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xoxo
Selena
New Baumgartner Story in Coupling Two!
That’s right, there’s a brand new Baumgartner story coming at you just in time for the holidays!
Janie and Josh are ten years into their marriage, and you won’t believe how they celebrate their anniversary every year! (Or… well… if you’ve already read the Baumgartners, maybe you will!)
There are also two other stories by me in this antho – The Flintstone Experiment and Cat Lover. And there are nine more stories from three other amazing authors – Sommer Marsden, Willsin Rowe and Alison Tyler – to boot!
So quick, go buy your copy! And if you need more incentive, read on for the blurb and excerpt…
COUPLING TWO
Sex, love and climaxes. In Coupling Two, we’re here again to explore more of the joys, pleasures and flat out kinks of being part of a couple. Four of today’s hottest erotica authors explore what coupling means to them. Selena Kitt, Alison Tyler, Willsin Rowe and Sommer Marsden put the Mm… in commitment. Join us for some titillating, tender and downright dirty moments. From the most intimate kind of stress release, to a sizzling anniversary celebration, foreplay of the voyeuristic kind and a much needed union after a dangerous situation, join us in Coupling Two to get a taste of something a bit sweet, a bit spicy and a lot sexy.
EXCERPT from THE DIRTY SHOW by Selena Kitt:
“Hey girl, this is crazy, and I know we just met, but…”
Janie blinked in surprise at the guy who took the stool beside her at the bar, instinctively backing away a little as he leaned closer. He was young, barely old enough to gain entry into the club, and while she was just ten years past that, this clear attempt to pick her up amused her greatly.
“Excuse me?” She crossed one leg over the other, letting her already-too-short skirt ride up her thigh, revealing the lace top of her thigh high stocking, enjoying his reaction. His gaze skipped from her hemline to the v-neck of her blouse, revealing far more cleavage than she was used to showing.
“Sorry, it was a just bad pickup line!” He had to yell to be heard, leaning in even closer, and Janie could smell beer on his breath. “Whatcha drinkin’? I’m buying!”
“Shot of Patron!” Janie yelled in reply and lifted her glass, tilting back the honey colored liquid at the bottom.
“Two shots of Patron!” The guy called to the bartender. She was a leggy redhead who raised her eyebrows as she poured the shots but she took the guy’s money and slid the drinks in front of them, moving on to the other patrons crowding the bar.
“What should we drink to?” Janie lifted her glass, enjoying the way he turned toward her on the stool so his knee brushed her thigh. He was tall, and the jeans and cowboy boots alone made her belly quiver. The silver buckle and the hat were just cherries on the cake.
“All I know is that we need to get hammered.” He clinked his glass to hers, grinning, still yelling to be heard. “Because I wanna nail you!”
“The first pickup line wasn’t bad enough?” Janie smirked, raising one eyebrow and glancing pointedly down at his crotch. “I don’t know, are you sure you brought enough wood?”
Her timing couldn’t have been more perfect. Tequila erupted from his mouth in a fine spray all over the bar and he choked behind his black shirt sleeve, eyes watering, but he came up laughing.
“I’m pretty sure you’d be happy with the timber, ma’am,” he replied, still grinning.
“Excuse me, is this seat taken?”
She felt a presence, glancing over her shoulder at the dark, curly hair appearing behind her as he slid onto the stool on her other side.
“I’m Josh,” he said, holding out his hand.
Janie took it, smiling. “Janie.”
“Oh, she’s a tougher nut to crack than that, pal, believe me!” the cowboy remarked, using one of the napkins sitting under a bowl of peanuts to wipe up the tequila he’d spit all over the bar.
“Is that so?” Josh smiled. “I guess we’ll have to see about that. Hey, cowboy, can I borrow your hat?”
The cowboy frowned, but he took it off and handed it over, smoothing back his sandy hair.
