Unable to write anything else than erotica

In my days of getting books published, it was common for me to be working on an erotic romance novel and a non-erotic, almost G-rated young adult novel at the same time. (I used two separate pen names.) I didn't have any trouble going from one to the other.

The erotic romance side of my writing career went down the sewer before the young adult side. So for a couple of years, I was only writing young adult fiction.

Now I'm having a hard time writing anything at all, though I think word count-wise I've done more erotic than non-erotic over the past six months or so.

I have the same issue. I like writing erotica. I've written a how-to book, sci-fi, and am currently working on a crime novel, but erotica gives me a certain freedom of language and ideas that I enjoy. Also, it takes me about a week to write, edit and produce a cover for erotica while it takes me 3 weeks to a year to complete other works. I've been working off and on on a young adult novel for the past 16 months. Currently, my erotica catalog is paying some of my bills but with all of the FOSTA/SESTA act dungeoning erotica on distributors like Amazon, I'm trying to write more mainstream stuff.

Erotic, non-erotic, what is the difference. One has blatant sex and the other is alluded to. I drive my mainstream editor nuts but then again, she found me through a non-erotic story on an erotic site.

I write my novels with the sex in and then we argue over how much is too much. It's not that she is a prude as she always keeps a copy of the original version for her own amusement. Yeah, amusement is a good word. The problem is how much can we get past the legal staff. They are not prudes either but have to cover the companies ass.

So, I lead a double life. Lit for the erotica and my publisher for the paying stuff. Lit for fun and publishing for the money. You can't have it both ways but over the years, more and more of the erotic was slipping through.

Now, I'm doing young adult novels so things are back to PG.

Yes, erotica is far easier to write. Sex is a great motivator.

Non-erotic takes a good story that you can sink your teeth into. You have to like the setting, you have to have strong characters. Even the weak ones have to have strengths. Where you take the story has to be believable against the backdrop of your where and when. All in all, it is a J.O.B. and you have to treat it as such.

I loved everything about my last young adult series. Ten 50k books in around 14 months. The first book sold out the first three printing and is still selling on the fourth. The second book will be out in a couple of months.

The new series in an almost open ended set of stories. I have the first one about 90% complete and material already put together for the second and third. It has cut down on my projects here on lit but something has to give.

For now and the last two years or so, Lit stories have be my fun. My relaxation time.

To write anything else besides erotica just take the right motivation and mindset. IMHO anyway.

Thread kill number 386.

TxRad said:

Thread kill number 386.

Click to expand...

Nooooo it's not dead. Just waiting to be aroused.

It's not dead

It's just pining for the fjords...