When Fifty Shades of Gray first came out,
the romance writing world went crazy.
Granted, erotica had been around for a while, but suddenly, there was
real money to be made in pushing the envelope.
Grab your leather and whip, baby, because BDSM was where it was at. You couldn’t log onto Facebook or Twitter
without seeing at least one reference to domination.
Lately, however, I’ve suspected readers might
be becoming less enthusiastic then they were two years ago. Like with the actual Shades of Gray books,
BDSM books have gotten repetitive. I saw
one tweet the other day chuckling over how the characters in a book were
shocked by sexual activities that she considered ‘been there, done that’. And on some message boards, a few readers
have complained about BDSM and erotica creeping into their romances. (Thus denoting an important difference
between romance and erotic romance,
btw.) To me, these are subtle signs of
reader fatigue. I predict that, in
another couple of years, the erotica boom will decline. Will it disappear? Never.
Subgenres might shrink, but they never truly dry up. But the wagon jumpers – the writers who piled
on because there was money to be made – they’ll start to depart, leaving the dedicated
erotica writers – the ones who were there all along – to satisfy their readers.
So, why do I, a sweet romance writer, care
about the BDSM trend? Because, my
friends, the pendulum swings both ways.
You know how, when you’ve had too much candy, you suddenly want
something healthy? Well, that’s how it
works with romance novels too. After
awhile, readers want something different.
At conference this fall, a well known contemporary author commented that
she saw a growing interest in sweet romances. A new trend is coming, and for once, I might
actually be ahead of the curve. I’m
looking forward to it.
What about you? Do you think the erotica
craze is slowing down? Do you even
care? Do you think readers will be
looking for sweeter, gentler romance?
Here are the prizes -
Here's the Rafflecopter! You know what you have to do!Here are the prizes -
5 comments:
Love it, Barb!
It's simple human nature. We fall in love with something, do too much, and fall out of love. We're such predictable creatures!
Here's hoping, reader tastes do swing back!
Great blog.
susan meier
I like your analogy, Barb. I think there is room for both, although "sweet" romances are never going to be headline grabbing because there is less of a shock element. I'm all for a varied diet!
I don't understand why some people won't read romances without sex in them. I like a varied diet!
I don't care for erotica romances so I wouldn't know if it is slowing down or not!
Penney
After the "Shades" trilogy the erotica market blossomed. The romance genre is continuing to expand Steampunk and New Adult. I think there are enough readers for all genres.
I read according to my mood, that said I primarily choose contemps and historicals. They are my comfort reads.
Post a Comment