To start writing erotica?

[alimabean]

Name changed!

This is potentially a bit of an odd one for Mumsnet, but I've started thinking about writing erotica. I wrote a lot of creative writing and personal essays when I was younger and won a few awards for poetry but I've not done anything with my creative pursuits recently. Does anyone know if that is something there is any kind of niche for, or is it generally a bad idea?

Always keen to provide an alternative to the porn industry, but a bit worried about social stigma so if anyone has any thoughts or advice that would be much appreciated!

There's not much money in it as there's a lot free online, and sadly many readers don't care about quality.

Bookstrand is the publisher to aim for, but they do have quality standards and you'll need to do manage or something kinky to make good money.

Or you can self-publish but most self-publishers sell fewer than 50 copies.

Don't bother trying to get an agent - they generally don't rep erotica because there isn't enough cash in it.

Well i guess it depends if youre Lawrence or James!

Menage, not manage.

You most likely wouldn't make money from it, there are so many sites where people publish their stories for free. Plus there are millions of 'erotic' books that have come out since Fifty Shades and have gone absolutely nowhere.

There are some more specialised stories that can be bought from the likes of amazon which can only be described as dinosaur porn, so I guess if you found something like that that hardly written about you might make a few quid.

If you just want to do it for a bit of fun then go right ahead.

Interesting HeyDemons, thank you. I'm (very fortunately) not attached to the money, I know the demand for writing is ever decreasing especially in niches like these. Cheers for the Bookstrand suggestion too!

If I were to self-publish / release stories for free, is there a general consensus for the most commonly browsed erotica site? I've read some self-published fanfictiony stuff on Archive of Our Own, as well as a few more serious pieces of work, but I'm not sure if there's a MN favourite?

You can self publish through Amazon and they will only print the books when they sell and do the shipping for you, I'm sure once you get started and get deeper into the community you'll find interesting niches that you enjoy writing about and find some like minded fans. Wishing you the best of luck figuring it all out :)

Thanks Neko! And thanks to everyone else, may I (hopefully) see you under a pseudonym in the future

I wrote a BDSM novel about 10 years ago and it was published online - made about €1000 from it. Too hardcore for most sites but I enjoyed writing it.

Literotica.com is all free content - the quality is mostly appalling but there are some people with large followings and a good back catalogue

Go for it - you don't have to use your real name x

Name changed!

I wrote a 10 part series on Literotica last year that was very well received. I racked up hundreds of thousands of views very quickly and got lots of followers and emails.

However, I also found someone had stolen it and posted it for sale on a random site!

I ended up pulling it all down and have been working on the full novel since then. It’s now in the editing stage and will go up on Amazon soon, and I am still getting weekly messages from people waiting for it, which is nice.

The only reason I’m putting it on Amazon is to protect the copyright- it’s a bit of a ballache actually, and I won’t be promoting or anything in the hope I can keep my earnings low enough to not have to register as self employed! But I want to get the finished book out there for the people who want to read it, so I’m persevering.

Anyway, my point is, if I were you I would post your books on Amazon BEFORE you post on literotica, otherwise you are vulnerable to thieves. I would also say don’t expect to make much from it, do it for the love!