Two weeks ago I published, or was it a little over one week ago, "Brat Witch Masters Free Use Power." I thought it was going to do much better than it has. I gave it away for a weekend. Was that a dumb move? Maybe. The hope was that it would generate interest and get people reading the "Witch's Awakening" series from start to finish. They're all currently in KU.
Each book in the series is sort of standalone; you can pick any one up and get a full experience from it.
I think i like the second one a lot. There are more erotic scenes for me in that one that progressively grow with intensity. Book 3, "Brat Witch Masters Free Use Power" is amazing. I love it. The story itself interests me. I'm proud of the simple dynamic and story telling aspect of that book. The sex is fucking hot too; there is a lot of fucking sex in that book.
If I didn't make that much money from that book, the question is "why did I write it?" I like writing, but i chose to write the third book in a series because there is money in consistency. Every podcaster about writing, every blog, they all say the same thing: write a series. Write often, write a lot, and publish quick.
I looked at my catalog and saw a bunch of disjointed different books not connected, standalones that by themselves were interesting and served a purpose: sex. They didn't make me that much money though. I'm about this for the money. So ever since July I've been practicing writing in series. I've been attempting to write longer, more story based books that revolve around more than sex, more than true erotica shorts.
I want to make money. I want cash in my pocket. I want to earn lots and lots of money from my writing, and being prolific has done well, but not enough to rake in the thousands I was hoping for.
It isn't bad; in July I had my first month of over $100.00. in July I started pushing my books wide (not all in KU and amazon), and I've made $56 from Apple Books, $14 from smashwords, because they banned "The Neighbor's Backdoor Bargain" everywhere else and I had to publish it somewhere, and as of today $50 in Amazon. I'm on track to make over $100 again.
But where is the mass adoption?! Where is the ravenous horde of readers?
Consistency. Write in series, be prolific, publish regularly, and write stories of interest beyond shorts.
My last two books: 60k, and 50k words.
Right now I'm writing a standalone book- DAMMIT! I should have written in a series. Fuck, opps. Well, it is a standalone, but i'm planning on 50-60k words. It is a book similar to "The Neighbor's Backdoor Bargain," centered around a coercive deal that an older neighbor man imposes on a teenage girl next door.
As of today, I'm 21,000 words into this new book I'm tentatively calling "The Neighbor's Backdoor Deal." You can see the similarity, but this book is told fro the Point of View from the man. At first I wanted him to be cool and calculated, but he has morphed into a more human doubtful adult. Christina, the heroine, is more of a slut than I intended, but it has been fun to write. Their story will eventually turn Josh, the hero into Christina's sugar daddy.
SO there is money in consistency, but writing what you don't like will lead to less writing and less money. So I'm writing what I think is a happy mix; modeled after my highest earning book, same topic, same niche, and making it longer. We'll see how it goes.