Earning money from our work - what works and what doesn't?

[Alex Bridges]

I started writing ABDL fiction because I had an idea I wanted to share, and I kept writing because I enjoy it. Until now, the best reward for my effort has been seeing my characters come to life and see how emotionally invested readers become in the people I've created.

The pandemic took 5-7% of my income away, I had some unplanned out-of-pocket medical expenses in 2020, and it seems life only ever gets more expensive. I'm doing okay, but I need to start writing to earn money, and Amazon has not been effective for that (at least for my fiction; my nonfiction travel writing is the 5-7% the pandemic took away).

I've had a Patreon for a while, it has earned a little, and since I created a DeviantArt page that includes a few chapters and links to my Patreon, in just the past week I've gained 3 new patrons and seen how it starts to add up.

So with that in mind, I have a few questions for my fellow writers, especially but not only those who post on Patreon.

Technical questions

1. Aside from Patreon and DeviantArt, are there other sites or ways of selling your work have you had success with? Any you would call the best?
2. What has been the most effective way/place of directing people to your Patreon page?
   1. Where have you cross-posted to draw readers to your Patreon?
      1. To what extent do you believe users of various sites are unique, as in readers on DD who do not use ABDL Story Forum? DeviantArt users who don't visit DD? I ask because the effort to maintain a profile across multiple sites may not be worth it if you're talking to the same people.
   2. Have you tried any paid advertising, such as Facebook ads, and how did that go?
3. What Patreon tiers and pricing strategies have you used?
   1. Has anyone tried creating a pricing tier for each series, so that someone wanting to read more than one of your series must pay for both separately while still subscribing month-over-month? Is that even possible on Patreon?
4. Does anyone with a Patreon make their writing there downloadable? Has that helped or hindered your sales?

Content/Genre questions

1. What type of content have you post on Patreon with success? For those posting more than one kind of content, what you think earns you more patrons?
   1. Light-and-fun or punishment heavy?
   2. Sexual or non-sexual?
      1. Lighter sexual or more hardcore?
   3. ABDL-only or other fetishes?
2. Have you run into content moderation issues in Patreon or DeviantArt? Deleted content, deleted accounts, etc?
   1. I'm considering publishing my first story with a minor protagonist. It's entirely sweet and non-sexual, yet it's also ABDL and I'm reluctant to post it anywhere. Any guidance you can offer?
3. Does anyone take commissions? Has this been effective for you? How have you structured your pricing? Do you have anyone regularly commissioning work?

"Add-ons" questions

1. Has anyone commissioned visual artwork to accompany any of their writing? Do you think it increased sales enough to justify the expense?
2. Has any tried creating audiobooks on Patreon? Have those sold well?
3. Has anyone hired a narrator to record your work? Has that sold enough to justify the expense?
4. Has anyone tried selling merchandise through Patreon? Has it been effective?

Collaboration questions

1. It strikes me that the best video/audio creators aren't always the best writers (understatement?). Does anyone know of instances of ABDL writers either:
   1. Selling their services as writers to video/audio creators?
   2. Licensing their stories or characters to video/audio creators?
2. Has anyone successfully collaborated with a visual artist to create a comic, picture book, animated content, or graphic novel?
3. Is it worth it to work with an editor? I'm thinking primarily a proofreader, but it's expensive. If anyone has had any luck with a proofing program that catches things like missing words and typos that aren't actually misspellings, I'd be most interested.

Process questions

1. I know a number of you post your Patreon content on DD one week later.
   1. How do you manage that process? Is there any automation to it to help you keep track?
2. If you've ever posted once a week (or on some regular schedule) versus more irregularly, do you find one strategy is more effective?

Other means of earning money questions

1. Has anyone considered any other ways of making money by serving the ABDL community?
   1. Podcasting
   2. Audio content
2. Has anyone tried starting a business for physical products for the ABDL community?
   1. Things that don't carry overhead, like print-on-demand teeshirts?
   2. Things that do carry overhead, like diapers and other content?

How-the-hell questions

1. How the hell do you make money on DeviantArt?
2. How the hell do you copy-and-paste into DeviantArt without losing your formatting?

[ValentinesStuff]

You can publish on Kindle and other online ebook sellers, I've only had Kindle sales. Kindle Unlimited has some exclusivity clauses.

I've sold some clothes and other stuff through Etsy, but again it's hit or miss. Some stuff didn't sell, other stuff didn't turn out right. There is the overhead of having to buy supplies, and having a place to store them, etc. 

