I wrote a post on this not long after joining Steem. The layout that will likely be of most interest to you is a reply I had there to a question asked by eroticabian.
Ok, so I am going to give you some general tips, not knowing what kind of erotica you are writing (long or short). This post was all I wrote on self publishing. I wasn't gaining traction with my how to posts, and basically saw I was going to lose potentially thousands giving away everything here.
1- Start branding now. Figure it out whatever it is going to be if you haven't already, and I would even advise redoing your first cover if you make them yourself to have this branding.
2- Set up your method for collecting email addresses now if you don't already have it. You will discover your mailing list is your friend. You will be offering this list your discounted or free ( I always used free) books. If you build a freebie list, know in advance they will never buy from you in all likelihood, but they are of strong value which I will get to in a moment.
3- To handle your mailing list newsletters I would recommend signing up for MadMimi. They are easy to use and you can juggle multiple pen names if you wish. Word of caution here. The law says you have to provide an address. I always gave mine, but I am a little rough around the edges and a guy who would most likely make someone stalking tiptoe away. What some women in groups I was in did to counter this was incorporate in another state and rent a virtual office in that state. I know beginning you might not have the money for something like that yet.
4- The reason to give away your books. The competition is fierce, and you want an edge. If you get people to give you their email, you have an edge right there. But even better, the various stores reward you. Amazon hasn't let you keep the rank for a long time, but they will give you also boughts on your sales page. Each one of those increases your listing being seen on other pages in their store. For B&N if you are wide, they actually let you keep the store ranking when the book comes off of free. It is a guaranteed visibility in their store.
5- Advertising. Here is the magic. You advertise your free books on newsletters...It is worth the initial cost, as they will download your freebies in numbers and if you have your email funnel set up to capture their emails you will quickly build your own list. Spend time on this list as it will one day free you from paying others like her for her list.
I only copied pasted the pertinent parts. Mind you as well this is solely for digital self publishing, which is where the real money and control is at. Many self publishers used CreateSpace (which Amazon has pulled into its own service through their KDP dashboard) to sell hard copies. The profits weren't great using print on demand, but some authors swore it added legitimacy and higher sales from it.
I found for myself, writing us easier using an outline. However, I prefer to look at the larger picture. Many finely written books never get any sales because of poor covers, and especially poor blurbs. I would typically write my blurb first, then sketch a bare bones outline to work from ( I say bare bones as I preferred to allow my creative juices free reign).
When creating this outline, try to envision problem/solution, but not in cold fact form. You need to make it personal, something the reader will connect with.
Since you will not be doing a series, it's a must you write something shorter that is packed with relevant information on your subject, and GIVE IT AWAY. This seems to defy logic, but here is why it's a must.
It allows you to demonstrate with no threat of loss to your potential customers, that you are an EXPERT. It also allows for you to demonstrate something even more important. You are a LIKABLE expert.
The giveaway acts as a funnel to your paid work and hopefully website. I didn't mention a website yet, but you will want one. One that you can use to give updates, giveaway free downloads in exchange for email addresses, etc.
Cover art isn't cheap, but it is crucial to not skimp on your cover. A great cover can sell shitty books, a poor cover can keep literary gold from getting any eyes.
There are a gazillion little details that could be mentioned. But this should be a good start. Oh, as to the audiobook. That really caught on as I was making my exit from self publishing. If you know anyone in your circles that has a great voice, you should pitch to them if they will do the reading. The site that was most used when I stopped was
The popular voice actors/actresses fetched a good penny, although some would work for a percentage of sales. The consensus among some of the authors in my circles was if you could do it yourself or find someone with a good voice it would make the process cheaper and easier.
Good luck. If you have any questions feel free to ask.
RE: Learning To Write A Book | Any Advice & Resources You Want To Share?