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Characters like Bella and Anastasia really upset me. It’s like teens of today don’t understand how women in the 50-80s had to fight for respect and equal job opportunities. They think it’s now their right to choose to not work and want a man take care of them. I know teens will learn the ugly truth about men and love as they get older, but I find myself repulsed by many heroines (and writers) of today’s YA for propagating the fantasy that being dependent on someone else is a good thing.

Reblogged this on Wild About Words and commented:
Rachel’s take on post-feminism and writing strong female protagonists is a must read.

Wow. Excellent post (and I plan to purchase your lecture). I gave serious consideration to this issue as I wrote my WIP. I wanted to include romance, but didn’t want the book to be all about that. I wanted my heroine to yearn to be strong and capable, something I want for my nieces and the other teens in my life. And I want my nieces to read this post!

Rachel’s lecture on this topic was fabulous! I’ve been having a lot of discussions with writer friends about social responsibility and art. This post has aligned nicely with what’s been on my mind!

I was trying to write a novel that might turn out to be YA with a female protagonist and one of the issues that I was running into was that people seemed to take issue with the fact that there was no love interest or love story. In fact they kept pegging male characters as the emerging love interest. Do you think that in today’s world YA pretty much has to have a love interest?

Justin – I think you need to be true to your character. If your female protagonist isn’t interested in your side characters, she isn’t interested. You can’t force her to have a relationship! It will feel false and your reader will feel that. However, if she happens to take a liking to someone (and maybe she does, you’ve got to listen to her and what she wants), that’s different. Your readers might be picking up on signals that your character is dropping for you. It’s also possible your readers are projecting. Trust your writer instincts! You know your character better than anyone else.

Thanks so much for posting this! My thoughts exactly- especially #3!

Great topic & tips. Do you think it’s possible to write a feminist YA romance novel?

I think so. Why can’t contemporary girls have it all?

Hi Cynthia! It’s actually been suggested to me that a romance cannot, by its definition, be a feminist text. But I don’t know that I necessarily agree, because “feminism” itself is such a loaded term, so to say that there is no such thing as a feminist romance is saying that there is a strict definition of feminism that everyone has agreed upon.

I think it’s entirely possible that a YA romance can be feminist, but I also understand why some might disagree, and I think it comes down to the audience, especially for YA. It’s an audience that may be questioning its position in society a lot more, and therefore the values behind the romance might have a more profound impact. So, say Twilight had been written for an older audience with older characters, but other than that it was the same (and no, I’m not talking 50 Shades of Grey). Would it have the same reaction from the public or its readers? I’d argue no. It resonates with teens because it speaks to something they want, and it gets a reaction from us older people because we’re worried about what they want. I think readers tend to see more feminist value in adult romances because they are marketed as an escape for readers, rather than as a potential “promise” that things might turn out a certain way. But I’m not comfortable saying that there is no such thing as a YA feminist romance novel, because I feel like that would be saying I have examined the subject from every possible angle, and since a 45 minute lecture and 600 word blog post can only contain so much theory, I can’t say that I have.

There’s a great quote by Peggy Orenstein from Cinderella Ate My Daughter that I used in my lecture, but not this post, where she talks about the fact that one of the reasons Bella as a character (and characters like her) appeals to so many readers is because she isn’t perfect or gorgeous, but she gets the guy everyone wants. She shows that you don’t have to be a long-legged beauty with flawless complexion to be desirable. In that sense, I’d say that Twilight could actually be a feminist romance novel, but in my lecture I moved it more towards the post-feminist side of things.

I hope that all makes sense!

Hi Justin! I would say definitely not. Yes, you’re going to see the vast majority of YA novels today have some sort of romance, but if you’re true to your character, the audience will respond. I will say I’ve met young readers who say, “If it doesn’t have a romance, I don’t want to read it,” but I’m willing to bet that if they read a good, solid YA with a well-developed female protagonist, they would be so absorbed in the story they wouldn’t even care if there was a love interest. Don’t feel that you have to cave to pressure. Your readers will probably react more negatively to a forced love story than they would to no love story at all.

