Sex scenes later in the series

I'll let others way in, because I'm only going to be the lightest help. My advice, write your story the way it's meant to be written and tone it down if an agent/editor tells you to. It serves no one to censor yourself.

From a planning perspective, massive changes will alienate readers, but R to NC17 is not a major change. Sex is part of life.

I'd like to put in my two cents, but keep in mind, I'm not really familiar with teen/YA. I write adult romance.

It's okay to not have any sex scenes in book 1, as long as there is a major relationship building between the two MC's. I've done that myself, and I think it's great to have a build up like that. Writing in non-con in book 1 would probably throw off your readers, and an agent, so that I would avoid.

If you've already got violence, language and themes, why are you even bothering with YA? Go adult and you don't have to worry about those, let alone the sex scenes. If it's popular, teens will find it.

You mention R and NC-17, but be aware that books don't have ratings the way movies do. With the exception of visual media, like magazines, or very explicitly pornographic books that are all about the sex (and published and distributed by imprints that specialize in this and are clearly advertised as such), novels don't get shelved within a genre based on the sex scenes, or lack thereof. Jacqueline Carey's fantasy novels--which have a lot of pretty explicit sex--are in the same section as JRR Tolkien's novels, which doesn't even include a chaste kiss. Editors, agents, and readers have their own preferences, of course, and some publishers are more inclined to pick up titles with lots of sex, but there's no externally imposed rating system for books, at least in the US. Some publishers or authors choose to include disclaimers at the beginning, so sensitive readers are warned, but there's no externally imposed system that stops teenagers from going into book stores and buying a book by, say, Jane Auel.

Maybe this is because reading is a more gradual process, and it is not visual, so elemants like nudity and sexual thoughts and actions don't have the same shock factor for readers as they do for viewers in a movie, where even a brief episode of frontal nudity in a non-sexualized context can glean an "R" rating (in the US).

As for the age thing, YA fiction can contain sex. Whether or not a book can be categorized as YA really depends on the age of the protagonist (generally in the 16-18 range, though some fantasy series that are cross shelved as YA will have slightly older protagonists). Also, YA is generally dependent on the focus and voice of the story. Is it told in the protagonist's young adult voice? Is it focused on issues especially relevant to a teenager or young adult? There are plenty of YA novels with sex, strong language, and very "mature" themes. There are also novels not billed as YA that are squeaky clean. The advice I've seen most often is that if sex is included in a YA novel, there needs to be a definite story-or-character-related reason for it. It shouldn't just be there to titillate or to show how edgy the author is. Mind you, that's not bad advice for fiction (other erotica) in general.

Having said this, there could be issues with adding explicit sex later in a series when there was no hint of any sex at all in earlier books. It's about reader expectations. Whether or not an explicit sex scene that shows up in book three feels out of place may depend on the buildup in earlier books. If the first two books were Tolkinesque, with nary a sexual thought, or if sex was always strictly "off camera," having the third read more like a Jacqueline Carey novel would feel really odd and possibly be a turnoff to folks who gravitated towards the first two books because they felt "squeaky clean." But if your characters have sexual thoughts, sex is an acknowledged reality in your world (just not for the protagonist yet) that is not swept under the rug, and sexual tension is developing and building slowly throughout the series between characters, then it might feel entirely right to readers when it is finally consummated.

I will say cutting sex isn't always the "safe" route either. I have enjoyed many fantasy novels with no sex at all, but a while back I read a novel I enjoyed, but I was taken aback when the sexual tension that had been slowly building between two characters throughout was resolved in like two seconds, with a complete "fade to black." Then the next day they were back to work, but things were awkward. Not only was this a let down of all that tension and build up between the two characters, the resulting estrangement wasn't really explained. And it was inconsistent with the tone and style of the novel up until then. It felt like the author had written more but was persuaded (by an editor, maybe) simply to cut it. I kind of lost interest in that series after that.

My two cents is that maybe readers WANT the sexy stuff (ahem, that would be me) and won't even bother reading books two and three if there isn't at least some taste of it in book one. I do agree with the relationship building, after all that is what really makes good sex good, but I as a reader I would want the sexual tension to be building as well, so that I couldn't NOT read books two and three.

ChaseJxyz said:

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The only thing I can compare this to is the Earth's Children series, but considering how thick those books are kids/younger teens aren't going to pick it up.

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I just had to chime in because this made me laugh--I read those books in 5th grade at the age of 12, recommended to me by my friend who read them at age 11. I did not understand the point of the sex scenes and skipped over them. If they're advanced enough readers, kids will read anything.

That said, if the book is clearly geared toward adults, having a sex scene in book 2 of a series is fine. There are also erotic romance series where the "good stuff" doesn't happen until later books because the first book focuses on UST. If done well, it makes the erotic scenes much more rewarding.

Seems a little late for me to drop my two cents in for this thread, so feel free to disregard. However, I am a strong proponent of sex being used to show character development. In terms of "R" vs "NC-17," keep in mind that film is a visual medium. The movie "taxi driver" got an R rating instead of an NC-17 because the color of some of the blood was changed post-production. Meanwhile, books don't have a "rating" (as Roxxsmom mentioned), There is nothing visually a censor can point to and say "this shouldn't be in X book!!!" so honestly I think you should go to town, no need to "fade to black" because visuals for whatever reason tend to offend people who do ratings more than something written. The way you talk about the sex later in the series, it doesn't sound like you're putting it in just to put it in, it sounds like a genuine way of showing character growth, and that's admirable.

That said, I don't have an agent (nor am I myself a literary agent) so honestly in terms of "blowing up your relationship" with them I can't speak on that with authority.

Side note: never heard of Earth's Children before but it sounds wild. I thought Animorphs was dark for a kid's series but what people in this thread are saying... ...I'm baffled they got away with that.

Individual publishers and editors certainly have comfort zones for certain things, and context and target audience makes a big difference too. I remember checking out and purchasing books as a pre-teen and teen that were intended for older readers, but no one forbid me from doing so because of an age restriction. Note, that for publications that are intentionally pornographic or erotic, there may be some restrictions, or publishing and selling segregation into stores (or websites these days) that are more age restricted, but there are some very explicit sex scenes in mainstream adult, and even teen, fiction, and this has been true for a long time.

For me, it really comes down to the purpose of the scene within the story context. Readers will differ here too. I know some people who vastly prefer "fast reads" where the stories are uniformly fast paced and largely confined to major plot points, and where any deviation by characters from an overarching goal is an annoyance. "Why are they having sex when they still have a war to fight, a despot to supplant, or a mystery to solve?" these readers ask. "How can she be getting horny or falling in love when she still needs to find her missing sister?"

I knew folks like this when I was young--the ones who said they had no times for relationships while they were in school or getting established in a career and meant it. But many of us need to divide our attention more in our own lives, or are more aware of competing priorities, and many readers do enjoy works that meander a bit more, where protagonists get side tracked or take breaks, and we like it when stories allow us to experience something of a characters life as well, not just the relentless pursuit of a single quest. Plus, sometimes the relationship is actually a major part of the plot, either in terms of being a potential obstacle, or something that is at stake, or even something that helps the protagonist assess their priorities or achieve their goal.