“Thanks.” Josh put the hat over Janie’s still untouched shot of tequila. “I bet you a kiss that I can drink that without ever touching the hat.”
She cocked her head and eyed him skeptically. “One kiss?”
“Would you prefer a blowjob? I know I would!”
“Okay, one kiss.” Janie laughed, feeling her face flush. Beside her, the cowboy was watching intently.
Josh gave a nod and then crouched down, disappearing under the lip of the bar. Janie squealed as she felt his hands on her calves, a hot mouth pressed to her knee, making drinking sounds. The cowboy’s eyes widened.
“Ma’am? Do you need me to—?”
“No, no!” She laughed, waving him away as Josh reappeared.
“Taa daa!” Josh wiped the back of his mouth, dropping her a wink.
The cowboy scowled, reaching over to grab his hat off the counter, revealing the shot sitting, still untouched, on the bar. “Hey!”
Josh grabbed the glass, knocking the shot back in one tilt of his head. He turned to Janie, grinning. “Now about that blowjob…”
“Kiss!” she reminded him as he wrapped his arms around her waist, forcing her to spread her legs as his mouth came down on hers, slanting across with a wet, hungry heat she couldn’t resist. Janie put her arms around his neck, letting him draw her tongue in, suck at it, and felt the stiff press of his erection through his jeans.
“What the hell?” The cowboy was still scowling when Janie came up for air, face flushed, pushing her blonde hair back out of her eyes.
“I drank it,” Josh explained, grinning. “But I never touched the hat, did I?”
The cowboy looked from one to the other, puzzled. “But… you… are you…?”
Janie disentangled herself from Josh’s arms, turning on the stool toward the confused man. Leaning in closer, so she wouldn’t have to yell to be heard, she whispered into his ear, “Married.”
She saw the light dawning and slipped her arm around Josh’s waist as she slid off the stool, feeling his hand moving over her ass, squeezing, kneading her flesh. Her whole body was buzzing with heat, her nipples hard under her blouse. The cowboy’s gaze went there, in spite of the fact that Josh had already claimed her.
“You’re a lucky man.” The cowboy tipped his hat, his gaze sweeping Janie from head to toe, making her tingle.
“I know.” Josh leaned in and whispered into Janie’s ear. “I’ll meet you outside.”
“Thanks for the drink, cowboy.” Janie turned and walked away, hips swaying, feeling the heat of his gaze following her.
Writing Niche Erotica
Have you ever wondered why some erotica authors seem more popular than others? Is there some secret formula for writing a popular erotica story?
Yes, actually, there is—at least to some degree. Every erotica niche or fetish has its own essential theme, something that a majority of readers are looking for when they click on a story. These vary, of course, but just as there are real examples to fill any stereotype, there are formulas and reader expectations that apply to stories in each niche. So if you’re a writer who’s always wondered how to write “niche” erotica, read on!
First of all, I want you to note that the following advice is about how to write popular stories. I didn’t necessarily say the most literary or the best. We all know the books which make it to the NY Times Bestseller lists aren’t always the most well-written or important, and so the stories that make it to Amazon’s erotica bestseller lists aren’t always either. They just happen to appeal to the masses. This is a guide that will tell you what’s popular and how to make your stories conform more to those guidelines so you’ll be likely to draw in more readers.
Secondly, everything that I’m about to say is a huge generalization. Of course there are exceptions, and none of these are true 100% or even 99% of the time. All I’m doing here is trying to give you an idea of what most readers want, so that as a writer, if you want to cater to readers in order to write a more popular story, you can. This guideline then, by no means encompasses all of erotica’s readership.
Anal
Readers in this niche want long, detailed, lurid descriptions of anal sex. I know, I know, that seems so obvious—but haven’t you read anal stories that are pretty much just a normal sex story with only a paragraph or two tacked on at the end, like an afterthought, where the anal sex actually occurs? That won’t fly here if you want a popular story. Anal readers are… well… anal! They want the details, every last one, including long, preferably realistic descriptions of how it’s done and how it feels. If you can do that, you’ll rock the anal reader’s world.
