The End of The Best American Erotica - FAQ
Is The Best American Erotica over?
Yes, The Best American Erotica series is having its last hurrah this year.
The last edition, BAE 2008, comes out this month, January. It features interviews with authors on why they wrote their story in the first place, and even a piece by me, "The Story of O Birthday Party."
I'm going on a "farewell tour" to see as many BAE authors, readers, fans and critics as possible. I've never been to Maine before, and it's been ten years since I was in New Orleans. Many miles to be covered!
I've started a BAE web site to keep our legacy going.
Will there be a new editor next year?
My tenure as editor of the series is done, and the publisher tells me there is no forthcoming book in 2009.
Am I happy about the series ending?
No, I'm sad and distressed about it. But it was my decision, and given the circumstances, the right one, I believe.
What happened? Was it a business spat between author and publisher, or is something harsh happening to erotic literature?
It's both. The "lit" part is more significant than the business end. It's not just erotic literature that's taking a beating, it's short stories themselves, and the nature of book production these days.
Was it really any different when you started BAE?
When I started BAE, in 1993, independent bookstores were still king-makers in publishing. A bookstore was a cool place to hang out and browse, lose yourself, and every one was a little different.
People talked about books they were reading, as a popular pastime. Newspapers and magazines were thriving; there were book reviews aplenty. There were about 500 books published every week— as opposed to today, where there are more than a 1000 pumped out. The editorial process was exacting.
It was difficult to get into publishing, but if you did, you could make a living as a writer/editor, as surely as you could make a living as a plumber or a schoolteacher.
Writing erotic fiction, however, was considered dicey, that it could "ruin" your career.
Barnes and Noble? I was dimly aware of them. There was no "online," no Amazon, and virtually none of my friends had email.
How was BAE received in 1993? Was the sex a problem?
BAE was the impertinent child of an unprecedented feminist and gay explosion in literature and bookselling. My biggest problem the first years was coaxing mainstream booksellers into having the nerve to shelve BAE where it could be found.
There was no such thing as an "erotica" or "sexuality" section, because sellers were afraid of obscenity convictions and cult-like protests. Men were supposed to go to a dirty bookstore to get "that kind of thing," and women were presumed not to be interested.
Gay literature had never been mixed with straight.
With no competition and the sex-positive phenomenon busting out, BAE did well out the gate. Those first years were national bestsellers.
What were the writers like, in the beginning?
The artists I worked with were masters at short-story writing, and also on the bleeding edge of mind-fucking.
That's still who I look for. Online community is where you find
that energy now. But the sense of urgency and movement, of this type of
writing being on the edge of social change, and the physical gatherings of
people all talking about it— that's not happening outside of academia.
Twenty years ago, writers were expressing sexual character and plot-turning moments in contexts that were so deep, it made you wonder how we'd managed to ignore the obvious for so long. At the same time, AIDS killed so many colleagues and friends, you could feel the sting of their dying breath on the page. Women were coming into their own with sexual literature, eviscerating every romantic convention. It was heady, and we're still thankfully working off of that steam.
How are writers, or erotic short stories, different now?
The short story, and its tender home, the "collection," are on life support. Erotica is in its new unfortunate "Harold Robbins" phase, and is largely formulaic. There are dozens of erotic anthologies turned out at great speed for nickels and dimes. The feeling that we were breaking down doors has been replaced with authors desperate to buy a few hinges for their own sanity.
I read what Stephen King's essay "What ails the short story?" last fall, and it is exactly true for erotica:
It’s tough for writers to write (and editors to edit) when faced with a shrinking audience. Once, in the days of the old Saturday Evening Post, short fiction was a stadium act; now it can barely fill a coffeehouse and often performs in the company of nothing more than an acoustic guitar and a mouth organ. If the stories felt airless, why not? When circulation falters, the air in the room gets stale.
Well, how do other writers feel about that? Isn't King an exception?
Writers know that that the short form is elemental to our craft, it's the foundation of storytelling— but without readers, where do we go? We can only talk to ourselves for so long.
