Polly J. Adams's Blog, page 21
January 11, 2014
Romance, erotica or erotic romance? Polly J Adams on publishing categories.
[Note: A slightly different version of this post first appeared on the One-Handed Writers' blog.]
Tell me: is it erotica that you prefer to read, or romance?
This is an increasingly important question, for readers, writers and publishers alike, as it plays a critical role in the findability of books.
What are the differences? Many of them are obvious, of course.
Romance is about relationships between people, while erotica is about those people getting down and dirty. As with any attempt to label, the boundaries are not clear: while some romances are pretty chaste, most also involve depictions of the down and dirty, and while some erotica is purely descriptive of the acts, most also involves the relationships between the participants.
Other stuff: erotica tends to get to the point quickly. It’s fiction to get off on, and someone in the mood for a one-handed read has very specific needs. Romance, being about the relationships, needs space for complications, for that relationship’s obstacles to be overcome. It needs story.
Which means that, in romance size does matter. Erotica’s focus is on getting there and getting off, and it works well at shorter lengths. A 4 to 5000 word erotic story is a definite sweet spot for many. On the other hand, short romances are the exception rather than the rule: all those complications need space to develop, so romance is more a genre for novelettes and full-length novels.
Pricing tends to be very different, too. There’s lots of discussion in writing and publishing circles about appropriate price levels for different story lengths. When so many are prepared to spend two or three dollars for a quick cup of coffee, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to charge the same for half an hour’s entertainment with a story. In the age of the ubiquitous 99 cent box-set it might seem odd to be arguing that short stories should be priced at $2.99, but such a pricing split is not an unusual marketing strategy: those box-sets do earn money, but for many they’re loss-leaders used to establish name and brand. If we want our favorite writers to be able to keep writing, we have to pay a fair rate to keep them in business.
Different genres support different price models and this is certainly true for romance and erotica. $2.99 to get off on an erotic short is pretty much the norm, whereas romance readers are accustomed to getting more for their money.
All of these factors are weighed up when a publisher is deciding which category to apply to a new title, and choice of category is key in that title’s findability. Publish a steamy story as erotica and most retailers will confine it to the ‘adult’ ghetto where readers really need to know how to find what they’re looking for. Categorize it as romance and the publisher has to weigh up the improved findability against readers’ expectations of tighter pricing and greater length.
So what’s a writer/publisher to do?
We have to pay attention to what you, the readers, want. We have to learn how you find what you want and what your expectations are. And then we have to do what we can to make our books as attractive as possible.
My publishing team at James Grieve Press and I went through all of this recently with the launch of my new paranormal romance (or is that erotica?) pen-name, Ruby Fielding. Ruby has launched this month with four titles in the Shifters’ World series: erotic romance suspense in a post-apocalyptic setting populated by humans and shape-shifters.
But does Ruby write erotica or romance? Let’s go through those criteria.
Relationships or down and dirty? Well the series is definitely about relationships, but it’s also explicit – I’d say that these stories are right in the shared territory of erotic romance, rather than being one or the other.
Is it about the sex, or the story? Story, I’d say, particularly over the course of all four installments. But two of the stories were originally written for erotica anthologies, so the sex is key.
Size? The stories are between 4500 and 6500 words long, which is far more typical of erotica than romance.
So… what did we do?
After a lot of discussion, we settled on the following strategy. The stories were first published in the erotica category; since then I’ve rewritten them so that they read as a single short novel rather than four separate stories; this novel will be published in the romance category later this month.
Hopefully this approach will help us reach the widest possible audience. Erotica readers benefit from getting their hands on each installment as soon as possible, while romance readers will get a version edited to satisfy their preferences for longer more story-based narratives.
It’s not a strategy I’ve tried before, but it makes sense to me.
But does it matter to you, the reader? I think it does. You might not care in the slightest about how the publishing industry works, but a little insight into the decisions that are taken can make a big difference to how you find your next book.
Romance of erotica? A big story, or a one-hander? They’re all written and published in different ways, just as they’re read in different ways.
Shifters’ World
In a world where plague has swept civilization away like leaves in a storm, where viruses that cause people to shift and change have altered what it is, for most, to be human, a few survivors hold out in a desperate attempt to save the human race. Shifters’ World: a paranormal erotic romance series from the co-author of Seduced by Moonlight and The Touch.
You can find out more about the Shifters’ World series on Ruby Fielding’s paranormal romance and erotica website.
The post Romance, erotica or erotic romance? Polly J Adams on publishing categories. appeared first on PJ Adams / Polly J Adams: erotic romance and erotica.