BDSM
True sadism and masochism aren’t often topics found in large quantities here. Popular stories are primarily varying versions and degrees of the domination/submission aspect of BDSM. The most popular stories explore the dom/sub relationship, how it manifests and how it looks and feels. Techniques and tricks and toys (which are all part of the BDSM world) are good, but secondary to the emotion and connection between the dom and the sub.
Erotic Horror
A misunderstood niche if there ever was one. True erotic horror should encompass both eroticism and horror, in a way that’s not always titillating, but should at the very least be shocking and—here’s the important part—integral to the story. If you can take the sex out, and still have the horror, it’s not really erotic horror. Okay, down off my soapbox. How do you write a great story in this niche? Make it scary and horrific, make sure the sex and horror are somehow related, and make it a good story. Erotic horror readers are truly looking for a story, not just titillation.
Exhibitionist and Voyeur
Exhibitionist and voyeur are two halves of the same whole, but that doesn’t always translate on the page. In a popular exhibitionist story, the arousal is in the enjoyment of exposure, which is usually accompanied by a certain amount of reluctance and shame. In a voyeur story, the focus is on the secret enjoyment of watching, unseen. Both of these require a different perspective and unfortunately often split the readership. The good news is that, while readers often prefer one perspective or the other, most can and do enjoy this niche from either side. So what makes for a popular exhibitionist/voyeur story? From the exhibitionist side, it’s all about the exposure and the thought of being seen. There are also common devices deployed in these stories: binoculars, cameras, dressing rooms, two way mirrors, watching from a crack in the door. A popular story in this niche will give the reader lots of teasing and titillation. These stories require a definite slow build and rise in the action, culminating in some sort of satisfying final climax.
Fetishes
To write a popular fetish story, you really have to know your subject and then you have to specialize and focus. Fetish stories are all about obsession. Pleasing readers in this niche is all about getting into the particulars. Whatever fetish you’re choosing to write about (and there are so many—panties, pregnancy, fisting, water sports, pantyhose, hairy women, milk, feet, you name it!) you must focus on the minute details. Readers will find the fetishes they’re interested in, and you can become quite popular if it happens to be your fetish as well and you focus enough interest on it.
First Time
Stories in this niche are primarily about the loss of virginity, and the most popular ones are about girls. Readers in this niche want innocent teens being gently and lovingly led toward adulthood by a caring boyfriend. There usually isn’t a huge age difference between the two main characters, and the girl should be a little hesitant, as good girls should be, but still willing and sweet. There are readers who want first time stories that involve young men as the main character as well, but innocence is still paramount and key. This niche is truly about the loss of innocence, and the impact of that upon a character.
Gay Male
In spite of the niche label, don’t assume your audience consists only of gay men. They aren’t the only people reading this niche—there are many bicurious men out there, and believe it or not, lots of women adore this niche. You have to be familiar with and know the ins and outs (ha, pun intended) of hot, sexy man-love. There’s a strong, physical aspect to gay erotica, a lusty sort of passion, whether it’s a story involving emotion and love, an in-depth exploration of sexuality, or a quickie in a parking lot. Whatever story you want to tell, in order to write something popular in this niche, you need to make it hot, physical, and descriptive.
Menage
A very popular niche. The biggest sellers are the male/male/female versions, although I have plenty of female/female/male versions that sell quite well. A popular story in this niche should have a threesome that will suspend the reader’s disbelief that jealousy and fear aren’t an issue for any of the people involved in the three-way. Remember, erotica readers want a fantasy, not what might really happen in that situation. Usually these stories involve a couple who adds a third (often the wife’s best friend) and leaves the reader with a warm fuzzy feeling at the end.
