My rocky start to writing erotica
I’ve been writing erotic fiction since I was a teenager, but until now, it has been a private process for my own excitement and enjoyment. It’s a new decade, however, and I decided to challenge myself and begin publishing my work and putting my name out there.
Setting out in late December, I scrolled through Amazon’s erotica pages, seeking themes and niches and generally exploring the commercial side of the genre. Then I at down to write. To weeks ago, I was more naïve than I am now, and I certainly have become no expert in this brief span.
The first story I put to paper was Alecia Seduced. It was dirty. Yes, it was naughty. I tried to make it classy, too, and bring my literature and communications education to bear, but nothing hides the fact that it is pure smut.
On Amazon, I uploaded the cover I’d agonized over for hours, put together my manuscript, and clicked publish.
Alecia Seduced sat at just over 8,000 words horny passion. Short, even by my standards, but not out of the ordinary in Amazon’s erotica selection. The plot was simple, and not too dirty, I thought.
In summary, Alecia Hayes is an eighteen year old high school graduate who has recently broken up with her high school boyfriend. When her mother remarries and moves in with sexy billionaire Adam Hammond, Alecia becomes infatuated (and jealous). Eventually, he seduces her, and they fuck in one of the best sex scenes I’ve ever written. People are going to love this, I thought.
People did not love it. In fact, nobody ever got to read it. Amazon blocked my book from publication before it hit the digital shelves, and it’s not too difficult to see why.
The book was too dirty, in fact. Amazon’s reasoning was generic: violation of content guidelines. Was I finished before I even started?
“The straps of the bikini bottom had come untied when I leapt into the lake, but Adam had better hands than I, and he slipped the fabric between my legs as he floated next to me. Taking the opportunity to run his fingers around my pussy and cup one whole cheek of my ass in his hand, he beamed at me; to my mother it looked like we were just talking.” — Alecia Seduced
Luckily, no, my nascent career did not die in those sad moments. Already I’d eagerly written the sequel, Alecia Devoured, but certainly could not publish that, either. In preparation for launching my presence on Amazon, I’d also written several standalone stories and the first in another series, Taming the Alpha, called Alpha in the Bush.
It featured a sexy alpha male named Cole hiking alone (doctor’s orders) to recover from his sex addiction. But what will he do when he comes across a smoking hot damsel in distress? Cheesy? Yes, very. Good writing? I try. I published it instead of Alecia Seduced without a hiccup.
It sold one copy in the first twenty-four hours, and I quickly grew worried. I enabled a promotion, making the book free for the first week, and sat back in hope. It worked. 146 people downloaded Alpha in the Bush for free to their Kindles.
The problem, of course, is that despite putting my name out there for free, nobody left a review, and I didn’t make any money at all. Truth be told, I was disappointed.
Beth let out a little squeak as Cole filled her. He worked his way up to the powerful thrust with which he had driven Evelyn to climax. She was drifting off in a post-coital haze as the sound of Cole’s body meeting Beth’s in rhythmic succession filled the bedroom. — Alpha in the Bush
Today, I published my second book, Lay with Calypso. It’s a standalone title following the Greek hero Odysseus and his steamy affair with the nymph Calypso during his first wild night on the island of Ogygia. You could say it’s Homeric fan fiction, but blame my literature degree.
Only fifteen readers have purchased the title. Perhaps it’s too niche.
So, how can you avoid the pain of having a book blocked by Amazon? Well, it seems the quality assurance personnel are rather capricious, but in my subsequent uploads I’ve come to be very caution with my book descriptions, subtitles, and cover material.
In my first Alecia title, my description was raunchy as all hell. I wrote it directly in Amazon’s details pane, and now have no access to the words, but suffice it to say it wasn’t family friendly. The book is basically taboo-adjacent, too, and while there are thousands such books on Amazon, I was a bit to transparent with my craft. Now, I’m much more careful, and much more subtle. Just look at the cover of my upcoming short Taking Rachel, an office romance story that takes a rather dominant turn quite quickly.
The cover gives indications of the dominant-submissive themes in the story only with the word “taking,” and the design itself is simple, with barely any skin to show. With the description, too, I’m careful, describing the sexual aspects of the story thus:
Things get steamy and Ben can’t help take Rachel for himself when they get back to his apartment. She doesn’t want to resist him, and the afternoon speeds by as they make the most of each other in every way.
I’ve learned a lot in just two weeks with the publication of just two books. Perhaps, with luck, I can bring emotion and excitement to my readers, and continue to learn much as I write smut.
My first two books Alpha in the Bush and Lay with Calypso are available on Amazon now, and Alpha in the House is available for preorder. More, including Taking Rachel and Ex are forthcoming.
Join me at mayakchase.com/subscribe and reach me by email at mayakchase@gmail.com — I try to respond quickly, and I love corresponding with fellow writers and readers.