Every long-running series and popular author (including King) has seen their sales contract or collapse in the last fifteen years. When I look at the exhaustive book tour itineraries I went on the 90s, I see that less than 1 out of 10 places I visited is still in operation. Imagine being a cook and watching nearly all the restaurants close except Burger King. That's how it feels.
Don't people still read for pleasure?
Book reading is not in vogue any longer, it's eccentric. No one would even bother to have an obscenity fight over text, because so few people would be in "danger" of reading it.
If I go to a supermarket in any big American city, and ask my fellow shoppers, "Do you know where a bookstore is?" most of them will offer an apology and say they have no idea. A few will admit they haven't read a book since they were last in school, as a requirement.
King wrote in his essay: "Once, in the days of the old Saturday Evening Post, short fiction was a stadium act; now it can barely fill a coffeehouse and often performs in the company of nothing more than an acoustic guitar and a mouth organ. If the stories felt airless, why not? When circulation falters, the air in the room gets stale."
Is the storybook dead?
People are still getting their story fix, but from a different source. Reading is happening online, voraciously, but it's an unformed creature with an insatiable appetite. People look to movies and films for their stories, both long and YouTube short form.
But without compelling writing, cinema and the internet suffer too.
How are professional writers staying afloat?
All our "old" forms of supporting ourselves have shriveled.
There's a minuscule spot, on the head of a pin, to make a decent living in books and freelance writing today, using traditional formulas. Far more prevalent are authors who write, write, write, for little or nothing, for the Internet and the publishers who embrace terms that make quality writing, editing, and mentoring— all but impossible. The McDonald-ization of book publishing has given us a bellyache that just won't quit.
I wish I could say there was a "slow books" movement that matched the power of "slow food." The art of writing is holed up in a corner right now.
Whatever happened to the brilliant starving artist?
They never really existed. Being hungry and isolated doesn't do anything for your chops. Writing without a base of support is not a boon for the craft or the English language. The time and consideration it takes to write well, edit well, produce a well-crafted and produced work— it's a luxury today.
It's a communal problem, not an individual one. One individual's patron or trust fund doesn't solve it. Patrons are NOT "audiences," and that's what it takes to thrive.
How can you tell writing is going downhill, and that you're not just sulking?
Well, I am in a bad mood about it, that's for sure. But I think my reality check is accurate.
The cult of amateurism has swamped the writing room. Its spoils pass for mainstream entertainment.
It's obvious how it affects the storytelling. Half the films I saw last year had NO ENDING; they just fell apart. The third act has apparently retired.
Conclusions require a knowledge of your arc. The author has to decide how the chips fall, with all the requisite tragedy and comedy. Instead, we get "what-the fucks?" like the the notorious Sopranos flame-out. Writers are urged to make their money and your message in their first sound bite, and then get the hell out.
The way I can "tell" as an editor, is that my own slush pile has changed character, and so has every other editor's, who looks for diamonds in the rough. The challenges for The Best American Erotica are mirrored at every editor's office.
What happens to the inevitable gifted talent that crawls through the barb wire?
They're evolving in a very small world, an elite. Some of the most remarkable authors I've read this past year have virtually no feedback on their work in the public eye. They never get to take a bold new step based on the confidence that comes with thriving literacy. It's like being Rapunzel in your tower, with all your great golden braids that no one knows about.
Don't you bear some of the responsibility, if you want things to change?
I should've gotten feistier about BAE earlier, and not just thought, "Oh dear, I'll just have to make do with a little less money, everyone's got to pinch their pennies." By lowering my expectations and ambitions, I grew more isolated and forsook the risk-taking that made erotic lit something to be contended with.
I couldn't turn things around by myself, but I could at least throw up a flare. That's what this is.
If you're a professional writer, you're faced with the practical difficulties of making an income— and then the further outrage of losing your voice. Like nightingales, writers sing. That's what we do. We want to be listened to, our song goes on because of that listening. We have to eat, but we have to be read, as well.
What tipped you over?
Every two years, for a long time, S&S would present me with a new contract for two more years of BAE. They had cut back on my advance, and the marketing budget for BAE, for a few contracts running.
