How to Make Money Writing Erotica (20 Best Ways/Companies That Pay)

Making money and getting paid to write erotica takes resources and skills.

Not all websites and publishers accept erotica.

But you can get paid to write erotica with the methods and companies suggested in this article.

 

Why Make Money Writing Erotica?

Erotica is a challenging but fun way to get paid to write. Learning how to write erotica that sells well takes skill and practice.

These efforts deserve to be paid.

There is a huge market for erotica. It is one of the most profitable genres in self-publishing.

Erotica is a niche market with a strong sense of community. Getting paid to write erotica is a rewarding way to participate in the community.

 

10 Ways to Get Paid to Write Erotica

 

1. Read Your Erotica Online

Websites catering to amateur adult services have exploded in popularity over the last few years.

Having a unique take on the adult service you offer will put you ahead of the competition.

Most of these amateurs on these websites post elicit pictures and videos, but there is a strong demand for people to provide other entertainment.

You could get paid to write and read erotica on one of these adult sites. If you create a strong image, characters, and stories, you would likely do well.

Consider dressing up as the main character while you read your story. Find details from the story to incorporate into your video.

 

2. Work with a Literary Agent

Many publishers do not accept erotica for publication from authors. They require the erotica to be submitted through a literary agent.

Try to find a literary agency that has agents dedicated to erotica. They will know the business and have contacts to help you get published.

Having a literary agent and publisher will help you get paid more to write erotica because they provide advisors, editing, and marketing for your erotica.

 

3. Join an Erotic Book Club

Many cities have erotic books clubs. Try to join one to connect with others who enjoy reading erotica.

As you get to know them, you can offer to let them read your erotica.

After some time, they may come to love your work and even let you promote your stories through book signings and other events.

Once you reach the point of having these events, you can bring copies of your books and sell them at the events.

You can also promote digitally published content by offering discounts to book club members who join your private group or website or who download digital versions of your erotica.

 

4. Join a Discord Server

Discord provides many private servers for people to read and discuss erotica.

You could even create your own Discord server once you have a strong enough following.

Some servers may not allow for self-promotion. But if they do, consider publishing your erotica with a link to a donation website or your website.

Consider this getting paid with free advertising.

 

5. Self-Publish

Self-publishing is probably the most common way to get paid to write erotica.

Erotica is one of the most common genres self-published on Amazon.

The market has a lot of writers, but it also has a ton of readers.

It may take a lot of effort to build your brand and find a high-demand niche, but it could pay off.

 

6. Create Your Own Website

You could get paid to write erotica on your own website.

You will need to be careful to find a host where your erotica does not violate the terms of service.

The safest place to host your website is through your own Linux VPS server. There are hosting websites that help you set up this server.

Some hosts for Linux VPS servers include:

• Vultr.com
• a2hosting
• Kamatera

Creating a website that is hosted on a Linux VPS server may involve skills you do not have. Look for a host that provides assistance.

Alternatively, hire a freelance website designer. This may cost upwards of $1,000, but it will be worth it to have a quality website with little frustration.

Have both free, publicly available erotica and private, paywalled erotica to maximize your profits.

Perhaps you can even find advertisers for your website. Again, beware of terms of service with the affiliates.

 

7. Become an Adult Toy Seller

Just like there are direct seller companies for kitchen tools and essential oils, there are direct sellers for adult toys and other adult-geared items.

These are very popular for bachelorette parties and birthday parties.

Although you would primarily sell those products, you could also bring print editions of your erotica.

Doing so could result in getting paid to write erotica when the party attendees buy your erotica in addition to the adult toys.

 

8. Enter Writing Competitions

Erotic writing competitions both pay for erotica in awards and publicity.

Some competitions are for individual stories to publish on their website.

Others are for anthologies.

Publishing in an anthology is particularly good marketing.

Another contributor may be better known, so they bring in a lot of readers.

Some of these readers may discover your writing through the anthology, thus increasing your sales.

 

9. Join a Promotional Website

There are websites for promoting writers of all kinds. Some of them even have groups for erotica writers.

Promotional websites allow people to find writers of their favorite genre.

They associate you with other writers similar to you, so if someone loves their work, they may find you through them.

Moreover, some of these promotional websites allow people to find writers in their local area.

Therefore, when you have a live reading of your erotica, they may come to watch and learn they want to buy more of your erotica.

 

10. Start a YouTube Channel to Promote Your Writing

Yes, you should definitely start a YouTube channel to promote your erotica.

There are many such channels that get a lot of views from people interested in the topic.

The more views you have on your videos, the more likely you can make money selling your writing.

 

10 Best Companies to Make Money Writing Erotica

 

1. Only Fans

Only Fans is an adult content subscription website. Just in the last year, the website has paid out millions of dollars to creators.

The market for new creators is a bit saturated.

However, reading your own erotica while roleplaying the characters could be just the niche to break into the market and make a lot of money off of writing erotica.

You should publish free, written versions of your erotica online and then link to your Only Fans site to get paid for writing erotica.

Click here to check out OnlyFans

 

2. Smashwords

Smashwords is a website for self-publishing erotica.

You earn 60% of sales on other websites and 80% of sales on the Smashwords website for your self-published erotica.

They provide tools for formatting your writing, so it is easy to self-publish. These tools include:

• Sales reporting
• Alerts for your readers for new content
• Pricing managers
• Ghost distribution

Most importantly, Smashwords expressly allows for adult content.

In fact, they even tag erotica as adult content to allow people to either disallow erotica or even search specifically for adult content.

Click here to check out how to publish and get paid on Smashwords

 

3. Brooklyn Smutty Book Club

The Brooklyn Smutty Book Club is a meetup group.

They get together and read erotica, host authors’ events, and generally share their love of smutty books.

