Publishing Baloney

Paperbacks, eBooks, hardcovers… yeah, baby talk dirty to me. Don your latex, ladies because today we’re going to be discussing the gushing world of publishing. Buckle up your strap on, and lube on up, we’re going to get dirty as we talk about why there is so very much crap being published, read and sold.

Frustrated. Yep, that’s me. I read the blurb on the back of a book, check out the ratings on Goodreads and Amazon.com and get all tingly and excited at the possibilities that a book may possess, only to open up to the first page, read a couple of lines and feel like I’m with a guy who has just prematurely ejaculated in my face. Sure, it’s okay baby, I’ll give you another chance. Translation, I’ll read a couple more chapters just to make sure it doesn’t get better, but lately, every 6 out of 10 books I’ve read I’ve been unable to finish, because they have been so bad. That’s like having sex and not having an orgasm, what’s the point? So, no, I’m not sexually frustrated, I’m literarily frustrated. I manage to bash out a book on average, once a day, so with the way I’ve been going, that is a fuckload of books that have been garbage, and in my opinion, should never have seen the light of day. So, self-published books aside, why is it that the publishing houses are continuing to flood the market with what they deem ‘good reads’? I get that there’s money involved, it’s a business, that makes sense. But, when the market is so flooded in shit, that you can’t even trust reputable websites or Best Seller lists for a decent read, you’d think that they’d be even more picky about the books that they choose to represent their brand.

Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that you’re trying to find a good story in a genre where that doesn’t exist.

Erotica, is word sex - with a dash of, “this character needs this sex to feel whole” but we can’t tell you why, because that would insinuate some type of fucking character story, and that can’t happen because this is about sex.

Erotica = sex.

You can try to add some substance, and the book can proclaim to have story and be good, but I mean, let’s think about this. If there was too much story development would it be erotica?

Also, try researching these publishers. Look at their track record and who their company is. Chances are, if they are a small company, they have small time editors and therefore, they are looking for anything and everything they can to publish in hopes that they have the next E.L. James.

I’m mean when a publisher rates it’s books by it’s “sizzle”, what do you really expect?

This book is a great story because the erotica is awesome, said no one ever.

See, I’m going to sound like I’m contradicting myself here now, but I’m going to have to disagree with you Madame. With Erotica, it is possible that there can be a great story and great sex. As you know, there is a great series that Gypsy, The Wench and I all thoroughly enjoyed so much that it kinda actually brought us together, not to mention that in my opinion there are plenty of erotica books out there that I have thoroughly enjoyed and did actually earn their place on the bestseller lists. But it was more the romance industry as a whole that I was referring too, rather than just erotica. I mean, the market was so flooded that they had to create a new sub-genre recently - New Adult - which is just ridiculous. Now they’re just adding more and more on the pile.

Also, I’m not sure if I mentioned this in my opening post, but majority of the books I was referring to were by big 4 publishers, hence my perpetual what-the-fuck indignation.

No, you’re right, they are out there. But if you take the amount of books that are being published by any publisher in that side of the industry, and compare it to the amount of those that have become best sellers, the odds of finding as good as a story as the one that brought you ladies together are against you.

That isn’t only because of the publisher either. You have to remember who really dictates the numbers. You, and other readers. Don’t forget that it’s called “bestseller” list, not, “a great book” list. There is a huge difference. There are tons of things, written, invented, created and patent every single day that are great products, yet, never see the potential that could have been.

And I think the new genre is needed. According to rwa.org in a survey they did in 2012 the most likely age of Romance was between 30 to 54. That leaves a huge gap in the market that needs to be filled.

No, you didn’t mention, you also didn’t clarify as to which genre you were referring to. As sexual as your opening post was, and taking in consideration what I see you read on your Goodreads, I assumed you were referring to erotica.

I’m curious as to who the top four publishers you’re talking about.

Also, I took this directly from rwa.org. I found it interesting.

I’d love to read a good romantic suspense.

 Sex is a part of romance isn't it? Can help it, if I like it a little more than most???

This is where I admit that I use the Preview feature on Amazon.com, which is brilliant because it's usually in the first thirty percent of the book that I'll know if I like it or not. I don't know if clicking that little button goes towards sales numbers or not, but if I read and it sucks then I'm not going to buy it, and I'd want to hope that it makes no difference about best seller numbers. So, yes there are probably many people out there who do buy before they try and end up helping the shit at the top of best seller lists grow, but I try not to add to those numbers, and I encourage our readers to do the same!

As for the big four, after a phone call, The Wench has informed me that Penguin and Random House are now the same company, but out of the latest reads that I have detested lately, they have been published by Pan Macmillan, Harper Collins, Simon & Schuster, Random House and Penguin or their subsidiaries. If you would like a list of the books and who they were published by, let me know, the list is a long one.

I do find it interesting that rwa.org found that most readers are between 30-54. I'm not surprised that this age group would be the largest group, I just always thought that the Young Adult age group might've trumped it. And even though I'm not 30 yet, I hope to do the group proud when I get there.

