There is no denying the fact that Amazon has made a name for itself in the publishing industry, especially through Kindle. However, there is another service provided by Amazon which is usually seen as a threat to traditional publishers, and that is Kindle Direct Publishing.
Although there are other places that make self-publishing possible, Amazon’s is probably the most well-known. The structure is simple – Amazon will take a small percentage from the sales, and the rest will go to the author, which sounds like a good deal. But the reality is that books are priced very low, and they often don’t sell well. Authors that become famous after having been published by Amazon are usually the exception to the rule. On top of that, writers usually have to put the book together themselves, unless they pay someone to do this (Hall, 2013).
But there is one particular genre that has flourished thanks to Amazon’s self-publishing service, and that is erotica. It seems that the discussion around this genre really began with the success of the Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James trilogy, which surpassed even the beloved Harry Potter series in sales (Singh, 2012). The trilogy’s success was enough to put erotica into mainstream literature, and the trend quickly caught on. What is more, romance and erotica have started to merge together, and more publishers are likely to pick up a book of this genre (Flood, 2012). Inevitably, after the wave in 2012, sales decreased over time and even though erotica still sells, erotic fiction author Maxim Jakubowski states that “half of publishers just don’t understand the genre” (Flood, 2013).
But this is where the digital medium comes in!
As trendy as Fifty Shades was, a lot of people would rather not have others see the cover of the book they are reading if said book is erotica, which is why a majority of sales are actually ebooks. This makes Amazon’s self-publishing service the best place for indie erotica writers to unleash their creativity, seeing how the threshold for getting published is so low. One such writer is someone who goes by the name Red Phoenix and who can write and edit a novella in almost a month. As her series has picked up on Amazon, she believes that this is the best place for her to evolve as a writer (Publishers Weekly, 2014).
On the other hand, Aubrey Rose, a self-published erotica author, has turned down Amazon’s offer because they were unable to guarantee income aside from a very small advance (Bury, 2013).
And the problems don’t stop here. Recently, authors have had their book covers changed as well as the descriptions, and although Amazon is supposed to be the best place for niche writers, a lot of the books were taken down for good or off the search engine results because of their content (incest, bestiality, dinosaurs…) (Stampler, 2014). But if this is an attempt at gatekeeping, it seems that Amazon doesn’t have a good strategy. Furthermore, it is already known as the place to go for strange and low-quality, erotic fiction.
But erotic fiction was being published before Fifty Shades, so it’s clear that it’s here to stay – and perhaps more publishers should take risks, because if Fifty Shades took off, imagine what a quality erotica book could do!
Word count: 550
Bibliography:
Bury, L., 2013. Erotic romance author turned down Amazon publishing deal. The Guardian. [online] Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/aug/08/amazon-publishing-deal-turned-down-author [accessed 21 November 2014]
Flood, A., 2012. Fifty Shades of Grey thrusts erotica into the mainstream. The Guardian. [online] Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/apr/25/fifty-shades-grey-erotica-mainstream [Accessed 21 November 2014]
Flood, A., 2013. In Depth: Erotica. The Bookseller. [online] Available at: http://www.thebookseller.com/feature/depth-erotica [accessed 21 November 2014]
'Scratch That Itch' 2014. Publishers Weekly, 261, 16, pp. 31-32, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 25 November 2014.
Singh, A. 2012. 50 Shades of Grey is best-selling book of all time. The Telegraph. [online] Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/9459779/50-Shades-of-Grey-is-best-selling-book-of-all-time.html [accessed 21 November 2014]
Stampler, L., 2014. 'Amazon is at War with Monster Erotica', Time.Com, p. 1, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 25 November 2014.
Although there are other places that make self-publishing possible, Amazon’s is probably the most well-known. The structure is simple – Amazon will take a small percentage from the sales, and the rest will go to the author, which sounds like a good deal. But the reality is that books are priced very low, and they often don’t sell well. Authors that become famous after having been published by Amazon are usually the exception to the rule. On top of that, writers usually have to put the book together themselves, unless they pay someone to do this (Hall, 2013).
But there is one particular genre that has flourished thanks to Amazon’s self-publishing service, and that is erotica. It seems that the discussion around this genre really began with the success of the Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James trilogy, which surpassed even the beloved Harry Potter series in sales (Singh, 2012). The trilogy’s success was enough to put erotica into mainstream literature, and the trend quickly caught on. What is more, romance and erotica have started to merge together, and more publishers are likely to pick up a book of this genre (Flood, 2012). Inevitably, after the wave in 2012, sales decreased over time and even though erotica still sells, erotic fiction author Maxim Jakubowski states that “half of publishers just don’t understand the genre” (Flood, 2013).
But this is where the digital medium comes in!
As trendy as Fifty Shades was, a lot of people would rather not have others see the cover of the book they are reading if said book is erotica, which is why a majority of sales are actually ebooks. This makes Amazon’s self-publishing service the best place for indie erotica writers to unleash their creativity, seeing how the threshold for getting published is so low. One such writer is someone who goes by the name Red Phoenix and who can write and edit a novella in almost a month. As her series has picked up on Amazon, she believes that this is the best place for her to evolve as a writer (Publishers Weekly, 2014).
On the other hand, Aubrey Rose, a self-published erotica author, has turned down Amazon’s offer because they were unable to guarantee income aside from a very small advance (Bury, 2013).
And the problems don’t stop here. Recently, authors have had their book covers changed as well as the descriptions, and although Amazon is supposed to be the best place for niche writers, a lot of the books were taken down for good or off the search engine results because of their content (incest, bestiality, dinosaurs…) (Stampler, 2014). But if this is an attempt at gatekeeping, it seems that Amazon doesn’t have a good strategy. Furthermore, it is already known as the place to go for strange and low-quality, erotic fiction.
But erotic fiction was being published before Fifty Shades, so it’s clear that it’s here to stay – and perhaps more publishers should take risks, because if Fifty Shades took off, imagine what a quality erotica book could do!
Word count: 550
Bibliography:
Bury, L., 2013. Erotic romance author turned down Amazon publishing deal. The Guardian. [online] Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/aug/08/amazon-publishing-deal-turned-down-author [accessed 21 November 2014]
Flood, A., 2012. Fifty Shades of Grey thrusts erotica into the mainstream. The Guardian. [online] Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/apr/25/fifty-shades-grey-erotica-mainstream [Accessed 21 November 2014]
Flood, A., 2013. In Depth: Erotica. The Bookseller. [online] Available at: http://www.thebookseller.com/feature/depth-erotica [accessed 21 November 2014]
'Scratch That Itch' 2014. Publishers Weekly, 261, 16, pp. 31-32, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 25 November 2014.
Singh, A. 2012. 50 Shades of Grey is best-selling book of all time. The Telegraph. [online] Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/9459779/50-Shades-of-Grey-is-best-selling-book-of-all-time.html [accessed 21 November 2014]
Stampler, L., 2014. 'Amazon is at War with Monster Erotica', Time.Com, p. 1, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 25 November 2014.