[PeculiarChangeling]

I've got a semi-successful Patreon that I started at the start of the pandemic. With over a hundred subscribers, I'm making about 500/month, which I'm incredibly grateful for, and while it's not enough to retire on, it is enough that I think I can regard myself as successful. At the very least, I can say that without the support I've received, I'd be bankrupt right now, and instead I'm not bankrupt and I've managed to pay all my bills this year. 

So, with that as context, let me try and answer the questions that I can: (I've turned your questions blue, so they stand out from my writing.) 

Technical questions

1. Aside from Patreon and DeviantArt, are there other sites or ways of selling your work have you had success with? Any you would call the best? I run a Discord server for AB/DL writers of all stripes, but especially for those of us approaching the writing professionally. There's about a dozen writers with server channels on there. It's not a huge source of new people, but it's good for talking with fans and coordinating commissions. If you want a link, I can provide one. I also post to abdlstoryforum dot info, deviant art, wattpad, and the abdl story reddit.  As for selling my work, I post to Gumroad and Patreon. Gumroad... I'll talk about later. 
2. What has been the most effective way/place of directing people to your Patreon page? I post a link and ask for support whenever I share a story. 
   1. Where have you cross-posted to draw readers to your Patreon? See above. 
      1. To what extent do you believe users of various sites are unique, as in readers on DD who do not use ABDL Story Forum? DeviantArt users who don't visit DD? I ask because the effort to maintain a profile across multiple sites may not be worth it if you're talking to the same people. I tend to get more success when I cross post to multiple websites, (there are a lot of people on DeviantArt who aren't on here, and a lot of people on Wattpad who aren't on either,) though I can't say who comes from where the most. I've considered using tracking links to get better data, but haven't really gone through with that yet. If I do this, and get useful data, I'll let you know. 
   2. Have you tried any paid advertising, such as Facebook ads, and how did that go? Hell no. Facebook ads and other paid advertising is difficult, expensive, and easy to screw up even when you have a huge market like Epic Fantasy or Harem Romance to sell to. Trying to get this working with a really tight niche and very slim margins screams 'bad idea' to me. However... I'll talk more about spending money on marketing later. 
3. What Patreon tiers and pricing strategies have you used? I offer three tiers - a 2$ 'early access' tier, a 5$ 'early access + exclusive monthly story' tier, and a 15$ 'monthly commission' tier. I had to cap the last one at 5 people because I was getting overwhelmed. 
   1. Has anyone tried creating a pricing tier for each series, so that someone wanting to read more than one of your series must pay for both separately while still subscribing month-over-month? Is that even possible on Patreon? I don't believe that's possible, and I also don't think it's a good idea. 
4. Does anyone with a Patreon make their writing there downloadable? Has that helped or hindered your sales? I've made The Product Tester downloadable as an ebook, but don't bother with my other stories. It hasn't seemed to have had a major impact on subscribers, though a few people have paid for the book (despite being able to get it for free) to support me and HofBondage. 

Content/Genre questions

1. What type of content have you post on Patreon with success? For those posting more than one kind of content, what you think earns you more patrons? I can't always tell which of my short stories are going to be hits, but I can usually tell when something's going to be more or less popular. I've found that the really hardcore stuff tends to go over less well, but has a dedicated group of people who love it, and that I get the most widespread results when I delve into light to medium punishment, usually with female characters and semi-public teasing or play. Not *always*, but usually. I also have seen noteworthy subscriber influxes when I've written patreon-exclusive sequels to otherwise public stories, but I don't like to do that every month. 
2. Have you run into content moderation issues in Patreon or DeviantArt? Deleted content, deleted accounts, etc? I follow Patreon's rules and haven't had any issues. Unfortunately, this means that basically all of my content has to be subscriber exclusive - Patreon doesn't allow for NSFW content to be publicly visible. I haven't experienced getting flagged for content that's within the rules. 
   1. I'm considering publishing my first story with a minor protagonist. It's entirely sweet and non-sexual, yet it's also ABDL and I'm reluctant to post it anywhere. Any guidance you can offer? Don't post it to Patreon. That might not *technically* be against the rules, but it'll be very easy to see it flagged. Personally I don't write any content that involves minors in any way, but that's an unrelated topic that I'm not going to get into. (Also, all of my writing is erotica, to one extent or another. It's adult facing NSFW content. Minors have no business anywhere near anything I write.) 
3. Does anyone take commissions? Has this been effective for you? How have you structured your pricing? Do you have anyone regularly commissioning work? Yes. My biggest issue has been making time for it; commissions take a ton of time away from my other kink writing as well as my vanilla projects. I'm probably going to raise my prices again soon; I'm currently charging 15-20$ per 1,000 words (cheaper for longer stories), with a discount for Patreon subscribers. It's worth noting that commissions are also a source of content for your other fans - I'm really enjoying writing 'Dungeons and Diapers', which is a kinky litRPG fantasy series I'm being commissioned to do, and a lot of people are enjoying it. DO NOT charge less than 10/hr for yourself. You're more valuable than that. Figure out how fast you write, how much you can reasonably do in an hour, and don't undercut yourself. 

