Rolling with the Homies . . . or the Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy Adventure Generator!

Fantasy writers can use these inspiration tables as an adventure generator for your next exciting story. But don’t think the tables are limited to the fantasy genre. Plug and play with the provided tables as you like and as according to your specific genre.

For instance, as with horror or suspense or mystery you might replace Kingdom with Haunted House, or Build with Stalk, or Wizard with Detective . . . and so on.

I suggest making a list of genre-specific persons, places, things and events (anything and everything that comes to your mind) then arranging, rearranging, as well swapping the options from the supplied tables until you have those that are more suited to your preferred genre of writing.

And after that?

Have fun with your new adventure generator!

The great thing is you only need the bare minimum of supplies: a pen, paper, and everyone has some six-sided dice lying somewhere around the house that can provide you the easy means required.

 

How to use:

Roll 2d6 (two six-sided dice) for each column of the inspiration tables in this order: Thing > Action > Thing > Fallout.

This creates a threat or entity that wishes to act upon another entity, and if successful then fallout occurs. For example: a Warlord (4) wants to Corrupt (6) a Kingdom (7) which causes Slavery (11).

 

-THING-

2. Horde

3. Monarch

4. Warlord

5. Monster

6. Wizard

7. Kingdom

8. Cult

9. Artifact

10. Interloper

11. Deity

12. Monolith

 

-ACTION-

2. Destroy

3. Protect

4. Discover

5. Steal

6. Corrupt

7. Revive

8. Build

9. Dislocate

10. Empower

11. Weaken

12. Control

 

-FALLOUT-

2. Plague

3. Exile

4. Upheaval

5. Tyranny

6. Slaughter

7. War

8. Desecration

9. Famine

10. Summoning

11. Slavery

12. Cataclysm

 

*Note: I did not invent this method or these tables by any means. Tabletop gamers have been using them or some modified version of this system for too many years to count for a single person to claim true credit.

Again, for your own adventure generator I suggest you tailor your inspiration tables to your specific genre of writing. Want more of a sci-fi? Then swap in Spaceship or Aliens. Is ‘Monster’ too vague a term for your potential horror story? Then change it to something more specific like Vampire or Werewolf or some other imaginary beast your characters might contend with.

You can shorten or lengthen your adventure generator as well if you care to invest a few dollars and purchase some specialized gaming dice, or just add or subtract another six-sided die while adjusting your inspiration tables’ numerics and their options accordingly.

With these tables (or any modified version of them) you can generate a story adventure in seconds that is easily applied to the protagonist, the antagonist, or any other of your characters, giving them an instant purpose to act upon and a reason to be acted against.

The possibilities are limited only by your imagination!

Titty Sprinkles . . . or How to write Erotica 101

I’ve recently ventured into the wild world of writing erotica short fiction . . . and so can you!

I never expected to write erotica in any capacity, but it turns out I have a natural flair for it. I discovered this quite by accident, sexting with several lady friends now and again over the years and earning praises for it every time, so the last time I fondled my keyboard while she fondled something else, something clicked in my brain and I thought: Hmm, why not try to write and sell this stuff?

I write under a pen name, and I can’t reveal it because that would defeat the entire purpose of using a pseudonym, so you’ll just have to take everything I say from here on in on faith . . . though hopefully my track record of being an award-winning and bestselling fantasy author under my real name will help convince you that I’m not lying for the heck of it.

Once I set my mind to it, I dedicated hours every day for months reading, studying and researching anything and everything erotica. I spent well over $200 buying erotica novels and short story collections and how-to write erotica books.

While perusing online erotica forums I chanced across some information about the ‘Dirty 30’ from successful erotica writers that advised not to expect any good or recurring amounts of money from your writing until you’ve published at least 30 erotica short stories.

I took that information and decided not to publish a single one until I had a bank of at least 30 erotica stories.

So that’s what I did, and got to work, writing one erotica short story each and every day. After which I edited and polished five of them then published all five at once, knowing because they’re short stories with a common theme that if someone enjoys one then they’ll probably immediately want to read another.

I was right.

So what determines an erotica short story’s length?

I came up with this little formula on my own and have discovered it works fantastically, based upon two facts:

1. The average person reads 300 words per minute.

2. The average person also reads for 10 to 20 minutes per day.

I took these two factoids and applied them to my erotica shorts to ensure the best total word count possible:

300 words per minute for 10 minutes equals 3,000 words.

Double that to 20 minutes and you get 6,000 words.

Now I had the minimum and maximum word count range for my erotica shorts of 3,000 to 6,000 words at 10 to 20 minutes of reading.

Perfect!

My theory proved true when within less than one hour after publishing my first five stories, my erotica shorts, with zero advertising or any promotion whatsoever involved, started selling on Amazon. People also read them for free with KU (Kindle Unlimited), earning me even more money while word of mouth continued to spread.

And they’ve sold while making me money every day since.