This year, it got to the point where I said, "Wow, at my age, with my family, I can't afford to do this. And I can't degrade the quality of the book to make it work for me financially without shaming me and everyone connected with it."
At first I was panicked about the money. But as it dawned on me that I can always get another gig, I realized that showing some editorial leadership was more the issue.
Why didn't you fight to reinvigorate the series, and keep on?
I made counteroffers, of course. I wanted to try out some online marketing and unorthodox sales strategies that I find promising. I thought we could leverage aspects of BAE's reputation and author support that we haven't tried before. I believe the erotic storyteller has a big place in what's going on the world right now, so I want to go out on a limb for it.
I wanted to change the look of BAE, too. I wanted to figure out surprising ways to distinguish ourselves. I am the early-adopter type, and even if it wasn't for the financial pressure, I would be intrigued with this puzzle of how to get the stories through.
What did your publisher argue?
They said no. They don't share their candid thoughts with me. To be kind, I think publishers have heard from a lot of authors over the years who plead, "If you only buy me a new suit and put me on The Big Show, I just know I can sell this book again!"
Most of the time, those author's idealism and hopes are unrealistic. My publisher likely thinks it's preposterous that I would know more about the business end than they do. They might be pretty jaded, I imagine. Or maybe they know something I don't! I believe my ideas are worthy, but I didn't inspire S&S with my arguments this time. We were in a rut.
Why don't you take the BAE series elsewhere?
S&S owns the title. I can't pack it up and leave with it. It was originally the idea of an editor at MacMillan, and then S&S bought them when they went under.
I asked if I could be granted the title, or if I could license, or purchase it, but no one jumped at that proposition.
What is S&S going to do with BAE, then?
Nothing, for the time being. I thought they would quick scoop up a new editor with modest needs, to continue the series, but that hasn't been in their plans to date.
What else can you do?
Turning 50 this year has made me a little more audacious. I asked myself, "What would I do, if I did the best thing for my writing, the best thing for my editing, the best thing for making a contribution to the erotic dialog?"
The answer to that is: Write my own books, as if my life depended on
it. Choose original editorial projects with people I believe in.
Publish something that makes a difference, that kicks another door in.
Keep eating.
I want to try out the ideas I've been arguing and prove to myself whether I'm all wet or right on. I probably have about twenty more years left in my life, and I've always been the kind of person who gets inspired by a deadline.
Have you done anything new with erotic lit so far?
Yes! One of the things I always wanted to do for Best American Erotica was to start its own blog and web site... so I did it. Come take a look! There's so many great writers and stories and interviews, you'll get dizzy.
I wanted to go back out on tour, to connect with as many people as I could, to talk about these questions, so I'm doing that too! Here's my book tour schedule so far.
I've been talking and working with new publishers, who want to do something novel with erotic literature— who share my early adopter/geeky marketing inclinations. More on that later...
What do you predict is going to happen next in erotic lit... and short fiction?
Oh, I'm a big tea leaf reader:
Amateurism, Plagiarism, and Bullshitting-Your-Way-Through-It-All has NOT PEAKED yet.
JT Leroy will be surpassed. Good writers will make unhappy compromises. Until good writers can figure out a way to support themselves and get the damn time to write and edit, this state of affairs is inevitable.
Readers are becoming a writer's first editors.
Genre fiction writers and bloggers are in the process, whether they intend to or not, or making a new model. Stories and full length works are being created online, with the readers involved from the beginning.
The experience of "Books in Hand" can't be replaced by onscreen reading
Book writers don't have a lot to fear from "file sharing," because the experience of holding and reading a book is different than the onscreen tease. When you've got a great story, your readers want to keep feeling it. They want it in their bathtub and their bed and the don't want the battery to fail. There's a need for reflection and character, for depth, that isn't sated by news. Stories, epics, legends, aren't built with news summaries.
Writers without Internet platforms (like blogs) will find themselves increasingly in Work-for-Hire hell, or out of writing altogether.
You have been warned.
