.

I believe you can survive any crisis, if you trust in the Universe and look for the good in every person and situation.

I believe that choosing someone to spend your life with who is smart and funny and kind is more important than choosing someone who is rich and attractive.

I believe staying married is the hardest job there is.  Even harder than being a parent.  If you have kids, they'll be gone some day but you'll still be looking at each other over the breakfast table.

I believe that love transcends the boundaries of space and time.  The people you love have been with you before, and they will be with you again.

I believe in Angels.  I've seen them at work in my life.  I even got a phone call from one...but as Scheherezade would say, that's a story for tomorrow.