Which is nice because the average price for an erotica short story is $2.99 digital, of which you profit $2 plus a couple of pennies depending on the size of your file.

You see, erotica readers are willing to pay more for less because they aren’t just buying your story or characters, they are buying their particular fetish that gets them off mentally and often also physically.

One thing I also noticed about the erotica genre is that you don’t have to be a great writer to write great erotica. I discovered this enlightening fact after buying lots of erotica paperbacks from Amazon with raving reviews and high star ratings then reading them like crazy, and much to my surprise almost all of them read as if written by a ninth grader with a learning disability—the technical writing itself, anyways.

In every one of those books I noted multiple spelling or grammar or formatting errors . . . the latter which annoys me because a lot of erotica writers try to stretch out their stories’ lengths with little tricks such as adding spacing between each and every paragraph or using extra-large fonts or big margins and the like to increase their paperback page count.

I don’t use these tricks because I’d feel like I’m ripping off my readers or lying to them . . . since that’s exactly how I feel after buying such a book.

Treat your readers well, because you owe them everything, and they will return for more.

Considering my years of writing experience, I started with a leg up on the competition. And I’ve actually had to tame down my writing because erotica readers aren’t expecting Shakespeare or Hemingway, nor do they want to have to pause and look up the definition to ten-syllable words amid long and flowery flows of purple prose. It’s best to keep it rather basic while peppering in that flowery description.

As well remember not to get too descriptive when it comes to your main character. Erotica readers enjoy most putting themselves into the place of one of the characters, typically the main, and if you describe yours in excruciating detail then you risk your readers having trouble dislocating themselves into the role of the main character they may resemble nothing of.

This can apply to your other characters as well, because erotica readers often enjoy replacing them with people they know in real life to enhance while tailoring the carnal fantasies and imagining them together in that particular situation of your story.

But that is only a suggestion, mind, so I leave the depth of your character descriptions up to you.

This does not, however, apply to all description. Always remember the five senses when it comes to describing your scenes: touch, hearing, sight, smell, taste. But don’t overload every one of your scenes with all five senses all of the time or you will overwhelm your reader. Instead, feather them in here and there throughout your story.

I started with what I call the Excusable Taboo genre of erotica fiction by writing stepparent and stepchild stories then branching out. Reason being that the majority of people in the world at some point in life have some type of step family member so the subject is highly relatable. I call this particular sexual fetish the Excusable Taboo because it’s taboo in that, “We can’t do this because we’re legally related” and yet it’s excusable in that, “But we can do this because we’re not blood related.”

Amazon KDP offers the author two erotica categories, the first is just Erotica in the fiction list, and for the second you have to click on Romance and then click on Erotica as its subgenre. I suggest choosing these two categories (don’t worry, just because you choose the Erotica category for your book does not condemn it to Amazon’s Adult Dungeon; more on this in a minute) and not trying to pass your disguised erotica off in other categories because Amazon will eventually find out and change its category for you, and plus you’ll piss off a lot of people and possibly earn negative reviews if you sneak your hardcore erotica into pure Romance without the extra erotica tag as those readers will feel lied to and tricked.

There are also forbidden fetishes to steer clear of such as rape, real incest or sex with minors (just to be sure of the latter, I also include a little sentence on the copyright page of every one of my stories stating that all characters involved in anything sexual are considered at least 18 years of age and consenting adults). If you try to sneak any of this in on Amazon, they will eventually find out, ban your book and probably block your account, preventing you from ever publishing through them again.

As to your pen name, this is easy. Instead of typing your real name as you normally would when creating your book using Amazon KDP, instead you just type your pen name. Amazon knows it’s you because it’s still your account, and they’ll still pay you.

And don’t pick something complicated or stupid or funny as your pen name, like Tzinorina Chamtopolouse or Titty Sprinkles or Amanda Hugnkiss. Choose a pen name that is simple to pronounce, spell and easy to remember. Something like Blair Smith or Georgia Jones or Sasha Gray.

Also, choose a male pen name with caution because unless it’s man on man gay erotica that you’re writing, most male readers want to believe what they’re reading was written by a woman who also found it sexually arousing and not written by some other dude. Women also prefer erotica written by other women for same reasons. Go figure.

Just make sure to check the name on Amazon first so you don’t accidentally pick one by an already successful author of the same or other genre because this can cause you all sorts of little problems like their angry readers buying something from you by mistake, or your books getting lost in the shuffle because the name also belongs to an author who has published 100+ books about fishing.

I read it on multiple forums that you should publish your erotica fiction during the week because on weekends Amazon KDP’s algorithms and their book reviewers supposedly work overtime and tend to more often condemn the harder erotica to Amazon’s Adult Dungeon: which means people have to turn off Amazon’s adult filter and look for your book otherwise it won’t show up, and your books also aren’t recommended on Amazon because of it. This will cut into your sales dramatically, obviously.

