Short Stories, Novels, & Motivation

In today’s erotic eBook market, authors debate between writing short stories or going for longer novel length books. While both story lengths seem to appeal to various readers, authors want to know which style maximizes sales. In a rush to decide what sells better, I think authors have forgotten to take a step back. What we really need to be asking as authors is simple, what length is best for my personal writing style? Having made the transition myself, I thought I’d discuss what I found.

By: Gerry Maxwell

Write shorts to explore a genre or kink: When I first started writing, shorts were everything. Stories in the 3,000 – 5,000 word range were a perfect way to explore subject matter. Despite the decline in short story sales, shorts remain a viable option for authors. Considering a new kink? Try writing a short story first. Just starting out in your writing career? No problem, write plenty of shorts to get your name out there. Before defining yourself as an author, shorts are a great tool to make an impact while exploring various erotic subjects.

By: William Cooper

Novels point out writing flaws: One of the reasons I love writing novels now happens to be they point out my weaknesses. If you’re writing stories spanning only 3,000 words, odds are writing weaknesses won’t be apparent. Trust me, 40,000 words points out all the writing flaws an author has. If you’re looking to be a stronger writer, try a novel. Using words like that, just, and honestly, too much? By the end of a 40,000 word book, the habit will be obvious. Plus, you’ll get plenty of practice weeding these words out in the long run.

By: Betty Beckett

Price points make a difference: If you’re looking for the most sale potential, novels are the way to go. For every single you sell, you’ll make double your money. On the other hand, shorts are great for authors looking to expand their catalog. Whether you have novels or shorts, only having one title decreases odds book will sell. Taking the time to have a variety of books to offer has a direct impact on sales potential. In the long run, an author can better choose to write shorts or novels based on personal preference.

By: John E. Jay

Time constraints don’t matter: Want to write a novel, but are afraid of the time investment? Don’t be, in reality it’s the same amount of writing. On average, authors of shorts write between 8 – 10 books a month. If these books are 5,000 words or more, authors are actually writing 40,000 words a month already. The investment for authors in the case of a novel is more long term, instead of eight short titles. Authors shouldn’t worry about if they do it, odds are they already have!

By: Vinod Nair

Ultimately, writing shorts and novels depends on personal preferences. As an author, I now prefer to write novels. Because I started out writing shorts however, shorts remain my favorite. If I have an extra day at the end of the month, I’ll write a short story. After writing a couple novels, I discovered my shorts improved. Novels may create better writers, shorts might be more practical. In either case, we need to examine what motivation drives us to write. The answer might surprise all of us.

By: Lily Weidner

How to Enhance Your eBook

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With so many authors trying to make a transition away from Amazon, there’s an apparent problem. The challenges many authors face remains rooted in the fact Amazon was a market of its own. There were facts, data, market techniques authors learned to navigate Amazon’s market. Sadly, authors are having to realize these techniques do not work outside of Amazon. Successful authors upload their books only to realize there’s no sales. If there are sales, authors become disappointed seeing their small profit. Many authors remarked that Amazon was, “an easy gold mine” one that has dried up paying out a potential half a cent a page. Taking a moment, authors will notice a few necessary techniques in the market outside of Amazon.

Amazon Means Cheap: Many authors have never made this association themselves, but Amazon eBooks have become cheap. With Amazon being seen as a, “potential gold mine,” many authors put up whatever they could to make a small fortune. This growing quantity of eBooks lowered prices below the standard $2.99 to a surprisingly low $.99 even bundles of 30 books were offered for this $.99 price. The eBooks readers got for their $.99 drove them to alternative sites like Smashwords. Readers that enjoy good quality eBooks would rather pay the $2.99 then settle for these bad quality $.99 eBooks. Because of this, today’s market is filled with readers that avoid Amazon looking books, and yes, they can tell. This means that if authors want to sell their eBooks on sites outside of Amazon, they need to shed their “Amazon identity” and present a better quality product.

Text Based Covers: These covers with full text are a sure way to turn off readers. There’s nothing more distracting than an image covered behind blocks of text. Covers are made to appeal readers, and initiate their interest. When all readers are left with is a blur behind bold often off colored neon text, that doesn’t say much about a book’s potential story. Some of the best selling books in the market today have one word titles. These intriguing titles combined with sexy cover images really excite the reader’s curiosity. Authors coming off of Amazon will find their block text covers will not appeal many readers. This directly impacts sales, leaving some authors to feel discouraged. The market has potential buyers, they just happen to know what they want. Text based covers are not what readers want.

Long Book Titles: Similar to the issue of text based covers are these long book titles. A book’s title should never take a full cover to display. Often, this problem arises because there’s too many keywords in the book’s name. This stems from Amazon having a weird way of using metadata or a book’s keywords. Authors could literally write anything in the keywords, and it’d have little to no effect. Outside of Amazon this issue doesn’t occur. Readers will find a book based on a catchy title, along with those keywords typed in the appropriate box. It’s painful to see good titles off Amazon drowned in layers upon layers of the book’s keywords. Readers are not accustomed to this on outside sites, and many associate this with lower quality eBooks now. If authors want to improve their book instantly just edit out these keywords from the book’s title.

