Obviously the title is sarcastic, but I do write books and I thought it would be fun to track my progress. So, in October of 2021 I self-published my first book on Amazon, a dark fantasy novella that sold about $30. It was fun, and I showed myself that I not only could write, but that I wrote enjoyable stories and really liked writing. So I said to myself "self, I'd like to do this more and possibly make money from it." Now, writing books is easy. Making money from books is not. So as I perused all the tips and advice online, I came across the oldest business in existence, that being secks. The nice thing about the hanky panky, and we're talking porn here, is that it sells itself. No advertisement needed. So I studied the market for short erotica and created a pen name and wrote a few stories. I made a few bucks. I wrote a few more. So far I have about 30 stories out, and have made $700-something from my hobby.
I would like to emphasize that I started writing erotica for one reason and one reason only: to make money. And there is money there, it just takes time and effort. I don't have a ton of time, with me having a full-time job and a family, but I wake up early in the mornings, I write on my lunch break, and I write some after my wife and son go to bed. From what other erotica authors have told me, I'm about halfway to where I need to be before I start seeing a notable increase in cashflow--one of the most important things about being an author is having a large back catalog. The more books you have out, the more money you'll make.
So hey, if anyone is curious about reading what it's like trying to find some measure of success as a self-published author, feel free to read! I'll try to remember to pop in here and update once a week or so.
I wanted to add a little edit in here to emphasize that I'm putting most of my effort into writing my science fiction series, my "real" books. I only write erotica for cash, although the writing practice honestly helps.
Edit: As of April 2022, I've stopped writing erotica. I just got tired of it.
Edit: as of September 2023, I am now a best-selling author.