There are still extraordinary writers/exceptions that keep everyone else's hopes alive.
That's the elite I mentioned earlier. Geniuses and freaks will cling together and survive, barely. Thank god JK Rowling knows how to write an ending. My latest epic favorite is Vikram Chandra. If we lived in a book thriving culture, his name would be a household word as well.
Bookstore acquisition is being determined outside the book and book-critic environment altogether.
If your book or your record lands at Starbucks— or any coffee shop— you are suddenly reaching people. If your book cover is seen in a three-minute video, and it's like getting an old-school five-star review.
People love to read... when they can find what they want, where they want it, in their daily lives. They want to escape into the story world; they want a beginning, a middle, and an end. Just because capitalism is having a little problem with "bookselling" right now doesn't make those desires go away. Maybe it's time for a new Bookmobile.
The art of bookmaking, rare and precious bookmaking, is hot.
Books are too sensual to go away. The book as objet d'art, as something you long to hold in your hands— as well as to read— is the future of the physical book. I deal in used books, and although the money is no big deal, the palatable excitement people have about holding something precious to them, is. I want to create that sense of "hand lust" in my own books.
There's a steampunk future for the book.
I'm obsessed with online novels and letterpress printing simultaneously. So are a lot of people.
Eroticism is going to continue to be most boldly examined in film/video, because that's where the economy is the most viable, at the moment.
But that still requires...writers. As the WGA strike has contended from the beginning, story is not unadorned improvisation. If the writers' union wins something out of these companies, it will be a victory for every writer. Does our work has value or not? — that's the question. We work all our lives to be masters at this. Erotic writing, at its most memorable, happens not only because of rare gifts, but because others heard it and gave a damn.
What are you going to do for your last BAE book tour?
I'm funding it, so that's a new inspiration. I'm cultivating the damn-givers! I want to hug and have a meaningful conversation... with everyone who ever had anything to do with this series. I want to stay in touch, and keep our element alive in the coming years. I'd like to hear where you'd like to see erotic writing going, who you think is inspiring.
What are you going to do next?
Turn 50.
Write a memoir.
Publish original erotic literary fiction collections.
Cultivate my favorite writers.
Make ebooks and really fancy print books.
Blog my ass off, as usual!
Special Note to BAE Authors: After 15 years, I might not have your up-to-date address! I'd like to reconnect with you, if it's been awhile! Anything I can do to promote your work on the new BAE site, let me know. Interviews, links, guest columns, story excerpts, you name it. Write me.
Thank you for writing this - as someone who still reads books avidly (and has more than a couple BAE books on her shelves!), it's interesting to see an overview of the industry from somebody who has toiled in the trenches for a while.
I think your instincts are right-on about where to take yourself and your talents in the future, and I look forward to seeing what blooms next from your fertile mind!
It seems like there is definitely a way to do erotic literature for an online medium. Seems like sex websites are among the few business models that have actually turned a profit. I bet you'll figure out a good niche in there somewhere!
Please plan a stop on your book tour in Austin! Not too far from New Orleans, really....
Posted by: Piph | January 07, 2008 at 09:46 AM
Wow, I'm kind of reeling from this--it's depressing, it's enraging, and its very inspiring, all at the same time! But the strong thrive on adversity and the best writers and editors have always been visionaries and risk-takers. So, lead on, Susie! And I'll see you at Modern Times in SF on February 13 with my pompoms in hand.
Posted by: Donna George Storey | January 07, 2008 at 10:29 AM
Susie,
I just want to say- thank you for all that you have done over the last decade and a half for the short story. You have been a true champion of literature and I know that you will continue to be, as well. I love your focus in the post about "beginning, middle and end". I love your classic, old school understanding of the importance of craft and structure. It was such an honor to be in your anthologies - -you are a cultural icon! not to mention an amazing editor-- and I look forward to reading all of your forthcoming projects.
Posted by: paula bomer | January 07, 2008 at 10:45 AM
Susie, this is about the most clear-headed and honest take on the situation of working writers that I've seen anywhere. Thank you.