Quality Cover Images: Now first off, I know not everyone is a cover artist or can afford to pay for covers. Amazon books however are well known for extremely lower end covers. These are covers using photos that are often quite frankly terrible. Often, these images will have very little to do with the book’s story at all. When the image does pertain to the story, it’s off colored, neon colored, out of focus, stretched, or even appears photoshopped. Put bluntly, these covers do not further a book’s sales. However, it’s worth noting these bad covers are better than some books with no cover images whatsoever. In the end, a book should have the best cover it can. Whether that means being creative with ideas, or just knowing how to put an average but good cover together. A well put together cover will sell an eBook, but a poor one will not.

Certain Kink Advertisement: Outside of Amazon’s market, there’s a realm devoted to the controversially kinky. While menage might be the highlight on Amazon, it’s standard elsewhere. Authors should note certain kinks are not in high demand outside of Amazon. This includes (with exceptions) Billionaire Romance, Alpha/Breeding, Menage, Tentacle/Monster Erotica, and Pseudo-Incest. While these categories in many instances will appeal to some readers, they aren’t the selling point authors think they are. Many times this has to do with the content Amazon excluded that outside sites allow. Pseudo-Incest can be replaced for outright Incest, Billionaire Romance can be BDSM, Monster Erotica often gets turned into Bestiality. The market can be quite different when listing kinks… in the keywords.

Pricing: The last change to note has to do with pricing. Many books on Amazon have become cheap to seemingly compete in the market. However, these lower prices actually harm books outside Amazon. Readers want to pay for good quality works. Authors often remark, “$2.99 was the going price, but it’s too much now” this is far from true. $2.99 is still the going rate for a short. Longer works can get as high as $5.95, but they have to be good quality. Remembering that price can communicate quality, authors will appreciate a reader’s willing to buy their properly priced works. Please take note, this does include bundles. Series books as a whole set should never be priced at $.99. Nor should books be given away free just to promote a series. These tactics worked mainly in the heyday of Pulp Fiction, but not anymore. Readers honestly associate a price with a book’s quality now.

While this post in no way should be taken as an end all fix all, it stands as a starting point. Authors who have shifted to an Amazon only focus and are now confused. They’ve forgotten what the market continues to be, though it’s only been a year. An author’s knowledge of the market continues to be a critical advantage. Taking a moment to fix a few of these changes will result in a better sales potential. Every author wants to succeed in the market today, and Lot’s Cave understands this. We hope this post might give a few authors a starting point. In time, authors can then learn the critical marketing information we’ve acquired as a company over the years. The Kindle Unlimited program’s fate may be uncertain, but that’s no reason to panic. Just take a deep breath, and try something new. It might not be so bad after all.

What Makes A Great Cover

Authored By: Samantha Zacharda
Marketing Director & Promotion
Interview With: Moira Nelligar
Cover Illustrator
Published By: Lot’s Cave

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In today’s saturated market, there are plenty of books for sale. While the erotic market was once a small corner of the overall eBook trend, it is now filled with potential authors. Many of these authors self publish, or go through indie publishers. The market’s saturation has left many authors going back to the drawing board. No topic could be more debated than what goes into a great cover. With so many authors debating the topic of cover art, we decided to ask an even better question. What goes into erotica covers, and are there any differences? What we found, is more than just a little surprising.

What Makes A Great Cover?

Everyone knows that a great cover is essential to selling a book. The science behind this process however is tough to define. At first a cover must draw readers’ attentions, making a book stand out from those around it. In today’s market however this isn’t enough to guarantee a sale. A great cover must also create interest by conveying the book’s story. Readers want to know what they’re buying. Covers communicate a book’s feel, before readers even see the description. Judging a book by its cover’ is true for readers, authors, and cover artists. There’s a reason books are defined by their cover and content. The two should be echoes of each other. Ensuring the heart of the book is conveyed in cover’s images guarantees sales.

Barely Legal Romance

How Do Good Covers Become Great?

Everyone knows what a bad cover looks like. These are the covers that aren’t necessarily bad images; they just fail to capture any attention or interest. A good cover then gets either attention or interest, but falls short in capturing both qualities necessary for a great cover. The single factor which separates a good cover from a great one is a great cover captures both attention and interest. This attention should create enough interest to ensure that readers move from the cover to the book’s title and description. A great cover pulls in the necessary interest and curiosity, and it needs to be backed up with great metadata. Following this formula for peeking a reader’s curiosity and initial interest will prompt successful sales.

Incestuous BDSM Romance

What Do Artists Need From Authors For A Great Cover?