The graph is also very enlightening, it shows that the things I like to read aren't filling up the market as much as I thought. I'm not a fan of romantic suspense, I do read contemporary romance, and the rest, minus the Christian romance are the sub genres that I love and spend a lot of time reading, fuck who am I kidding? I spend all my time reading them, so shoot me. I'm not going to apologize, I just wish there was better written stories and story lines out there.

Can I just take a moment here to point out that Romance and Erotica are two different genres. Seriously. Porn is not the same as a Rom Com in the film world, and it’s not in a written format either.

While I only read erotical limitedly, I will attest that the majority of it is crap. Which is why I stick with a few distinct authors if I’m in the mood for something hawt. Mainly, because I’m looking for something that has more than sex. If I’m looking for straight sex, then sorry ladies, visual porn is one thousand times better.

In the romance genre I find it even harder to discover a good book. Admittedly, my reading tastes have changed and I’ll admit I’m pretty damn picky, but I am blown away by the crap that is being published. The romance market has been flooded with every woman, and her cat, thinking they can write romance. As a result there are publishers all fucking over putting out crap just to make a buck. Sure the bigger names are weeding out a lot more, however they are adding to the crap pile as well.

I discussed this influx recently with an author friend of mine, and we tend to think that this is a phase. Until the next big thing comes along, we’re stuck on this ride. However, the next big thing will come and this genre will shrink back to size, and hopefully return to quality over quantity.

That is not to say that good excellent books are not being published in these genres. They are out there, it’s just harder to find them. Though, when you do find them, you cherish them that much more. To prove my point, I’ll recommend: For romance, The Rosie Project by Graham Simpson and for a great erotica series look no further than Beyond Shame by Kit Rocha.

I’m pretty sure those publishing companies don’t publish erotica/erotica romance, but have smaller companies that do. There is a difference, and not just for names sake. I’d bet my left tit, down to the money they sink into a book, is different. Unless of course it’s written by a best selling author. And Wench, I thought so. Lady Scarlett was confusing me, but sometimes when it comes to the genres of Romance and/or Erotica I feel unqualified to give an opinion as I haven’t read nearly as many as you beautiful bitches.

Visual porn is WAY BETTER, I agree.

Clarify the phase. You mean that you tend to believe that the mass publishing of erotica will phase out? I’m not sure I agree with that. Whenever anything is considered a taboo-ish behavior, it’s never phased out. People said the same thing about BDSM, but it still lives. It may not be as public, but that doesn’t mean it’s not there, and that thousands aren’t still practicing it.

Quality will always be an acquired taste. No matter the genre.

I cannot disagree with the Beyond series by Kit Rocha. I do enjoy those books and as of right now the only erotica books I recommend to anyone.

I am one of those readers that is easy to please. I really am. I don’t care if the book I’m currently reading is similar in storyline to one I’ve read before because lets be honest in erotica/romance the outcome is, for the most part, the same. I just want solid characters that I can connect with and not want to bash upside the head with my reading device as well as world that I can get lost in for a few hours. But I’d say in the last few months it’s been harder for me to find new authors that have me waiting with baited breath for the next installment. There have been a couple, Kit Rocha’s Beyond series is definitely one of them and surprisingly enough a self published series, but for the most part they’ve been, at best, mediocre.

While I agree that the publishing houses are seemingly more interested in trying to one up each other in finding the next hot author so are not investing the time, money and effort into finding quality authors, I’m not too sure we'll be seeing the end of this “gush” anytime soon. This isn’t to say that it won’t end, or slow down eventually, but with sites like Goodreads.com, the shit ton of romance review blogging sites, most of which tend to only post gushing reviews, and lets face it, everyone and their dog, cat and baby on Facebook promoting their favorite authors, I just don’t foresee a dam of conscious quality control being erected anytime soon.

I don’t think we’ll be seeing the end of it anytime soon either, Gypsy, but that is because it’s unlikely. The math says so.

According to Wiki:

• The United States (2011) 292,037 (new titles and editions) were published.
• The United Kingdom (2011) 149,800 (new) were published.
• In Australia (2004) 8,602 titles were published.

And that is only three countries of 124 listed. In just these 3 that is 450+ thousand books published on average. (Australia’s number is probably higher, but 2004 was the last the total was reported.) And look at how many books reach a mass market, and cross the borders of language and land, you’ll see how small the number is of actually finding the next really good book.

I also agree with you about one story sounding a lot like the others, and the ending evolving to the same, no matter how different the character names are from the others. I think fiction in general is this way. But I’m down with that, because my saying is, Art Inspires Art. That also means, fiction inspire fiction. Good solid characters are important. I have to at least like one to carry me through the book. The setting/world is second important, because people/characters naturally are a product of their environment. I read Kit Rocha’s books because I love the type of world that she portray in her book. If she got rid of that, or it got better, I’d stop reading. They’re not strong enough, in story, to hold my attention.

And I very much agree with you about facebook. I won't support, brag, pimp or gush over any author that I don’t like their work.That shit is false advertisement. They should be sued for lying about the books and leading me to believe their friend or they, themselves has written something great. And I’m going to stop right there, because that my friend is another subject to discuss for another time.