Contemporary/mainstream

Contemporary/mainstream
I'm trying my hand at a contemporary mainstream novel, ie not erotica, at the moment. It's a slightly dark, gay, relationship novel about the sacrifices a character has to make in order to move in with the man he loves. My main question is, how much sex is appropriate in a mainstream book? The ones I've read have had sex scenes, but probably not as many, or in quite so much detail, as our erotica books. It's almost as though the writers are talking about sex, rather than actually describing it. Does anyone have any better ideas on how much, how graphic, etc?

Tav, I think you have to do what *you* and you alone feel is right for the story - by trying to guess at what the market wants, I think one runs a very real risk of destroying the very thing about a work that is important. Mainstream gay novels don't have that much sex, but they do have some. If you feel that you want to put in a bit more than is usual, you go for it - the editor can always ask you to take some out. I think looking at what is published can be dangerous - even books freshly published were accepted at least one and more probably two years ago. Who knows what editors are looking for now - or what they don't realise they are looking for until they see it?

Well, when Stephen King puts sex scenes in his book, he'll have a detail or two, but nothing descriptive...it's all in that 'clouds covering the naughty bits' like when they show a movie on the USA network' way. He'll say they're having sex, and liken it to an ocean, or drowning - occasionally he'll descrobe a nipple or breast, or something like that. I have one scene in my book (a flashback) and I glossed over the sex - just 1 paragraph worth of info.

Yes, that's true - and on the other hand, James Herbert (our "British Stephen King") *always* puts one big sex scene in his books - it's one of his trademarks, and something that makes him different from many other horror writers. If he had read the horror that was available before he did his first book, he would have censored himself - but he didn't. He did exactly what he wanted to do, and became a huge success with his first novel.

Thanks for the input , much appreciated. :) Fennie, I think mostly you're right - every story needs to be told in the best way for that story to be told, if that doesn't sound silly. But I think what I'm trying to avoid is having so much emphasis on the sex that it takes over. One non-erotica editor once called my work 'all sex and no plot'. Actually the story I sent him had very little true sex in it, but the relationship/romance was the main thrust of the story and he obviously wanted something where the sf/fantasy was the main thrust. I think what I'm trying to work out, is how much sex I can get away with before it becomes the main focus of the book????

Hmmmm. Difficult one - and you know, it might just depend on the reactions of the particular editor reading it. A long, long time ago, the first time I had an agent, she was trying to sell a factual book of mine about collecting and wearing period costume. In the end, she didn't manage to place it. I think it went to about 12-14 publishers. Half of them said it was too academic, and they wanted books which were more "coffee table book" in style. Half of them said it was too "coffee table" and they wanted something with more depth. If you really are prepared to guess at what the market is going to accept, I'd say: don't do a lot of sex. Think of Alan H - there's some in there, but not a lot, and he has broken through into the mainstream. Another example is Sarah Waters - she has a reputation for being a bit steamy, when when you actually read her books, again, there isn't much there really. I'd still say, though, don't cut something out if you feel that the book really needs it, and it would be a lesser book without it.

Thanks! Funnily enough AH was exactly who I was thinking of. And Patrick Gale seems rather the same. They mention sex without ever really having 'sex scenes'. I think it also depends on the publisher. Somewhere like Gay Men's Press seemed to take steamier stuff because they were only really marketing at gay men. But AH and the like are marketed more widely than that and perhaps that tones down the amount of sex that's acceptable.... But I don't intend taking a hatchet to my work so don't worry. ;)

Keep in mind - most of us here like to write -really- steamy stuff. Our tolerance for that sort of thing might be a lot higher than the average person. Something to keep in mind. I'd write it how you want, and then have a few non-erotica readers beta it for you.

Actually that's a very good idea about the betas. Thanks!

"If you feel that you want to put in a bit more than is usual, you go for it - the editor can always ask you to take some out." This is the advice that alg gave at her con session - put in whatever sex you find necessary and let the editor decide what needs to be changed. I also agree that matters are shifting - stuff that would never have been seen in a mainstream novel twenty years ago is quite acceptable now. The editor is more likely to be aware of such trends than you are. As you mention yourself, it also depends very much on the which press accepts the manuscript. What would be unacceptable in one press would be acceptable in another. For example, gay presses tend to be more flexible than mainstream presses. If they think you have too much sex in the story, they're probably just bounce you over to their erotica line. "but the relationship/romance was the main thrust of the story" Ah, that's a different issue altogether. A romance story with no sex in it at all can end up doing this. My suggestion would be: Get your hands on some very recent gay novels and see whether what they're doing fits what you're trying to do. Then you'll know whether you're writing a mainstream novel, or whether you're writing a non-mainstream novel that you're trying to force into a mainstream package. :) Square pegs and round holes, you know.

Thanks for the advice Dusk - reading more gay novels isn't exactly a hardship although I tend to haunt the gltb section of the library as it is. ;) I'm starting to get a feel for what's broadly acceptable and what isn't, and I think *in general* mainstream probably still prefers less sex overall, in terms of number of sex scenes and individual detail, than the erotica publishers I'm used to.

View Full Version: Contemporary/mainstream