The Future of (self) Publishing
Posted on August 28, 2010
I started a new blog over at The Self Publishing Revolution, but I thought it would be good to cross-post here, too! Come join us, we have some great author contributors!
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At this moment I have the #1, #6 and #9 bestsellers in erotica on Amazon. That may change in the next moment. They move up and down. But I’ve been in the top ten for six months and I am making $10,000 a month on Amazon Kindle.
How did that happen?
When I started Excessica in March of 2008, the biggest ebook distributor on the block was a company called “Fictionwise.” In order to get into their storefront, you had to be a publisher with 10 or more authors and 25 available (not public domain) titles. I wasn’t a publisher, and I didn’t have 25 titles, but I did have a lot of online friends who were authors.
So I had an idea…
What if we all got together to form a sort of “co-op” of writers to publish our work on the big ebook distributors? At the time, that was Fictionwise, Mobi, and a newcomer, All Romance Ebooks. That was how Excessica was born, and basically how my career as a real paid writer began.
Granted, at that time, I’d already been “epublished” by a start-up ebook publisher, Stardust Press, who had gone out of business almost as soon as my book hit the virtual shelves. And I’d sort of fallen into that, having entered a contest they sponsored, hoping for the money prize. I didn’t win – but they offered me an epublishing contract.
I hesitated. I didn’t know anything about epublishing at the time (it’s amazing what you can learn in two years) and kind of turned my nose up at it. I didn’t want to be “epublished.” If I was going to be published at all, I wanted to be published “for real” – to feel the weight of my book in my hands, to see it on shelves in a brick and mortar store.
But as my husband pointed out – why not? A bird in the hand, as they say…
It was that brief foray into epublishing that whet my appetite for more, watching Stardust Press get our books to distributors like Fictionwise. I thought, if they can do it… why can’t I?
Nevermind that Stardust had just winked out into nothing in the vast constellation that was epublishing at the time. I wasn’t taking on any big time investment – just the cost of creating a domain name and putting in the work of setting up a site for our books. I’d already purchased a hosting package for my own author domain, so that wasn’t an issue.
It didn’t take long for the authors I knew to climb on board, and we were off and running, applying to Fictionwise, being accepted, and seeing our books find wide distribution. That was exciting, and proved to be lucrative for me personally. I started making enough money per quarter on my books to make it equal to a part time job, which was really my goal when I started: a supplemental income.
The ball rolled along nicely for about a year – and then one day in March 2009, all our titles (about a hundred and fifty of them by then) disappeared from Fictionwise. This was just after Barnes and Noble had acquired Fictionwise. Coincidence? I don’t think so.
As I look back on it now, in light of what’s happened since with self-publishing, it’s almost amusing, but at the time it was devastating. I panicked, emailing the site. I received the response that Fictionwise did not support “author co-ops” and that they were terminating our contract and pulling our books.
Come to find out, after a little digging and back and forth with Fictionwise president, Scott Pendergrast, that a few “support tickets” had been submitted about our “extreme content.” Excessica has always been about freedom of speech. We have some boundaries, but I try to let our authors push them as much as possible. We publish things like nonconsent and adult consensual incest – something other erotica publishers wouldn’t touch.
Of course, when I inquired about those support tickets, I was told we couldn’t get any details about them, even if stripped of identifying information. They wouldn’t even tell us the number of support tickets submitted! Finally, we had to give them a list of “possibly offensive titles” after which they would restore our books to the site, minus “the list” – and would only restore those upon review.
Basically, they used our self-publishing status to try to censor our books. Mr. Pendergrast scoffed at the idea of an author having total creative control over their work, creating their own covers, arranging for their own editing, and decided we weren’t “a publisher” because of our business model. So what if I was offering 100% payout to my authors? What business of it was his?
Luckily, the first amendment won out. After two months of lost sales, they finally restored the titles on “the list”, adding a new “taboo” category to their site.
Then another revolutionary thing happened. Smashwords opened their doors. They looked like another distributor, on the surface of things. The difference was they offered a huge cut to authors (something I was all for – because I didn’t take any percentage from Excessica authors’ works and only profited from my own). We got to keep 85% of our profits with Smashwords (All Romance Ebooks gave us 60%, Fictionwise gave us 50%, and Mobi gave us a piddly 35%) so I signed up with them immediately. Who knew that they would change the face of self-publishing inside of a year?
Of course, they couldn’t have done it without Amazon Kindle’s success.
It was like the perfect storm. Smashwords started reaching out and becoming a true distributor, offering individual authors the opportunity to get into places like Fictionwise (and hence Barnes and Noble) where they couldn’t tread before. More and more authors jumped on the bandwagon. Kindle themselves opened their own self-publishing platform (although we could, as a publisher, access them through Mobi before that). In places like Sony, and then much later, Apple, the doors were opened wide for individual authors.
