Prepare for waffle...
When is a novel that contains a fair few sex scenes classed as erotica? Is it because the sex is gratuitous? At what point does sexual description become gratuitous in the sense that it might further character development if not plot, and it might just be a really well written scene that's pleasurable to read?
I am tying myself in knots a bit trying to categorise my novel for queries. I posted on the Interstices forum and the very lovely Stacia Kane suggested commercial fiction, but I've spent the past few days reading agent blogs/sites and now I'm not sure. I hate the idea of something being tossed aside because it's "porn."
The story is first person and character driven. It's first person and does not show any male POV. There's a lot of sex particularly in the first chapters (which I think might skew an agent's view when they get that three chapter sample) but I can't remove any because it's all there to set up the plot for the rest of the book -- where there is less sex and a lot more narrative/dialogue. I could tone the sex down -- it's quite graphic -- but it wouldn't be true to the character.
When I look at erotic publishing sites, I'm not sure the story "fits." I don't mean that in a look-down-my-nose way (hey, the novel started on Literotica, lol) but something doesn't gel. The plot doesn't work in the same way -- the heroine ends up with the "bad" guy (although I would refer to him personally as the "grey" guy). She's also not much of a Mary Sue and certainly has her flaws. She is not a girl's girl. (It's linked in my sig if anyone's interested).
I suppose what I'm asking is, does a book with a lot of sex = erotica?
One thing that occurrs to me is that a lot of erotica sites don't want to see incest/knife play, both of which the novel has elements of (although it's no-hurt knife play and the incest is "pretend"). I've seen commercial fiction that gets away with those. I'm not about to edit it out, so should I go commercial for these reasons, perhaps?
All help greatly appreciated!
When is a novel that contains a fair few sex scenes classed as erotica? Is it because the sex is gratuitous? At what point does sexual description become gratuitous in the sense that it might further character development if not plot, and it might just be a really well written scene that's pleasurable to read?
I am tying myself in knots a bit trying to categorise my novel for queries. I posted on the Interstices forum and the very lovely Stacia Kane suggested commercial fiction, but I've spent the past few days reading agent blogs/sites and now I'm not sure. I hate the idea of something being tossed aside because it's "porn."
The story is first person and character driven. It's first person and does not show any male POV. There's a lot of sex particularly in the first chapters (which I think might skew an agent's view when they get that three chapter sample) but I can't remove any because it's all there to set up the plot for the rest of the book -- where there is less sex and a lot more narrative/dialogue. I could tone the sex down -- it's quite graphic -- but it wouldn't be true to the character.
When I look at erotic publishing sites, I'm not sure the story "fits." I don't mean that in a look-down-my-nose way (hey, the novel started on Literotica, lol) but something doesn't gel. The plot doesn't work in the same way -- the heroine ends up with the "bad" guy (although I would refer to him personally as the "grey" guy). She's also not much of a Mary Sue and certainly has her flaws. She is not a girl's girl. (It's linked in my sig if anyone's interested).
I suppose what I'm asking is, does a book with a lot of sex = erotica?
One thing that occurrs to me is that a lot of erotica sites don't want to see incest/knife play, both of which the novel has elements of (although it's no-hurt knife play and the incest is "pretend"). I've seen commercial fiction that gets away with those. I'm not about to edit it out, so should I go commercial for these reasons, perhaps?
All help greatly appreciated!