BUUUUUUT, that’s not to say you won’t encounter agents and editors who say the opposite of me, so I don’t want to steer you in this direction of thinking my advice is the only advice. I’ve attempted, in the past, to write YA without romance, and I often find myself adding one. Not because I’m caving to pressure but because the characters you’re writing about are at ages where the hormones are flying, so it’s not crazy to think that some guy or girl might catch their eye.

As you can see, I have come to a not-at-all firm conclusion about this topic.

Go, Brandi, go! I, for one, am so happy that you took your son to see Twilight and then read the books and loved them. IF not for that, we wouldn't be in the same critique group! :) So proud of you, and can't wait for THE KINDLING to be officially out. :) Ladies, it's a clever, humorous romance--you're going to love the heroine in this one!

Hi Brandi, your story was just what I needed today to inspire me to keep writing. Thanks for sharing!!

Brandi--Congratulations. Things happen the way they do for a reason.

I love reading writer path stories-- we all do it so differently. Although I loved writing from an early age, I wasn't given much encouragement to pursue a "frivolous vocation". After 22 years working in higher ed, I finally decided, staring down the final years of my 40s, to give this dream a go. Yay us! Thanks for sharing, Brandi.

Love it! I don't know why people hate on Twilight so much; the books weren't bad, and I loved the movies (and soundtracks!). Good for you, and congratulations on your book :)

So glad you shared this experience! It can happen!!! :)

Hi Brandi *waving from MORWA land*. Thanks for sharing your journey. Hearing your process to publication is encouraging for writers to learn the craft and follow their hearts. Good luck with this book and with all your subsequent ones.

That's a great story, Brandi. I love that you kept learning until you could write a story to be proud of. God doesn't make mistakes so I'm guessing He hit the right car.

Hi Brandi,

I enjoyed hearing about your journey to becoming a published author:) Best wishes on your release!

Sara

Hi, Brandi! I really enjoyed your post. That's great how you got your inspiration and the fact that you were determined to see it through is really terrific. Good luck!

So true, Brandi. It's the action that makes the difference. Congratulations on your book.

Thanks everyone. THE KINDLING will be released March 22nd by MuseItUp Publishing. *big smiles*

Ha, I just typed the captcha as the comment then proceeded to be really confused for a moment.

Loved this post, Nathan. I have no idea why 50 Shades is so popular. I think it's just "new." A lot of girls I know that love it don't read a lot and were seemingly unaware that erotica existed.

You pretty much nailed it Nathan. It's soft core porn that reaches way back to a paternalistic archetype I'm sorry anyone still thinks about.

Excellent analysis...and you're right this book is Pop.U.Lar. Thanks for sharing your insight!

People do love their pulp.

The "book" (notice i use quotes) is only popular because when it was posted on Fanfiction(dot)net it had over 50,000 reviews. The Writers coffee shop solicits popular fanfic writers to publish their fics, then use their readers to make the fanfics sell and end up on the new york times.

Haven't read it, but from what I understand, it's mostly a book about dirty (in the best possible sense of the word) sex.

My two cents: Women were taught for a million years to suppress their sexuality. Men weren't. Now, generations of young women are finally realizing it's okay to embrace sex. And, in our world today, (especially young women) wear their sexuality as a badge of honor.

I'm a college professor. Many students follow me on Twitter, so I follow them back. These women aren't readers, but almost all of them read 50 Shades, posted pictures of them reading it at the pool, tweeted how much they loved it, etc.

In my opinion, it's not about the book itself. It's what the book represents. Older women may have been hiding it on their e-readers, but younger women were flaunting it.

Trust me, these young women talk about sex on Twitter WAY MORE than any of my male students. (One former student recently posted that her favorite flavor of popsicle was [slang for male genitalia]. We're living through a cultural shift, and books that tap into that will be wildly popular.

Because EL James already had an audience, she went from fan fiction to her own site and built on that. Also, she filled that gap for Twilight readers who wanted something saucier and were just a little in love with the MCs from the movie version. Kudos to EL for getting MOTU published under Fifty Shades. She worked hard for it. Let's not think this was an overnight sensation.

"Maybe, at the end of the day, bestsellers are largely random."

Ironic that the book was purchased by RANDOM House.

I read 50 pages of 50 Shades and concluded that it was ... not for me.

People do need escapism and to each his own. I don't have a problem with it.