January 4, 2014
New: Hunt Her Down - shapeshifter werewolf romance by Ruby Fielding
Today, my publishers James Grieve Press have brought out Hunt Her Down, the fourth story in the Shifters’ World werewolf romance series by Ruby Fielding. This brings to a close the opening sequence, which follows Selene as she struggles to survive a plague-ridden post-apocalypse future and to understand her true nature.
Here’s the cover and description:
Alone in the forest, Selene didn’t know where she was going, but she knew where she did not want to be. And also, she knew that someone – or something – was following her…
In a world where plague has destroyed civilization and viruses cause people to shift from human to animal form, the surviving humans can be the worst enemies of all. Struggling with her own condition and fighting the need to give in to the changing viruses, Selene’s tormentors are on her trail. Will she survive, or will they hunt her down?
An explicit werewolf romance story in the Shifters’ World setting, from the author of Lone Wolf and co-author of paranormal erotic romances Seduced by Moonlight and The Touch.
Available from:
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Barnes and Noble
Google Play
Smashwords
All Romance ebooks
You can find out more about Shifters’ World, including the first three books in the series, on Ruby Fielding’s paranormal romance and erotica website.
The post New: Hunt Her Down - shapeshifter werewolf romance by Ruby Fielding appeared first on PJ Adams / Polly J Adams: erotic romance and erotica.
New: Hunt Her Down (Shifters’ World 4) by Ruby Fielding
Today, my publishers James Grieve Press have brought out Hunt Her Down, the fourth story in the Shifters’ World series by Ruby Fielding. This brings to a close the opening sequence, which follows Selene as she struggles to survive a plague-ridden post-apocalypse future and to understand her true nature.
Here’s the cover and description:
Alone in the forest, Selene didn’t know where she was going, but she knew where she did not want to be. And also, she knew that someone – or something – was following her…
In a world where plague has destroyed civilization and viruses cause people to shift from human to animal form, the surviving humans can be the worst enemies of all. Struggling with her own condition and fighting the need to give in to the changing viruses, Selene’s tormentors are on her trail. Will she survive, or will they hunt her down?
An explicitly erotic story in the Shifters’ World setting, from the author of Lone Wolf and co-author of paranormal erotic romances Seduced by Moonlight and The Touch.
Available from:
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Barnes and Noble
Google Play
Smashwords
All Romance ebooks
You can find out more about Shifters’ World, including the first three books in the series, on Ruby Fielding’s paranormal romance and erotica website.
January 3, 2014
Cover reveal: Ruby Fielding’s Hunt Her Down (Shifters’ World)
Just seen this: the cover for the next Shifters’ World story by Ruby Fielding.
Alone in the forest, Selene didn’t know where she was going, but she knew where she did not want to be. And also, she knew that someone – or something – was following her…
In a world where plague has destroyed civilization and viruses cause people to shift from human to animal form, the surviving humans can be the worst enemies of all. Struggling with her own condition and fighting the need to give in to the changing viruses, Selene’s tormentors are on her trail. Will she survive, or will they hunt her down?
An explicitly erotic story in the Shifters’ World setting, from the author of Lone Wolf and co-author of paranormal erotic romances Seduced by Moonlight and The Touch.
Find out more at Ruby Fielding’s website.
December 31, 2013
New: Sizzling Ghost Stories (Paranormal Erotica Box-set) by top erotica authors
One more title for 2013 – a paranormal erotica box-set! My erotic ghost story collaboration with Ruby Fielding, ‘The Lady in White’, is just out in a big box-set of erotic ghost stories. Also featured is work by top names including Selena Kitt, Carl East and Delilah Fawkes:
From some of the bestselling names in paranormal erotica comes a book full of sizzling encounters with ghosts and other things that go bump in the night, guaranteed to leave you breathless in more ways than one. Authors like Selena Kitt, Carl East, Delilah Fawkes and more, bring you paranormal chills with the sexiest of thrills – stories that are sure to raise your temperature a notch or two!
Warning: not for readers of a delicate disposition – these stories are likely to set the heart racing and fill the reader’s head with wild and erotically charged sexual fantasies. You are advised to read these on your own but be sure to keep the lights on – just in case!
Authors in this boxed set are: Carl East, Anita Dobs, Giselle Renarde, Alexx Andria, Delilah Fawkes, Polly J Adams, Savannah Reardon, Leona D Reish, Selena Kitt, Ruby Fielding.