I haven’t tested this theory with any of my erotica, not wishing to risk it while losing a story to the Adult Dungeon where it will probably forever stay, but I can say that it is true from other experience. I’ve published lots of other stuff under my real name (over seventy books both fiction and nonfiction, paperback and digital, novellas, stories, courses . . . et cetera), and every single time I’ve ever had a problem I needed to deal with during publishing because of a rejected review it was always sometime during the weekend. So my advice: don’t bother risking it and just publish your erotica during the week.

Understand when writing that erotica is all about the hesitation and anticipation. Sure there’s the necessary payoff of the climax where they have sex, but you need to lure and entice your readers along the way. Think of it like having lots of foreplay before the sex with a new partner you’re trying to impress.

Your stories should be a series of naughty and/or forbidden lines being crossed, then some manner of hesitation from at least one of the parties involved before crossed again, now a little easier because once you cross a line it becomes easier and easier to cross the next time and the time after that and so on.

Erotica short stories do not follow the typical Joseph Campbell Hero’s Journey or Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat! beat sheet or any of my previous blog posts on plot, because it’s a unique genre unto itself. Yes there is a protagonist (always their desire is pursuing sex or being pursued for it, depending upon the particular fetish involved) and yes a variety of plot points exist, but no one is buying and reading your erotica shorts for the rich tapestry of backstory or the exquisite building of your world or the deep development of the characters involved . . . they’re reading it to get sexually aroused, plain and simple.

You introduce your characters then present a situation from which they will eventually engage in sex—that is always the promise of your premise when it comes to erotica. Between the set-up and the climax you fill your story with a series of naughty/forbidden lines being crossed, each one a little more risky yet rewarding than the previous.

And you don’t rush into anything—this isn’t Letters to Penthouse with a 1,000 word limit.

Start with something simple like exchanged glances of a shared though forbidden attraction. Move your characters through lingering stares and vocal teasing to flirting that tests the iffy waters between them to brief physical touches, then kissing, then fondling, then foreplay and oral before the satisfying full-bore sex you promised, leaving your happy reader fulfilled though always craving more. After the climax, end your story with a short paragraph or two showing the change in the protagonist and/or their new situation then call it quits.

Again, erotica is read for the sex and its particular fetish involved, but most importantly the sensual anticipation leading up to it which should comprise the majority of your story.

And choose your titles wisely.

Calling yours ‘Daddy blasts his hot cum all over his virgin daughter’s teenage tittyballs!’ is a sure-fire way to get your book immediately into Amazon’s Adult Dungeon where it might not sell a single copy.

Apply this discretion to the book blurb and Amazon description as well.

For instance don’t use the word virgin, instead state that it’s a character’s first time losing their innocence.

Also don’t use naked people for your cover, otherwise it’s straight to the Dungeon. Amazon has rules for this, and I suggest you look them up, such as a woman showing too much cleavage or buttcheeks, or nipples, or a guy’s happy trail or the top of his pubes because his pants are riding extremely low.

Make your title and cover and blurb hint at the particular fetish and theme you wrote about and leave it there. People aren’t stupid, and most erotica readers are purposefully searching out their particular fetishes anyways.

What I do now for my erotica is stick to a schedule, I have a bank of stories and I publish one per week, maybe one every two weeks if life gets busy. On Monday I pick a story already written then edit and polish it perfect. On Tuesday I write a brand new steamy story then save it in the bank. On Wednesday or Thursday I take Monday’s polished story and publish it. Repeat.

Plus, and this is very important, PUT THIS ADDRESS LINK ON THE LAST PAGE OF YOUR EROTICA STORY:

https://www.amazon.com/review/create-review?&asin=

After the = sign just insert the particular ASIN of your erotica story with no spacing between it and the = sign. What this does is provide the reader with a clickable link that will take them directly to the review page for your story. This one little additional ditty will generate more reviews than anything else you will ever do.

But don’t get too excited since a lot of your readers won’t review your erotica because they are too embarrassed about having their Amazon account tied to their preferred sexual fetishes they enjoy indulging in . . . despite the irony of it already being linked because they bought your stories to begin with. Go figure again.

Your last page should be a simple Thank You note to your readers then the clickable address link asking for them to review it. Don’t beg and don’t demand, just thank them, provide the link and leave it at that.

Know that you’ll have to fill in your ASIN, copy and paste it into the address bar of your computer and go to the webpage yourself, then re-copy and paste the entire address from the address bar before copying and pasting it into your digital book to make it a clickable link, otherwise it’ll just be type the reader will have to copy and paste themselves, which the majority of them won’t bother with because people are inherently lazy.

The genres of erotica typically can be categorized as Soft, Harder, and Hardest. For example, Soft refers to a man’s penis as his Member, Harder is Penis, and Hardest is Cock. Personally I prefer to blend the three into one, starting my stories Soft, going Harder for the majority of the story then ending Hardest for the climax before the short wrap-up.

And where to get your ideas from?

Don’t be a shy prude.

Think about the last thing you imagined while masturbating then go from there, because I guarantee you’re not the only one with those same thoughts.