"Add-ons" questions

1. Has anyone commissioned visual artwork to accompany any of their writing? Do you think it increased sales enough to justify the expense? I just started doing this! I'll let you know how it goes. My first story with an illustration was posted today, and it'll be public in two weeks. 
2. Has any tried creating audiobooks on Patreon? Have those sold well? I have not. I can't voice act for shit, and it's a very time consuming process to do well. 
3. Has anyone hired a narrator to record your work? Has that sold enough to justify the expense? See above - audio production is expensive unless you find someone who is undercharging. 
4. Has anyone tried selling merchandise through Patreon? Has it been effective? Not through Patreon, but I have sold a novella on Gumroad. At 11,000 words long, it's the length of three and a half Patreon posts. I've made 80$ in sales off it. I would have been better off just writing the story for Patreon and posting it in three parts. 

Collaboration questions

1. It strikes me that the best video/audio creators aren't always the best writers (understatement?). Does anyone know of instances of ABDL writers either: No, I haven't heard of this. 
2. Has anyone successfully collaborated with a visual artist to create a comic, picture book, animated content, or graphic novel? Yes! My collaboration with HofBondage, the "Lock and Key" comic is easily the largest factor in my early success - Being attached to a project with Hof got me name recognition that I just wouldn't have had otherwise, because while I've posted stories off and on for years, I didn't have anything like the consistent quality and regularity of Personalias or the other big ABDL authors. It isn't until this year that I've written and posted AB/DL content regularly. 
3. Is it worth it to work with an editor? I'm thinking primarily a proofreader, but it's expensive. If anyone has had any luck with a proofing program that catches things like missing words and typos that aren't actually misspellings, I'd be most interested. I would say no, unless your ability to self edit is very poor and people are complaining about it. I miss the occasional typo that people point out, but I haven't had any clear loss of subscribers due to the occasional typo. 

Process questions

1. I know a number of you post your Patreon content on DD one week later.
   1. How do you manage that process? Is there any automation to it to help you keep track? I do this, and it's just a matter of using Google Calendar or another reminder system and not spacing out about it. (I do 'two weeks later' not one, but it's the same difference.) 
2. If you've ever posted once a week (or on some regular schedule) versus more irregularly, do you find one strategy is more effective? Posting once a week works better for me. It forces me to stay consistent and write regularly; without a hard schedule I would easily fall behind and not post as much as I should. 

Other means of earning money questions

1. Has anyone considered any other ways of making money by serving the ABDL community? Sophie & Pudding run a podcast, and have a Patreon. Their podcast is public, but it's definitely brought some attention to them, though they also just do writing. You could ask them. 
2. Has anyone tried starting a business for physical products for the ABDL community? I have not. It's way too far out of my field of knowledge to make it worth my time. 

How-the-hell questions

1. How the hell do you make money on DeviantArt? As far as I'm concerned? You don't. You use DeviantArt as a place to share your public writing and ask people to support you elsewhere, like on Patreon. 
2. How the hell do you copy-and-paste into DeviantArt without losing your formatting? You also don't. DeviantArt's website sucks for uploading content. 

One thing I think it's important to keep in mind: Writing AB/DL fiction isn't a get rich quick scheme. There's only a small market for it, but it's a very cool, tight knit community, with some really awesome people. I'm not writing my stories because it's the best way for me to make a quick buck, I do it because I enjoy it, and because I want to provide my friends and community with fun smut. I'm not asking people to pay me for a commodity, (and when I have tried that, like my gumroad experiment, it's largely failed,) I'm asking my friends and community for support. I treat my writing professionally, because I want to provide them with the best quality writing that I can, but it's not a business - if I wanted to just make a quick buck, I'd be writing reverse harem erotica and selling it on Amazon. 

Anyways. 

I hope this is all helpful! 

[Alex Bridges]

@PeculiarChangeling

THANK YOU for such a thorough and thoughtful response. I think I'll need to re-read it several times.

