Hello everyone,
Long time lurker, first time poster.
I've been having a friendly debate with a friend of mine who has been giving me writing advice. He suggested I come here to post this question...or series of questions
I've written an outline for a novel-length work of erotic fiction. It's inspired by events that took place during my senior year in high school and the following summer. I say 'inspired by' not 'copy-and-pasted' from real life.
The problem is that the central characters range in age from 16 to 19 years-old.
My advisor has informed me that erotica with characters in that age bracket isn't marketable.
I countered by pointing out books like Loose Girl, which depict illict acts by minors even younger than my own characters.
Now I wonder if this is a battle worth fighting. My advisor's response when I showed him the outline was, to paraphrase, 'ick'. Not at the content per se, but the age of the characters. He's told me (and even he admits this is a gross generalization), that the market for erotica is primarily gay men and women from their mid-20s and up. I don't know if that's true, but if it is, my book would hardly fit the target audience, unless gay men and women want to read about frolicking teenagers and all the drama that ensues from said frolicking.
The question I pose for the forum is this: Is a book about teenage sexuality publish-able?
I think the story is good. It's not a straight smut book, there is plenty of drama, betrayal, redemption and yes, love. Heck, there's even a little blackmail. Okay, a lot of blackmail, but hey, it's high school! 'You will never see a greater hive of scum and villainy...'
Second, even if it IS publish-able, is it, for lack of a better term, icky? Is it crossing a line that I'd be better off staying away from? I've tried switching it to college, but it just doesn't work. On the other hand, I have two other outlines that don't approach this topic, so would I be better off focusing my attention on them, instead?
Long time lurker, first time poster.
I've been having a friendly debate with a friend of mine who has been giving me writing advice. He suggested I come here to post this question...or series of questions
I've written an outline for a novel-length work of erotic fiction. It's inspired by events that took place during my senior year in high school and the following summer. I say 'inspired by' not 'copy-and-pasted' from real life.
The problem is that the central characters range in age from 16 to 19 years-old.
My advisor has informed me that erotica with characters in that age bracket isn't marketable.
I countered by pointing out books like Loose Girl, which depict illict acts by minors even younger than my own characters.
Now I wonder if this is a battle worth fighting. My advisor's response when I showed him the outline was, to paraphrase, 'ick'. Not at the content per se, but the age of the characters. He's told me (and even he admits this is a gross generalization), that the market for erotica is primarily gay men and women from their mid-20s and up. I don't know if that's true, but if it is, my book would hardly fit the target audience, unless gay men and women want to read about frolicking teenagers and all the drama that ensues from said frolicking.
The question I pose for the forum is this: Is a book about teenage sexuality publish-able?
I think the story is good. It's not a straight smut book, there is plenty of drama, betrayal, redemption and yes, love. Heck, there's even a little blackmail. Okay, a lot of blackmail, but hey, it's high school! 'You will never see a greater hive of scum and villainy...'
Second, even if it IS publish-able, is it, for lack of a better term, icky? Is it crossing a line that I'd be better off staying away from? I've tried switching it to college, but it just doesn't work. On the other hand, I have two other outlines that don't approach this topic, so would I be better off focusing my attention on them, instead?
