I submitted my first story to Literotica on the same day that I started my Patreon page. I had never actually written a dirty story on my computer, but I had written plenty on paper and in my head. It was embarrassing to see the words so starkly embedded on the glaring white background of Microsoft Word.
So why necessity? I had a couple of days off from work and put together a Patreon page and finished writing the dirty bits of that first chapter. My first chapter posted to Lit on August 31st, I was floored to see that almost fifty people had rated my story already, and my first Patron signed up that very night. In the weeks that followed, I was a wreck. I was getting some amazing feedback from people who demanded more, and when I finished the novel in December of that year, I felt so accomplished.
Not only had I written a story to completion, but I actually had readers who still wanted more. Seeing comments and happy freakouts on Literotica that I actually finished my tale was an amazing feeling for me, and definitely when I felt like a real writer. I am actually in the very rare position right now of making writing my full time career.
Now, if you can imagine, this is something I have dreamt of ever since I was little. I often imagined the freedom to travel as I please, visit old castles, travel on cruise ships, and just write, write, write on my laptop. However, any writer doing this as a career will warn you that a solid chunk of your time gets spent on marketing, editing, crying in the dark, and missing family events as you try to squeeze a thousand more words onto your screen while you are in the zone.
Short of writing a one-hit wonder and living off the proceeds of that forever, it will always take a level of dedication that I think is mandatory for any viable career. You will have days you want to quit, and you will burn out from time to time. Still, a career you love is worth its weight in gold, and as long as you can take it seriously and put in the hours, I see it as a very viable way to make a living. This is an interesting question for an erotica author, so I will speak to the industry as a whole for now.