I'd appreciate a link to the Discord server, and I may have some questions I'll PM you if you don't mind.

[PeculiarChangeling]

3 hours ago, Alex Bridges said:

@PeculiarChangeling

THANK YOU for such a thorough and thoughtful response. I think I'll need to re-read it several times.

I'd appreciate a link to the Discord server, and I may have some questions I'll PM you if you don't mind.

Absolutely! I'm really happy to help other creators in our community. 

Discord link: https://discord.gg/FvyTkRu

And feel free to PM me with any questions you have.

[kasarberang]

I'm not exactly what you're looking for here, I don't make money of my writing and honestly I have no desire to as writing is a hobby for me one I'm not very good at and very rarely do.

 

However I have more recently became a consumer of this type of content so I might be able to help slightly which is why I'm commenting. Sorry in advance if this is of no help.

 

Being able to download content from a Patreon page would make me significantly more inclined to donate, especially if I liked the content.

You see I don't trust websites to stay up, there are too many variables for me and too many times I have trusted things to just be there and been burned by one day them not. (see the great DD purge that happened awhile ago.) So I've been making an active effort to backup the content I enjoy. I even download my favorite YouTube videos now as offline backup.

Being able to download content gives me an added value that otherwise may not be there in supporting a patreon, since most people who have a patreon eventually post their stories here on DD anyway, why should I donate if I can get the content for free by just being patient?

 

Another thing that would make me significantly more likely to donate to a patreon is if broader fetishes were covered, you see I'm into ABDL as my main kink, however it doesn't do it for me unless femdom is involved and the things that come with that such as force feeding or other non-con situations. If you make content that caters to my broader kinks I'll gladly throw money you way, which actually leads to the thing I spend the most money on.

 

Commissions, I will regularly spend $100+ on commissions whether this be story commissions or art commissions. I have very specific kinks and ideas for stories, but frankly I don't think I do a very good job writing it myself and I'd much rather have some level of surprise as to what happens next.

 

So yeah, sorry if that's not super helpful but I thought it might be of some use to see what someone who actually pays for this type of content might think.

[PeculiarChangeling]

48 minutes ago, kasarberang said:

I'm not exactly what you're looking for here, I don't make money of my writing and honestly I have no desire to as writing is a hobby for me one I'm not very good at and very rarely do.

 

However I have more recently became a consumer of this type of content so I might be able to help slightly which is why I'm commenting. Sorry in advance if this is of no help.

 

Being able to download content from a Patreon page would make me significantly more inclined to donate, especially if I liked the content.

You see I don't trust websites to stay up, there are too many variables for me and too many times I have trusted things to just be there and been burned by one day them not. (see the great DD purge that happened awhile ago.) So I've been making an active effort to backup the content I enjoy. I even download my favorite YouTube videos now as offline backup.

Being able to download content gives me an added value that otherwise may not be there in supporting a patreon, since most people who have a patreon eventually post their stories here on DD anyway, why should I donate if I can get the content for free by just being patient?

That's a really good point, and something I hadn't considered much. I think I'll start implementing that on my Patreon, I just need to find an appropriate service for doing that since it's often a bit of a hassle, but I would like to provide that extra value to my subscribers. 

 

A question, with regards to broader kinks: Are you turned off by content creators who cover a broad range of kinks? For my own example, I do write stories with femdom, non-con, and occasionally force feeding, but I also try to go for a wide swath of other stories (mostly because if I only wrote one thing I would burn out in an instant.) Is that a problem for you? 

[kasarberang]

9 minutes ago, PeculiarChangeling said:

That's a really good point, and something I hadn't considered much. I think I'll start implementing that on my Patreon, I just need to find an appropriate service for doing that since it's often a bit of a hassle, but I would like to provide that extra value to my subscribers. 

 

A question, with regards to broader kinks: Are you turned off by content creators who cover a broad range of kinks? For my own example, I do write stories with femdom, non-con, and occasionally force feeding, but I also try to go for a wide swath of other stories (mostly because if I only wrote one thing I would burn out in an instant.) Is that a problem for you? 

I think in some situations it'd be cool for me and others it wouldn't. I'll give an example.

Alright say you had a story that had all my kinks in it and it kinda stayed in that realm and than another story that had none of my kinks in it. I'd be cool with that.

Now let's say you had a story where 3 of the chapters focused on my kinks and than the 4th chapter focused on something different, that'd be a deal breaker for me. If the different kinks are isolated that's fine, but I don't want a story catering to me to have something totally unrelated come right out of left field and change the direction of which kinks are represented.