Ebook available from:
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
The post New: Sizzling Ghost Stories (Paranormal Erotica Box-set) by top erotica authors appeared first on PJ Adams / Polly J Adams: erotic romance and erotica.
New: Sizzling Ghost Stories (Erotic Paranormal Anthology)
One more title for 2013! My erotic ghost story collaboration with Ruby Fielding, ‘The Lady in White’ is just out in a big anthology of erotic ghost stories, along with work by top names including Selena Kitt, Carl East and Delilah Fawkes:
From some of the bestselling names in erotica comes a book full of sizzling encounters with ghosts and other things that go bump in the night, guaranteed to leave you breathless in more ways than one. Authors like Selena Kitt, Carl East, Delilah Fawkes and more, bring you paranormal chills with the sexiest of thrills – stories that are sure to raise your temperature a notch or two!
Warning: not for readers of a delicate disposition – these stories are likely to set the heart racing and fill the reader’s head with wild and erotically charged sexual fantasies. You are advised to read these on your own but be sure to keep the lights on – just in case!
Authors in this boxed set are: Carl East, Anita Dobs, Giselle Renarde, Alexx Andria, Delilah Fawkes, Polly J Adams, Savannah Reardon, Leona D Reish, Selena Kitt, Ruby Fielding.
Ebook available from:
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
December 29, 2013
Shifters’ World: three stories of shifter erotica
Announcing the launch of my new paranormal erotica and romance pen-name, Ruby Fielding. The first three titles in the Shifters’ World series have an official publication date of 1st January 2014, but they’re available now!
Lone Wolf (Shifters’ World 1)
She lives alone in a ruined house in the middle of a forest. Beyond is a world destroyed by plagues and change… This is the Shifters’ World: a world where you can’t trust anything, and where some humans may be something more, something different.
So when a strange man appears on her territory, she is right to be wary. She’s right not to trust the powerful urges he inspires in her. She’s right not to trust her gut instinct that something is amiss.
The first story in a powerfully sensuous, and very explicit, shape-changer series from the co-author of paranormal erotic romances Seduced by Moonlight and The Touch.
Ebook available from:
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Barnes and Noble
Smashwords
All Romance ebooks
Wanted by the Pack (Shifters’ World 2)
She’d known it was a mistake to let the stranger into her lonely existence. She had been safe, in a world where safety is the most valued of prizes. She had shelter at night, fresh water, food.
So stupid to let him in, to risk all that!
A man. Just a man.
In a world destroyed by plague, a world where viruses could change your very nature, where beasts roamed the night and nothing was safe, the most dangerous creature of all was man.
An explicitly erotic story in the Shifters’ World setting, from the author of Lone Wolf and co-author of paranormal erotic romances Seduced by Moonlight and The Touch.
“He put a hand to her face then, his knuckles brushing along her jaw and then he buried his fingers in her hair, tipping her head back. His mouth came down on her neck: hard lips and then the wet heat of his tongue and the delicious pain of raking teeth, dragging across her skin to that point where too hard is exactly hard enough.”
Ebook available from:
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Barnes and Noble
Smashwords
All Romance ebooks
Sanctum (Shifters’ World 3)
In a world where plague has swept civilization away like leaves in a storm, where viruses that cause people to shift and change have altered what it is, for most, to be human, a few survivors hold out in a desperate attempt to save the human race.
When they take in a woman found wandering in the forest, they must be sure she is pure, and only then will they be certain of her true value to the community as a fertile woman. Will she pass their tests and will she settle into their community to reproduce for the future?
An explicitly erotic story in the Shifters’ World setting, where a woman’s fertility is at a premium and it is her duty to reproduce, from the author of Lone Wolf and co-author of paranormal erotic romances Seduced by Moonlight and The Touch.
Ebook available from:
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Barnes and Noble
Smashwords
All Romance ebooks
All I Want… more erotica and erotic romance recommendations
Unfaithfully Yours by Katie Cramer
When the love of your husband just isn’t enough…a woman’s got to do what a woman’s got to do! This bargain boxed set contains TEN hotwife and cuckold stories from the steamy pen of Amazon bestselling author Katie Cramer. A gigantic 51,000 words of naughty hot wives, their submissive husbands and dominant alpha male lovers – for adults only!