Humor and Satire
This is a tough niche, because humor is such a personal experience. Everyone’s idea of what’s funny tends to be different, so it’s hard to tell you how to “make it funny.” There honestly isn’t a formula for this one. You can’t appeal to the masses. Your best hope is to write what you think is funny and then publish it and cross your fingers! Your response will probably be relatively small, but people who “get” your sense of humor will give you positive feedback.
Pseudoincest/Taboo
This is, surprisingly to many, a very popular niche. There are writers out there who, after seeing the sheer numbers this niche generates (at least before Amazon started to ban and filter it) wrote pseudoincest stories just to get that volume of readers! The primary ingredient in any popular pseudoincest story is (are you ready for it?)… love. It’s true. There are very few nonconsensual pseudoincest stories and they rarely do well.
Readers of pseudoincest want to see love, and they want that bond to be so overwhelming the two (whether it’s stepbrother/stepsister, stepmom/stepson, stepfather/stepdaughter, doesn’t matter) simply can’t deny it—the very strength of that love is what compels them to commit such a taboo act. Yes, sexual desire, teasing, obsession, all of those are involved in the beginning, but ultimately, readers want to see the emotion driving the characters. If you can give readers that, in whatever pairing you’re writing, you’re already halfway there.
Another aspect of pseudoincest that you have to pay attention to is dialogue. Remind readers of the familiar bonds by having characters state them—often. Have the stepbrother call his stepsister “Sis” or “Sissy.” In stepfather/stepdaughter stories, the daughter should call him, “Daddy,” and in stepmother/stepson, “Mommy” should be reiterated (as in, “Mommy loves her little boy…”) Without this, all you’ve got is another sex story. When you focus on those familiar bonds, you give the readers what they really want—the extra heat of the taboo. Just having related characters isn’t enough—they have to be extremely aware of that relationship and find it arousing.
On top of that, each pseudoincest pairing has its own set of genre requirements. Stepbrother/stepsister tends to be about the older sibling fulfilling the role of sexual teacher, leading the younger one into the adult world with love and knowledge.
The stepmother/stepson pairing focuses generally on a reluctant desire to give in. Stepmother should be full of angst over her attraction, but eventually, she finds it too much for her to deny, so she falls into a sexual relationship. There’s a great deal of reluctance at first, but she ultimately finds it totally amazing and fulfilling. As with any older woman story, here or in the mature niche, the reader wants to hear about certain physical attributes—larger breasts and copious amounts of pubic hair symbolize her maturity and maternal nature, for example.
The stepfather/stepdaughter niche tends to split on whether the reader is male or female. Women who read this niche want a daddy figure, and men want the young, nubile Lolita. For the most part, the popular stories in this niche should be a stepfather lusting after an innocent, beautiful young girl, and being drawn into a sexual relationship. The girl should be teasing and tantalizing, but in fairly innocent ways—just testing out her sexuality, but still generally sweet and pure. There are physical requirements here as well. The daughter should be petite, small-breasted, and have little or no pubic hair (all which symbolize youth and virginity).
Interracial Love
The politically correct tyranny of our society today often keeps this niche from going as far as it could. Still, the most popular stories in interracial remain black men and white women, with racial language playing a major role. Yes, the black man should be well-endowed, the woman usually fair-skinned and petite. If you want to know how to write popular stories, you need to give readers what they want. In this niche, I’m afraid to say, it’s still the stereotype. If you’re going to write a less popular interracial pairing, make sure to highlight the differences and the obvious taboo in the pairing of two races and cultures. Remember, that’s the titillating part for readers in this niche.
That said—there are stories breaking this stereotype all the time, and readers of interracial stories are wide and varied. It’s just that in the *niche* market for these stories, the above still applies.
