Erotic novels

[CrouchingBuddha]

Okay, this isn't really advice, precisely...more a request for some opinions.

Here's the jist of it. I want to write erotica. Not just internet erotica, written, book erotica. Yes, I want to get paid for writing the hopeless smut that I'm going to write anyway.

My writing, though typically laced with enough plot and solid, non-erotic content to be a book, is definitely of the hardcore variety. I don't like just simple intercourse; I like to have a bit of everything. Oral, anal, random cumshots in conspicuous places, occasional instances of partner swapping and/or three-ways...all written in as descriptive and lewd fashion as I think I can get awya with and still be taken seriously.

And herein lies my question/uncertainty. I've not read a lot of offline, professional erotica...mostly because I'm a: lazy and b: don't really get into the kind of dramatic tone and soft core sex. I'm definitely a guy writer...I write a lot of action/adventury stuff, and my sex is hardcore (as I've already stated, but shall state again for the purpose of being painfully clear). So I'm not really hyper aware of how the published erotica market it set up.

I'm basicly asking this; with the aforementioned facts considered (and ignoring that I can't write for shit for a moment), would I ever have a chance of getting published, and having a semi successful writing career in such stories? Is there a market out there for more hardcore sex novels, or is the only thing selling the watered down soft stuff?

If you have actual functional knowledge, I'd love to hear that, but if you just have an opinion on whether or not you'd be willing to fork over money for a piece of hardcore text, then please, let me hear what you have to say :)

C.B.

[IowaMan]

I'm not worth a damn myself at writing erotica but I can tell you what one of my profs. told me back in the day in a journalism class. "If you are reporting the news, just report it. If you are writing fiction, go with what you picture the story to be and then try to take it a step further to explain it to your audience."

Not sure if that helps or not but it's something to think about.

For what it's worth, I think you're on the right track.

[Lilith]

Beware of online erotica publishing magazine type peeps who will offer you very very little for your work.

[Wicked Wanda]

I have been trying to write and finish an erotic story collection for almost 3 years now. This was to be a work from my own life, a sort of "sexual autobiography" The reason that is so self -oriented is that my ability to write fictions sucks, but Leigh says I have an eye for "pornographic detail" from what happens in my own life, so I go with what works for me.

Yes, there were some minor interruptions, like finishing my MSN/MPH degree (WOOOOHOOOO!!) then there was Katrina, a broken arm, and so on.
I have a HUGE advantage in that my partner is a published writer herself, and has helped me work out a lot of problems, as well as giving access to her agent and publishing contacts.

The simple truth is that writing is very hard work and I have learned a few things as I worked on this project.

Lesson one: The way to write is TO WRITE!! Write constantly. Every chance you get. Like anything, the more you do it, the better you will get at it. Try to keep the self-editing to a minimum, as you will likely never be satisfied.

Lesson two: Learn the tools of your craft. Buy a copy of "Elements of Style" and keep it next to your computer. Look up EVERYTHING up in it. Work and expand your understanding of grammar and vocabulary, become a better writer by working at it.

Lesson three: Find a forum such as a writers group, where you can have your work critiqued. This is a sharing situation, they look at your work, you look at theirs. If it bothers you to have erotic fantasy writings read in that kind of forum, try an online group like Literotica.(www.literotica.com)

Lesson four: There are no FREE RIDES! As Darling Lilith says, beware of the on -line publishers who promise the impossible. The old maxim, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is" applies here in spades.

Lesson five: Buy a copy of the "Writer's Guide Annual" which lists every publisher in the country. Find out who accepts unsolicited submissions. Othwewise you will need an agent. You can find an agent, but I don't think there are too many who deal in erotica from first time writers... but I don't know for sure.

Good luck hon.

WW

(or hopefully someday, "Linda Foxxe, author of "An Indepenant Woman's Sexual Adventures in America")

:cheerlead

[sodaklostsoul]

Can't wait to read it someday WW.............will you sign our copies for us? :D

Good luck to all the writers out there!!

[CrouchingBuddha]

WW- thanks for the awesome advice. I write as often as possible, given my study schedule. I'd love to be a professional author, but right now getting a real career is taking presidence ;)

I'm going to be sure to take your advice. However, and this may just be me...but I'm not sure if this answers my question. What I was wanting to know is, is there a market out there for erotica of a more hardcore nature, offline. I ask because the (admittedly few) 'romance' or 'adult' novels I've read offline have featured softcore content, and been obviously written in a romanticist angle for women (no offense ladies).

My stories, while usually involving romance, are definitely of a hard-core nature, often going into alternative sexual venues (AKA anal sex, possible partner swapping, etc). Obviously, these different forms of erotica are very successful and marketable online.

But what about paperback, an actual published novel? Would such hardcore content be well recieved? Or am I going to have to tone down to a slightly more standard level of novel sexuality before I have a chance of being published?

I've tried doing some research, but thus far I'm still turning up the soft-core stuff. I'm wondering if that's pretty much what's out there and what I'd have to cater to, or if I'm just as blind as I've been told I am.

[CrouchingBuddha]

I have been trying to write and finish an erotic story collection for almost 3 years now. This was to be a work from my own life, a sort of "sexual autobiography" The reason that is so self -oriented is that my ability to write fictions sucks, but Leigh says I have an eye for "pornographic detail" from what happens in my own life, so I go with what works for me.

Yes, there were some minor interruptions, like finishing my MSN/MPH degree (WOOOOHOOOO!!) then there was Katrina, a broken arm, and so on.
I have a HUGE advantage in that my partner is a published writer herself, and has helped me work out a lot of problems, as well as giving access to her agent and publishing contacts.

The simple truth is that writing is very hard work and I have learned a few things as I worked on this project.

