Customer Reviews

Writing Erotic Fiction: And Getting Published (Teach Yourself (McGraw-Hill))

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book was hard to rate. When I 1st opened it's stiff pages for just a peek before bed, I found myself still engulfed an hour later. Yet I felt deep disappointment.

I have been writing short-story porn-erotica for a few years, successfully. What I had hoped to glean from this book were the nitty gritty details of actually getting published, as the title clearly promises. I looked for the all important contract examples, publisher contacts (at the very least addresses to write for guidelines) & sources with addresses for publishing short-story erotica. None of these promised components were included in this book! I'm not sure how the author can justify his claims to helping anyone "get published" through this book.

If you already know how to write, skip this book & find one that includes publisher information at the very least. This author's excuse for not including the vital information for which I bought this book, was that guidelines change quickly. This doesn't excuse the fact that addresses of publishing houses rarely change so quickly & should have been included so that writers could request the latest guidelines. Instead I am left to either search for another book that delivers the information it promises to, or do the research on my own.

I didn't need to buy or read this book to learn how to write erotica (although I am always open to learning new techniques), nor to read the obvious well-known industry tidbits. Almost everything in this book was useless to a writer who actually wants to publish their work.

As to the writing style, I find no fault. This book is an easy, quick read with writing exercises at the end of each chapter. It does very briefly (less than a paragraph each) cover such issues as using a pseudonym & literary agents but again, writers are expected to find the actual information on their own. This book does NOT provide ANY actual information on how to get published. I truly feel that the title is misleading, false advertisement.

I wanted to give this book a 5 rating but obviously it doesn't deliver the goods, which would place it at a 2 rating in my opinion. The reason I rated it a 3: for people who don't know anything about writing erotica, Writing Erotic Fiction : And Getting Published (Teach Yourself) by Mike Bailey, will at least get you started.

Mike Bailey has loads of experience as an editor for numerous publishing houses that publish erotica/smut/porn/one-handed reading material - use your favorite genre descriptor. Having published four such novels myself I can say with confidence that his advice is excellent - especially for the person trying to break into what has become a highly competitive field. The writing advice is practical, and budding authors of all genres would do well to pay attention to his hints. In addition to making a specific point, many of the illustrative excerpts from published erotica also highlight some of the shortcomings of what has already made it into print, thereby serving as great examples of common mistakes and how to avoid them. The exercises he suggests are good, especially if you're in the middle of a nagging edit, and aren't sure how to add just the right erotic touch to your work. I was keen to read this book because Mike has so far rejected all my submissions. I think I now have a better insight into the types of material and the slant he prefers. This intelligence should help me - an already published author - with my next offering. I'd say there's something in this book for smut-peddlers of every experience level, style and ambition.

When I first read this, I felt a bit insulted, as though somehow erotica is less than other forms of writing. But upon a second reading I realized that much of what I was offended by might be the "Britishness" of the text and author, and that is something to keep in mind, what may be published in Europe and liked in Europe but not sell in America, or Asia, or elsewhere. The chapters are short, I think they might do nicely for first time writers, and the harsh facts about not deluding yourself when you write could be good for those embarassed by their writing. But frankly some of us do write others types of books and we don't think of our erotica as taking any less skill or talent. Since erotica is about a very personal matter -- intimacy and sexuality -- it should be something that writers and readers spend time and talent on whether for private use or public consumption.

I bought this book thinking highly of it, i was pretty dissappointed with the way the book carried itself.mr.bailey didn't really give me any information i could really use. and he has a "10 commandments of erotica" in this book that covers some of the ideas i use in my stories. he is informative but this is the kind of book a novel writer should buy and not an amateur like myself,i give him some credit, but i would not recommend this book to anybody.

I was looking for more technique advice. This book doesn't deliver.

Mike Bailey has long experience of publishing (and writing) erotic books in the UK - he founded the Nexus imprint for Virgin and managed all the Headline erotic imprints until they retreated from the genre in the late 90s. As a consequence it's worth taking his pithy but to-the-point remarks on board - particularly if you're new to the business. I've published four erotic novels and still found his remarks relevant, both in and out of erotica. It's obvious from some of the comments below that the 'Britishness' of the text is a little bewildering for US readers accustomed to how-to authors dotting every I and dotting every T. Persevere, guys! Sometimes less is more. It's also possible to be witty and make a serious point at the same time.