 

While I'm here with the speaking stick I would love to say something that is SUPER important to me.

please tag your stories with the kinks that are in them.

If I can easily filter out the stories that you have that feature content I enjoy with a few mouse clicks I will be SIGNIFICANTLY more likely to throw money at you, like I don't think people understand how important this is. I know it seems like just a minor inconvenience, but it's so much more than that. I love slow-build stories that feature my main kinks, love them, however Usually I can't enjoy slow build stories, because people don't properly tag their stories, so I'm spending my time skipping ahead to see if something interesting happens and sometimes I'll skip a story entirely cause it's just not clear as to if I'll like it or not from the get go.

If I know what I'm getting into before I even click on a story that is worth it's weight in gold. Also don't just tag, over tag, put in literally as many descriptive tags as possible to describe the kind of content you have. like don't just put in "femdom" and/or "force feeding" no put in "Femdom, Force Feeding, Forced Bottlefeeding, Forced Breastfeeding, Pacifier Gag, Bondage" ect... It'll take a few minutes of your time, but your far more likely to KEEP my subscription if you do something like this, because I don't want to go filtering through your stories myself to find something that suites my fancy, especially if I'm paying for them.

[PeculiarChangeling]

22 minutes ago, kasarberang said:

I think in some situations it'd be cool for me and others it wouldn't. I'll give an example.

Alright say you had a story that had all my kinks in it and it kinda stayed in that realm and than another story that had none of my kinks in it. I'd be cool with that.

Now let's say you had a story where 3 of the chapters focused on my kinks and than the 4th chapter focused on something different, that'd be a deal breaker for me. If the different kinks are isolated that's fine, but I don't want a story catering to me to have something totally unrelated come right out of left field and change the direction of which kinks are represented.

 

While I'm here with the speaking stick I would love to say something that is SUPER important to me.

please tag your stories with the kinks that are in them.

If I can easily filter out the stories that you have that feature content I enjoy with a few mouse clicks I will be SIGNIFICANTLY more likely to throw money at you, like I don't think people understand how important this is. I know it seems like just a minor inconvenience, but it's so much more than that. I love slow-build stories that feature my main kinks, love them, however Usually I can't enjoy slow build stories, because people don't properly tag their stories, so I'm spending my time skipping ahead to see if something interesting happens and sometimes I'll skip a story entirely cause it's just not clear as to if I'll like it or not from the get go.

If I know what I'm getting into before I even click on a story that is worth it's weight in gold. Also don't just tag, over tag, put in literally as many descriptive tags as possible to describe the kind of content you have. like don't just put in "femdom" and/or "force feeding" no put in "Femdom, Force Feeding, Forced Bottlefeeding, Forced Breastfeeding, Pacifier Gag, Bondage" ect... It'll take a few minutes of your time, but your far more likely to KEEP my subscription if you do something like this, because I don't want to go filtering through your stories myself to find something that suites my fancy, especially if I'm paying for them.

I never do a bait-and-switch mid story, so that's not a problem for me.

 

And tagging stories more thoroughly is a great idea! I'll definitely be implementing that on my Patreon, too. 

[kasarberang]

30 minutes ago, PeculiarChangeling said:

I never do a bait-and-switch mid story, so that's not a problem for me.

 

And tagging stories more thoroughly is a great idea! I'll definitely be implementing that on my Patreon, too. 

I don't imagine most people do, though figured I'd add it, just in case.

 

You should PM me when you do that better story tagging thing, I like your stories, if they were tagged on your Patreon I'd gladly become a patron.

[ValentinesStuff]

5 hours ago, kasarberang said:

While I'm here with the speaking stick I would love to say something that is SUPER important to me.

please tag your stories with the kinks that are in them.

Also super important

 

Please don't tag your stories with kinks that aren't in the story.

 

Because fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, I'm not clicking on another of your stories.

[kasarberang]

1 hour ago, ValentinesStuff said:

Also super important

 

Please don't tag your stories with kinks that aren't in the story.

 

Because fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, I'm not clicking on another of your stories.

Preach!

[Cya]

Do not post anything, even if it's a bedwrtter, on Patreon. Those moderators don't seem to be able to read English and that clown named Cisco preferred to slander me instead of doing his job and helping me. I lost over $200 dollars when I was suspended for having two stories with minors because of that guy.

 

 

Anyway, I use very cheap teirs to get Patrons. 

[ABAlex]

I've considered doing this for a while. My biggest issue though is personal information. 

