Researching erotica shorts

rainsmom said:

How can I determine the relative popularity of different subgenres of erotica?

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Count the publishers' listings, and follow the conversations in a specialist forum like www.erotica-readers.com (the Erotica Readers and Writers Association).

But the best erotica is written in subgenres that you, personally, are turned on by. There's no mistaking when an author is really into a sex scene or story. I mean, I'm an F/M specialist, and it would do me no good at all to try to write M/M or M/F.

I saw somewhere that erotica readers prefer an HEA. Does that vary by subgenre? Does that mean that all sexy times should include the main characters? Will the readers be turned off if one of the main characters explores other partners?

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One thing about erotica, all generalizations are wrong (including this one). HEAs are especially nice in stories with a strong romance component. All three of my published novels have HEAs, but I've read some very good stuff with dismal and depressing endings, too. A few hot sex scenes, and the ultimate resolution of the plot doesn't matter as much.

It is true that one of my novels was turned away by a publisher because my MMC had sex with his former fiance, after which he realizes he's no longer attracted to her. This was a no-no to that publisher (but not to the one who eventually published it).

rainsmom said:

...I saw somewhere that erotica readers prefer an HEA. Does that vary by subgenre? Does that mean that all sexy times should include the main characters? Will the readers be turned off if one of the main characters explores other partners?

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Dangerous Bill said most of what I think about this.

There is a large population of romance fans who will care about those things when reading erotica. Erotica fans (like me) often don't care about HEA or sexual exclusivity, and may even be turned off by too much of it. You will have to choose your audience and perhaps aim for a balance in the story elements if you want broader appeal for one set of stories.

My general observation is that many people who prefer romance have relatively firm expectations of the sort you describe. I have received reviews of my erotica that boil down to complaints that it is not romance. More than a couple of romance publishers have said they like everything about my work except for it lacking certain elements expected in romance. One put considerable effort into revisions but eventually concluded that I wrote erotica.

I would also suggest finding your own niche if you can. There are a ton of erotic shorts out there, but if something unusual turns your crank that you can market uniquely, go for it. I never thought erotic shorts with cyborgs would sell, but the month I put out four of them, I sold a lot more than I thought I would.

Another thing to consider is whether or not to keep the characters the same in each story. When you say serial, you mean one world, or one set of characters? If you require readers to read your stories in order, I think its harder to sell more of them.

Of course, if an ongoing story is your goal, then that's totally fine--I was just confused by what you meant by serial.

Its erotic romance that demands a HEA/HFN resolution. Not so, in straight up erotica.

Erotic shorts in the 5-8k range are almost always kink-specific. From my research, these stories have a relatively short shelf life. To maintain visibility, you'll have to be regularly churning 'em out.

If you want to write to the money, you have to be writing to the kinks that are currently selling. You learn this by spending time researching what's now hot on Zon.

Also, to add, when you choose a kink to write to, be sure that you have an understanding of it. You don't wanna be writing about suspention play, if you don't know squat about tying knots

Branding, I've come to learn, is very important, as is having different pennames for unrelated kinks.

I've been participating on several other erotica forums, and there seems to be a consensus that eroms, though they take more effort and energy to write, have the better ROI

Good luck with your endeavor.

/seas, who hasn't popped-in to AW in ever so long

I have had feedback from a romantic erotica publisher who advised that sex scenes not featuring both main characters were a detraction from the main pairing. And they did require a HEA. Not sure if that's common across the board, but that was one publisher's opinion.