Turning a publishing problem into an asset?

[RahKnee]

I've been writing my own sci-fi books in my spare time for just over a year now. The process had been slow but steady. 3 full length novels and two novellas that sell steadily if slowly. After reading through a few very helpful and informative threads here in our very own Fastlane Forums, I decided to start hiring ghost-writers to help me fill out a back catalog of books. So far it's been very hit or miss with what I've gotten in return and probably more importantly with sales.

Most of the writers I've worked with have been in the romance/erotica genre and have been very professional and returned quality work. Better than I could have produced myself. Until I received my last update from one of the writers I work with.

As I read through the novella I had received to edit it, I was horrified. The grammar and spelling were great, but the story and writing were terrible. It actually involved the sentence "she was hot, and had totally luscious boobs." .... I had to do a double take after I read that one. It was from the narrator's point of view and not dialogue. And that was not an isolated incident. The entire thing began to read like it was written by a 14 year old boy.

I was ready to chalk it up as a loss and just toss it, when I realized how much I had been laughing at how bad the writing was. I passed it along to my wife and kept track of how often she was laughing as she read it. I realized that I might actually be on to something here...

Which brings me to my question:

Now that I have a romance/erotica story that is so terrible that it's hilarious, how do I market it? Is there even a recognized sub-genre for this type of thing? Would people who read romance/erotica be willing to give me a dollar so they can laugh their asses off for an hour and a half? What does the Fastlane group think about this?

 

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[AroundTheWorld]

Well, your not out much by trying, right - the cost of a cover if you typically hire that out. Other than that, it is a little time to get it listed.

Just, start with a new pen name

 

[COSenior]

One of our very successful members, @AubreyRose has started a series of spicy romantic comedies. In response to a question from @Hicks, who is working on breaking into fiction, she said there isn't a deep buyer pool for it, and that she's been disappointed in how hers have been performing.

If your story is funny only because it's too bad to take seriously, I'm not sure it's worth sending good money after bad by buying a cover for it and publishing it.

That said, I laughed so much at Aubrey Rose's first book in the series that my ribs hurt the next day, and I promptly bought the second. So, if it truly is laugh-worthy, go for it, but have a follow-up ready to capitalize on the fans.

 

[joanna]

Probably doesn't hurt to try, especially if you've spent the money on the writing already. If it does read as a comedy as a whole you could try marketing it as such. There's definitely a sub-genre for that. On the other hand, if you've got a good story (something about it hooks the reader), than some people don't seem to mind the terrible writing.

 

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[Joozed]

Write a "How Not To Ghost Write A Romance/Erotica Novella" then you can sell it as something else, still get the content out and use it as a training manual for future hires. That's a win, win, win!

 

[AubreyRose]

One of our very successful members, @AubreyRose has started a series of spicy romantic comedies. In response to a question from @Hicks, who is working on breaking into fiction, she said there isn't a deep buyer pool for it, and that she's been disappointed in how hers have been performing.

If your story is funny only because it's too bad to take seriously, I'm not sure it's worth sending good money after bad by buying a cover for it and publishing it.

That said, I laughed so much at Aubrey Rose's first book in the series that my ribs hurt the next day, and I promptly bought the second. So, if it truly is laugh-worthy, go for it, but have a follow-up ready to capitalize on the fans.

Daw, thanks :3 That said, I am going to continue to write more of them because they give me a little break from the serious stuff. I love romantic comedies!

 

[COSenior]

I am going to continue to write more of them because they give me a little break from the serious stuff. I love romantic comedies!

And I'll keep reading them, because I love to laugh.

 

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[aardvarky]

It actually involved the sentence "she was hot, and had totally luscious boobs."

This alone made me guffaw.

@AubreyRose - where can I find your book? I'm heading to the pool tomorrow and I'd love something hilarious to read.

 

[ChickenHawk]

I like the way you think, turning lemons into lemon-aide and all!
I read this post a few hours ago, and am still thinking about it. In my opinion, there are several challenges with this. The people who love erotica might be unlikely to buy this, but it might make a great satire. Sometimes, those weird word-of-mouth things get legs, so you never know.

If you decide to go with it, I agree with others who have suggested a different pen name. If you wanted to go whole hog, you could invent a fictional persona with a funny name (Chester Lovegood? Larry Thunderpants?). I'd suggest a male pen name, because it definitely does sound like a 14-year old boy. But obviously, you couldn't market it as supposedly from a 14-year old boy, so your next best option might be to market it as written by some smarmy lounge-lizard type. Maybe include a funny author pix. You could even use yourself or a friend, but I'd suggest some average looking guy, but dress him up or post him so he looks smarmy and disheveled.

A thought...people might not buy this sort of thing for themselves, but I could see myself buying it as a gag gift for my friends who like erotica. I think the secret might be marketing it tongue in cheek, as if the author really thinks it's super-hot. If it sells, you could add more to the collection.

I'll be interested to see what you do with this!

 

[Dave C]

I can totally see those 'luscious boobs' already. Damn that's descriptive.

Please just throw it up as satire and let me buy it. It sounds hilarious. I promise you at least 0.99 - 2.99 depending on length and how good the cover is. Seriously make the cover hilarious too.

 

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[Rainy_TX]

The husband watches South Park, and I couldn't help to think of the episode where Butter's writes a book and the gang thinks it's just awful due to its immature, nonsensical descriptions and events... but when it's published, it's a huge hit!

 

[Dave C]

The husband watches South Park, and I couldn't help to think of the episode where Butter's writes a book and the gang thinks it's just awful due to its immature, nonsensical descriptions and events... but when it's published, it's a huge hit!

I feel like the book is called "The Poop That Took a Pee"

And the point the satire made is that people will read quality into anything and find deep subtext in the most banal of material which is why we should always publish everything no matter how imperfect the quality. You just never know.

South Park, imparting impartial life lessons to us all.

 

[Rainy_TX]

I feel like the book is called "The Poop That Took a Pee"

How did I know that you'd know?

 

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[Dave C]

How did I know that you'd know?

Purely from memory but it helps that South Park is generally memorable in their approach to satire.

 

[AubreyRose]

This alone made me guffaw.

@AubreyRose - where can I find your book? I'm heading to the pool tomorrow and I'd love something hilarious to read.

Well dang, pool time is already over, but you can find all my book links including Jenny Rockfort here: http://aubreyrosewrites.com/books/

 

[RahKnee]

There's some good ideas here. Thanks for the input, all. I'm going to shelf it for now. I think long-term I will attempt a rewrite on my own and then co-release the original as a parody and see if anyone likes it. Who knows? I might end up doing this for all of my books.

 

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[Dave C]

There's some good ideas here. Thanks for the input, all. I'm going to shelf it for now. I think long-term I will attempt a rewrite on my own and then co-release the original as a parody and see if anyone likes it. Who knows? I might end up doing this for all of my books.

Do you have a mailing list for when this does become satire? If so PM it so me and I'll sign up.