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Thursday, August 15, 2013

How many "sexy" books can we read?

One thing I've noticed through my blogging/FB/Twitter, blah, blah, blah, is the abundance of books that have "sexy" as part of their description. By "sexy" I believe the blurb is saying that there is a good deal of overt sexual activity that takes place in the book. The question of whether the sex is an integral and necessary part of the plot probably isn't important; it's the fact that it's there, and probably in abundance, that is important. The assumption is that sex sells, that readers want a good dose of sex with their books.

I wonder if this "sexy" aspect is important as a marketing ploy.

Do you write sex into your novels just because it adds to the book, maybe even making an ordinary or so-so book more attractive? Do you include it just because you feel it's a requisite of books today?

I think many of us writers do believe it's needed, and we add it for the extra oomph we feel it gives our books.

What do you think?

10 comments:

Unknown said...

Do you think this is a trend playing off the very successful 50 Shades? I think sex has always sold; people enjoy, fear, and strive to understand it.

For awhile every book had a vampire or some aspect of this paranormal trend.Or food. Or dogs. Or.. whatever the new trend is.

Tanya Reimer said...

Trending has never been my thing. lol.

Looking back, my favs don't contain much sex, because I like to read about relationships, I guess. And many sex scenes unfortunately make me roll my eyes and well... that ain't good.

Myself, when I write I set a scale for my characters and keep them in it. This means that some will have on page sex and others will not. Some will have sex at weird moments or in weird places, others will not.

I believe all writing should be true to the plot and characters (to avoid eye rolling). When done right, it adds a beautiful magic to the storytelling. But that's just me.

Optimistic Existentialist said...

Honestly, as a reader, I've never felt that it's integral to a story...in fact it's often a distraction and comes across as ingeniune or forced.

Julia Hones said...

I don't add sex into a story to make the story more appealing. If it is part of it for a good reason then I add it. I would not add it to get more readers. Doing so may affect the quality of the story.

Unknown said...

The funny thing is that as a reader, if it has an overly sexy inference as in: the cover is erotic or the plot sounds all about sex, I stay away.
I think it’s so overdone I'm getting a gag reflex (oh that’s a gross exaggeration but you get the idea) LOL
Wendy
http://fabulosityreads.blogspot.com/

Talli Roland said...

I'm with Julie - it's likely down to the 50 Shade trend. I can't write sex scenes to save my life, and I've never gone there in my books!

Jon said...

Good writers don't need to put "sexy" in their description as a cheap ploy to attract readers.
Sex can be successfully utilized as a subtle enhancement.

Jessica L. Celaya said...

Sometimes I think if the sex is just put into the book to add appeal, it comes across as forced to me. I think it depends on the book and the situation the characters are in.

Elizabeth Varadan, Author said...

There aren't many books where sex scenes really add that much. Often a scene is sexier/more romantic/erotic when the fade out follows the chemistry between the characters. In rare cases, sex can add to plot development or character development, and it seems, then, integral to the story. But in today's literature, it seems almost obligatory, and often it's just plain predictable and boring.

the weight of a letter said...

Sex is the basis of practically all advertisements, so I think it can very well be a marketing ploy for authors to put that in the label of their product to get more hits.