When people buy Erotica literature, they buy because they want to read a story where they can escape reality for just a brief moment. That's usually why people buy stories. Authors create novels to help people escape their daily lives and enter into a universe where they follow someone else's life for a short period of time. This can be the magical world of Harry Potter or a criminal world created by author James Patterson. Or it could be an erotica adventure written by someone like you.
When you're writing erotica literature, it's important to pinpoint a subgenre of the main erotica genre as you can quickly find yourself going into uncharted territory.
There are many subgenres in this particular erotica genre that include science fiction, horror, romance, and even drama. If you find yourself wanting to write about something out of the ordinary, you may not write romance erotica. Instead, you may find yourself going closer to science fiction or perhaps even the paranormal. Don't try to combine paranormal with a romance genre - and call it an erotica novel - because your readers may get confused.
Stick to what people expect
Even though you may be one of those authors that want to push the envelope when it comes to this genre, people have expectations. It's the same thing in other genres. You don't see a crime novel being plagued by romance, relationship, and love the way a romance novel be.
Readers have expectations of your work and they expect to see what they're paying for. People don't buy romance erotica to read about aliens. This is true even if the aliens are engaging in an intimate act. This would fall under paranormal erotica.
Even though the reality may be overrated for many erotica literature readers and authors, you don't want to leap that far off the page when it comes to surprising your readers.
You can still get creative when you're writing and give your readers what they want.
The drama surrounding '50 Shades of Grey'
Even though "50 shades of grey" may be one of the most mainstream erotica novels at present time, there's actually controversy over the storyline because readers felt that she was experimenting too much.
The novel is definitely about two people Falling In Love and exploring their sexual side, but there's also an underlying seem of a power imbalance. According to Standout Books, some readers believe that the book is really about a sadomasochistic relationship. In fact, some readers have the extreme theory that Christian Grey is using brainwashing methods to pursue the innocent Anastasia Steele to satisfy his desires.
Even though this book ended up becoming a best-selling book in the erotica genre, fans may not think that it is suggesting something so serious. But it just goes to show you that even though you write a story about two people falling in love, a simple power imbalance can suggest a different kind of sexual relationship that readers may not be able to relate to.
To avoid this kind of confrontation with your readers, don't create unrealistic storylines that don't fit into the genre you are aiming for. Readers don't want to buy it and they simply can't relate, which may result in you getting bad reviews.
Do you think the theories about "50 Shades of Grey" are correct?
