Erotic eBooks

[Kuz]

Sup gang,

I'm looking to court ideas. As I seem to have a lot of free time at my job, and the whole eCommerce doesn't take up any of my time at all AND my few website ideas are still percolating, trying to drive traffic - i decided to source some freelance writing gigs off Elance and oDesk (i'm a writer by trade).

Manage to make a bit of money - $80 thursday, $75 friday, $20 saturday, $50 yesterday. But it was a LOT of work (like hours and hours) and the pay is SHIT. Total F*cking joke - everyone is undercut by Indian's and Philipinos.

However I noticed a few contracts for writers to write erotic short stories. Of course the pay is a pittance but I got in touch with one of the contractors and we got to talking on Skype.

No offence to him, the guy sounds like a bum (much like me!) but he has a plan to start selling eBooks with erotic shot-stories he sources off oDesk.

He pays something like $20 for a 10,000 word story (which is a joke!) but told me that as his business grew he hopes money for his writers will also grow. His got barely any disposable income to pay anyone, by the way, but the whole idea had me massively intrigued.

Is this a profitable niche? I know that Shades of Gray has exposed how much chicks dig smut - not to mention that romance is one of the biggest selling genres in the world - but I have no experience in this so I wouldn't know.

My idea would be to get a bunch of writers to submit 3,500-4,000 word chick-porn written in text and then go about the self-publishing route to put the title out on Amazon.

There seem to be PLENTY of different people on oDesk running this racket, and ofcourse i'm here to be on the PRODUCER side of the equation, not the donkey-side - so I want to put my own advert up and call for submissions.

Anyone have any thoughts, insights into this idea? Anyone done eBook self-publishing before via Amazon?

How's the market looking? Do you envisage any problems for me?

Thanks,

Kuz

 

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[MyMotivation]

I actually listened to this podcast yesterday where they mentioned getting ghost writing for ebooks:

SPI 042 : Killer Kindle Publishing Tips with Jonny Andrews

 

[Hlaz]

I was actually thinking about this niche the other day. I may PM you to talk more, as I see a lot of potential in this idea.

 

[Kuz]

cool. looking forward to your pm x

 

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[santa]

To me personally this doesn't come across as fastlane but more what MJ would term as "money-chasing"

 

[Kuz]

yeah pretty much - might help me get some money for my actual fastlane enterprises

 

[nzerinto]

...also sounds like barrier to entry is pretty low....

 

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[Mr.Dietsch]

The-J – When the barriers of entry are low, the barriers of establishment are VERY VERY HIGH.

 

[Kuz]

The-J – When the barriers of entry are low, the barriers of establishment are VERY VERY HIGH.

Hmmm, interesting... I just got a chick to write me 6 stores for $120.... Gonna try and market this and get back to you.

No one steal my idea if i make a lot of money

 

[MamaD]

Hmmm, interesting... I just got a chick to write me 6 stores for $120.... Gonna try and market this and get back to you.

No one steal my idea if i make a lot of money

Understand that the idea of selling erotic fiction is NOT new. There are many authors doing this and according to azon bestsellers lists, there are many making money.

The idea here is consistency. Good luck with your project.

 

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[Lgallion]

I happen to know an erotic fiction author and it is a very good business IF:
1) You understand your customers and what they want to see in your work
2) You build a herd of core fans through personalized interaction and careful promotion
3) You produce quality products

I think this plan sounds like fast-buck money chasing and I doubt if the care, understanding and quality elements are in place. Plus her business took about 4 or 5 years to build, it didn't happen overnight.

 

[Kuz]

I happen to know an erotic fiction author and it is a very good business IF:
1) You understand your customers and what they want to see in your work
2) You build a herd of core fans through personalized interaction and careful promotion
3) You produce quality products

I think this plan sounds like fast-buck money chasing and I doubt if the care, understanding and quality elements are in place. Plus her business took about 4 or 5 years to build, it didn't happen overnight.

Ok, let's not be presumptious, sir.

I am a writer by profession and i know good writing when i see it. The person I've hired - out of about 10+ applicants, is a WOMAN - and there is a specific reason I hired a WOMAN to write female orientated erotic fiction.

Her work is, pretty remarkable - it needs lots of editing, mind you, which, as it is my profession, i can easily/quickly do - but her work SHINES.

It's got an engaging plot, lots of tension, and hot sex - from a woman's perspective.

She's the ONLY ONE i hired out of the lot of them. And she wasn't even the best writer of the applicants i had. I had one woman who was a PhD teacher in creative writing at an Australian university - who wrote me a fantasticlly descriptive, full of heart and emotion story, but it just wasn't hot/tittalating/transgressive as this woman's work.

Furthermore, i'm going for a specific niche within the romance/erotica fiction - which, i have no idea if it's going to work or not, - but i do know it has HARD CORE DIE HARD FANS - (without giving it away, cos I keep getting PM's from friendly people on here telling me not to give away my ideas, but still).

So yes, the aim is all of what you say.

And yeah, this may well be "fast buck" chasing - but everythign i'm doing right now is "fast buck chasing". Including the eCommerce business i'm in the process of setting up as per Vigilantes excellent "Addicted to passive income thread" - as is the Mixed Martial Arts blog i established in March, writing about MMA training/news as well as selling MMA products - as is the HDSLR camera/review site i set-up.

None of which have made me much of any money, and I expect that I'll have to nurture each project over the course of a year or two - or maybe i'll fail miserably, which is also GREAT!

I've been working a well paying, ultimately unfulfilling 9-5 since i graduated colelge 10 YEARS AGO, and i only just discovered MJ's book back in May - so these are literally my only forays into anything like this. And time is on my side cos i have a secure job, but right now, i'm not even thinking fastlane (thought that would be nice) but as much passive income streams i can bring my way as i can.

Hopefully that clears up some of my thinking.

K

 

[Kuz]

PS: Hope that didn't sound pissy. I REALYL appreciate that you were giving me INSIDERS information in this industry which really helps x

 

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