Formatting woes

If you're waiting to buy my stories in the Sony, Kobo, Deisel or eBooks Eros stores, you're going to have to wait a little longer. After a week of waiting, Smashwords sent my manuscript back with a request for modification. It's a small change (moving the copyright page from the back of the document to the front), but I'm at the bottom of the list again.
I'll give everyone a heads-up when the stories make it into new stores. I suspect that most of my readers are using the Kindle, Nook or a phone app anyway, but it doesn't hurt to have my book available in more stores.

Under the Sea (of terrible costumes)

Sexy shark:

Sexy sea turtle:

Sexy dolphin:

Sexy clownfish:

Bad author

I spent so much time devising new ways to send traffic to this blog that I completely neglected the most important part of this endeavor: convincing people to read my published stories. Oops!
My sexy schoolgirl stories are available for just about any device. I'm juggling three new stories, one m/f/f and two m/m, that should be out in the near future. Because work has slowed down on my usual freelancing gig, I have more time to spend on erotica.

Extra cash for Smashwords affiliates

I've "juiced" my affiliate earnings on Smashwords. This means that Smashwords Affiliates (or anyone with a Smashwords account) can get 20% of the list price instead of the standard 11% by linking to my sexy schoolgirl stories. I take a slightly smaller cut on these purchases, but it's worth it to introduce my stories to a larger audience.

If you have a review site and you make some of your money through affiliate programs, that's something to keep in mind. I'd be happy to send reviewers a free copy; just email me at persephonerouet@gmail.com and let me know which format you need.

There I am!

I hit a minor personal milestone on Amazon: my schoolgirl stories have started showing up under other authors' books. Some of my lovely customers went on to purchase similar stories about spanking, so my work is starting to show up under other authors' stories. It's fairly low in the lists at the moment (I found this screen capture on page 12 of 17 of The Riding Academy - Strict Lessons for Teresa), but I'm hoping to increase my ranking over time.
This feature is becoming one of my favorite parts of Amazon. Self-published writers make a lot of their sales by having their work mentioned on the same page as an established author. I know I make the majority of my Kindle purchases by starting at a favorite author's page and following the links until I find something that strikes my fancy.

So, if you like my work, the nicest thing you can do is to keep buying similar stories from different authors. I may even start reviewing some of my favorite spanking stories* on this blog, because it helps me when similar authors make sales.

* My page don't seem to be linking to any menage a trois stories yet, even though that's a major feature of "Hard Body." Hmm, I guess that tells me which story my readers liked more...

Sexy Patent: SEX TOY

So I just stumbled across Google Patents. There’s something oddly fascinating about really weird patents. Even the most obvious features are diagramed and labeled out in dubiously scientific terms. The minimalist diagrams are surprisingly eye-catching. And if you type in enough keywords and scroll through enough pages, you can find something so mind-bogglingly odd that you just have to share it with everyone you know.

The truly beautiful thing about patents is that each and every one of them was created by someone who thought this device had worth. Some inventor sketched and labeled and filled out forms and thought, yes, this is a valuable contribution to human ingenuity, and I need to patent it right away before someone else steals my idea.

(Picture and description are after the jump because they're not safe for work, unless you work in the US Patent Office)

America

I went looking for an alternative to the sexy fruit cup costume and ended up with this sexy hamburger dress. Unlike the other costumes on here, it's actually handmade by an artist, which is actually pretty awesome.

New publisher: Smashwords

My schoolgirl stories are now avaible on Smashwords. I spent a while wrangling with the site when the stories first came out, but they're up for good now. You may have to turn off the Adult Content Filter in order to find me.

You can now read these stories online without having an e-reader or dealing with the apps that come with Amazon and Barnes & Noble. You can also download my work as a PDF, RTF or plain text file (plus some other unusual formats like PDB and LRF).

Some of my potential readers complained that the sample that was available on the Kindle and Nook wasn't long enough. I've increased the sample size on Smashwords to give readers a more titilating section.

Of course, any new publishing experience is going to come with a few bugs. Please let me know if you spot any typos or formatting errors.

Happy reading!

Goodreads

My favorite part of Netflix is the rating system's ability to churn up indie, old or little-know movies based on your ratings. So of course I've become a huge fan of Goodreads, a social networking site based around books. Its rating system is similar to the Netflix algorithm; once you rate enough books, you get suggestions based on user data. I’ve bought several delightful books already by following the site’s suggestions.

I even set up an author page there. Feel free to friend me!

Website updates

I spent some time fiddling with the text of my author website. There's more information up there about the work I've been doing and where I can be found online.

I'm not a web designer by any stretch of the imagination, so any helpful comments/gentle critiques/foaming rants would be appreciated.

A Nifty App

Oh hey, look at this nifty IndieBound App. My work isn't listed on IndieBound, but I'm actually a huge fan of independent bookstores as well as major distributers like Amazon and Barnes and Noble. I'll probably have to wait for a book deal with an established press to get listed on IndieBound.

If you're looking for my stories, you'll need to go to the Amazon or Barnes & Noble stores. Fortunately, both of those places also have PC and smart phone apps. I'm hearing good things about Amazon's cloud reader; maybe I'll give it a try in a compatible browser.

FACT

I know I'm about five years too late to jump on the Twilight-hate bandwagon*, but I can't stop giggling** over this website.

Fact: Quileute people do not turn into wolves

Did anyone actually think that? I mean, really?

* Ok, so I don't actually hate Twilight with a firey passion or anything. I just missed the target age range for the books; Harry Potter was the Big Thing when I was in high school, with the much-hyped release of the last book happening just at the end of my senior year. I never saw the appeal of sparkly vampires but I'm not prepared to trash them either. There's a longer post in me about what Twilight meant to teenage girls and why that sparkly Adonis vampire appeal is thinking about as a writer, but that rambling will have to wait for another day.

** Using a real native tribe for a dubious charicature isn't funny, but I just can't stop thinking about the kind of person who would ask someone if they had "magical wolf genes of 24 chromosomal pairs." Seriously?

Wokka Wokka

It's sexy Pac-Man.

Yes, that's a ghost in her vagina. The costume designers could have gone with a cherry (actually in the game, sort of relates to lady-bits) but no, they went with the thing that kills you.

Look at those melons

Halloween is over, but I can't stop looking at all these delightfully crazy costumes. Here's a sexy fruit cup:

Yay

I'm spending the day writing SEO articles for adult toy companies. I love my life.

This has been an excellent opportunity to research some toys I didn't know much about. Maybe some of them will show up in my next set of stories...

Nifty

I love this anatomy of a pinup by Annie Sprinkle. Since I am both horribly unphotogenic and a lousy photographer, it's fascinating to see the kind of work that goes into getting a great picture.