50 Shades did nothing for me. Nothing at all. But I know plenty of people for whom it has, and that's great for them.

My problem is that I can't walk through Target with my two young children without walking by a display for the trilogy, just a couple feet away from the coloring books.

I wonder if "random" bestsellers are made from books that people want to talk about. In order to talk about a book -- even if it's only to vent loudly with all your complaints about the absurdity -- you need other people to have read it, which means you need to convince your friends to read it. I haven't read Fifty Shades, but I know with both Twilight and Hunger Games, I read them because friends told me to and then I told friends to read them so we could talk about them. It wasn't that I loved Twilight -- I thought it was a horrible message for teenage girls, blah-blah-blah. But I still convinced at least two or three people to read it. And I did love Hunger Games, convinced at least that many people to read it, probably several more, so I could talk to them about what made Katniss a great heroine and why she was different and whether she was a new archetype in female characters, etc. Funny, thinking back, a friend sent me a UK book once that she'd picked up on a layover, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, and I talked up that book to everyone I knew because I wanted to discuss the layers and the descriptions and sense of humor. Obviously, that's not the case for all bestsellers, but it might explain some of the more unusual ones.

Someone asked my mother-in-law, a church going lady in her late 70's if she'd want to read this book, sneer, snicker...

I haven't read it, but I loved this post, because you let your hair* down more than you usually do.

*I was one of your "dig the hair" early queriers. I miss those days.

Vicarious thrills. 'Nuff said.

I don't think we should ignore the brilliance of the cover design, which has changed the covers of erotica books forever. That understated symbol of male power, the simple necktie--in subtle shades of gray instead of screaming pink flesh tones--made the book LOOK respectable. It also appealed to what really turns women on, which is power, not little Magic Mike outfits. This cover made it clear this was erotica for women that understood women's fantasies.

When you call something “not that bad” and, again, “I’ve read worse” with the same breath as noting that it made a commercial splash in publishing the likes of which all the National Book Awards Finalists together will not make in a hundred years, you have affirmed that the dichotomy between art and commerce is getting ever larger.

I venture a guess that this is a case of people purchasing the book because of the hype, but not necessarily finding it to be their cup of tea. Harry Potter has 5951 customer reviews on Amazon, with an overall rating of 4.7 out of 5, while Fifty Shades has 13,840 reviews with an overall rating of 3.2. My quick analysis of those statistics tell me that people are obviously snatching it up left and right, not necessarily enjoying it. I've talked to many people who have bought/read the book and I have yet to meet one who thought it was a decent story and many didn't get past the first few chapters. So - POPULAR? I'd say a better word is notorious. I believe people are buying the book to see what the fuss is about and why people like us keep talking about it.

I think it became popular for a couple reasons:

1) Its vast popularity made it "cool" to say you were reading it, whereas usual readers of erotica romance keep it to themselves — hence the widely popular genre for ebooks.

2) The books popularity attracted new readers to the genre who never knew they could read "porn" and like it. I had so many FB friends taking pictures of them reading the book by the pool or talking about reading it this past year. Then some would ask for similar books like it.

3) The book cover. The usual erotic romance novels have the embarrassing covers with the half naked man on the cover embracing a female.

Honestly, I hated the book. I couldn't get over the immaturity of the main character. I don’t what anything to do with an erotica book whose main character reads like a 16 year old.

Why is it popular?
1. People read between the lines. I’ve had discussions with a friend who liked the book and her interpretation and mine are totally different. She saw romance, I saw domestic violence, and I don’t mean the physicality of the book, but the emotional.

2. One of the themes in the book was that she was willing to do things she didn’t fully want to do in hopes she could change him. I’m not sure where this came from, but many girls/women suffer from the idea that men show true love by changing for the woman. The bad guy starts of exciting, and then we try to change all the things that we were excited about. And when they give those up, it must be true love.

3. Sex sells

4. Popularity leads to more popularity. Either from curiosity or the assumption that if everyone is reading it then it must be good.

It's been interesting to follow the secretive reading (only your best friends whisperingly admit they've read it in all-female company) to seeing women read it at my gym and on airplanes. A male friend was on a flight where his entire ROW was reading it (all strangers) and he when asked what the big deal about it is, a multi-row conversation began where all the readers urged him to read it. Very interesting!

