When I started reviewing all the 50 Shades-esque covers, particularly the Lora Leigh book (“Oh, come ON, now”) I started wondering what things might have changed in Ye Olde Publishing Houses in the weeks and months following 50 Shades' domination of the bestseller list.
For example: cover art is changing, especially covers for contemporary romances that are explicit or tagged as erotic. Sexuality within books has also become a more prominent part of the pitches I've received – “This book is HOT!” for example.
I got to wondering how the success of 50 Shades might have changed or influenced the way folks in publishing houses go about their jobs, and so I got nosy and asked a few.
Pamela Jaffee, Director of Publicity at Avon, says that the style of the books on the outside and the inside has definitely changed: “We are repackaging a lot of great books (ie Sylvia Day) in the new evocative/erotic style. We're launching a new trilogy acquired by Harper Australia specifically geared to interest and entice the 50 Shades market. We are re-publishing Toni Blake's The Red Diary ( A | BN | K | S) to give a book that had a decidedly quiet first life to the impassioned new audience for erotica.”
Jaffee also says that the initial press “avalanche,” as she calls it, about 50 Shades (and that dreaded term 'mommy porn') has also opened up a new opportunity among booksellers: “I find that media and booksellers are…more open about discussing romance in all its genres. And the readerbase is finally getting due credit for being the powerful communicators and genre ambassadors they are in their own right.”
I asked Pam what it means for a publicity department if readers are getting credit and booksellers and retailers are more open, and she replied, “It’s nothing that I haven’t said to major media, the very same ones who swore 50 Shades was a media-driven phenomenon. Our job (publicity) for romance has long been to reach out to the readers whose word-of-mouth helps move perception of books. We’re ahead of the curve, that way.”
A publicist at another house told me, “After Fifty Shades, I think the real change in erotic romance publicity has occurred in terms of the media possibilities. Erotic romance has been successful for years and we know women are reading and buying the books, but media contacts outside of the romance world have been largely uninterested in erotic romance or have actually refused to accept review copies. Fifty Shades has really opened the door to mainstream media and the sky is now the limit when it comes to pitching coverage.
And of course, we’re also using Fifty Shades as a comparison title for many of our erotic romances. That kind of reference has been extremely helpful with media contacts because they can instantly identify the audience you’re trying to reach with the book you’re pitching.”
So in some ways, the success of 50 Shades has helped create an understanding as to what erotic romance is, and how much of it there is to market – and how many readers have enjoyed it for a long time now.
I was also curious if 50 Shades has changed what editors are looking for in their own acquisitions. For example, the tropes of the dark and controlling alpha male and the innocent clueless heroine are VERY old. Are editors looking for more of that, or exploring other options with an emotionally charged power dynamic?
May Chen, an editor at Avon, responded, basically, yes to all of the above: “We’re looking at self-published authors, fan-fic, etc. And I’ve always loved dark, controlling alpha males, yes, it is a very old trope, Kathleen Woodiwiss FLAME AND THE FLOWER— hel-lo! Diana Palmer—all so good!”
Amy Pierpont, editorial director at Grand Central, echoed May's comment about the familiarity of the character tropes in 50 Shades: ” I think the FIFTY SHADES phenomenon has certainly brought a spotlight on the alpha male/innocent heroine trope, but it’s one we’ve known readers have been loving for ages—across all genres, and even (gasp!) without the spanking.”
“Some of our upcoming books that tickle this particular fancy:
Historical: Anna Campbell’s September release SEVEN NIGHTS IN A ROGUE’S BED ( A | BN | K | S) features the ultimate gothic alpha male Jonas Merrick and the lovely young innocent Sidonie Forsythe who will risk everything—even her virtue—to save her sister.
Paranormal: Larissa Ione’s upcoming ROGUE RIDER ( A | BN | K | S) features the ultimate bad boy Reseph and the innocent Jillian Cardiff who saves him from himself (in more ways than one!).
Contemporary: Katie Lane’s MAKE MINE A BAD BOY ( A | BN | K | S) features Bramble Texas’ favorite bad boy Colt Lomax who meets his match (again) in the form of Bramble’s sweetheart Hope Scroggs.”
Pierpont adds, “What we’re paying close attention to, and looking for in our acquisitions, is the other nuances that flavor FIFTY SHADES and have captured the interest of readers who have gone on to read other books in the same vein.
“We’re looking for angsty, emotion-packed stories, stories that tease out the “will she/won’t she/should she/shouldn’t she” question for a longer ride (i.e. stories about the same couple that carry over the course of several novels), stories that get a little (or a lot!) naughty, stories that emphasize that undeniable, unquenchable passion that burns brighter and hotter by the minute, stories that feature gritty bad boys who make you go weak in the knees and do things you NEVER imagined you’d do—or like so flipping much! We’re also looking at stories featuring younger characters—heroines in their early to mid-twenties, falling for “older” guys in their late twenties-this is a shift that we’re making in response to such strong reader response to characters in those age groups.”