Amazon US – Amazon UK
Girlfriends With Benefits 2 by Ten top authors
Your girlfriends are back with a second sexy collection, giving you a sultry look into the lives of female lovers. From ten of the hottest writers in lesbian romance and erotica, this passion-packed bundle has everything that you desire. Whether you’re looking for scorching tales of unbridled lust or steamy stories packed with toe-curling temptation, this anthology is sure to leave you satisfied like only your girlfriends can. Pick up your copy today and get a second helping of even more of the touching, tasting and teasing that you know you love. Be sure to “look inside” for a description of all ten hot titles and don’t forget to pick up the original ‘Girlfriends with Benefits’ to complete your own private collection of the best lesbian fiction around.
Amazon US – Amazon UK
Lone Wolf (Shifters’ World 1) by Ruby Fielding
She lives alone in a world destroyed by plagues, the Shifters’ World: a world where you can’t trust anything, particularly strangers. When a man appears on her territory, she is right to be wary. She’s right not to trust the powerful urges he inspires in her. The first story in a powerfully sensuous, and very explicit, shape-changer series (books two and three are also available).
Amazon US – Amazon UK
Romance and a… Series: The Complete Collection by Sharon Cummin
$0.99 for a limited time (81,566 words) Warning: This story contains content which is intended for readers over the age of 18. Romance and a Piece of Cake (#1) Romance and a Proposal (#2) Romance and a Bachelor Party (#3) Romance, a Billionaire, and a Jealous Fiance (#4) Romance, a Billionaire, and a Wedding (#5) Romance and Love in Paris (#6) Romance and a Honeymoon (#7) Romance and a Happy Ending (#8)
Amazon US – Amazon UK
Cuckold! 8 Erotic Tales of Cuckold Husbands & Their Hotwives by Jade K Scott and friends
This box set features 8 wildly erotic, uncensored cuckold tales from 6 of today’s top erotica authors! Read tales of wives cheating on their husbands and making them watch, making them participate, or even making them clean up the “evidence” that’s left behind inside their wives! These men are being totally owned by their wives, and some of them even like it! Nearly 45,000 words of explicit content!
Amazon US – Amazon UK
December 28, 2013
Triple cover reveal for Ruby Fielding’s Shifters’ World #paranormal #erotica
Not one, not two, but three new covers for Ruby Fielding’s Shifter’s World series!
Shifters’ World In a world where plague has swept civilization away like leaves in a storm, where viruses that cause people to shift and change have altered what it is, for most, to be human, a few survivors hold out in a desperate attempt to save the human race. Shifter’s World: an explicitly erotic series of paranormal romance from the co-author of Seduced by Moonlight and The Touch. Published in January 2014.
For more information about Ruby Fielding and her work, see www.rubyfielding.com.
December 27, 2013
Recommended… recommendations
Here’s a post I made in November over at One Handed Writers. I thought it worth re-posting here both because I hope it’s useful to readers, but also because I’m genuinely interested in hearing about any more sites and services people are using to help them find the good stuff.
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Publishing has changed. Dramatically.
Not so long ago, the only real routes to publishing were through the commercial companies’ slush piles, or with a few small and medium indie firms that had mastered the complexities of print, design, distribution, and so on.
But now? Everything so much easier! In lots of ways this is good: in the last couple of years we’ve seen massive successes for writers who, for a variety of reasons, have been overlooked or abandoned by trade publishing. These writers have gone it alone (or, more realistically, they’ve bought in expertise in editing, design and all the other publishing specialisms), taking their work directly to distributors like Amazon and Apple.
One consequence of this has been an easing of quality control and for the reader this poses the problem: how do we identify the good stuff in all this noise?
One mechanism that’s emerged is a number of recommended reading services, making use of blogs, Facebook and other social media to alert readers to titles they’ve identified as worth recommendation.
Have you made use of these services? If so, I’d love to hear from you.
Here are a few of them:
Probably the best of them all is What To Read After 50 Shades of Grey, run by the fabulous Summer Daniels. This one has around 75,000 followers on Facebook and posts several times a day.
Korner Kafé Exposed is another Facebook page with a good number of followers, posting regular erotica and romance recommendations.
My own All I Want… started off last Christmas, as All I Want for Christmas, but its popularity persuaded me to keep it going with a slight name change to make it less seasonal!
Dangerous Dirty Delights is another I use regularly.
And then there are lots of groups on Facebook where readers and authors highlight new work, including Romance Novel Junkies, Hot Reads, The Erotica Zone, XtraOrdinary Romance and more, not to mention sites like GoodReads, and all the Twitter feeds (@kindlespice is a good one).
I’m sure I’ve missed lots of good recommendations sites here – why not add details of others in the comments for this post, so we end up with a more substantial list of, erm, recommended recommendations services?