By going to these meetings, you learn more about your audience, research how other authors succeed at getting paid to write erotica and get to know potential buyers.

Once you have established yourself with the group, you may even begin to share your erotica website and other promotional platforms.

This leads to you getting paid to write erotica through increased sales.

Click here to check out Brooklyn Smutty Book Club

 

4. Two Sisters Writing & Publishing

Two Sisters Writing & Publishing will publish an all-erotica anthology in 2022. It costs $8 to enter the monthly contest.

If you win, you may then get published in the anthology.

Although there does not appear to be a cash prize for winning, you still get paid to write erotica through free publicity.

If you have your paid platforms established, then people who love your story in the anthology may search out these platforms and join or pay for more of your erotica.

Click here to checkout Two Sisters Writing & Publishing

You can also make money writing, as you can see from the following:

• Click here for How to Make Money Creating Content
• Click here for How to Make Money Doing Writers Work
• Click here for How to Make Money Doing Jingle Writing
• Click here for How to Make Money Writing Short Stories
• Click here for How to Make Money Writing Reviews
• Click here for How to Make Money Writing Poetry
• Click here for How to Make Money Writing Greeting Cards
• Click here for Best Apps to Help Writers Make Money

 

5. The Erotica Abyss

The Erotica Abyss is a discord server where people get together to share and discuss erotic literature.

Sharing your stories on this Discord server results in a wider audience for your other platforms.

Discord servers are private and secure. Discord is a growing chat platform where users control their own servers.

Therefore, they have their own rules. Be sure they are okay with self-promotion before linking to your websites or other promotional materials.

Consider creating a pseudonym that matches the pseudonym you use for your other writing.

Most Discord users do not use their real names. But if they like your writing, they may search your Discord username for more writing outside of Discord.

Having a pseudonym you use everywhere you publish is helpful for maintaining your brand and making sure your writing is easily found.

Click here to check out The Erotica Abyss

 

6. SubscribeStar.Adult

SubscribeStar.Adult is a donation website for NSFW content creators, like erotica writers.

Other donation sites might ban you if something in your erotica crosses some unstated line.

Although other donation sites say they allow erotica, they may find specific types of erotica unacceptable.

SubscribeStar.Adult specifically supports adult content. You can feel safe building your brand with SubscribeStar.Adult.

You get paid to write erotica by publishing your stories for free on various websites and then linking to your SubscribeStar.Adult site for them to donate to you and join your fan group where you publish paywalled content.

You set your own price for how much people pay to subscribe to your content. You then pay a small fee to withdraw your earnings.

Click here to check out SubscribeStar.Adult

 

7. Pure Romance

Pure Romance is the adult toy version of direct sales through people hosting parties.

To get started as a partner, you pay $149 for a starter pack of products.

You will reach out to friends to be hosts of parties where you sell the products. You could also bring printed versions of your erotica to sell.

Moreover, you could provide a discount on the digital version of your erotica to increase your sales.

Finally, you should have a flyer advertising all of your online platforms with your erotica, such as Only Fans, your website, and SubscribeStar.Adult.

Click here to check out Pure Romance

Also See: How to Get Paid and Make Money Writing Fanfiction.

 

8. Hostwinds

Hostwinds is a Linux VPS hosting service that helps you create a server to host your website.

Hostwinds is fully managed, which means they provide significant assistance in supporting your website.

Hosting with Hostwinds starts at $8.24 per month for 30 GB of storage and 1 TB of bandwidth. This should be enough for starting out.

It may be worth hiring a graphic designer and/or website designer to create a marketable website.

You may want to have a blog, forums, and other features on the website.

Each feature requires skill and time to create, so each one will add to how much a graphic designer or website designer costs.

Click here to check out Hostwinds

 

9. Literarium

Literarium is a freelance website for publishers and others to request erotica stories.

They suggest a topic or story idea, and you write the story for them at an agreed-upon price.

Buyers pay between $0.01 and $0.05 per word for erotic writing. This is a great way to improve your skills while getting paid to write erotica.

Click here to check out Literarium

 

10. Poets & Writers

Poets & Writers is a place to promote your erotica.

You can create a profile that tells about your background and find others to join in group meetings and chats.

This is a source of advice and exposure as an author.

You can get paid to write erotica by improving your skills, which translates to more sales.

Click here to check out Poets & Writers

You can also make money writing, as you can see from the following:

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• Read this to Make Money from Copywriting
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Writing Erotica for Money FAQs

 

What About Terms of Service Against Erotica?

Many websites do not allow adult material. Others allow adult material but have unwritten rules about particularly graphic material.

To protect your work, look for platforms and websites specifically for erotica and adult material.

Check for reports of people being banned for writing erotica even if it is allowed.

 

What Are the Best Tips for Getting Paid to Write Erotica?

Below are some of the best tips to help:

• It is important to build a brand for your erotica.
• Identify a niche for your writing where you will write most of your stories to build your reputation.
• Make sure it is a niche that sells well.

 

How Much Money Can You Make Writing Erotica?

Erotica can pay as little as $0.01 per word up to much more.

The average seller with three or more years of experience probably makes $800 to $1,500 per month.

Adding more ways of making money results in higher pay. For example, selling adult toys alongside erotica earns more than erotica alone.

 

Should I Use a Pseudonym in Writing Erotica Fiction?

Many erotica writers use a pseudonym for both writing and building an online presence.

You should use one because it allows you to be more recognizable, even on forums where pseudonyms are more common.

Consider it the brand of your product.

 

Conclusion

People get paid to write erotica through websites, competitions, and self-publishing.

There are more creative ways to get paid as well, such as through reading your erotica on Only Fans and selling adult toys alongside your erotica.

With enough effort and practice, selling erotica could be profitable enough to be your full-time career.