Lesbian
Do you know the answer to the question: “Who watches the most girl on girl porn?” If you answered: Men! You’re correct. The majority of the readers in this niche are male, followed by bi-curious females, with actual lesbians bringing up the rear. So the majority of readers will be looking for stories of (legal, of course!) teen girls having gentle, exploratory sex with their friends. If you want to write popular stories, I wouldn’t write about rough sex, fist fucking, dykes, butches or ass play. To write a popular story in this niche, think about male-oriented fantasy porn, and you’ve pretty much got it. (And again, I know I keep saying this – but we’re talking about popularity here, and I’m afraid the stereotype still rules in this case too).
Cuckolds
Basically, this niche involves some sort of infidelity. The idea, often, is that the wife or husband “loves” their partner so much they’re willing to give them anything they want—even another lover. To write a popular story in this niche, you need all the details. Readers here want to know characters’ histories, motivations, all the details of their lives that led up to the infidelity, etc. and often the aftermath as well. Revenge stories are popular in this niche. Usually, you’re going to split your readership no matter what you do, because there are those that like the cuckold fantasy, and those who feel anything short of shooting a spouse who cheats makes the wronged partner a “wimp.” There are authors who succeed here though.
Mature
Young men with older women (i.e. cougars) or older men with younger women (i.e. Lolitas). The key to writing a good mature story is that the older partner should be comfortable in their sexuality, knowledgeable, and willing to fulfill the teacher role. For older women, there should be a physical indication that she’s older—larger breasts and thick pubic hair, for example. For the older man/younger woman fantasy, the girl should be the petite, small-breasted, Lolita type.
Mind Control
The most popular stories in this niche are about sexually immature males with little or no experience who dream of being able to have the power to make women fulfill their sexual desires. To write a popular story in this niche, you usually need to have a male adolescent main character who can suddenly get all the popular cheerleader types who have always been mean to him to do whatever he wants them to sexually. Revenge scenarios are popular here too.
Nonconsent/Reluctance
This is a complex niche and one that’s difficult to excel in because so many readers will review stories badly because they don’t agree with the basic premise. The readership is also split along gender lines, making it even harder to write something that appeals to the masses. This niche is about power, either having it or not, and sex just happens to be the method by which it’s expressed in a non-consent story. Like the exhibitionist/voyeur niche, it’s two halves of the same whole, but it isn’t always expressed with the same perspective. Women who read and have rape fantasies want to experience a loss of control—they want to be dominated and forced. For men who read and have rape fantasies, it’s about being in control, dominating, and forcing a woman to his will. The most popular stories in this niche will come at the power dynamic from one of those two perspectives, and will give the reader a vicarious experience that is “safe” to live out in story form.
NonHuman/Creature
Now here is where we find our Anne Rice vampire wannabe’s. Also stories about aliens, ghosts, androids, fairies, demons, catgirls, Bigfoot, things with tentacles—you name it. If you want to write a popular story in this niche, you have to have a good grasp of the genre that the creature you’re writing about usually lives in. For example, most vampire lovers want the dark, brooding, irresistible sort. Also, readers here want sexual descriptions involving the weird and surreal aspects of these characters, so detail is important. Yes, they want to hear about large, hairy wolfman penises and tiny, little fairy vaginas. I’m not kidding. To write a really popular story in this niche, it helps to have a little bit of a fetish in one of these areas, to make the details appealing to the reader.
Sci-fi and Fantasy
Storytelling/world-building is the key element in this niche. Writing popular stories in this genre is all about how well you can immerse the readers into your created world, whether that’s an alien universe or some magical realm. The sex in these tales is really just an incidental bonus as your readers are mostly focusing on the world you’re creating.
Toys and Masturbation
This niche caters primarily to men who like to see women masturbate. The most popular stories here should be female narrated, and about women. Toys and fingers and lots of detail will make the readership here very happy.
Transsexual and Crossdressers
This niche is almost a cross between fetish and gay male. As with any fetish, detail is paramount, especially in the case of a cross-dressing story. Also, your primary readers are probably men with latent homosexual/bi fantasies that read this niche who refuse to read gay male, so the pronoun “she” is important here, even if she has a male appendage.
