Sex Doesn't Sell?

[redzinger]

Interesting article here:

http://www.heroesandheartbreakers.com/blogs/2016/11/sex-doesnt-sell

Per their research the indicators of a best seller are a book that has:

Authoritative “voice”; spare, plainspoken, often colloquial, prose; declarative verbs that connote action-oriented take-charge characters.

tl;dr - best sellers are more about human closeness and emotional intimacy than sex.

 

[sr71plt]

Between those two, I'd agree that emotional intimacy sells in a book better than just sex acts.

 

[NotWise]

Interesting article here:

http://www.heroesandheartbreakers.com/blogs/2016/11/sex-doesnt-sell



tl;dr - best sellers are more about human closeness and emotional intimacy than sex.

Explicit sex makes for uncomfortable reading for a lot of the potential audience -- and I expect that reviewers will point out explicit sex in a story. I haven't been there, but "best sellers" probably need to appeal to the largest possible audience.

 

[sr71plt]

There are exceptions, but most best-sellers are preordained by mainstream publishers and marketed that way. In general, mainstream publishers see "literary" or "tear jerker" works (or thrillers, which the OP doesn't include) as safer best-sellers than books with a lot of sex. There are exceptions in this too, in the vein of Jacqueline Susann type books, but there aren't many of those in relationship to the bread and butter best-seller categories, which, again, are mostly preordained by mainstream publisher.

 

[SamScribble]

About ten years ago, I took part in a panel discussion during which one of the questions was 'suggest it or show it'. One of my fellow panellists, a woman who had had almost as many successful romance novels as I have had hot dinners, said: 'Suggest, always suggest.' Her rationale was that the vast majority of romance novels are bought by 'women of a certain age.' 'They know how it happens,' she said. 'But they are uncomfortable with being told how it happens.' Maybe things have changed in the past decade. I don't know.

 

[NOIRTRASH]

About ten years ago, I took part in a panel discussion during which one of the questions was 'suggest it or show it'. One of my fellow panellists, a woman who had had almost as many successful romance novels as I have had hot dinners, said: 'Suggest, always suggest.' Her rationale was that the vast majority of romance novels are bought by 'women of a certain age.' 'They know how it happens,' she said. 'But they are uncomfortable with being told how it happens.' Maybe things have changed in the past decade. I don't know.

I aim for correct/plausible and stunning. The stunning part comes from experience, and few have the stunning experiences. Writers like Thomas Harris (Hannibal Lector) had police/crime reporting careers before they wrote fiction. He interviewed planty of monsters at Mexican and American prisons. Some escaped death row, and he captured that, too. Interesting and entertaining is what the reader wants.

 

[Tattersail]

Being a best seller is all about who you know, networking, and advertising. Basically the powers that be can pick an author and propel them to the top of the best seller list any time they want. Whether that is in their interest is up to how much they can make back or what other benefits they will reap in doing so. I've read awesome books that never reached a best sellers list, and I've read many best sellers that are utter garbage.

Sex in books can be a good thing or a bad thing, it depends on the situation, Harry Dresden had a sex scene which was quite erotic even though it was one of the only ones in a 15 books series so far. It came out of the blue but it added to the plot, not only in that story but 4 books later it had a major impact on the Dresden Universe.

 

[TxRad]

Don't try and tell that to the hooker on the corner.

Lots of sex might not be the best for mainstream but pushing the edge, titillation, does draw interest and does build readership.