I've been working on my second novel now for about four years--in other words, ever since the last one was published in 2004. Even in that time the world has changed. I don't know if anyone will ever read this novel I'm working on, even if it's published. I don't know why I keep writing.
But I'm glad YOU keep writing. Thanks.
Posted by: Claire Tristram | January 07, 2008 at 11:09 AM
Damn! Thanks for giving us the FAQs on the demise of BAE. It's sad to see it go and yet I am happy to see that you chose to end it cleanly and on your terms.
I wish you the best of luck in your tour. I hope we get to hear all about it here and in "In Bed."
Posted by: Sandrino | January 07, 2008 at 11:32 AM
Susie,
Heart-breaking and inspiring all at once, as your writing is so often. I have hope, always, in the ever-changing nature of art and creativity. It will find a way. Great writers will find a way. Great readers will find way...
Thank you for always being one of the ones who looks at the dark and then figures out how we might come out on the other side.
Best, s.
Posted by: Shanna Germain | January 07, 2008 at 02:06 PM
I'll tell you what's preposterous, Susie. Decision-making at the corporate level often has more to do with how human beings behave in hierarchical situations than in finding effective, creative solutions to new challenges. Corporate ranting aside, I cannot WAIT to see what you come up with next! It can only be good for you, and the business as a whole.
Posted by: Reen Guierre | January 07, 2008 at 03:38 PM
Well, as McLuhan said, "Being current creates currency." Good on you!
And to add, from the time I read ReSearch's 12 Angry Women in the early 90's, you've been a huge inspiration.
When traveling, I would always seek out a small bookstore to "land" and feel at home. Going back to family's farm near Stockton, I would make a special point to visit "The Bookmark" (now defunct) for these reasons.
There seems to be a resurgence of neighborhood coffee houses here in Los Angeles. May indie bookstores find their audiences once again.
See you at Skylight on 22 Feb.
Take a bow!
Posted by: YogaMan | January 07, 2008 at 06:40 PM
Too bad you aren't going to be anywhere near NYC or upstate New York. I'd have loved to see y'all.
Men were supposed to go to a dirty bookstore to get "that kind of thing," and women were presumed not to be interested.
...And anyone who worked to demolish those particularly noxious decades-old prevailing attitudes was doing a public service, to say the least.
Women were coming into their own with sexual literature, eviscerating every romantic convention.
And "Dobbs" knows that those conventions most certainly need to be eviscerated. Again and again. Actually, what they need is a stake driven squarely through their collective heart, because like vampires, they're a bitch to kill. Who needs "abstinence education" when you have our advertising industry and popular media twisting and distorting our childrens' attitudes about love, body image and sexuality, 24-7?
Erotica is in its new unfortunate "Harold Robbins" phase ...
I think you can probably compare it to what happened with disco in the 1970s. It was pretty hip at the outset. When record companies found that they could sell anything with a heavy 4/4 beat, the word became "quantity" rather than "quality".
And am I exaggerating when I suggest that the rows upon rows of big-screen TV sets at places like Wal-Mart are the reason that fewer people are reading?
It's obvious how it affects the storytelling. Half the films I saw last year had NO ENDING; they just fell apart. The third act has apparently retired.
Fleener's First Law of Cinema - Most movies suck.
I think the problem for fiction writers is the same one as there is for musicians. How many Jimi Hendrixes, Chuck Berrys, Brian Enos and George Harrisons are out there, playing only to themselves or a handful of friends because the system just won't cut them a break? Yeah, they could put their music on sites like MP3.com (a great idea for getting unheard new music heard, in my opinion) or myspace, but how do they distinguish themselves from the hundreds of other hopefuls on those sites?
Books are too sensual to go away.
And you don't need updates from Microsoft to be able to read them!
Posted by: C.S. Lewiston | January 07, 2008 at 06:55 PM
A bookmobile sounds nice, indeed. La lotta continua! Good luck, Susie.
Posted by: EllaRegina | January 07, 2008 at 08:00 PM
I came of age with America's Best Erotic Fiction. Thank you for letting me explore my sexuality so freely in print. I'm sorry to see it end but I see the phoenix already rising from the ashes.