This is not everything you will ever need to know about writing erotica short fiction, but it’s plenty enough to get you started well on your path to becoming a successful erotica author.

Good luck!

Now go touch yourself then write about it.

Box of Chocolates . . . or How to Get Away With Stealing Stories

“If you always do what you always did, you’ll always get what you always got.” —Henry Ford

Writers steal their stories all the time, and often this blatant thievery goes unnoticed . . . until the trained eye digs a bit deeper.

*note: just switch out the preceding word/s with the succeeding word/s (in parentheses).

Here, take a comparative look at Disney’s Pocahontas vs. James Cameron’s (Avatar):

In 1607 (2054), a ship carrying John Smith (Jake Sully) arrives in the lush “new world” of North America (Pandora). The settlers are mining for gold (unobtainium) under the supervision of Governor Ratcliffe (Colonel Quaritch). John Smith (Jake Sully) begins exploring the new territory, and encounters Pocahontas (Neytiri). Initially she is distrustful of him, but a message from Grandmother Willow (the tree of souls) helps her overcome her trepidation. As the two begin spending time together, Pocahontas (Neytiri) helps John (Jake) understand that all life is valuable, and how all nature is connected via the circle of life. Furthermore she teaches him how to hunt, grow crops (tame dragons), and of her culture. We learn her father is Chief Powhatan (Eytukan), and that she is set to be married to Kocoum (Tsu’tey), a great warrior but a serious man whom Pocahontas (Neytiri) does not desire. Over time, John (Jake) and Pocahontas (Neytiri) discover a mutual love for each other. Back at the settlement, the men, who believe the natives are savages, plan to attack the natives for their gold (unobtainium). Kocoum (Tsu’tey) tries to kill John (Jake) out of jealousy, but he is later killed by the settlers. As the settlers prepare to attack, John (Jake) is blamed by the Indians (Na’vi) and sentenced to death. Just before they kill him, the settlers arrive. Chief Powhatan (Eytukan) is nearly killed, and John (Jake) sustains injuries from Governor Ratcliffe (Colonel Quaritch), who is then brought to justice (shot with arrows). Pocahontas (Neytiri) risks her life to save John (Jake). John (Jake) and Pocahontas (Neytiri) finally have each other, and the two cultures resolve their differences.

Or George Lucas’ Star Wars: A New Hope vs. J. K. Rowling’s (Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone):

Luke Skywalker (Harry Potter) is an orphan living with his aunt and uncle on the remote wilderness of Tatooine (in suburbia). He is rescued from aliens (muggles) by wise, bearded Ben Kenobi (Hagrid), who turns out to be a Jedi Knight (wizard). Ben (Hagrid) reveals to Luke (Harry) that Luke’s (Harry’s) father was also a Jedi Knight (wizard), and was the best pilot (Quidditch player) he had ever seen. Luke (Harry) is also instructed in how to use the Jedi light saber (a magic wand) as he too trains to become a Jedi (wizard). Luke (Harry) has many adventures in the galaxy (at Hogwarts) and makes new friends such as Han Solo (Ron Weasley) and Princess Leia (Hermione Granger). In the course of these adventures, Luke (Harry) distinguishes himself as a top X-wing pilot (Quidditch Seeker) in the battle of the Death Star (Quidditch match), making the direct hit (catch) that secures the Rebels (Gryffindor) victory against the evil Empire (Slytherin). Luke (Harry) also sees off the threat of Darth Vader (Lord Voldemort), who we know murdered his aunt and uncle (parents). In the finale, Luke (Harry) and his new friends receive medals of valor (win the House Cup). All of this will be set to an orchestral score composed by John Williams.

See now how even the pros steal their stories without apology or the least bit of regret?

If you’re stumped for your next great story then I suggest trying this method—most often employed by eager screenwriters attempting to make a living punching up weekly scripts for potential sale. Write out a synopsis of your favorite novel or movie then go about replacing characters and other words of narrative influence through cunning creative manipulation.

Because like Forrest Gump’s famous box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get.

Apples to Oranges . . . or Pricing your Ebook and Paperback

So you’ve spent the past six months writing a book from scratch to finish and now you’re ready to click Publish but for one minor decision: its price.

Should you charge $9.99 for each copy? When you do the math, $9.99 works out to getting paid somewhere around $0.05 a day to write.

Not very lucrative, am I right?

This is why successful authors tell aspiring authors, “You don’t write for the money, you write for the passion.” This is also why most writers have second jobs. Because the average author makes less than minimum wage from their writing.

I have to admit this now and get it out of the way: I was wrong . . . kinda . . . sorta . . . whatever shut up!

I’ve stated before that I would set all of my ebooks’ prices at $2.99 or lower regardless their length and never any higher because heck, it’s not like they’re buying a real tangible book or anything, just a disposable digital copy that can vanish forever with one simple click of Delete. I then based the paperback equivalent’s price on what percentage of profits the average traditionally published author earns for royalties. I always did so without sparing a second thought, and I achieved fair success over the years with this simple strategy while not putting too much thought into it because I don’t depend on my book sales to sustain me financially so I never really cared about it to begin with.

