Attention m/m novelists

[veronica_rich]

Yes, those of you with publishing contracts to sell m/m books starring OMCs - if you would care to render your opinion on something related.

A friend wants to know if you think repurposed slash fanfic could ever go as mainstream as 50 Shades has for het erotica (I don't know if she means any m/m or m/m erotica; you'd have to ask her, really). I'm not an author, so the opinion I gave isn't informed - do you all have any?

Comments

[finding-neo.livejournal.com]

If it's as poorly written as 50 Shades, sure.

The thing about 50 Shades is that it seems to me to have been written for the lowest common denominator reader, one who does not realize that part of the pull of the book is that first person narrative, which is just silly. No one can be having sex, getting flogged, what-the-f-ever sexual pleasure and be texting or writing the action at the same time. But it does create an experience for the reader which is very masochistic. We are all masochists in the broadest sense of the word. The fact that the actions in this book are somewhat forbidden for many of the sheltered women reading it, heightens the enjoyment.

Everyone knows that romance novels follow formulaic writing, right? This is the same thing. Sorry to be so down on it, I'm not down on the fanfic that you all write, just down on shit becoming popular that reads like a 3rd grader wrote it. A very twisted third grader, but still.

And I have read enough of it to have this opinion, I'm not just hating on first person narrative. We sell it where I work now. I can also go in to the socio-economics of it right now too - how women are deprived (depraved, LOL) because they can't go out and spend as much money as they used to, etc etc. This is a cheap thrill. Just the other day there was a report about how many thousands of $$ women spend in their lifetime on things like shoes.

So the publishing of 50 Shades seems very well timed, if nothing else. Find that key and you'll make a million dollars on fanfic too.

[johnnypenn.livejournal.com]

I've read one or two good first person books in my life time, the default seems to be third person.

I think it's badly written because it was based off Twilight, and Twilight is badly written, there fore, badly written fan fic is turned into badly written original fic.

My problem is how the two character's had a Dom/Sub contract made up, and then the guy totally ignores everything and the girl is goes with it. You don't do that sort of thing. Not to mention, to all this vanilla people reading the book for kicks, they'll get the wrong idea about the BDSM community. It's not like that and the Author has the responsibility to do her research and do it the right way - treat it with respect - and not just because it adds an element of novelty to the book.

as an m/m writer who does write BDSM - that just disgusts me!

[finding-neo.livejournal.com]

It's like the writer watched a few episodes of HBO's Real Sex and thought that made them an expert on BDSM.

[johnnypenn.livejournal.com]

I have never seen that show. But I agree with you.
I do a ton of research whenever I've a question about an aspect of BDSM before I even write it. and that's what this author should have done. I wish someone pointed that out before even publishing. It wouldn't have taken much to change/re-write that aspect of the story and make it a bit more realistic.