I know that one story doesn't prove anything. But here is my story. For what it's worth. Probably nothing. Why am I still typing on this intro? <stops typing:>
Handcuffs- the tale of an edgy book…
1. Despite the title and the premise, I didn’t write this to be a book about teenage sex. There was just a point where I knew that to be true to the characters, sex would happen. There was no way Parker was going to say no to him.
2. My original query was quite sexed up. This was the hook. Coming down from the most sexually charged moment of your life to face humiliation, unfulfilled lust, and the boredom of indefinite grounding is tough. Sixteen year old Parker Prescott alternates her punishment time between sneaking out to see her would-be lover and playing internet pranks. One of these activities will lead to an unflattering mug shot, but both will land her in handcuffs.
That got a lot of attention. Some agents knew right away that it “wasn’t for them” but about half the agents I queried asked for material.
Changes Re: edgy material.
In the original hot tub scene, they are actually skinny-dipping. This was really stupid of me because it violated Parker’s reserved personality. It was difficult enough for her to take off the top layer of clothing. So that was changed for character issues rather than edginess. No-one ever said anything about the scene where he offers to show her what he does when he thinks about her. Or when she asks about what he did or might have done or was offered by Kandace.
The bullying scene- this extremely non-sexual scene has garnered the most comments. I needed Parker to be completely mortified by what the guys in her class were saying to her. Personally, I think I nailed it. Some people have been offended. Some people have said they learned a new word. Some people know, like I do, that this was pretty tame in the world of guys showing off in front of other guys.
There were some other aspects that were shot down- too romancy too whatever, but the basics of the edgy stuff stayed.
I’m more about the sexual tension and dynamics than a play by play of body parts. If you want that, read something else. I’m afraid I can’t think of any YA that are that graphic, but if I come across one I’ll let you know.
I do have at least one editor rejection that refers to the sexual chemistry between the characters as a good thing.
Once it was edited, I know that there was some effort not to make it look like a sex book. The book blurb is not very sexual.
Anyway, in my experience the sexual content did not keep me from getting an agent or selling the book. How did it affect the sales? I find that impossible to know. I know that Borders made a very modest purchase for their stores, but I know lots of other books that came out at the same time with equally modest purchases, so the economy? I don’t know.
I’ve got reviews that loved the sexuality in the book and that even said it provided good lessons for teens. Don’t know about that one. I’ve had some that said Parker was a total whore. Don’t know about that one either.
When I get home today I’ll dig up a few more details from reviews and rejections and add those in.
Also, I apologize for posting in every sex in YA thread with a commercial for my book. It’s kind of a joke with myself, we’ve answered the question so many times, so I said, from now on I was advertising in every sex in YA thread. My sense of humor might make me sort of a lamentable loser.