Then I talked with a handful of prosperous authors who advised me about their own particular value systems from which they assign the prices of their books. I won’t name any names but several are very successful authors who sell extremely well, and I’d be a fool not to at least listen to their advice. None of those I talked with knew each other personally, though all of their suggestions pretty much matched up equally as to how to price books.

So I spent time researching their advice via fondling Google’s naughty little search engine to confirm as much from multiple reputable websites offering much the same information of paperback and ebook pricing. Then I decided on a little experiment, changed the prices of my paperbacks and ebooks as per the combined suggestions . . . and wouldn’t you know it, before the first day ended I monitored both bumps and dips in sales that I continued to track for months before settling on the sure conclusion.

So I’m going to present you the information I’ve gathered through research as to how best to price your paperbacks and ebooks via several alternatives and my opinions on them, as well finish with what I’ve learned through my own experience.

Here are thefussylibrarian.com’s poll results from a handful of years ago about ebook prices taken from over 1,000 of their loyal subscribers of voracious readers:

“What do you think is a fair price for a full novel in ebook format that pays an author well though also remains affordable?”

All ebooks should be free: 6%

99 cents: 8.7%

$1.99: 11.8%

$2.99: 16.5%

$3.99: 20.6%

$4.99: 18%

$5.99: 11.6%

More than $5.99: 6.4%

“What is the most you’ve ever paid for an ebook from an author new to you?”

I only download free books: 9.4%

99 cents: 8.7%

$1.99: 9.8%

$2.99: 14%

$3.99: 12.7%

$4.99: 10.5%

$5.99: 7.2%

More than $5.99: 27.2%

*Note: The three most popular prices in both polls are $2.99, $3.99 and $4.99 though their order of preference varies depending if the author is recognizable or not.

Understand there’s a difference between a nobody publishing their first book and a Stephen King publishing his next bestseller. King could fart on a scrap of paper and still sell well regardless the higher prices attributed his books because he’s an established author with a wide fan base and excellent reputation, whereas the nobody first-timer would do well to take the price suggestions into account then adhere to the lower end of the cost spectrum so as to build a readership. Because without readers you’re just a nobody writing sh*t that never gets read.

Here’s the suggested ebook pricing guidelines taken from multiple writing forums (such as kboards and reddit, as well many author advisory websites too many to list) by multiple self-published authors who agree:

Very Shorts (less than 10k words): $0.99 to $1.99

Shorts (up to 15k): $2.99

Novellas (up to 40k): $3.99

Novels (up to 80k): $4.99

Tomes (up to 150k): $5.99 to $6.99

Bricks (150k+): $7.99 to $9.99+

*Note: I don’t agree with this broad application for the average self-published author mainly because these prices don’t take into account how much or little you are established as a writer as well the specific genre involved. Problem being, many self-published authors envision themselves on par with already established authors right out of the publishing gate and so severely overprice their books because they demand to be viewed as equal for thy ego’s sake, whereas plenty others are so desperate to gain readers and insecure in their inexperience that they severely underprice their books.

Paperback pricing conversion is simple, according to these suggested guidelines just add $7 to $10 to the price of the ebook, and hardback pricing is suggested at $12 to $15 more than the ebook.

Keep in mind the average trade paperback novel price is $15.99 (typically ranging anywhere between $9.99 and $19.99). Also keep in mind that exceptions exist to every rule which must be taken into account when pricing: whether it’s fiction or nonfiction, the length of the book, its genre, if it’s part of a series, how long it’s been out for sale, if you are a new or established author . . . et cetera.

Here is authormedia.com’s ebook pricing suggestions:

Flash Fiction (less than 1k words): Free to $0.99

Very Short Story (1k to 5k): Free to $0.99

Short Story (5k to 10k): $0.99 to $1.99

Novelette (10k to 20k): $1.99 to $3.99

Novella (20k to 40k): $2.99 to $5.99

Novel (40k to 120k): $2.99 to $7.99

Epic Novel (120k+): $5.99 to $12.99

*Note: I also don’t agree with this one for same reasons, let alone it still leaves a lot of guesswork up to you considering the price ranges it offers for a particular word count (it suggests $2.99 as the minimum for a Novella and yet also suggests $2.99 as the minimum for a Novel, then caps 40k words at $5.99 yet caps 120k words at $7.99, and that’s a big discrepancy in word count for a mere $2 difference considering 120k reads three times longer than 40k).

I would never pay $5.99 for a mere 20k word novella from one of my favorite authors let alone an unknown author, especially in digital form . . . though I’m an old-timer who is a stickler for paperbacks and am willing to pay more to have the literal book in my hands then on my bookshelf.

