Just squeaking in before the end of November with this one!
Personal update
In terms of “not being in a state of emergency”, the last month or so has probably been the best part of the year for me. We’re free of COVID at my location, and my country as a whole is doing well. Bushfire season is just starting, but we’re hoping it’s going to be less awful than last year (although there’s some suggestion it’s floods that we’ll have to watch out for this summer).
I’ve been having trouble writing over the last few weeks though (which is to say, the month of November). Delayed reaction to the year so far, or response to new stresses? I’m not sure. It will pass in time. But that’s why you’ve been seeing less new chapters of ongoing serials over the last month. I’m relying more on my backlog of one-offs until my brain recovers.
On the other hand, members got more new stories in the month of October than at any time since I started my website, so there are swings and roundabouts, I suppose.
I’m still (effectively) wholly financially supported by this website, so every purchase you make really helps.
What did members get in October?
(Check out memberships in the shop!)
Early Access
In October, I made the following available to members through Dropbox:
- 32 all-new stories (all members);
- 15 reblogs (all members);
- 4 premium chapters of Impregnating Layla (Premium Members only),
E-books
All members received four new e-books in October:
- A Woman’s Work – Stories of Workplace Degradation (3rd edition) (view in shop) plus audiobook edition (view in shop)
- Obey The Rules – Stories of Degrading Boundaries (2nd edition) (view in shop)
- Lessons In Lust – Stories of Classroom Erotica (2nd edition) (view in shop)
- Sisters – Stories of Sisterly Lust and Sibling Rivalry (all new!) (view in shop)
Other content
Premium Members received access to an additional library of 18 e-books (see below).
Premium Member library schedule
As previously notified, here is the schedule of e-books available to Premium Members in November, and the scheduled rotation for December and January. All members, including Premium Members, also gain access to all new e-books released each month.
Site News
October site sales were up a little from September, but still fell considerably shy of the peak I saw in August.
That’s a reassuring figure – I would have been worried to see them continue to decline – but it means I’m still below where I want to be to be meeting all my financial obligations over the holiday season.
At this stage November looks likely to be comparable to October. It was showing a decline for most of the month but Black Friday sales have given me a late-month boost to bring it back to even.
Paid advertising experiment
Over late October / early November I experimented with running some paid advertising at WarpMyMind. It cost me a (USD) dollar a day and generated about 215 direct clickthroughs over 30 days. I can’t quantify how many of those clickthroughs resulted in sales, or what the indirect value of the raw impressions was, but I’m inclined to think that it probably made me more money than it cost so I’ll likely continue the ad buy.
(WarpMyMind’s own stats suggest the ad delivered about 29,000 impressions and 391 clickthroughs, but all I can say is that if that’s correct then about half those clickthroughs didn’t deliver data that enabled my site to recognise them.)
For those wondering, I’m generally wary of buying paid advertising because most of the key adult advertising networks are really shady. I can’t control what sites my ad will appear on, and a lot of the other ads on those networks contain or link to malware, or are otherwise designed to exploit and annoy users. I don’t want to support that and I don’t want my brand attached to it. But if you know of sites whose users may be interested in my books that manage their own paid site advertising, please let me know at all.these.roadworks@gmail.com.
Other sites
I am active and posting content on the following sites. As always, all new free content goes to BDSMLR, so if you’re following me there you’re not missing out on anything.
- BDSMlr
- newTumbl
- MCStories (The Erotic Mind Control Story Archive)
- Reddit (on r/rapestories and r/sexystories)
- Warp My Mind
The following sites still host content posted consensually by me, but are no longer receiving new content:
- XNXX / Sexstories
- Literotica
If you see my content on any other site, it’s been stolen – please don’t support those sites.
If you know of other sites that might enjoy my work, please feel free to let me know at all.these.roadworks@gmail.com. However, please check first:
* that their terms and conditions allow stories featuring non-consent and incest; and
* that they allow writers to include links to external sites, so that I can direct readers back to my shop page.
Audiobooks
October saw the release of the first ATR audiobook, A Woman’s Work. (View in shop.)
In early November I followed it with a second, Laid Bare. (View in shop.)
At this stage I’m intending to release an additional audiobook each month for the foreseeable future.
These books are read and recorded by me. I’m satisfied with the result, and all the reviews I’ve gotten so far suggest that readers are very satisfied with it too. These audiobook versions offer all the usual benefits of an audiobook, in terms of the ability to listen instead of read, and consume my books while driving, jogging, etc. But I imagine the main attraction is for people who would like to hear the books read to them by a male voice (me).
The audiobooks are selling well enough to be worth my time. It takes me about a full working day to record one from an already-written book, so they really only need to generate a day’s worth of pay to justify themselves. But they’re not exactly flying off the shelves, so I’ll continue to consider the future of that product line.
I’ve had some enquiries about the possibility of a female-voiced version of the audiobooks. Unfortunately, the current sales just don’t justify the time and cost of creating and advertising that option, even if I were able to get a suitable female performer willing to do it for cheap or free. If my sales grow substantially in the future I’ll revisit the idea.
I am eager for any feedback on these audiobooks, including comments as to quality, pricing, or any ways to make them more professional, attractive, or useful.
Story Requests
On occasion, I offer Premium Members the chance to request a story, or a continuation of a story. These offers are made on a complimentary basis and are not formally included in a membership purchase. I am currently working through story requests from people who were Premium Members in August 2020. I have six stories to go in this queue before moving on to September 2020.
Donation
As part of the process of writing gender-degradation and non-consent erotica in a responsible way, I have committed to donating at least 5% of the site profits each month to a women’s charity combating domestic violence, unsafe housing and/or sexual assault. (See this post for more info.)
At the start of November I donated an amount of $160 AUD (about $1170 USD) to a registered charity providing free legal advice to women in need.
COVID-19 is putting a lot of pressure on domestic violence services right now, due to new stresses in relationships, and increased impacts on victims in abusive relationships having to spend more time with their partners. Now is a great time to make a donation to a domestic violence charity in your area if you have the ability to do so.
Conclusion
Thank you to everyone who reads, supports and purchases my work. My livelihood now literally depends on you, and every interaction is appreciated!
Remember – buying my products is the best way to show your appreciation, but you can also support me by:
* reblogging my content on BDSMLR and newTumbl;
* upvoting and commenting on Reddit;
* talking about and linking to my stories or website in communities of consenting kinky adults;
* spotting typos in published stories or e-books and reporting them to me by email or on BDSMLR.
Plus if you have a professional skillset that could help me or improve the ATR experience, I’d always love to hear from you.
Thanks again! And keep enjoying!
– All These Roadworks
November 2020