I first came across erotic science fiction in the anthology Sextopia, edited by Cecilia Tan and published by Circlet Press. I'd been following the author Catherine Asaro who'd written a short story, "Soul of Light," for the anthology. For me, Sextopia opened up speculation about sexuality in utopian societies.
Inspired, I wrote "The Stud" about a man valued as sperm donor precisely because he prefers monogamy. Circlet Press never again put out such an anthology.
I came back to the genre after joining a critique group that allowed only PG-13 material. Challenged, I researched movie ratings, including watching the documentary, This Film Is Not Yet Rated. Rating systems are nearly arbitrary and vary from country to country. The Motion Picture Association of America uses a panel of volunteers who have no background in child psychology or film.
In response to this experience, I wrote an erotic sci-fi novella, Sappho's Agency and submitted it to publishers of Erotic Romance. Romance publishers and reviewers resoundingly rejected the story as, "not Romance." There is no category for erotic sci-fi. Instead, all fiction with erotic contents is treated as a subcategory of Romance. A situation that helps no one. I've seen some discussion that erotic fiction is closer in spirit to horror. Certainly, the classics written by The Marquis de Sade—Justine, 120 Days of Sodom—are more horrific than romantic.
Romance, Erotic Fiction, Science Fiction, Horror, and Literary Fiction each have specific ways to write about sex and sexuality. Romance focuses on the emotions of sex. Erotic fiction has crude language. Literary fiction gets explicit but leaves out sensitive words. Science Fiction tends to be matter of fact. The books noted for being erotic science fiction—Stranger in a Strange Land, Memoirs of a Space Woman, and others—aren't all that erotic or titillating. John Norman's Gor books may erotic covers but aren't categorized as erotic sci-fi. In Yasiv product visualizer they come up as "Family Saga."
The distinctions seem to be mostly a matter of vocabulary. Will the body part be called a penis, cock, manhood, or erection? Likewise, will the part be a vulva, pussy, cunt, or wet panties? Make a mistake in vocabulary and the author may face censorship or ridicule.
After doing this research, I self-published Sappho's Agency. Amazon, the largest distributor of self-published books, has a checkbox for "adult material," but offers no information about what checking this box means.
Word going around is that Amazon hides these books from all readers. Furthermore, Amazon algorithms flag anything that looks like adult material, hiding these books as well.
Authors trade tips on how to get around these algorithms, including not putting a content warning on a book. Because authors are punished for accurately categorizing and labeling their books, they don't warn readers. As a result, Romance readers are getting a nasty surprise when a sweet Romance turns out to have explicit sex. Worse, children may be exposed to inappropriate material.
My suggestion is that Amazon should allow authors to provide accurate metadata and allow readers to make the choice. Some readers might want no Romance at all, not even kissing. Other readers might be fine with sexual innuendo but not with bondage. For myself, I'm fine with explicit sex but dislike objectification and torture. I couldn't finish reading de Sade's Justine or Rice's The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty. I also object to the bondage and torture of "slave girls" in Star Wars.
I spoke with an Amazon rep about my idea. He was receptive. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to follow up on it. I don't know if Amazon will make use of the idea.
My lowest point in publishing occurred last summer. Unable to reach readers through Amazon, I gave books away in free libraries. A café manager told to take my books away because "We are a family establishment."
Yet, the rules of what is or isn't acceptable remain confusing and inconsistent. Self-published authors are held to a squeaky-clean standard that doesn't apply to shows, films, and traditionally published authors. Consider the amount of sex and violence shown in popular TV shows: Orphan Black, Outlander, and Game of Thrones.
The unfairness and wrongness of this slammed into me. The rules are squelching the voices of authors while failing to protect children or give readers what they want.
Out of my frustration, I decided to publish on Wattpad because it allows exclusion of keywords, a critical part of reader control of algorithms.
For this issue of Tevun Krus, I've brought out "The Stud," my first erotic sci-fi short story, the one originally intended for Circlet Press. I later developed the story into two novels: The Fisherman and the Gene Thief and The Tristan Bay Accord—both self-published. Because this story is a big "rapey" it's not quite consistent with the novels, which are set three years earlier, but I like it as it is.
YOU ARE READING
Tevun-Krus #69 - Erotic SF
Science Fiction69. Hubba-hubba. It's the 69th issue of TK, so it's gotta be Erotic SF. Of course.