Here is scribemedia.com’s Ultimate Guide to Book Pricing suggestions:

(ebook)

Dirt Cheap: $0.99 to $1.99

Cheap: $2.99 to $3.99

Normal: $4.99 to $6.99

High Price: $7.99 to $9.99

(paperback)

Dirt Cheap: $7.99 to $10.99

Cheap: $11.99 to $13.99

Normal: $14.99 to $16.99

High Price: $17.99 to $19.99

(hardback)

Dirt Cheap: $12.99 to $15.99

Cheap: $16.99 to $19.99

Normal: $20.99 to $24.99

High Price: $25.99 to $27.99

*Note: What I don’t like about this is no word counts are listed and neither is genre, though I do like that it implies newbie self-pubbers stick to the Cheap prices until they make a name for themselves and have at least a couple books under their writing belts, those with an already established fan base though still not a big-timer by any means adhere to the Normal prices, and those who have plenty of experience with a wide fan base and a recognizable name can get away with charging the High prices, all while leaving the Dirt Cheap price suggestions for promotional deals and loss leaders.

They also included in their article a graph chart for ebooks showing that $3.99 is the most popular and bestselling price, $2.99 is second, $0.99 is third, there’s a significant drop in sales at $1.99 and $4.99, from $4.99 to $7.99 the sales decline steadily the higher the price rises, but there is no difference in sales between $7.99, $8.99 and $9.99 ebooks.

So what to do after assimilating all of the pricing information I’ve just afforded you?

The simplest method for deciding your ebook vs. paperback prices is to choose your ebook price then adjust its paperback price so that it earns roughly the same amount of profit per sale as the ebook. So if you earn $2.50 per ebook sale then simply set its paperback price so that you also earn $2.50 per paperback sale.

I say ‘roughly’ because it doesn’t and probably won’t be an exact match. Know that 60% of all successful marketing prices end in 9, and 30% end in 5, so you want to round your paperback price up or down to end in .99. This may have you profiting a bit more or a bit less than its ebook equivalent but no biggie and don’t get greedy. Now just set that as your paperback price and get on with the rest of your day.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

There’s a big difference when it comes to comparing self-published and traditionally published profits per sale, and here’s the skinny on that rub.

When self-publishing through Amazon KDP you earn 70% royalties on your ebook so long as you stay within their $2.99 to $9.99 price parameter (anything more or less and that sweet 70% drops to 35%), and you earn 60% royalties on paperbacks (this doesn’t include the 40% royalties you earn if you also enlist your book in Amazon’s Expanded Distribution option . . . which I don’t recommend for multiple reasons, one of them being that it jacks up the minimum price you must charge for your book by a large amount, let alone other reasons I’ve talked about in other blogs like not guaranteeing your book in libraries or book stores despite implying so, all of which more than likely won’t carry your book because Expanded Distribution only provides them the OPTION of carrying your book if they so wish to and that’s if they even know that it exists to begin with).

In contrast, the average traditionally published author publishing through a large house profits roughly $1 to $2 per book sold: 5 to 7% for mass market paperbacks, 7 to 15% for trade paperbacks, and 15 to 25% for ebooks. These royalty rates vary, mind, starting at the low end and scaling up depending on the number of print runs, how successful the book is selling, how well known and established the author is, and other such factors, but that’s the general rule of thumb.

As you can see, they profit much less on paperbacks than they do ebooks.

By the way, the difference between a trade paperback and a mass market paperback is that a trade paperback is a version of the hardback book in a less expensive form while still retaining good quality, and a mass market paperback is a mass-produced book that is typically small with thin paper covers and relatively low-quality pages to keep printing costs down. Bestsellers are often printed as mass market paperback books for wide distribution.

Amazon KDP does not produce mass market paperbacks, only trade paperbacks and hardbacks. I mention this because another common strategy of pricing advice is to research your genre, compare the prices of competing books to yours, then price match.

But a problem arises when you price match your self-published trade paperbacks to your competition’s traditionally published mass market paperbacks since mass market paperbacks are sold at the lowest of prices because of their cheaper manufacturing cost which doesn’t apply to trade paperbacks and certainly not hardcovers.

As well if you are an unknown author then there’s no point in price matching your book to known authors who have already established themselves over years of successful sales to a wide and loyal readership—that’s comparing apples to oranges and you’re the banana.

So what’s my advice after years of publishing, achieving thousands upon thousands of sales both ebook and paperback, spending countless hours of research, and experimenting with my own books’ prices while monitoring the changes in sales both positive and negative?

Keep it as simple as possible while sparing yourself the unnecessary headache.

Despite the average Kindle ebook price being $11 (this takes into account small fish authors, big whale writers, and everyone in between), the most popular and top selling ebook prices are $2.99, $3.99 and $4.99 (again, their order depends on how known or unknown the author is). What I suggest is to find the average length of novel in your specific genre then adjust your prices accordingly.

