Should I write erotica simply to sell books? I reflect on the stories I prefer to write and if it’s necessary to compromise on my art.

Considerations for Fiction Writers – A Blog Series

As an indie author, is appears easier to find erotica readers. Should I write erotica novels just to get sales, even though it’s outside my interest? Should I compromise on my art to sell novels?

In my opinion, it’s essential that a novel has interesting relationships. I enjoy reading romance, but I like the main conflict to be about something more exciting. I’ve been reading danmei, which is Chinese, gay romance (1.). The reason why I like it is because the plots are excellent and there’s a lot of exciting action. Danmei novels are also slow burn, so the readers are given time to get to know the characters and the relationships change at a natural pace. I’m not interested in the erotic content, but in the danmei I’ve read, the erotic scenes were sparse and easy to skip.

As a writer, I tend to gravitate towards writing friendships and I’m more skilled in that area. In one of my novels, a romantic relationship was necessary, so I needed to research to figure out how to do it well. In my novels, relationships are vital, although subplots to dystopian adventures.

When it comes to my personal tastes in romantic fiction, I like stories about falling in love for the first time, as well as stories about couples with history. I love the ‘good’ person falling for the ‘bad’ person trope such as in Netflix’ Love Between Fairy and Devil (1.b.) I enjoy it when characters slowly grow and change, and find each other. The characters and their interactions must feel genuine. I like funny and cute romances like Red White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston (2.). But I personally dislike aggressive love interests, or rape fantasy erotica. I don’t really get the appeal of male-love-interests like Christian Grey from Fifty Shades of Gray or Ryle from It Ends With Us (3.4.).

I prefer reading romance with minimal or no erotic scenes, but I’m not against descriptive sex in novels. I think sexuality can be really interesting. A character’s sexuality can be an important part of who they are, and how they interact in the bedroom can be complicated. For sex to happen between two characters, a certain amount of communication and negotiation needs to happen. People’s history and personalities can be connected to their sexual preferences. To me, when partners are thoughtful and respectful of one another during sex it enhances the romance.

I do have sexuality in my novels, but I haven’t yet had a reason to describe a bedroom scene in detail. If it’s relevant, I give the reader some details of what the experience was like. I might, one day, write a more detailed sex scene, if it works with my protagonist’s journey. I write new adult fiction, so I don’t see an issue with including sexuality in my novels.

I know that there are other people out there like me who prefer romance novels with one or maybe two chilli peppers in spiciness. I’m not the only one who wants an exciting story with a bit of romance. As I’ve grown older, I’ve realized the amount of spiciness people want varies significantly. I’m a sexual feminist, so I don’t think there’s anything wrong with people preferring novels with erotic content. I believe it’s misogynistic to shame women for reading erotic romance.

On the YouTube channel The Cozy Creative, Lidiya Foxglove talks about her experience as a fantasy author (5.). And in one of her videos, Foxglove mentions how she prefers to write fantasy, but her fantasy novels didn’t sell. She resorted to writing fairytale erotica and it did sell. And it made me wonder if it’s easier to find erotica readers than it is to find readers of other genres.

I have zero experience self-publishing and the statistics are damning with ninety percent of self-published books selling less than a hundred copies (6.). Unless I find my readers, my chances of making a living as an author aren’t good.

I believe there are readers out there who are interested in novels like mine, but what if I can’t find them? What do I do, if my debut novel doesn’t sell? Should I resort to making my novels dystopia-erotica, just so I can get sales? Does dystopia-erotica even exist? The two genres don’t sound very compatible. If I ventured down such an avenue, I’d need to spend some time learning how to write erotica.

So, should I write erotica simply to sell books?  I wouldn’t be the first creative to conform to a market in order to survive, but I hate the idea of being so inauthentic. Don’t readers want authors who are excited about what they write? Where should I draw the line on compromising on my art? I’m the type of person who doesn’t get motivated by an end goal, so it would be very hard for me to write a novel outside my interests for cash.

On the other hand, money is useful and it’s time for me to be bringing it in. It’s been more than a decade of working towards being a novelist, in school and outside school. I knew from the start pursuing a novelist career was unwise, but because of my unique neurodivergent brain, I also knew it was my best chance at ever getting a real career. It’s this or nothing, so I have to make it work.

I’m stubborn, so I won’t give up on finding my readers without a lot of effort. I’d have be extremely frustrated in order to resort to compromising on my art. Fingers crossed, I won’t need to!