Taking the Erotica Leap

[Lauryn]

Great progress. Nice to see that you're gaining sales- and I'm really liking the fact that you're pulling all your talents together to create a self-sustainable business for yourself.

 

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[Rainy_TX]

Hi everyone! Just a quick update before I head off to play with the family for Christmas...

*My first part of the Thicker than Blood series is now permafree on Amazon. (It only went live on B&N on the 20th, so that was only 4 days for Amazon to price match, for those of you wondering.) I didn't ask anyone to price match... it just happened on it's own.
*I finished part three of the series last night but won't have it on Amazon until the 28th.
*Getting some good reviews, people following me on twitter, joining my mailing list and I've had one person follow a board on Pinterest so far.​

Will be reading Rob Eager's book over the holiday as well as checking out some top selling stories in my genre.

Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas or a wonderful holiday, whatever your faith!

 

[Rainy_TX]

Okay, I'm just going to say it... I've fallen in love with writing stories!

Anyway, I published part three of my Thicker than Blood series today and sent an email blast to the readers that have signed up for new releases. I have planned out four and five as well as started on two different series. So far, I've had 2 five star reviews on the first Thicker than Blood and 2 five star reviews on the second, "Fallen from Grace", on Amazon; and 2 five star reviews for the first part on B&N.

Writing is very addictive. I've found myself so wrapped up in my characters that writing seems more like watching my favorite TV show than doing a chore. I need one of those treadmill-desk combos so I won't get a DVT from all of the sitting I'm doing!

 

[Rainy_TX]

Happy New Year, everyone! Just a quick update here:

*Sold 8 of my second part to Thicker than Blood today, and it's now #92 on Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Romance > Paranormal > Angels Woooo!
*The first part of Thicker than Blood is #1,183 in the free kindle store and #14 in the free Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Romance > Paranormal > Angels
*Will be wrapping up parts four and five this week. (Just in time because I'm going on vacation from the 13th till the end of the month).
*Created the outline for my next series, Raven & the Witch, and also created the cover for the first part. (below)

Great way to spend New Years Day!

 

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[joanna]

Congrats! And I have to say, that Raven cover is looking nice

 

[Rainy_TX]

Congrats! And I have to say, that Raven cover is looking nice

Thanks! I'm trying for a little darker feel with this cover than the other ones I made.

 

[ChickenHawk]

Congrats on your progress! And your covers really are terrific. I love the colors and style. Very nice!

 

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[Rainy_TX]

Congrats on your progress! And your covers really are terrific. I love the colors and style. Very nice!

Thank you! I feel pretty blessed being a professional graphic designer and was designing covers for others before I started seriously writing, so everything seems like it's working out nicely.

 

[Lauryn]

You're doing so well!

 

[COSenior]

Love that cover! Do you do freelance work for covers? What do you charge?

Congrats on your progress.

 

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[Rainy_TX]

Love that cover! Do you do freelance work for covers? What do you charge?
Congrats on your progress.

Thank you! And yes, I do freelance covers. I normally charge $500 but I've been doing them for people on here for $250. I use stock images so there will never be copyright issues.

Some of my work: http://rainydragonfly.deviantart.com/gallery/

And thanks for the congrats on the progress! Since the start of the new year, I've sold 38 books! (I only have three up and one of them is free) So I'm getting pretty exited.

 

[Rainy_TX]

After much internet research today, I have found some brilliant tips I'm going to put to use. To see how it effects my rankings and sales, here are my current stats right now:

First part of series: Thicker than Blood

• permafree
• 2 five star reviews
• #16 Kindle Free Store> Kindle eBooks> Romance> Paranormal> Angels
• #31 Kindle Free Store> Kindle eBooks> Romance> Paranormal> Vampires

Second part: Fallen from Grace

• $0.99
• 2 five star reviews
• #100 in Kindle Store> Kindle eBooks> Romance> Paranormal> Angels
• Averaging 10 sales per day since start of 2014

Third part: Truth in Legends

• $0.99
• 3 reviews with average of 3.5 stars (Some person didn't like that I was breaking this story up into a series and not just one book)
• #143,676 in paid Kindle store
• Averaging 4 sales per day since start of 2014

I will be implementing some of the things I found today and will update changes, if any, in a week.

 

[Rainy_TX]

Hey everyone! Just got back from a trip to the Philippines with my friend to see her family. First time having been off North America... what an experience! And, just my luck, I had to come back with a cold. lol

Anyway, just wanted to post a little update. I currently have five stories up on Amazon. One is perma free, the rest are .99. By writing different sub-genres, I have started to see which are more popular. My Thicker than Blood series is about Archangels and Fallen Angels, while my Broken Alpha series is about a billionaire wolf shifter and his twin brother, who happens to be a vampire... and it is doing best, even with just one part to the series published. Although, there are a lot of factors to consider in the break down... cover art, synopsis, keywords, etc.

I will be wrapping up my Thicker than Blood series this week and creating a "boxed set" as well as publishing part 5.

January was my best month so far, selling over 800 books in the US and UK alone. Not much when you consider the profit I'm getting from that, but for a second month, it's encouraging. Also, I'm building a good mailing list and have 4+ star reviews on average on all of my stories.

 

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[Rainy_TX]

Just a little tip I want to throw out there to others that are just getting started... read works by strictly Kindle authors that are doing well in your chosen niche. This is GOLD! They are writing what people want and is a perfect way to gain cheap insight to how to craft your stories to cater to your chosen group of readers.

Yesterday, I stumbled upon an author who is in my niche, has only 8 stories under her belt (they look to be approx 30k words each), started publishing in April of 2013, and most of her stories are in the top 50 for said niche... which is in the top 2,500 for the Paid Kindle store.

