On writing an erotic book series
I’ve now written a couple of these things—the Training to Love It series and, just recently, the Bull’s Eye series (not to mention a few of the two-book affairs that I don’t think count). I’m by no means an authority on the subject—other phenomenal erotica authors out there have a lot more under their belt (K.T. Morrison, for example)—but here are a few thoughts I have on them, while they’re still fresh.
First, the not-so-good stuff. Writing a good story, with a solid arc and characters that both feel real and grow throughout, is already challenging. To stretch this out over the course of three or five or whatever books adds another layer of difficulty to the task.
Additionally, as with any story series, there’s a pressure to top the previous book—the drama needs to be higher, the action more intense, and, because this is erotica we’re talking about, the sex needs to be more extreme. Or at least it needs to feel more fresh, and honestly the easiest way to do this is to push more boundaries.
Finally, there’s the sales side of things. People are less interested in jumping into a long series, especially when all they’re looking for is a quick, hot story. Sales of each new book start tailing off. There’s less return on the investment of time, and as I said before, often times that last book is the hardest, longest one to write. Luckily for me, I’m fortunate enough to be in a place where I mostly write for the enjoyment of writing. If a story is going to require five books, that’s what’s going to happen.
That leads nicely into why I write them, actually. Sometimes, the scope of a story just demands it. Training to Love It, for example, needed a trilogy to properly follow the evolution of a “normal” couple into a hotwife relationship. Bull’s Eye could have been a single, stand-alone book, if I just wrote a story from the bull’s perspective (my initial thought). But I knew from the beginning that this was, in fact, a love story between two unlikely characters, and in order for that love story to feel authentic, it was going to take more than a single book to tell.
As a reader and consumer of media, I love immersing myself in a good series. I love to get lost in the characters and the world that the author has crafted, and I’m always sad to see it end. I’ve found that I’d rather watch a well-produced television show than watch a movie. I get more satisfaction out of them. I get drawn in much deeper.
Will there be more series from Kenny Wright? Of course. Not every story needs multiple books to tell, but the ones that do will get the time. Just don’t hold your breath for any in the immediate future. Bull’s Eye took years to write (between other projects). Training to Love It was a similar endeavor. And right now, I’ve got a number of semi-complete single books in the works. You’ll have to be content with those.
How about you? Do you enjoy reading a series of books, or just one-offs? Read any other good erotica series? Share them here!
(And as another plug, definitely check out Bull’s Eye and Training to Love It if you haven’t yet.)