An editor who asked to remain anonymous told me, “I think 50 Shades has definitely opened up a lot of publishing people’s eyes to how quickly and powerfully word of mouth can spread on the internet—not that they didn’t know this before, but I don’t think there’s been a better example of how much online chatter can translate directly to sales.
“I’m definitely more aware now of certain power/sexual dynamics that some readers have found appealing, and am definitely on the lookout for similar themes in other books. At the same time, I know there are plenty of readers out there who did not respond to 50 Shades and I wouldn’t want to end up catering only to those readers who enjoyed 50 Shades.”
It seems like part of the effect of 50 Shades' success is a mix of new sources and very familiar plot lines and power dynamics. I don't think there's any way to accurately gauge how this trilogy's omnipresence will impact every area of publishing, but it's already created some noticeable changes. Whether the readers of 50 Shades will look for more and find all that erotic romance has to offer depends, I think, on the percentage of people who are reading 50 Shades because it is still the hot book to read.
It can be difficult to identify what it was that a reader enjoyed about a particular book: was it the educating of an innocent, for example, or the seclusion and secrecy of the couple? What was so captivating for one reader may not work for another reader, but being able to identify the factors that made 50 Shades so compelling might help spur more recommendations for curious readers. And we do have plenty of those on the internet!
There will be some attrition once the trilogy is no longer the top three on the bestseller list, but I'm hopeful there will be a group of readers who discover that they enjoy reading explicit and emotionally charged stories, and go looking for more. Whether they'll pick up romances is a curious question – especially as romances that have elements in common with 50 Shades may be changed and marketed differently to reach those readers. Thank you to all the editors and publicists who took the time to answer my nosy questions!
Did you read 50 Shades? Have you looked for more books like it? Or were you content to let that be a one-of experience, and are reading something else? What do you think of the changes in marketing, promotion and acquisition that have occurred since 50 Shades took over the top of the lists?
I don’t know about the 70s, but in Kohls on Sunday I spotted neon lace leggings in the JRs department. I thought I’d time traveled to 1984 for a minute.
I can understand your irritation – I hate scoffing folks who then protest that whatever I’ve pointed out on their bookshelves isn’t “Really Romance.” (This is usually followed by, ‘because it’s well written!’, which is then followed by heartburn for me and a mental counting to 100). I want to be optimistic that a few people who have read 50 Shades will discover other powerfully well done erotic romances – I’d be happy with 10 or 20!
I think 50 has sparked a resurgence of erotica or spice reading with older women or maybe it never died. I have talked to more seniors about 50 this summer than I ever thought I would. Inc seeing it on the coffee table of a 70 something year old Southern aunt.
And then just today a good friend of mine said that her mother’s (also in her 70’s) book club got together reading 50 and now look for more of the same type of books to read. I don’t know what’s the pull with that set but 50 has captured the audience. It could be the fact that it goes back to the old tropes of the past and they want more.
Oh I did want to add that one senior did get that 50 was a trilogy and was annoyed with the ending. When I was confused as to what she was talking about I caught on that she had not read the other 2 books. I asked if she would read them and she told be no, and to just recap it for her so I did. After that she was fine with the ending. LOL.
My big issue with 50SoG is that it’s fan-fiction. I have yet to have someone explain to me why this isn’t plagarism. It was originally offered as Twilight fan-fic. The names were changed and it doesn’t have any paranormal aspects, but the characters and story are very similiar!
I think the success of this series has opened up an ugly can of worms. Where do we draw the line? Can I simply pick a bestselling series, change some details, and resell the story? Are we that desperate publishing industry? What happened to original storytelling? Okay, end of my rant. 😉
TBH, it makes me literally feel sick to think that a book glorifying a rapist (let’s just call him what he is), never even minding how glaringly bad the book is on all other fronts as well, is causing interest in publishing more of the same. ICK.
(And I’m also ticked at the books for giving fuel to the people who look down their noses at fanfic. Yes, it’s got its share of terribly bad stuff (on every level of bad) as any collection of millions and millions of stories written by every level of writer would, but also some the best stories I’ve ever read. From anywhere, ever. And I hate snooty little snarky twits getting all judgmental about it like it’s all the same (esp. when most of them have hardly spent any time in any fandom.))
Confirmed.
A lot of the “specialty” stores are not only stocking the books, but “intro BDSM” books, dvd, and toys (for the latter, a *lot* of the metal balls from book 1).
And when the adult “parody” movie comes out (mid-September, so much sooner than the mainstream adaption), I’m sure there’ll be even more parallel products shown with it.