Some folks still read and I am always asking people I meet what they like reading. My favorite answer so far is from a man from Buenos Aires that I met on a plane a few weeks ago. His answer: Heidegger, Neitzsche and Mad Magazine.
Good luck with the future projects. I'm looking forward to seeing what transpires.
Posted by: Elizabeth | January 08, 2008 at 06:09 AM
A bummer shared is somehow just a little less a bummer. I'm going to circulate this to a wide circle of fellow writers, Susie. We'll all be waiting to see what we can contribute to the creation of an alternative reality to this foul conglomerization of publishing. Keep us posted.
Sue
Posted by: Sue Katz | January 08, 2008 at 05:34 PM
Susie, you know I'm very concerned about some of these same issues, if coming at them from a slightly different perspective. Booksellers, librarians, and even museums, are finding themselves sucked into the same vortex. It's eating all those industries alive. Sadly, nobody seems to be finding any resolution to the matter yet. Twenty or thirty years from now I suppose we'll look back, smack our palms to our foreheads and think it was obvious, of course! But I don't know the answer as of today. The big levelers - the internet, the chain stores, mass entertainment and media - are, in fact, levelling the very source of vitality for so much of our network for delivering cultural content. And what's filling the void is none too worthy. Yet, I sense that people are still looking for quality, so I have hope. I just don't know the answer.
What I do know is that small book shops are closing faster than ever. In fact, even some totally internet based book dealers are feeling the heat. Libraries are being squeezed harder and harder, though it looks as though the 20 somethings may be turning out in numbers to turn the tide in that industry. The museum industry is also experiencing some pressures, felt more in some institutions than others, and I predict that will grow, museums being a little behind the curve of the booksellers and libraries.
Excellent post. Lots of food for thought. And, of course, I have opinions about the death of BAE, too. You know you have a believer here in your ability to find success in your new efforts.
*hugs*
Posted by: Steve | January 08, 2008 at 08:34 PM
I had several immediate thoughts here Susie. First, thanks for sharing this news, depressing though it may be and your insightful thoughts on the general state of the business. People ARE still reading erotica, and they're doing plenty of it on line too. Yes, most of it is egregiously amateurish stuff, but some of it can be quite acceptable. But Someone is reading the prodigious production of this stuff on-line, right? (Again the quality remains a real issue, as with any field guided by amateurs without much guidance & editing).
But again, despite being about your age, I'm also one of those who came of age with BAE. I still think of the entire series as Hugely important, and more influential than many would even dare to suspect. People can know quality from your efforts (& similar), and they DO recognize Good art. How much they're still willing to pay for same remains the essential question. There's just a profusion of media out there now, more than ever before, and an abundance and wealth of yes, smut & porn to satisfy most jaded tastes.
People are reading less Books due to this profusion of media and 'alt' sources on the net. There's a profusion of blogs writing and folks out there who imagine that yes, they too can make their living at 'writing'. Some do develop a slow steady stream of income from their blogs, but of course this is not the same as a 'book' culture. It's still a 'kind of' intellectual pursuit to be sure, but it's just wildly different today than what it was even 10-20 years ago. The role of 'public intellectuals' has also been degraded deeply in the current media miasma, and that hurts too. Newspapers are failing us too, as is TV News in general. As you noted the entire culture of print is leaving generations of 'older' style readers behind.
So I find this announcement enormously sad news. I hope you can find a different venue online for many of these works & efforts. I think that would be extremely valuable for readers & writers alike. Whole genres of literature might be otherwise lost, (think of poetry too!) and yet we do have the tools and venue to try and keep this tradition thriving. It may not ever be 'well paid' or even 'decently' paid again or for a very long time. But average readers & fans can come to know and appreciate real art & erotica, and that's always more important than anyone in the publishing industry might care to imagine.