For example, the average total word count of adult fiction novels many decades ago was 60k. Later that bumped up to 80k words. Today that number is closing in on 90k words. This also depends on your specific genre, mind, but we’ll use those figures for sake of simple example.

If you are a beginning author with little to no readership and your book is under 90k then price its ebook at $2.99. If it’s over 90k then price it at $3.99. Once you make a name for yourself and establish a wider readership then you can bump those prices up a $1 tier, meaning less than 90k now equals $3.99 and more than 90k equals $4.99. And once you make an even bigger name for yourself you bump those prices up yet another $1 tier, and so on.

Again, find the average word count of your specific genre then apply the above formula, because every genre has a different average word count for its novels. Then find the profit per sale of your ebook and adjust the profit per sale of its paperback accordingly as earlier described.

Save the $0.99 ebooks for promotional deals, loss leaders, or extremely short stories such as anything under 10k (a loss leader, btw, is underpricing the first book in a series so as to draw more readers in to reading the rest of the more expensive books in the series).

Though again there exists exceptions to every rule, such as erotica shorts which average 5k arousing words yet the typical erotica ebook price is $2.99 because erotica fans are more than willing to pay as much for such a small word count to get their mental, and sometimes physical, rocks off.

Because sex sells, baby!

Remember, with Amazon KDP your ebook profits 70% royalties so long as the price is $2.99 to $9.99, and 60% royalties on trade paperbacks.

Traditionally published authors don’t profit anywhere near those royalties, which is why so many of them have been and continue to move into the self-publishing market, and this in turn is the main reason why traditional publishers charge so much for their ebooks which are often priced equal to or even more than their paperback counterparts . . . because the dinosaur that is traditional publishing is a slowly dying industry which pays their authors far less than does self-publishing. They try to rebuttal otherwise with stats and graphs showing paperbacks selling more than ebooks (which they do by a wide margin), but don’t forget that they monopolize the current market and manipulate these figures by purposely overpricing ebooks so that many readers buy the cheaper paperback version instead, and one reason why is they pay their authors much less per paperback sold than ebook sold. When it comes down to it, publishing is a business and it’s all about the money.

But here’s some good news, Amazon KDP allows its authors to buy copies of their books at a much cheaper price than its list price, so if you take some to book signings or author events to sell then you will make even more of a profit per book sold.

For example (and these numbers are by no means exact), let us say I published a huge novel that is almost 600k words long. It’s an 800 page, 7 x 10 door-stopper of a trade paperback with a minimum manufacturing cost of around $17.00 (this means I must price it at least $17.00 to sell it on Amazon while making zero profit) and it is available to me alone at $11.00 per book with my Amazon KDP author’s discount (less shipping and handling, of course). If this book currently sells on Amazon at $20.99 per copy, I profit somewhere around $2.50 per paperback (btw, don’t think raising your book’s price $1 earns you $1 profit because it doesn’t, Amazon takes a percentage of each and every $1 you raise it). But if I buy it at author discount then sell the same book for the same price in person at a book signing, I profit $10 per book instead of the mere $2.50 through Amazon . . . and I profit even more if I raise the price a bit because it’s an autographed copy with a personal message written to the buyer.

Do you understand now why authors love book signings so much?

Ching ching, bling bling!

Either way, don’t sweat the small stuff too much. And don’t underprice yourself but don’t overcharge your readers.

TLDR?

The average traditionally published author profits roughly $1 to $2 per book.

The average self-published author has the potential to profit much more per book.

*Note: These price guidelines, figures and suggestions (as of 11/5/22 or previous) are applicable for publishing through Amazon KDP; other publishers may vary.

Also, let’s not forget the current economic woes we’re all suffering since the pandemic cruelly paired with rampant Biden-flation causing two things to happen: slowly turning $3.99 into the new $2.99 standard for ebooks because of the American dollar’s dwindling value on a global scale, and yet also having readers wanting to spend less money on books because they’re more worried about paying their monthly bills and supporting their struggling families than spending that money on leisure activities such as reading.

Kind of a double-edged sword, that.

**Also Note: The easiest headache-free way to price your ebooks and their paperback equivalents is by their word count while factoring in if you are a new and unestablished author, one with a growing fanbase and several books under your belt, or a veteran with a large catalogue of books and a well-established readership.

I often change the prices of my books while taking into consideration how long they've been out, if they are a part of a series or stand-alones, if they are fiction or nonfiction, novels or novellas . . . et cetera. Point being, the price of your books is really up to you, because you are the one who put in all of the hard work. Don't sell yourself short, but don't rip off your readers either.

Good luck!

The Batman Factor . . . or Why Your Protagonist Needs A Key Component

Every protagonist should have at least one Key Component that defines them as the person they are. Often several exist, but you need at least one dominant Key Component that sets your protagonist apart from the rest of the herd.