* * * *
Now, those are obviously just guidelines about what makes a story popular in any given niche. It doesn’t take anything else into account. If you write a story with any of the above elements so riddled with errors and human sexual positions which defy the laws of physics that your reader can’t get past the first paragraph, you’re going to seriously lessen your chances of getting onto the erotica bestseller list.
If you already manage to write a decent story though, and you employ the aforementioned formulas, you’re going to increase your readership considerably—and probably make it onto an erotica bestseller list or two. Once you’ve made it there, you need to decide if and how you want to keep your momentum. There are writers who have made it to the erotica bestseller list once or twice, and that’s it. There are writers who have written hundreds of stories, whose names are all over the bestseller lists. You need to decide which you want to be.
If you want to keep and maintain a readership, there are three more ideas I will leave you with.
1) Write erotica as a woman. A huge percentage of erotica readers are female, and most of them feel safer reading stories written by a woman (or someone they believe to be a woman).
2) Never write a story in second person—first or third person is best.
3) Keep your readers happy—write what they like, write it well, and write it often.
Tracy Kitts – Halloween Guest Blog Post
If you’ve ever searched “Selena Kitt” for my books, you might have come up with “Tracy Kitts” in your search. She’s an erotic writer as well, with a similar pen name, and a big backlist of books for you to check out!
Tracy has a new release coming up — just in time for Halloween, my favorite holiday! – and I offered to have her guest blog today. So without further adieu, here’s Tracy Kitts!
———–
A lot of people (relatives in particular) have asked me why I write so much about vampires. I write werewolves too, but vamps seem to draw the most attention. At least, it gets the most questions. The truth is, I write what I like. When I was in school I read every book that had anything to do with vampires. Anything I could get my hands on that had vampires in it, I read it so thoroughly it could be considered studying. I also wrote a few short and semi-erotic stories about werewolves just for fun. Of course, they weren’t up to par with what is considered erotica now, but it was pretty sexy to me and my friends.
I always knew that I wanted to write professionally some day. It wasn’t something that just came to me out of the blue or something I did on a whim. Everything I have ever done in my life I have viewed as “good writing material.” I knew that each experience, whether it was a job or a relationship that went wrong, would somehow end up in my books. In the case of bad relationships, it could be considered therapy. Ha. Ha. Of course, names have been changed to protect the guilty, but there are a few of those along the way.
Since I always knew I wanted to write and I have always been drawn to vampires, it seemed only logical to me that’s what I’d write about. The other question I get even more often than, “Why vampires?” is “Why sex?”
The short answer: Why not?
Now, for something more in depth: I love science fiction, but find it grossly lacking in sex. Ha. Seriously, I enjoy a good story but what I also enjoy is a good romance. I used to read the really old romances, the ones you could find at garage sales and such. So, they were really outdated and for my tastes, too … sweet. I wanted a heroine who could kick ass and take names. I wanted someone I could identify with. Someone who wasn’t “pure as the driven snow,” and all that crap. I wanted someone real.
Of course, I also wanted a hero who was sexy beyond imagination. I don’t want the guy next door. Let’s face it, unless Hugh Jackman lives next door, none of us are really interested in normal guys, are we?
I also have a deep love of fantasy. So, you take all that, mix it together (shaken, not stirred) and you get paranormal romance. Paranormal romance is really an adventure for women. We just happen to find romance to be part of the adventure.
I write what I like to read. Why would I try to sell something to someone if I didn’t even like it myself? That’s ridiculous. I love vampires and if we get them alone in the story, someone better tell me what they look like naked! I don’t know about you, but I’d feel cheated otherwise. Of course, I’m okay with waiting for such a moment (like in the case of a series, which I enjoy writing). But once we get there, I want details. Ha. Ha.