Thanks again for your fine thoughts here. The news will travel far, if perhaps slowly. BAE has been really highly influential beyond the imagining of almost anyone still left in the book business. We're talking about small discoveries in out of the way places, were reading such material remains subversive or a dangerous act of self determination and rebellion. Perhaps that's all only nostalgia now, but I dearly hope not. Learning is eternal, the light of knowledge must be passed forward to & with each new generation. I know they can still find magic & enduring usefulness in and with BAE, and I'll think you again for such a fine & vital effort for so long.
Cheers & Good Luck as always, 'VJ', ga.
Posted by: VJ | January 09, 2008 at 02:38 AM
Thank you for all the kind words... I really appreciate them, and I think this last tour is going to mean a lot to me, person-to-person.
There is another side to me, who's wiped away the tears and snot, and is actually just interested in what other people think about the "state of the short story," the character of erotic writing these days, and how BAE looks, in hindsight, over the years. Feel free to smash my rose- colored glasses, give me your reality check, etc.
I always am a little in love with my latest edition, when it comes out, but you know what my NEXT favorite edition is, after that? 1996! It didn't sell the best, because the cover art was apparently too oblique, but I loved the cover, and more than that, I loved those particular stories, as a group, without changing my mind over time. That makes me wonder if '96 was the peak, or it's just my quirky favorite.
In the new 2008 edition, I picked some of my old favorites, and then a rash of new stories, as I usually do. I also interviewed the authors about WHY they wrote the stories, and what were the circumstances.... some of those confessions are so funny. I will put some of them up here on the blog, next week.
Posted by: Susie Bright | January 09, 2008 at 06:59 AM
Strangely enough, my Harper's came today and in it was a very impressive essay from Ursula LeGuin on the state of reading & books: 'Staying Awake: Notes on the Alleged Decline of Reading', Feb, Harpers. Very interesting take on the entire industry. Cheers & Good Luck, 'VJ'
Posted by: VJ | January 09, 2008 at 10:50 PM
Lots to think about here, thank you. But be careful decrying "amateurism" too much. There is an upside: Never before have so many people *created* new things. Admittedly, we don't know what will happen, but people are feeling more power over what they do. Maybe this is the beginning of a new growth in skills. The "amateurs" are just learning; the next generation will know more. Also, there are some interesting book-related gizmos appearing on-line. I know you're on LibraryThing. Opening up the relationships between books and building a community their way may help tie libraries, bookstores, and authors together. So for all the problems there are matching possibilities. While I'm sorry to see BAE go, congratulations on moving forward!
Posted by: anon | January 14, 2008 at 10:14 AM
As a writer, I find your remarks disheartening, but true. Making a living writing has become a juggling act. I have so many balls in the air, I feel like I did back in the 70's when I began work as an actor. Back then it was theatre, commercials, voice-over work – anything to make a buck and keep my career afloat. Now that I write – you’d think it would be easier (or at least centralized) – but no. Publishers won’t print a book that doesn’t have guaranteed sales of at least 10 thousand copies, and printing it yourself means all the promotion is on the author’s dime.
I write in a variety of genre’s too – romance, politics, biographical – and yes, erotica. Way back when I was in college – I used to get the occasional short story published in Penthouse (or by one of the myriad ‘dirty book’ publishers churning out cheap pornography available on the shelves of every sex shop in town). It helped pay my way through college – and I’m proud of it. Today, however – no one seems interested. You have carved out an enviable niche, my dear. I may not comment here at your blog all that often, but I’ve been reading your work for years. If YOU’RE complaining about the publishing world – god help the rest of us!
What’s to be done? It just isn’t erotica that’s suffering from lack of readership you know. New authors (of the non-celebrity variety) slog through miles of cow-shit in an effort to gain marginal recognition. It’s like that final scene in “The Magic Christian” – only the remuneration we’re seeking has more to do with necessity than some kind of whim. Feels the same, though (albeit without the kicky ‘Badfinger’ score). So how do we persuade people to pay for good writing – in any genre? Has the general public become inured to schlock? Like you said – movies don’t even have endings any more. What’s on TV (unless you’re dealing with cable franchises) sucks. Doesn’t anyone recognize quality any more?
