Passion to Profit: How to Make Money Writing Erotica

It’s possible to make money, when passion meets the pen. Read to discover FIVE ways you can turn your (writing) passion into real money right now in 2023.

Becoming a Writer of Erotica

It’s never too late to dive into a writing career, build a new writing niche, or change jobs completely.

Sure, some people write strictly for pleasure. But many writers write to make money and earn a decent salary — at least a salary that pays the rent or mortgage.

If you’re willing to get dirty, tap into your creativity, and feel driven to succeed, you could potentially earn a satisfying living from writing erotica.

While it varies, according to one report some erotica writers make $1,000-$10,000+ a month. Of course, some make way less. Some make tons more. Erotica is a multi-billion dollar industry — so there’s plenty of room for you to make money. It pretty much all comes down to time spent, effort, determination, and consistency.

And of course, you’ve got to put yourself out there. Online or offline in-print for the world to consume your delicious, steamy, and sensual words.

Mastering the Sexy Elements of the Story

In case you’re wondering, writing erotica isn’t the same as pornography, though both involve sex and/or sex themes.

There’s actually a legitimate art to writing erotica. Erotica involves good, hard core story telling. Some people go to school, college, or university to study how to write decent erotica; others sometimes fork over cash to take erotic writing courses or workshops. Degrees, diplomas, and certificates though aren’t required to master the sexy art of writing erotica.

Writers aren’t born overnight. And writing well doesn’t usually happen simply by chance. It takes time to hone your craft and skill. It takes practice.

Writing erotica requires learning how to tell stories and draw on the key elements to every story. These elements include plot (the “what’s happening,” including subelements like rising action, climax, and resolution); setting (location and point of time); characters (so important to develop characters and relationships in erotic writing); point of view (who’s telling the story and from what view); and conflict (what is your character trying to solve).

Of course, writing erotica can also be more chill, such as taking the form of lawless (or ruleless) instapoetry. Think modern, free verse poetry where you have full poetic license to be as creative as you desire.

Are you ready to go deeper?

Here are FIVE ways how you could become the next big earner as a writer of erotica.

If you take the time to practice and publish your erotic writing again and again. You’re going to improve at it. It’s just what happens when you write — and write a lot. And the more you improve, the better chances you have for making real money from your craft. After all, there’s demand for erotica content.

Here’s how you can turn your passion to profit.

1. Carve out a little niche. Erotica is a big, swooping category. Niche down on your area. For example, perhaps you love writing sexy, erotic instapoetry. That could be your thing. Or maybe you like writing about nerdy, sexual encounters. Or sweaty, sporty sex. Find your vibe. You’ll know it’s a good niche for you because it will make your heart beat a little (or a lot) faster when you’re writing on the theme.
2. Write well. Nah, you don’t have to have a degree or diploma in writing, but take the time to study up on how to write quality erotica, such as what makes a good story and the technical elements of good writing. Proofread and edit your writing. Use apps for better writing, like Grammarly, if you need to improve your writing product’s quality or to gain greater writing confidence. You can also ask a trusted friend or your loyal readers to give you feedback (keep in mind that sometimes our audiences are too gentle or too rough with us).
3. Write Every Single Day. Writing success in any genre rests so heavily on consistency. Making writing erotica your daily habit. Write, publish, get feedback, improve your craft, grow your audience, and repeat. Do this every damn day until you achieve what you’re seeking.
4. Self-publish. Go wild looking for self-publishing opportunities. Write your own book of erotic short stories, an erotic novel, or a collection of steamy micro-poems (think instapoems) and self-publish your work. Amazon is a great bet for tapping into the marketplace, including Amazon Kindle Store titles (Kindle Direct Publishing). You can also find other paying markets and self-publishing outlets, such as right here on Medium or on your own blog (that makes money from affiliate links or advertisement revenue). You can also publish your musings on social media platforms, such as in the form of Instapoetry on Instagram; as you build your followers and gain influence, a whole world of money making possibilities, such as in the form of paid sponsorships, could open to you.
5. Build a mailing list. Money is to be found in your email list. Focus on growing your audience, support for your craft, and your mailing list. When people sign up for your mailing list — that is willingly give you their email list — it usually means they are interested in what you do or offer. Accordingly, when you have a mailing list, you can notify the people who have joined your list of your new erotica articles, blog posts, books, and products. Since they already liked you or what you do enough to join your list, there’s a good chance that they’ll want to buy whatever you’re selling (if not now, then in the future).

If you enjoyed this writing, please clap for me. 🖤

Your turn. Do you ever think about writing erotica? Drop a comment below.

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