The last and probably best answer I could give is this: Writing is wish fulfillment and so is reading. Who hasn’t fantasized about living forever with some gorgeous hunk? Tall, dark and immortal sounds pretty darn good to me. To never grow old, never get sick and die. And let us not forget, eternal love. I think these are all pretty strong fantasies that most people can identify with, even if they don’t get into the whole, “Bite me,” thing.
Unfortunately, in the area where I live most people just see it as macabre. For the rest of the fang bait™ out there (like myself), please check out my latest release. LOL For everyone else, I do hope we can move beyond that some day.
My latest release is Bitten and it’s available at Amazon.
For more information me and my books, you can find me at www.traceyhkitts.com
To Agent or not to Agent
Just when you think you know what’s going to happen in the publishing industry, everything turns upside down again. I spent the summer recuperating from a back injury, and when I came back to the world of the Internet I found something rather stunning had happened. My genre (erotica and erotic romance) had exploded. Apparently, the flood of erotica in the market went crazy after the success of Fifty Shades of Grey. And what truly amused me was that writers who previously shunned the idea of writing “that stuff” were now invading the erotica genre like panhandlers looking for sparkly stuff in the early days of the California gold rush.
Of course, there’s no recreating the organic success of something like Fifty Shades of Grey. It’s like trying to recreate Harry Potter, Twilight or The Hunger Games. Yes, wizard, vampire and post-apocalyptic fiction can and has ridden the coat tails of such bestsellers. But you can’t recreate the first, because the original had an x-factor that the later copycats couldn’t capture. It’s like cloning – you can get a facsimile, but it’s never going to be the same.
That said, apparently my name has been bandied about this summer, after the popularity of the James’ series, because I’ve had not one, not two, but… well actually it’s now more than three, agents approach me in the past month or so with the promise of, “You could be the next EL James!” First of all, you’re assuming I want to be the next EL James. You’re also assuming I want to be traditionally published. Two pretty big assumptions.
I’m not sure I want to do either. Do I really want to open that door? Most of the agents have approached with the caveat: “I know you’re doing well on your own…” so at least they know the score. I’ve got 100 titles out there with my name on them and I’m pretty close to a million ebooks sold (if I haven’t passed it officially already… I still have to run the numbers) in the past two years. “Pretty well” is a bit of an understatement, I think.
I always said, “I’m glad I write erotica, because no agent is ever going to approach me with a ‘too good to turn down’ offer from traditional publishing.” I was so sure of this fact, especially given that everyone from Amazon to Apple to Paypal wanted to get rid of the stuff.
Then Fifty Shades of Grey became a runaway bestselling series.
Derp.
Now I’ve got a decision to make. To agent, or not to agent? I know all the arguments for and against. I think we all do. But self-published erotica and erotic romance authors are heading toward traditional publishers in droves. Sara Fawkes recently signed with Amanda Hocking’s agent and he got her a book deal with St. Martin’s. Maya Banks just signed a 7-figure deal with Penguin for a three book series.
Publishers are now banking on erotic romance.
Whhhhaaat!? Really!? Have I entered the Twilight Zone?
I’m leery, I admit. I’ve heard so many horror stories about traditional publishing from authors who have jumped ship to self-publish. But there are authors (like EL James or Amanda Hocking) who have decided to go the other way, from self-publishing to traditional, and they’ve had good success.
The fact is, I have a three-book series based on Under Mr. Nolan’s Bed waiting in the wings. It was a huge seller for me in the days before Amazon decided to ban “certain types” of fiction, and although its ranks have never recovered there, it’s also the book that spurred people to run over to Barnes and Noble to buy it and clock in record sales (over $100,000 in a month!) last year. It’s also my “most requested” book in terms of a sequel. It’s different while still tapping into the erotic romance genre, it’s controversial, it’s already got an enormous following of readers who want to read a sequel and it’s hot–in short, it has huge potential.
Now I have to decide… do I want to self-publish it? Or give it to an agent?
What would you do?
Selena Kitt
Erotic Fiction You Won’t Forget
www.selenakitt.com
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