Our little co-op had become unnecessary within six months. We didn’t need each other to publish books anymore – any single author could go onto Smashwords and reach the same distribution level we had. And they did. Joe Konrath blogged extensively about his success. I watched it all unfold, seeing my own numbers on Amazon start to match his. I was making $10,000 a month on Amazon alone.
Our little venture had, for me, gone far beyond a “supplemental income.”
Of course, I was still running Excessica. From the beginning, I’d done the lion’s share of the work, formatting everyone’s books, putting titles up at distributor sites, sending out royalties. It added a great deal of time to my schedule, but I figured, I was also receiving the lion’s share of the profits (even if it was just for my own work) so it seemed, somehow, fair. And I did have some amazing volunteers (the woman who offered to take over the accounting aspect for me saved my life!) But as our roster of authors reached 100+ and our distribution schedule hit four books a week, even I got overwhelmed. And the business model I’d created wasn’t quite as self-sustaining as I’d hoped.
I had come up with the idea of releasing quarterly anthologies with donated stories from Excessica authors to pay the basic costs of doing business (web site, postage, etc). But the anthologies weren’t coming out fast enough to keep up with costs. Finally, I decided to take 10% of Excessica’s proceeds – leaving Excessica authors with 90% profit. And I started “hiring” people to do the work I’d done previously, paying them, as a co-op might, with keeping their 10%, or with free advertising on our site.
So far, this system has worked quite well, and Excessica has kept on rolling. The only other thing I’ve done is close our doors to submissions from outside authors, except by referral or invitation. We will keep publishing our own authors’ work, of course, if they want to stay with us. (Our contracts allow them to leave at any time.)
I knew this was the right decision when My Bookstore and More (Samhain’s distribution site) stopped taking outside authors’ works. For a while there, ebook publisher storefronts like Ellora’s Cave, Samhain, and Bookstrand, opened their doors to not just their own published work, but to outside publishers as well. But as the success of Amazon/Kindle, Apple, Barnes and Noble and Kobo started to appear, they realized where the real money could be found and saw the futility in selling other publisher’s books from their own storefronts.
So that’s it. That’s how I started my journey toward making $10,000 a month on Amazon writing erotic fiction. I don’t know how long it will last, of course. This business has proven it can turn on a dime. It’s a whole new world in e-publishing. In just a few years, a total shift has taken place. My revolutionary idea has become obsolete. Authors like Joe Konrath can publish their work on their own. He never had to jump through the hoops I did back in 2008.
Makes you wonder what 2012 is going to look like, doesn’t it?
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Pirate Queen Retires
Posted on June 12, 2010
A few times a week, I go pirate-hunting.
It’s a dirty job, but someone’s got to do it!
I spend a few hours Googling my name, checking out links to free file-sharing sites, and sending out cease and desist notices.
Usually, the links are removed within 24 hours. Yay me!
Yeah, right.
The truth is, I probably only catch about 1/4 to 1/3 of the links that are actually out there available to download in the first place. (Probably less!)
And of course, they’re back up 48-72 hours after that. The pirates all say ARGH! (I mean, they say: “Would you please re-up?”) and the link goes back on RapidShare or MegaUpload or Plunder…
And the whole thing starts all over.
It’s like putting a band-aid on an artery.
Granted, I’ll admit, piracy kind of pisses me off. I have taken it pretty personally. I mean, WTH? You’re taking my book and you didn’t even ask me? Dude! Hence all the Googling and letter writing and craziness I obsessively undertake every week.
But frankly, I’m exhausted.
And J.A Konrath gave me a good reason recently to give myself a much-needed break.
Konrath decided to give a book away for free, as a piracy experiment, to see if it would impact his book sales. He’s not the first to think of this. Lots of people have done it before him. Baen did it ten years ago. It’s basically a marketing gimmick. A good one, but still, a gimmick. It’s the classic “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em!” philosophy.
Me, I don’t have to give books away free. I’m one of the most-pirated (living) erotic authors on the Internet. My books are being pirated all over the place. Go ahead, Google “Selena Kitt” and “Torrent”. I’ll wait. See?
I stem the tide a few times a week, but it doesn’t stop the deluge for long. It’s like trying to kill cockroaches with a Barbie shoe.
So while everyone is giving books away free to “prove” or “disprove” that piracy is “good” or “bad” – and trying to up their sales by doing so (come on, guys, I’m pretty generous in that department – I already give away a bunch of good free reads)…
Me, I’m just giving up.
That’s right – the pirates “win.” I’m putting away my sword. No more pirate hunts for me!
So that’s MY piracy experiment. Let’s see if doing NOTHING AT ALL will impact my sales numbers.
Babysitting the Baumgartners is the #2 bestseller in Amazon Erotica this week. All you’ll need to do is watch the ranking. Up or down? Hm, I wonder…
I heard Jason Mraz encourages his audience to bootleg his live performances. I love him. Especially his live performances. And I own several of them. Bootlegged. It’s true, I’m a pirate.
