I am now writing in a genre that I never thought I would write in: erotica. For several years, I focused on Young Adult. I wrote thrillers for boys, a fantasy novel aimed primarily at girls, and an urban fantasy novel as well. Writing for teens was enormous fun, probably because I didn't get to enjoy my teen years. It was a rather miserable time in my life, and I was more mature than most of my peers. I like to think that I went straight from being a 12-year-old to being an 18-year-old. No frivolous conversations about fashion and lipstick for me. No petty concerns about how to get--and then keep--a boyfriend. So I missed out on a lot. A hell of a lot. And I didn't even realize it.
When I started writing, it seemed natural to write from the perspective of a teenager, to explore all the things I had missed out on, the friendships, the adventures, the coming-of-age events that shape you into the adult you will eventually become. And it gave me a chance to escape from my everyday, mundane existence into a world of fantasy, where parallel universes exist, and into thrillers where one determined teen can stop a terrorist from destroying an entire city.
Okay, YA was fun. Then I got published in eBook format and I started to realize that teens don't really read eBooks. As a matter of fact, teen boys don't read much at all. Sales were not what I expected them to be. Okay, I never expected to be able to quit my day job, but I was disappointed by the overall results. Or lack of them. When I took a peek at my publisher's royalty statements, I was astounded to discover that the only books that sold really well were all. . . erotic.
Which makes sense, really. I mean who wants to go to a bookstore and openly buy Fifty Shades of Grey or anything else with a half-naked man and woman on the front cover? If you read erotica, you often read it in eBook form. And it's also easier to market to readers of erotica online. It's nearly impossible to market to teens. After all, teens don't have credit cards. They tend to get their books at the bookstore or at the library, not on the Internet.
So I decided to try my hand at erotica. I have to admit I thought it would be distasteful. I thought I'd be horrendous at it and quit. I started by downloading a lot of free reads from Ellora's Cave to get an idea of what was out there. OMG!!! This is what they mean by erotica. Whoa, talk about explicit! Talk about detail! Could I write this kind of material?
Why not? It might be fun. I had to make it fun. So I started by writing a few short stories, since online publishers of erotica often publish those. I couldn't remember the last time I had written a short story. I didn't think I could. But I tried, and "A Flight of Fantasy" was born. Secret Cravings accepted it within a week of my submission and paid me $50. I couldn't believe it.
This may possibly spell the end of my "career" as a YA author. I'm continuing to write erotic shorts for the moment, and we'll see how many more stories get accepted. Or rejected. But writing in this taboo genre has definitely unleashed a completely different part of my personality. Just as YA writing helped me exorcise my inner teenager, erotic writing is helping me exorcise my inner dominatrix.
Yes, writing erotica can be a hell of a lot of fun!
When I started writing, it seemed natural to write from the perspective of a teenager, to explore all the things I had missed out on, the friendships, the adventures, the coming-of-age events that shape you into the adult you will eventually become. And it gave me a chance to escape from my everyday, mundane existence into a world of fantasy, where parallel universes exist, and into thrillers where one determined teen can stop a terrorist from destroying an entire city.
Okay, YA was fun. Then I got published in eBook format and I started to realize that teens don't really read eBooks. As a matter of fact, teen boys don't read much at all. Sales were not what I expected them to be. Okay, I never expected to be able to quit my day job, but I was disappointed by the overall results. Or lack of them. When I took a peek at my publisher's royalty statements, I was astounded to discover that the only books that sold really well were all. . . erotic.
Which makes sense, really. I mean who wants to go to a bookstore and openly buy Fifty Shades of Grey or anything else with a half-naked man and woman on the front cover? If you read erotica, you often read it in eBook form. And it's also easier to market to readers of erotica online. It's nearly impossible to market to teens. After all, teens don't have credit cards. They tend to get their books at the bookstore or at the library, not on the Internet.
So I decided to try my hand at erotica. I have to admit I thought it would be distasteful. I thought I'd be horrendous at it and quit. I started by downloading a lot of free reads from Ellora's Cave to get an idea of what was out there. OMG!!! This is what they mean by erotica. Whoa, talk about explicit! Talk about detail! Could I write this kind of material?
Why not? It might be fun. I had to make it fun. So I started by writing a few short stories, since online publishers of erotica often publish those. I couldn't remember the last time I had written a short story. I didn't think I could. But I tried, and "A Flight of Fantasy" was born. Secret Cravings accepted it within a week of my submission and paid me $50. I couldn't believe it.
This may possibly spell the end of my "career" as a YA author. I'm continuing to write erotic shorts for the moment, and we'll see how many more stories get accepted. Or rejected. But writing in this taboo genre has definitely unleashed a completely different part of my personality. Just as YA writing helped me exorcise my inner teenager, erotic writing is helping me exorcise my inner dominatrix.
Yes, writing erotica can be a hell of a lot of fun!
RSS Feed