I woke up this morning ...

....to various emails about ‘what is happening to erotica?’ – and - the need to ‘defend erotica.’

What is happening to erotica? Stuffed if I know. It seems it’s a case of looking for ‘reds under the beds’. Those who write it are pissed at the sudden puritan morality that seems to have struck ebook land. Fucking hell people, its sex in a story. It cannot hurt you unless you go out and actively do something stupid and sexually impossible and let’s face it erotica is just that. Fanatsy. A kink. A thrill and nine times out of ten bloody impossible scenarios. See Jane have ménage/bondage sex with five shapeshifter wolves. See Jane have fun. See Jane get tired…very, very tired from aching legs and a sore back. See Jane ask the wolves to stop moulting or shave more. See Jane decide it’s all too hard having sex with hairy wolves and she has sex with cowboys…see Jane get spur marks...seriously, if Jane is that stupid then no one can help Jane. No one can blame erotica for the actions they choose to take. Woman up. You have sex with wolves? That’s your choice. The author didn't make you do it.

Erotica cannot hurt paypal, credit card companies, book depositories or those with starched knickers and closed minds. The call from some authors is 'defend erotica.' No, I see no reason to defend it. If I did I would have to defend dildos, cock rings, lingerie, alcohol, strippers, Thunder from Down Under, burlesque, marriage, waxing, drugs, movies, back seats of cars, sexy men, deep and meaningful looks and sexy words from a person's lips. All of that can lead to sex. As for being told not to link the current slamming of erotica with censorship? Excuse me, but I come fully formed out of the box with my own opinions and beliefs and being ‘told’ to do something makes the whole censorship issue valid. I issue a polite ‘Bugger off’ to that.

Erotica – love it, hate it, legs closed or open, come or don’t come, imagine or refuse to, sex/no sex, read it, chuck it, moralize over it or don’t give a crap. This is just a storm in a tea cup that will blow over when ebook profits go down and the thinking turns back to selling more erotica because monetary greed beats sexual need.

Thought #5612

When I was doing my tax last week, and sorting out the profits and receipts from book sales, it occurred to me that I have been at this writing lark for a bloody long time and interestingly enough, after the first what-the-hell-am-I-doing-year, sales have remained strong and consistently the same for the last 7 years despite dealing with some appalling, Nazi-like publishers. Nope, I never expected to be a JK Rowling. I’m too realistic for that. I expected writing to be a part time job with a comparable income. I got what I expected. Yep, by all means dream big but a healthy dose of reality keeps you grounded.

Why I bring this up is I’m tired of writers who whine about their sales and how they’ve not sold the five thousand they expected to sell because their family and friends all like that book so ‘why aren’t I on the bestseller list?’ It could be that you suck. It could be that it takes a while for readers to find you. It could be that you're family is doing what families do. Then there are those people who do disgustingly well on their first books. Some of those people are flash in the pans while others just go on to write the same book over and over again because the first did so well so why change the story – just change the names. Good luck to them I say. Then there are others, one in particular springs to mind, like Rita. I really liked her as a person and a writer. There are those of you who would remember Rita fondly. She wrote one book then walked away from the writing business. Why? She had more important and interesting things to do in life. I’ve always admired her stance. Writing is not life. Go Rita.

So what am I crapping on about? Writing – it’s a tough, uncaring, manipulative, shithouse business. The strong survive and evolve into indie writers and publishers, with a steady income, because they’ve worked out what’s going on and they can do better with more honesty and less drama. The average continue to plod along scared to upset diva publishers because apparently they think they’re God. They ain't. And the truly awful writers? Sometimes no taste or sense is a good thing.

Writer prostitution…

Here’s an interesting discussion between erotica writers. Is it deemed better to write a load of books without plot that sell really well but get constant poor reviews or write books that sell ok or moderately well that people like?

So, if a book sells constantly well due to the genre – say ménage – do you ride that horse into the ground and over capitalize on the need women have to read it? How much is too much? Remember the MM craze? Everyone was writing it but it appears to have died in the arse…so to speak. Or do you think stuff it, I like ménage, it makes money and I will write it until the cows come home….never thought I’d put cows and ménage in a sentence…Is it greed verses need and speed?

Bad reviews? They’re based on opinion and the reviewer’s outlook on life. You can take 'em or leave 'em. But when you get multiple bad reviews on every book on a constant basis because every book you write sells really well based on the fact it’s got three, four, five people on each cover should you re-think your position? Is the cover selling your book or your story? Do you care? Should you care? Is it about the deep need to write verses the need for money? Are writer’s prostitutes writing whatever fantasy the client wants regardless of the cost?

So, write for profit or write because you love it and will readers actually know the difference? And writer prostitution? If you are selling yourself and your skills, is it anyone else’s business but your own?