My question is, if I use Partreon or any other site, will people be able to look up my page and find my full name/any personal information? Is there a way to accept payment without that happening?

I've been trying to find a way to accept payment that avoids that but I haven't been able to, aside from organizing art trades with other people and third parties.

[PeculiarChangeling]

25 minutes ago, ABAlex said:

I've considered doing this for a while. My biggest issue though is personal information. 

My question is, if I use Partreon or any other site, will people be able to look up my page and find my full name/any personal information? Is there a way to accept payment without that happening?

I've been trying to find a way to accept payment that avoids that but I haven't been able to, aside from organizing art trades with other people and third parties.

No, they won't. Your patreon doesn't give away personal information. 

[ABAlex]

11 hours ago, PeculiarChangeling said:

No, they won't. Your patreon doesn't give away personal information. 

Hmmm. Really? I thought I remembered reading that you needed your actual name visible, and avoided it for that reason. Maybe I will.

Thanks for responding!

[Cya]

5 hours ago, ABAlex said:

Hmmm. Really? I thought I remembered reading that you needed your actual name visible, and avoided it for that reason. Maybe I will.

Thanks for responding!

Yeah, the website needs your real name for tax purposes (if you earn over $20,000), but otherwise no one will know your real name. As someone who rarely uses their real name online, I understand why you would avoid using it. 

[ABAlex]

3 hours ago, Cya said:

Yeah, the website needs your real name for tax purposes (if you earn over $20,000), but otherwise no one will know your real name. As someone who rarely uses their real name online, I understand why you would avoid using it. 

thanks for the info!

[Elbs]

Another question I thought of: For those of you who both sell stories and post free stories, how do you decide which stories will be free or paid?

[Ohmo]

I don't currently earn money from my writing, but I do sell a few paintings and turnings. My response is more generic than most, but it is, I believe, still applicable.

"...what works ...?"

• Defining what success is for you.  Then go after it.
• Offering  a product at a fair price (fair to buyer and seller - do not over- or under- value your work) what people want works well.  Fetish writing is a very small niche if compared to other forms of fiction, so reading as much as possible is one key to discovering what sells.  Another form of research is to check out fetish authors on Amazon to see what their rankings are and read any reviews their work has garnered.
• Write
• Market your work until you are well known for producing high quality work, then promote yourself alongside your work.  Those who have time to write, who can afford to put their work "out there" can afford to pay for some advertising.  A large advertising budget is not necessary, but having one really works.
• Write
• Be willing to try what someone else suggests, but don't depend on it for success.
• Write

"...and what doesn't?"

• Trying to trick the customer base or the platforms supporting you.  Be honest with tags and other information.  Don't try to bend the rules.  
• Not writing.
• Believing 99% of the marketing advice out there. Success as a fetish writer is not an inverse ice berg where 90% of the effort is just writing an award winning story. 
• Not writing.

 

 

 

 

[BoTox]

• Aside from Patreon and DeviantArt, are there other sites or ways of selling your work have you had success with? Any you would call the best?

I use Amazon, both Kindle and Kindle Unlimited. Of late, I've also placed some thing with ABUniverse that has done well but I don't have any stats yet.

Content/Genre questions

• Does anyone take commissions? Has this been effective for you? How have you structured your pricing? Do you have anyone regularly commissioning work?

I don't take commissions. I write what I like. I have a hard time writing what others want unless it meshes heavily with my personal tastes.

"Add-ons" questions

• Has anyone commissioned visual artwork to accompany any of their writing? Do you think it increased sales enough to justify the expense?

I've never paid anyone to do artwork. I have generally found free, public domain images and made them work with a little photoshopping.

• Has anyone hired a narrator to record your work? Has that sold enough to justify the expense?

My sales are low enough that I don't have any level of confidence that paying for narrator would be cost effective.

Collaboration questions

• Is it worth it to work with an editor? I'm thinking primarily a proofreader, but it's expensive. If anyone has had any luck with a proofing program that catches things like missing words and typos that aren't actually misspellings, I'd be most interested.

I use ProWriting Aid to do most of my proofing for grammar and spelling. It helps quite a bit as long as you examine the changes without just mindlessly clicking everything.

Other means of earning money questions

1. Has anyone considered any other ways of making money by serving the ABDL community? - I have not
2. Has anyone tried starting a business for physical products for the ABDL community? - I have not

I've not gotten rich with Amazon but 30+ books have earned me some extra spending money every year. It is a hobby for me so money was never my main concern.