I don't recommend putting reading everything highlighted authors have put out, but take it in bites. Never take focus off of your own writing.

Oh, also, one additional tip... if you aren't collecting names for a mailing list, do so now! I would say that 90% of the people on my mailing list buy my newest book within 2 days of me sending them an email. This is great not only for purchases but for ranking of your book. The more purchases you have, they higher in ranking your book climbs, and the more people that are exposed to your work!

 

[Rainy_TX]

As I finish up my 5th book in the Thicker than Blood series and start looking towards my next book, I started doing research about descriptions. After all, covers and descriptions sell the books. If you have a bad or even mediocre one or the other (gasp, or both), your sales will be low if not non-existent. Anyway, I found an interesting resource I thought I'd share with everyone:

http://catherineryanhoward.com/2012/10/05/the-11-ingredients-of-a-sizzling-book-description/

 

[lleone]

Congrats on all the progress! Really loved reading this thread. You are definitely on your way and I love your covers.

if you aren't collecting names for a mailing list, do so now! I would say that 90% of the people on my mailing list buy my newest book within 2 days of me sending them an email.

I'm shooting to submit my first book by the end of the month. Do you think I need to set up a blog for collecting names before going live for the first book? I was planning on just doing KDP Select on Amazon (or should I do Smashwords, et al.)

Looking forward to following your progress.

 

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[Rainy_TX]

Do you think I need to set up a blog for collecting names before going live for the first book?

Hey lleone and thanks! You don't need a blog for name collection, you can do it via MailCheat(Chimp) without your own site. They give you a url you can put at the back of your book for people to sign up. MailCheat(Chimp) is free up to 2,000 subscribers, I believe.

 

[Rainy_TX]

So, I'm taking the plunge and publishing my YA story. I've decided to break the first novel up into three parts and will do the same with the other two books. The first part is publishing today and will be live within 12ish hours.

I'm excited and afraid at the same time. This story is my baby... I wrote the first novel last year and have been sitting on it ever since. I pulled a lot of experiences from my childhood and the location from where I grew up. Sending it out into the world was a very hard decision... it's a real piece of me after all! lol I blame my editor for the final shove... he said it was like The Road, Walking Dead and Twilight all wrapped up into one. While I was flattered by the comparison, I still went through it several times before today - picking apart details. Anyway, I took a deep breath and hit the publish button an hour ago. EEEEEEEEEE!

We'll see how it and the new pen name does... (fingers crossed)

 

[lleone]

Congratulations! That's awesome.

 

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[COSenior]

So, I'm taking the plunge and publishing my YA story. I've decided to break the first novel up into three parts and will do the same with the other two books. The first part is publishing today and will be live within 12ish hours.

Post the link! Is that the cover that's on your profile image now? It looks spectacular!

 

[Rainy_TX]

Post the link! Is that the cover that's on your profile image now? It looks spectacular!

Certainly, and yes, that's the cover. Thanks for the cover love! I spent some time combing through the YA books before I started designing it. My aim was to create something that looked on par with the other high sellers.

Hopefully I've written a good description as well... we'll see.

 

[Rainy_TX]

Okay... here it is!

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IIDHRQG/?tag=tff-amazonparser-20

They thought they'd be safe from the outbreak while camping in the mountains... they were wrong...

High school seniors, Anna and Keith, were excited about camping in the rainy mountains of Yale Valley Washington for spring break. Despite the increasing news of the Panhandle virus, the twins continued on like usual... until they witness an infected woman kill a man. Her white eyes and open sores convince them that the virus wasn't just infecting people... it's changing them into zombies.

Mitch Cooper expected an ordinary trip with his best friend Trey when Trey attempts to play match-maker. Mitch was just getting over his devastating crush on Anna when he is suddenly thrown together with her and her twin brother on the camping trip. He's positive he had no chance with Anna until he saves her from a zombie and then things change. She's looking at him now... and even smiling.

When a warning comes in from Anna and Keith's mom, the group must decide if they should stay in the mountains or venture back down into the Valley and face desperate people and more zombies...​

 

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[Anthony Mitoli]

I have a question about self publishing on the kindle store:

Where it asks me for my information for tax purposes can I use a pen name there?

Like, if I use a name other than my own will I be able to cash the checks if/when people buy my work? I would rather not author all my books using my real name at this time. Can you use different pen names for different works? Basically nowhere in the FAQ does it tell me if my real name that I enter for taxes will automatically end up on the actual sales of the books.

Thanks so much you guys are a huge inspiration to me. I am just about done with my first 180 page book and I want to make sure I get the process of listing it correct.

 

[Thriftypreneur]

Agree with the rest, that cover is a surefire winner. Best of luck on your release.

 

[Rainy_TX]

Where it asks me for my information for tax purposes can I use a pen name there?

I'd use your real name on the tax part. This does not effect your books. When you go to publish, you can enter your pen name there. On one account, you can use hundreds of pen names.

 

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[Anthony Mitoli]

I'd use your real name on the tax part. This does not effect your books. When you go to publish, you can enter your pen name there. On one account, you can use hundreds of pen names.

Thanks so much! I'm anxious to get published! Seems like I need to put some serious thought into my cover!

 

[Anthony Mitoli]

Thanks so much! I'm anxious to get published! Seems like I need to put some serious thought into my cover!

Also, your covers are amazing!

 

[Rainy_TX]

Also, your covers are amazing!

Thank you!

 

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[Rainy_TX]

Update on Altered: It went live last night and right now, it's #48,184 in the paid kindle store.

Ugh. I need to do something other than sit here hitting refresh. LOL

 

[COSenior]

Update on Altered: It went live last night and right now, it's #48,184 in the paid kindle store.

Ugh. I need to do something other than sit here hitting refresh. LOL

I can relate, lol.