What a cover artist needs for a great cover is found in great metadata. Authors need to have a basic understanding of metadata to truly get a great cover for their book. Metadata should contain keywords that evoke images in an artist’s mind. Keywords combined with a short synopsis of the story, gets a great cover every time. The keywords highlight the feel of a book’s story, while the synopsis has all the necessary intricate details. Done right, the cover artist should never need to read a full manuscript. If they need to dig for minor appearance details, that’s alright. On its own though, the metadata for a book should make it easy to create a great cover.

Paranormal Romance

What Does A Book’s Metadata Communicate?

A book’s metadata should communicate what the cover artist needs most, an understanding of the story’s essence. Without this information, a cover artist’s hands are tied. Descriptions include all basic information for the artist i.e. character appearances, setting, and plot details. Remember, cover artists do not make one cover at a time. Many artists have dozens if not hundreds of covers to produce in a given month. Reading an entire story is not possible for many cover artists, as such, metadata must communicate for the story. If a cover artist has to read your story to gain enough information you need to enhance your metadata writing skills. Asking a cover artist to read your story just for a basic understanding isn’t only unfair, it’s also reflects badly on the abilities of an author and therefore, their story.

Demonic BDSM Romance

Are Author Opinions Helpful?

Generally speaking, authors need to really take a step back from sharing their opinions on what a book’s cover should look like. Cover artists know how to do their job, and will create great covers provided they’re free to do what they know how to do best. When authors start sharing their personal opinions, many artists feel limited. Working within an author’s boundaries, the cover artist usually has no choice but to create a good cover rather than a great one. Authors rarely understand how to capture both attention and interest; as such cover artists cannot make both a great cover and make an author completely happy. For authors it’s best to simply wait for a suggested cover image. Once an image has been suggested, it’s easier for exceptions to come up. Keep in mind, exceptions do sometimes happen. Artists can get confused, or not know where to begin. This usually goes back to metadata though, so ensure that a book’s metadata speaks for you.

Young Adult Romance

Should Authors Select Cover Images?

Putting it bluntly, authors should never pick their cover images. There’s a reason a cover artist has the job they do. When authors pick their own images, they once again limit a cover artist’s creativity. This isn’t to say authors have bad taste in images, what it means is that authors don’t have a good understanding of what sells. Creating a great cover is more than just a sexy or appealing image slapped with a border and text. Artists should never be limited to creating a lack luster cover. Many artists take pride in creating a great cover, so let them. As an author, just stay away from cover images. Don’t even get tempted, because all you’ll do is hurt your sales…and the book’s image. Once again, there’s a minor exception to this rule. At times, artists can ask for sample images. Keep in mind; these are samples only that will never be used as a final cover. Artists are forced to resort to this method of suggestion at times metadata fails. It all goes back to great metadata, spare yourself hours of sorting through images that will never communicate exactly what you want. Write metadata that communicates the details your story needs instead.

Uncle Niece Romance

Are There Differences In Erotica Cover Styles?

At first glance, there wouldn’t seem to be any difference between erotica covers and those of other genres. What artists must keep in mind, as well as authors, is the pit of despair that is the realm of legality. There are covers that seem like a great idea that are outright illegal to produce. For example, any cover that portrays younger females who are legal, but otherwise appear underage is illegal and will get everyone involved thrown in prison. Because of these legalities, cover artists often navigate thinly expressed realms of creative expression. Only in the erotica genre does this issue happen. Many times, cover artists find photo stock is not licensed for erotica purposes. This is particularly true for controversial erotica like incest, BDSM, and Dubious Consent. Authors may not think of it, but cover artists are forced to keep these boundaries in mind. Luckily, they still create great covers.

Mother Son Romance

What Goes Into A Cover’s Title Font?

To start with, a cover’s font must be out of the ordinary enough to draw a reader’s attention. Picking a font consists of a unique look will pique curiosity and attention. At the same time, the font must also refrain from being dated. Book’s often go through the same trends as any other markets do. Keeping a font style that’ll outlast the latest trend can ensure long-term sales. Font should also refrain from using anything frilly, or incorporating anything perceived as a frill like font. Often times these frills are not actually conveyed across far distances henceforth losing their intended goal. With all that in mind, an artist and author both must keep in mind limited spacing. Any font used should create enough space on the overall cover image. For authors this means short titles, while for artists this means refraining from bold fonts that are so thick they take up an entire half of the book’s cover.

Father Daughter Romance

How Do Great Covers Sell eBooks?

Overall great covers are only part of a larger more in-depth selling process. A great cover completes two steps of this four part process that results in moving the potential buyer into making a purchase. By first drawing a buyer’s attention to the book, without this initial attention and created interest there’s no way for a book’s sale to occur. Keep in mind, this process has four steps. That means if any part of the process loses the reader’s interest or attention the chances of a sale are almost nonexistent. In other words, a book’s cover capturing attention and maintaining interest are essential components of a book’s sale.