Actually, your assumption is quite incorrect. There’s plenty of BDSM out there with women as the subs–it’s actually really hard to sell a book with a female domme, and a few publishers just say flat out they won’t accept such material.
And the OP was asking about erotica in the context of fanfic. Since the OP is a woman, and since the vast majority of fanfic is written by women and read by women, I didn’t see the whole point in discouraging from seeking “print” erotica or drawing distinctions between “porn for men,” which I’m not convinced is a necessary distinction because I know there are still other markets out there that sell what you’re talking about, and I also know that men read the sort of stuff I sell.
Oh, also, faithfool if you’re looking for what not to do, check out a community on Livejournal called “weepingcock”. It takes the most ridiculous aspects of erotica from fanfic, printed sources, etc etc and mocks it mercilessly. Good times.
pepperlandgirl, I checked out your website and noted that you have a buncha stuff available–for Kindle. Are there other e-formats available? 'Cuz there is zero chance in hell I’m going to buy one of those things!
Yeah, there is a wide array of formats, depending on the publisher. If you go through the publisher website and not Amazon, books are available in PDF, html, LIT, and three other formats I can never remember.
Exactly. There are plenty of men writing male sub/female dom stories, but publishers don’t want to publish it. Few writing it, no matter how well, are going to get on the shelves. It’s not my taste, but those who enjoy it aren’t being served by the publishing industry. Of course female writers have far more freedom to write female subs - no publisher wants to be accused of promoting misogyny. Remove the publisher from the equation and the writer can write what he or she wishes.
Looking at the covers of your works, they seem deliberately designed to discourage heterosexual male readers - especially the “Master Chronicles”. I’m not necessarily squicked by the sight of a buff male, but a buff male by himself is not going to get me to pick up the book. I’ll assume that the intended audience is women and gay men and look for something else.
Just curious, have you read any of the writers I’ve mentioned? Were you familiar with Celeste’s reviews and campaign to improve the quality of on-line erotica?
Well, I have no control over the covers. It’s not like I design them myself. I would think that the fact that the Master Chronicles is about hardcore gay bdsm with a vampire would be enough to discourage some het males, regardless of the cover, lol. I think cover design isn’t so much to discourage het males as to encourage women, but honestly, I have no idea how the decisions are made.
I haven’t heard of the writers you mentioned, mainly because the free erotica I read is all fanfic. I’m going to look into them, though. God knows I have nothing against reading good stuff for free.