Superman’s Key Component is that he values life and never kills (as well his classic motto of ‘truth, justice and the American way’ attributed him in the 1940s that DC has since changed to ‘truth, justice and a better tomorrow’ while pandering to unpatriotic Social Justice Whiners who hate the freest country that gives them every opportunity in their enabled lives). Any comic book nerd can tell you that, which is why we had such a problem with Superman snapping Zod’s neck at the end of the 2013 Man of Steel movie. Other options existed to thwart Zod from murdering those innocent people with his blazing eyebeams, and Superman killing Zod goes against his character. Remove this Key Component and he stops being Superman.

For example, the 2019 movie Brightburn. The filmmakers just took Superman, made him a child then removed his Key Component. What we have left is a boy with Superman powers and no compunction about using them to hurt or kill people.

Batman also shares this Key Component because Batman never kills. Heck, he will even risk his life saving a bad guy from certain death even though he was beating the crap out of them ten seconds beforehand. Another Key Component of his is that he never uses guns because as a child he witnessed his parents shot to death during a robbery in an alley. But if you write a story where sometime in it Batman picks up a machine gun and mows down the bad guys then he stops being Batman because Batman would never do such a thing. This would also remove all value from that tragic boyhood event of him witnessing his parents’ murder, rendering it meaningless because that traumatic event exists as the reason why he possesses the Key Components of never using guns, never killing, and is obsessed with fighting crime.

Richard Dean Anderson’s MacGuyver shares this same no-guns Key Component because as a kid he witnessed his friend accidentally shot while playing with a pistol and almost dying but for MacGuyver saving him through his more famous Key Component ingenuity of inventing things on the fly. This instilled the Key Component in MacGuyver that he never in any situation would ever use a gun because he absolutely deplores them.

In contrast to the previous examples is the Punisher a.k.a. Frank Castle who uses lots of guns and his Key Component is that he always kills. Once the Punisher sets his sights on a bad guy, consider them dead. The Punisher stops being the Punisher if you have him surrendering to compassion and leaving a pleading bad guy alive because you remove his Key Component which defines him as the Punisher. The mafia who murdered Frank Castle’s innocent wife and children and left Frank for dead showed no mercy or remorse . . . and for that neither does the Punisher his targets.

The Key Component of the protagonist of my fantasy Soothsayer Series, Banzu, is protecting innocent lives even at the cost of his own. Because of this I burdened him with the bloodlust curse which all Soothsayers are born with, but it remains dormant inside of them until the first time they kill awakens it. Then the bloodlust curse drives them to keep killing while causing madness so that they eventually become an indiscriminant slaughterer, which would obviously include lots of innocent people. This is in direct opposition to Banzu’s Key Component of protecting innocent lives even at the cost of his own, providing an interesting conflict of character.

Captain America a.k.a. Steve Rogers is a great example of someone with tons of Key Components (truth, freedom, justice, liberty, protecting innocents . . . et cetera) and we’re shown them throughout the entire run of MCU movies. He wants to join the military to protect the innocent people the Nazis are brutalizing despite being small and weak. He throws himself on the dummy grenade to protect his fellow soldiers during basic training even though they bully and make fun of him. He stands against S.H.I.E.L.D. when he discovers they want to police the world through pre-crime arrests and detention. He defends his best friend Bucky against Iron Man after Tony Stark learns Bucky a.k.a. the Winter Soldier murdered his parents because Bucky was brainwashed at the time and did not commit the murders of his own free will. When Vision offers to sacrifice himself because Thanos wants the Mind Stone in his forehead and will stop at nothing to get it, Captain America refuses him because, “We don’t trade lives.” When he and Tony argue about stopping Ultron as well the greater threat behind Loki’s attempt at enslaving the world through Chitauri invasion, Tony asks how they’re supposed to deal with that greater threat after excusing why he and Bruce Banner created the Ultron murderbot. Captain America simply says, “Together.” Tony rebuttals with, “We’ll lose.” And Captain America responds, “Then we’ll do that together, too.”

Growing up, us comic book nerds loved to argue about who would win in a fight between our various favorite superheroes. Over the years this resulted in what became known as The Batman Factor. Because, you see, Batman’s dominant Key Component that sets him apart from every other superhero in existence is that no matter how bad you beat him down if you leave him alive he will slink away into his batcave, discover some unique way of exploiting your greatest weakness, then come back with a vengeance, beat you to within an inch of your life and let you know that he can do it again any time he wants, then he’ll walk away while leaving you alive but forever broken. Because what defines Batman as Batman is that no matter who he’s up against, he always wins in the end. Above all, that is what makes him Batman. Remove this Key Component and you render him just a forgettable guy in a costume fighting crime. Provide this Key Component and you get one of the most beloved superheroes in all of comic fandom, recognized today by literally billions of people, who has endured for over eighty years of great storytelling.

The Key Component defines your protagonist by making them who they are, whether they possess one or several. It also helps you write your story because knowing their Key Component allows you to put them into situations that challenge it, where they can utilize it best, as well where it can be exploited against them. Discover your protagonist’s Key Component and you’re well on your way to making a great, memorable character.