And why isn’t erotica popular? Too much in your face, gynecological, bored-ass fucking? I want romance with my sex – or at least a little imagination. Especially now that I’m older. Been there, done that, and done it more than once, thank you. Give me more than insert dick ‘A’ into slot ‘B’. Ah well – I’m soap-boxing. But I agree with you, my dear. I just don’t have any solutions.
Posted by: The Fat Lady Sings | January 14, 2008 at 11:02 AM
Whoa I had no idea BAE was going to end. I can see your reasoning and agree that it's good you can end it on your terms. Thanks for the FAQ. I'm relatively new to the series so this post really educated me on BAE.
Posted by: Vixen | January 15, 2008 at 09:00 PM
First, let me acknowledge the importance of BAE volumes. I bought them and read them in the 1990s. They were great.
Of course, you're right. There's less money in any kind of creative writing book these days. On the other hand, the Internet has opened up a lot of doors, and now erotica authors can produce their own ebooks and anthologies and sell them by themselves. You just have to figure out how to do it on a smaller scale---with smaller budgets, less editing and less selectivity. That said, Clean Sheets has done a wonderful job gathering lots of online erotica and promoting them. The next step is producing things which you can read on portable devices --in bed for example.
Putting together anthologies can be a thankless job (I'm in the middle of one myself --see my URL).
On short stories vs. novels, I think erotica is well-suited to the short story form. Coincidentally just last night I was listening to a 1990 interview with Southern writer Lee Smith about short story vs. novel. She argues that short story is a superior form and in fact readers may even prefer it. She was saying this in 1990, when the publishing industry was trying to push writers into novels.
Posted by: Hapax Legomenon | January 17, 2008 at 05:15 AM
Sorry another remark. The Internet now makes it possible to download a LOT of erotic short stories. There still is a need for someone to sift through them. The thing is many bloggers and community sites are doing it --with varying results.
The decision to buy a print book is not done lightly. It requires intent and time and money. Compare that to finding an online story site and hunting by genre. It's just a few keystrokes away. Sure, it's harder to find quality stories online, but it's so much easier.
Posted by: Hapax Legomenon | January 17, 2008 at 05:20 AM
I've been pretty much writing over 20+ years and my daily routine has been the same, write, write, write...Way back then, it was typewriters that had me going, now it is computers but every day an hour and 1/2 seems to get the job done. I had a stroke 10 years ago but came out of it and wrote "Times Queer" amongst others. Thanks to my editor, Sally Miller, we are able to get a hold of my writing and form it into a complete whole instead of the unedited chaos it once was.
Do I see a future for the craft? It may have dwindled in popularity but it's still alive and always will be! And view ourselves as following the tradition of Cervantes or de Sade, imprisoned but still writing no matter what....That's all I can do.
Posted by: Mykola Dementiuk | January 21, 2008 at 10:27 AM
As someone who has enjoyed BAE over the years, I'm vey sad to read that it's ending. As an author, I fully understand and I stand behind your decision. We writers are being asked to do more, earn less, and do all our own promotion after the first three months after a book's release. A book like yours -- or like mine! -- doesn't "expire" after three months, or get outdated, or lose potential audience. And it's a ton of (unpaid) work to keep a book in the public eye.
I'll look forward to reading the latest BAE, and then I'll reread my collection. Enjoy turning 50 (and beyond) -- it gets better and better!
Joan Price (age 64)
Author of Better Than I Ever Expected: Straight Talk about Sex After Sixty
Join us -- we're talking about ageless sexuality at http://www.betterthanieverexpected.blogspot.com
Posted by: Joan Price | January 28, 2008 at 01:42 PM
I have always loved the BAE series. With Herotica, it formed the core of my adult erotica shelf (ves). I am glad you are coming to Seattle, and can't wait to meet you. I am a big fan of your writing, and will continue to look forward to future projects of yours. I'm gonna pimp your appearance on my LiveJournal as well. We'll see if I can get a bunch of my friends to turn out for your appearance.
Posted by: Ryan | February 02, 2008 at 02:10 AM