Well, yes. Plots are not subject to any kind of copyright. Because this is an AU fanfic, it doesn’t share any of the worldbuilding of Twilight – no sparkly vampires. The characters are similar types but that’s nowhere near enough to prove a breach. The words – the only think that it’s really easy to prove infringement – are all James’s own.
So yes, pick your own bestselling series. Take the character types and tropes, stick them in a different setting, write all the words again, and you have your own books. No guarantee that you’ll sell millions, though.
I really didnt like 50 Shades. I found Christian to be controlling, manipulative, emotionally and mentally abusive, and a complete psycho. Ana was an overly innocent girl basically sucked in by a more dominant personality wrapped in a pretty package. This freaks me out for the same reason Twilight did, because it basically promotes this type of male as ideal when it should be saying RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN IN THE OTHER DIRECTION AND FOR THE LOVE OF GOD GET A RESTRAINING ORDER!!
Overall, the book was poorly written, and the ‘erotica’ did nothing for me. It bothers me that publishers want to recreate this instead of just promoting books that contain BDSM with good characters and writing.
Exactly. I usually ask if they like Pride and Prejudice, because that was considered mindless fluff for ladies back in its time.
I really disliked the 50 Shades books – a friend commented that she’s never seen anyone love to hate a book as much as I do this series. I met someone who hated them as much as I did, and thought ‘finally!’ Then she recommended me a book called “Gabriel’s Inferno”, also originally a Twilight fanfic. Apparently, it was “way better writing, and you actually sympathise with the heroine…” But alas. I actually disliked it more. IMHO, Julia is far more irritating than Ana, and Gabriel is possibly even more psychotic than Christian.
I just hate the way these books (and it’s more apparent in Gabriel’s Inferno) demonise sexually confident women, and idolise innocent, virginal, easily-manipulated milksops.
I JUST wrote about this on Avon’s new site – I was talking about how in the 70’s all the heroines seemed to suffer from Stockholm Syndrome. My sister referred to “A Pirate’s Love” as “A Pirate’s Rape”.
Thought you might find this interesting…
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/nat…
I haven’t read it because I know I won’t like it. BDSM isn’t my thing, I didn’t care for Twilight, and I don’t like controlling heroes and doormat heroines. So I’m not excited about more books like this hitting the shelves. But I’m sure there will still be plenty of books published that do feature the things I like (strong heroines, strong but non-abusive heroes, great writing, etc).
I’ve avoided 50 Shades for several reasons:
1. Manipulative behavior is a profound betrayal and perversion (and not the fun kind) of the emotional dynamic of a D/s relationship. D/s is ultimately a way to build intimacy, where the vulnerability, trust and surrender that the sub gives to the dom create an opportunity for real two-way openness. The key word here is ‘gives’. When the sub makes a free choice to surrender control to the dom, she is choosing to share herself with her partner, and it’s that choice that creates the possibility of intimacy and invites her partner to reveal himself in turn through what he does with the control. (I’m using the male/female pronouns just to make it easier to follow who I’m referring to, but of course a D/s dynamic can happen in any male/female dom and male/female sub permutation.)
By contrast, manipulation actually cuts off the possibility of intimacy. It’s all about controlling another person’s decisions, i.e., PREVENTING them from making a free choice, by getting the other person to doubt their intuitions/beliefs/desires/decision-making. I’ve been manipulated like that, and I promise you, it did not help me know myself better. In fact, I was more alienated from myself than ever, because I had a much harder time distinguishing between what I actually wanted/thought and what I thought he wanted me to want/think. When I no longer even knew who I was, how could I have possibly shared myself with my partner??
2. I’m pissed that this is the bdsm series that got the attention and not one by Joey W. Hill, who’s a much better writer. I haven’t read some of the other authors mentioned on this thread so I can’t speak to them, but the emotional sophistication of Ms. Hill’s books (in terms of how well she understands what motivates dominance and submission – not to mention how beautifully she conveys both the painful and the joyful aspects of love) is head and shoulders above the other bdsm authors that I’ve read. Seriously. If you haven’t read “Rough Canvas” run, don’t walk, to your bookstore/kindle and fix that oversight 🙂 but be prepared for a tearjerker (and a few pretty hardcore scenes).
3. The older man / younger woman pairing, at least when the age difference exaggerates a power imbalance (for instance in a teacher/student situation, to pick a random example), makes me want to rush into the shower and scrub all the skin off my body, then vomit my guts out to get rid of the ickiness. I don’t mean this as a political or feminist statement, just that my response to that trope is overwhelming revulsion.
Soooo….I’ll be avoiding all the books marketed as 50 Shades-esque like the plague. Still, if there’s one thing I’ve learned about reading romance and erotica, it’s that people’s fantasies are individual and variable – and that enjoying a fantasy doesn’t mean that you want real life to be that way.