Writing Erotica

by Belkom, Edo Van

• ISBN13: 9781551803074
• ISBN10: 1551803070
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-03-01
• Publisher: Natl Book Network

Table of Contents

Acknowlegments	x
Introduction	xi
Part One: The Erotic Genre	1	(36)
What Is Erotica?	2	(3)
Erotica versus pornography	2	(1)
Who writes this Stuff, anyway?	3	(2)
Types of Erotica	5	(22)
Straight erotica/vanilla sex	5	(1)
Selected magazines featuring vanilla sex	6	(1)
Gay erotica	6	(5)
Selected magazines and publishers of gay erotica	11	(1)
Lesbian erotica	11	(2)
Selected magazines and publishers of lesbian erotica	12	(1)
S/M and B&D	13	(1)
Selected magazines and publishers of S/M and B&D erotica	13	(1)
Erotic horror	14	(2)
Selected authors and works of erotic horror	16	(1)
Erotic romance	16	(1)
Selected romance novels and imprints with erotic content	16	(1)
Adult westerns	17	(1)
Selected adult-western series	17	(1)
Fetish fiction	18	(1)
Selected fetish magazines	19	(1)
Erotic nonfiction	19	(2)
Selected authors and works of erotic nonfication	21	(1)
True confessions	21	(1)
Selected magazines publishing true confessions	22	(1)
Letters	22	(5)
Selected magazines publishing erotic letters	26	(1)
Story Format	27	(10)
What's best for an erotic tale?	27	(1)
Novels versus short stories	27	(4)
Erotica other than prose fiction and nonfiction	31	(6)
Writing erotic poetry	31	(1)
Writing erotic comics	32	(2)
Writing phone scripts	34	(1)
Writing for adult videos	34	(2)
Things to avoid in adult videos	36	(1)
Part Two: Writing Erotica	37	(92)
What Turns You On?	38	(23)
Exploring your fantasies in fiction	38	(1)
Erotica for men and women	39	(1)
Making use of your own fantasies	40	(2)
Where else do you get your ideas?	42	(1)
Ideas are easy: writing stories is hard	43	(3)
Keeping track of your ideas	46	(1)
Knowing where you're headed: Outlining	47	(2)
Turning an idea into a story	49	(6)
The seven-step story	49	(3)
The six-step sex story	52	(3)
Writing what you know	55	(3)
Writing what you don't know: Research	58	(3)
Elements of Erotic Fiction	61	(38)
Story openings: Getting it on	61	(10)
Description	62	(1)
Character	63	(2)
Dialogue	65	(3)
Action	68	(2)
There is another way: Epistolary	70	(1)
Recognizable characters: That could be me	71	(4)
Point of view (POV)	75	(6)
First person	78	(1)
Second person	79	(1)
Third person	79	(1)
Omniscient/limited omniscient/objective	80	(1)
Showing versus telling	81	(5)
Exposition	86	(5)
Scenes	91	(1)
Dialogue	91	(4)
Grammar	95	(2)
Humor: No laughing matter	97	(1)
Themes: More than just a sexy story	98	(1)
How Does Erotica Work?	99	(20)
Turning the reader on	99	(1)
What turns women on in erotica	100	(1)
What turns men on in erotica	100	(4)
Sexual tension: Fiction foreplay	104	(3)
Story: The slow, sensuous build-up	107	(1)
Good sex: A satisfying climax	107	(1)
Safe sex: Keep it fun	108	(1)
The language of erotica	108	(1)
Going soft and getting hard	109	(7)
Soft	110	(2)
Harder	112	(2)
Hardest	114	(2)
Four-letter words	116	(1)
How erotica doesn't work	117	(2)
Revision and Polishing	119	(10)
Revising	120	(6)
Getting second and third opinions	120	(2)
Letting a story simmer for a while	122	(1)
Tightening	122	(2)
Writing to length: Size matters	124	(2)
Polishing	126	(3)
Proofreading	126	(1)
One last read through	127	(2)
Part Three: Selling Erotica	129	(1)
What to write? Where to Sell?	130	(1)
Sex for sale	130	(1)
Firsthand market research	131	(5)
Writer's guidelines	136	(1)
Guidelines: The specifics	136	(4)
Marketing your fication	140	(2)
Manuscript Format	142	(1)
Looking like a pro in print	142	(1)
The basics of manuscript format	143	(14)
Pseudonyms	157	(1)
Why I am Evan Hollander	158	(3)
Other things to note about manuscript format	161	(1)
Listing rights	161	(1)
Paper quality	162	(1)
Print quality	162	(1)
Staples and paper clips	163	(1)
Contest format	163	(1)
Manuscript format for novels	163	(1)
Title page	163	(1)
Chapter headings	164	(1)
Manuscript format for adult film scripts	164	(3)
Sending Off Your Manuscript	167	(1)
Cover letters	167	(2)
Sases	169	(2)
Response times	171	(1)
Simultaneous submissions	172	(1)
Rolling submissions	173	(1)
E-mail submissions	173	(2)
Getting a Response	175	(1)
The Waiting game	175	(1)
Form rejections	176	(2)
Personalized rejections	178	(2)
Keeping a story on the market	180	(3)
Don't give up	183	(1)
Talent, luck, persistence	184	(2)
The Working Professional	186	(1)
Giving editors what they want	186	(1)
Conducting business like a pro	187	(4)
Pitching stories and aritcles	191	(3)
Proposals	194	(3)
Did it work?	197	(1)
Getting paid	197	(1)
Receiving a contract	198	(2)
Submitting an invoice	200	(1)
Selling all rights	201	(2)
The check's in the mail	203	(1)
The check's not in the mail	204	(8)
Diversifying yourself	208	(1)
The Erotic Marketplace	209	(1)
Short fiction	209	(1)
Small-press magazines	209	(2)
Professional magazines	211	(2)
Erotica on the Web	212	(2)
Book-length erotica	212	(4)
Short-story collections	216	(1)
Nonfiction	216	(3)
Small and literary presses	219	(1)
Print-on-demand	220	(1)
E-book publishers	221	(1)
Where to find market information	222	(1)
The Writer's Digest Magazine ``fiction 50'' and ``top 100''	222	(1)
Annual Novel and Short-Story Writer's Market	223	(1)
The Gila Queen's Guide to Markets	223	(1)
Market books on erotica	224	(1)
Online market information	224	(1)
Join a writers' organization	225	(1)
Agents and Marketing	226	(1)
Do you need an agent to sell erotica?	226	(1)
Getting an agent	227	(2)
Marketing yourself	229	(1)
Where to get advice	229	(2)
A Final Word	231	(2)
Appendices
1 Writers' groups and organizations	233	(4)
2 Reference books	237	(1)
Books about writing	237	(1)
Books about writing erotica	238	(1)
Books about sex and sexuality	239	(1)
Notable books of erotica	240