Have you ever attended a webinar for something like “How to write Erotica for fun and profit”? Erotica is literature or art intended to arouse sexual desire. Erotica is incredibly lucrative, estimated in some cases to be a $1.44 billion-dollar industry. “Make $1000 a day.” With dollar signs dancing in your head, you signed up for the course and dove in to write your first book only to find the fine print was missing regarding editing, cover copy, publishing and getting the word out.
The webinar states one should try to publish as many of these short works as possible. Erotica is a quantity game, not a quality game. However, I find that the discerning reader doesn’t want a short “slam bang thank you ma’am” story, but one that builds and reaches a peak with a short aftermath in about 25 pages. This is where the reader comes in to give feedback about the story, the cover, the writing, you name it. The excuses abound for not writing a review. “No time”, or they don’t want to use their real name for starters.
Once your book is completed and ready to publish, you turn to Amazon and truly believe that once the book is published, the readers will come flocking to read your book and you’ll be rich. NOT!
The author must get the word out, to Amazon’s readers, your friends (if you told them what you’re doing), your Facebook friends and other authors. Your work is just beginning. This is why the review is so important.
Amazon only requires 120-word review with a title so it’s not like you’re writing an essay, An Amazon Review, has a tremendous impact on how a book is perceived. It is true that online shoppers trust reviews as much as a personal recommendation. Any online item with numerous positive reviews conveys a message of the legitimacy of the item or book; without reviews the potential reader is in a state of distrust.
A positive review increases a book’s ranking and plays into the Amazon’s algorithm. More sales and more reviews, equals higher ranking and exposure to more book buyers.
Also, part of Amazon’s algorithm is the “If you liked this, then you might like…” book recommendations. This is particularly helpful for the author with a smaller following.
As an author, I appreciate the time and effort it takes to write and post a review and would like to say thank you to those who have taken the time to leave a review for any of my books.
Please, if you have read my stories, take a minute, now, to let others know what you experienced. 120 words or more.
Hugs,
Ava C Grayson