Title: Erotica vs. Romance
Length: 372 words
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Erotica vs. Romance
by Jill Terry
Copyright 2004, Jill Terry

I recently read a post that posed the question; is erotica taking over the romance genre? They were referencing e-publishers in particular, and the fact that the plot of the stories are worked into the sex scenarios and not the other way around.

My original response was that it appeared to me, from the erotic / erotica books I’ve read, that these publishers would print anything containing explicit sex scenes, regardless of the quality of work and the talent of their writers. And I can’t help but wonder, if some of these authors got their start by submitting letters to Penthouse and Hustler Magazine, thus they consider themselves qualified to write a book-length manuscript.

While it appears to me that this new genre has a fad-like quality to it, and as with most fads will vanish with time, it seems that traditional publishers are taking heed and changing the format for their romance writers based on the sales of these erotic romances; i.e., putting the hero and heroine in bed in the first chapter of a Regency romance. So to hell with a plot based on historical accuracy, they want them in the sack right off the bat because they believe this is what readers want.

I don’t believe this is the case. While there is obviously a market for this type of work, I think the majority of romance readers prefer a book with substance. That’s not to say they’re opposed to a steamy sex scene here and there, but not to the point of sacrificing characters they can relate to and a plot that keeps them turning pages till the end.

Once again, we have a situation that reiterates the fact that creative freedom is being suppressed and standards are being lowered, while publishers believe they’ve discovered another way to make a fast buck. Let’s face it, sex sells and it always has, but I’ll take passion and true romance any day, as a reader and a writer! There’s nothing so intense, as experiencing desire as it builds to the boiling point and finds its ultimate release. But let’s not be so crass as to put a romance label on what is basically pornography disguised as literature.

Believe in your dreams and make them your reality.

Jill Terry
Award Winning Novelist - Poet
http://www.jillterry.com/