Lesson one: The way to write is TO WRITE!! Write constantly. Every chance you get. Like anything, the more you do it, the better you will get at it. Try to keep the self-editing to a minimum, as you will likely never be satisfied.

Lesson two: Learn the tools of your craft. Buy a copy of "Elements of Style" and keep it next to your computer. Look up EVERYTHING up in it. Work and expand your understanding of grammar and vocabulary, become a better writer by working at it.

Lesson three: Find a forum such as a writers group, where you can have your work critiqued. This is a sharing situation, they look at your work, you look at theirs. If it bothers you to have erotic fantasy writings read in that kind of forum, try an online group like Literotica.(www.literotica.com)

Lesson four: There are no FREE RIDES! As Darling Lilith says, beware of the on -line publishers who promise the impossible. The old maxim, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is" applies here in spades.

Lesson five: Buy a copy of the "Writer's Guide Annual" which lists every publisher in the country. Find out who accepts unsolicited submissions. Othwewise you will need an agent. You can find an agent, but I don't think there are too many who deal in erotica from first time writers... but I don't know for sure.

Good luck hon.

WW

(or hopefully someday, "Linda Foxxe, author of "An Indepenant Woman's Sexual Adventures in America")

:cheerlead

y'know, it just occured to me that you may have been saying that you're attempting to get published and in the process of doing so, and that your story is, infact, of a hardcore nature.

If that's the case, please disregard my inane, bumbling earlier repy

:bdayhat: <--- should be a dunce cap

[Irezumi Kiss]

As an artist who does erotica and a hobbyist writer who writes for fun/creative muscle flexing/self-therapy/personal demon exorcising, I myself am hoping to get my own erotica out there in published form, as a graphic novel or comic series. So I'll give you my own hearty handshake for your endeavors to come to light. It's a hard garden to hoe, trying to partition enough of "real life" (as well as fighting the inevitable backlash of people who only see sex in vanilla flavor) in order to devote the proper time to get our individual passions on paper, recognized, appreciated seriously and ultimately PAID FOR! Enough to earn a living with, at that!

Here's what I see, snort and drink for my dream...and these observances & maxims are mostly for myself in my own case, but you can take as many applicable grains as you need for your own joint...

- There's a market for everything.
- Other people are putting their shit out, so you can do the same.
- Other people are putting out both bullshit and templar and still get paid.
- There are a lot of amateur writers/artists doing this for the pure fun of it and while most ARE strictly amateur — you can tell in the writing — there are also LOTS of damn good shit out there that I would pay for, that are worth paying for. But since these people aren't going that route, then that should give you a heads up on your peer level. You should feel like you can go toe-to-toe with those heads before thinking about getting paid (respectably) for your joints...because editors who DO select stuff to publish don't play around in the kiddie pools.
- The above being said, if you know you're being lazy in reading other works, don't. Read everything you can professionally you have an interest in so you can really get the lay of the land. Read everything amateur you have an interest in so you can see the real differences between what gets chosen and why. Then read stuff so you can find out what gets your dick hard and how it's being written to GET your dick hard. Read other alternatives and other genres opposite and aside to what you're used to in order to get different perspectives on styles, forms and methods you can jack for your own mill grist.
- Wanda gave some good advice...I'll just stress that Lesson One and Lesson Two.

Anyways, I'm saying this for my benefit as well as for you...the thing that keeps me going is that, in my case for erotic comics and graphic art, I see people putting out CRAP for sale and heads are STILL buying it. So if they can get their shit out like that, then I know I can get my grind going. It's just a matter of the doing.

[Pita]

There are books out there that directly talk about writing erotica and how to get it published.

My Joe and I are writing a BDSM romance novel and have found out for instance that publishers now a days don't like long epic types of books. So we will have to 1) condense a lot of it and 2) put it into two books in order to hopefully get it published.

I was in Barnes & Noble last night and looked at their softcore erotic stuff. All I know is if some of that stuff can make it into an actual book there is hope for the rest of us. :nod:

[CrouchingBuddha]

...I was in Barnes & Noble last night and looked at their softcore erotic stuff. All I know is if some of that stuff can make it into an actual book there is hope for the rest of us. :nod:

Do you mean as in the kind of sex content, or the writing quality? Not to sound like I'm bragging, but I'm not worried about my quality of writing...I know some really crap ass stuff has gotten published, and mine is at least somewhat decent. What I am wondering is whether I'm going to have to have to tone down the hard-core nature of my content. Either way, good luck to you Tess! I hope your writing efforts go well!

[Salacious]

I'd recommend stopping by the Erotica Readers & Writers Association (http://www.erotica-readers.com/) website. For erotica writers, they provide advice, current calls for submissions, and publishers guidelines.

Many of their members are published authors and have a network in place for offering a variety of different helps. I've found a good many answers in their section called: Erotic Author's Resources (http://www.erotica-readers.com/ERA/AR/Erotica_Authors_Resources.htm) In this section of the Erotica Readers & Writers Association they focus on writing and selling erotic fiction, the erotica author and all the issues that concern authorship and publication. They offer writers tips and advice from prominent erotica authors, relevant book recommendations, how to submit fiction for publication, and a plethora of information and resources for authors of heterosexual, gay and lesbian erotica. They also have a huge variety of helpful hints type discussions open for participation in the Erotica Writers Room, and an extensive listing of publishers guidelines and current Calls For Submissions.

Something you may want to check out. It's been a great resource for me for a long time.

[CrouchingBuddha]

Thanks a bunch Salacious, very helpful and insightful! I'll have to take a closer look momentarily. Hopefully this will help me find my way toward becoming a semi-likely candidate for publication :D

[Salacious]

Keep us posted! I have quite an erotica library and wouldn't be fun to add one and say... "I remember when...." ;)