Maybe this video’s got it right after all?
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Amazon Rankings – and a BIG SALE!
Posted on June 10, 2010
Amazon has now pulled their “free reads” from their rankings.
And if you haven’t read any of the following yet - they’re on sale for only $1.78 on AMAZON! Get them NOW!
Taking “free reads” out of the rankings has catapulted
Babysitting the Baumgarters to:
#4 in Erotica
#100 in Romance (!!)
And Under Mr. Nolan’s Bed to:
#8 in erotica
And The Real Mother Goose to:
#18 in erotica
I’m a little in shock! 
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New Release: Quickies by Selena Kitt
Posted on January 19, 2009
eXcessica new release
QUICKIES
By Selena Kitt
www.excessica.com
Length: Novel (55,867)
Category: Anthology
Heat Level: eXcess 4
Price: $4.99
Whether the story is about a quick encounter of the erotic kind or it’s just a fast and furious read, here is a pulse-pounding twenty-five story anthology, promising to take you on a headlong express to ecstasy. Join Selena Kitt on a swift, delightful trip, from stories of heart-racing sex in elevators or across office desks or in dressing rooms, to the impatience and excitement of the first time experience – you’re sure to have a blissful ride on the these racing rapids of erotica!
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2009 Eppie Finalists
Posted on December 14, 2008
Thought I’d brag a little (again) about the fact that two of eXcessica’s books have been judged as 2009 EPPIE FINALISTS!
I’m so proud I could bust-a-button.
This is the 8th year of the Eppies, and it has become a rather prestigious award in the e-publishing world.
From the EPIC (Electronically Published Internet Connection) site:
“The EPPIE Awards have been given annually since the first EPIC conference to recognize outstanding achievement in e-publishing.
EPPIEs entries are judged by volunteers, with the largest percentage of EPPIE Judges being active EPIC Members. Guest judges, all of whom are either published authors or publishing professionals, may be used as alternate judges at the EPPIE Committee’s/Chair’s discretion. After the first round of judging the works of the finalists are sent to second panel of judges and winners are selected. The winners are announced at the EPIC conference’s gala award ceremony at the annual EPICon Convention.
The 2009 EPICon will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada.”
I doubt I’ll make EPICon, but I’ll be waiting on pins and needles until March to see who wins!
A Good Student by Elliott Mabeuse
Category: romance/bdsm
Length: Super-Novel
Heat Level: eXcess 3
Price: $5.99
Warnings: This title contains graphic language, sex and bdsm elements.
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When passionate Professor Conner Devlin meets oversexed student Emma Fiore, the sparks ignite: he’ll train her to be his classroom sex slave, carrying out his every desire, while she gets to experience the forbidden pleasure of submissive love before her marriage to a dull and unfeeling man. But Emma’s sizzling and insatiable desires soon overwhelm Conner and he finds himself hopelessly in love with his young submissive. Emma accepts him as her sexual Master, but will she have him as her real-life lover?
Through the means of BDSM and the demands of extreme sex, Conner tries to break down the barriers between them and make Emma acknowledge her feelings, until one night things become too real and the games are forgotten. Conner takes Emma prisoner for real and their passions erupt in a cataclysm of raw emotion that rocks them both and fuses them in a transcendent love.
Told with intense honesty from the dominant’s point of view, A Good Student gives a rare and searing look inside a man’s heart as he’s caught in the throes of a compelling and overwhelming love and passion, all his thoughts and feelings exposed. Listening to Conner’s confessions is like having your own personal Master tell you everything he feels, with a poet’s skill and a therapist’s insight. You’ll never look at the dynamics of D/s and a man’s sexuality the same way again.
Romance at Heart Review by Rose
“Sensual, sexy, totally erotic…his characters are always punchy, up front, and delightfully real. I got wrapped up in the affaire d’coeur Elliott tells between the covers. Here we learn from a man whose life has been lacking something he was not aware of, true love and caring. (I)t is one romance on the edgy side you won’t want to miss!”
A GOOD STUDENT IS ALSO AVAILABLE IN PRINT!
Category: anthology
Length: Novel
Heat Level: eXcess 2
Price: $4.99
Warning: This title contains graphic language and sex.
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Mother Earth is one hot, sexy Mama, and in this tribute to nature and the environment, Selena Kitt pays homage to her beauty, her grandeur – and her conservation. Who else could tackle topics like global warming, strip mining, animal endangerment and environmental toxicity, all while making it hot, hot, hot?
This anthology includes six sexy and environmentally provocative stories that will rock your world-and arouse and raise more than your environmental awareness.
STORIES INCLUDED (click a link to read an excerpt!):
Lightning Doesn’t Strike Twice
ECOEROTICA IS ALSO AVAILABLE IN PRINT!
***USE COUPON CODE CTUEM7FY FOR 10% OFF PRINT***
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