It didn't come out of nowhere. It didn't come out of close to nowhere.

The original fanfictions were so popular and had so many fans that they organized their own fan event and flew her from the UK to the US to attend. When the books went on sale, that fanbase responded in droves. The sudden spike by someone who had never had a novel for sale before caught the attention of Amazon's algorithms. The original fans shared the book with their friends who snapped up every hard copy they could find and happily downloaded the e-version for clandestine reading. They got to feel like they were doing something "naughty" (oh, how I hate that word when applied to adults in a serious manner...)

ELJames has basically the same story as every other success with a built-in fanbase. She gave those who already knew her what they expected and wanted, and in turn those people supported the writer they enjoy. They spread the word to people who likely had never heard of fanfiction, or might have hated Twilight, but might enjoy 50SoG.

Though, hopefully, none of them confused it with Between Shades of Grey (or vice versa). That could make for some awkward reading.

I didn't manage to read past the first 2 chapters which were offered as a the free preview on my Kobo - I didn't want to waste my time and money after that, despite Kobo trying to sell it to me on every page of their website. Opening with her looking in the mirror was enough to put my hackels up. But as my father was a pilot, your mention of the helicopter name makes absolute sense to me. Charlie Tango is the radio call signal so the helicopter would be CT followed by a number. My father's plane was Charlie Whiskey Foxtrot. Unlike ships and boats, flying beasts don't often get called romantic names.

@Josin I read an article about Ruta Septys' Between Shades of Grey tour this year, and she did have people come expecting the author for 50 Shades.

I agree with @Karen that lots of people are buying this book based on hype but I haven't heard much posistive on my end. One of my good friends who mainly reads non-fiction and self-help said she got the books because they were "something to read." That's pitiful to me. You can read a cereal box, too. But she said she wanted to see what the hype was about and none of the mysogyny bothered her. It bothers me. And the bad writing does too. I read a chapter and couldn't take it. For me, I have so many books on my list to read, I'm not looking for just anything to read because it's popular. If the reviews were stellar, yes, I would give it a chance.

I really, really love this post!

I think it's popular because it is naughty. And because everyone is reading it (or at least every female it seems, including your grandma), it gives one permission to read it. So it becomes insanely popular. And because e-readers are perfect for naughty books.

And we want to see what all the fuss is about. That's why I read it. I wanted to know what I was missing.

Yet it's not really that naugthy, and at times the sex is downright awkward. I will admit the cover is awesome, and if this shabbily written book makes readers aware that erotica exists, I guess something positive comes out of its mere existence.

I think I had more fun reading this post than I would have reading the book.lol

Maybe I'm way off, but I am seeing a huge correlation between Samuel Richardson's Pamela or Virtue Rewarded and Fifty Shades of Gray . Pamela was written in 1740 and some credit it as being the first English novel. It started as a sort of sermon about young women becoming too bold and the importance of innocence. Richardson was looking for a unique way to reach young people, and thus Pamela is born.

Take a look at Richardson's title: Pamela or Virtue Rewarded . With the view, by some, that fiction was just lies, and therefore not a good read for intellectuals, the title serves to do two things: 1. There's a story, and 2. There's a lesson to be learned. The lesson gives the story its purpose.

Fifty Shades of Gray does this, as well. As others have pointed out (and so I won't go into more detail), the title and cover give the impression that there is something more behind these characters than dirty sex. There's a lesson to be learned here. It justifies us in indulging in "mommy porn," as some call it.

In Pamela, the heroine is an innocent young woman who follows the rules and faithfully fulfills her roles. She is a maidservant. Mr. B is the rich man with power who becomes taken by Pamela. As he learns more about her, he falls for her because of her innocence. However, she resists him because she represents all that is moral and good. Mr. B kidnaps her, tries to seduce her, tries to rape her, etc. In the end, her virtue wins out, they fall in love, and he marries her.

I know Fifty Shades doesn't follow this plot exactly, but there is a correlation here, I think, between what these plots are trying to tell us. The idea that a "pure" young lady can change the rich and powerful (not to mention, sex-hungry) man, seemingly gives the female power over the male. It gives young women a sense of control, and also unity when they discuss the book together.

Both books have scandalous scenes (though neither, the dirtiest of their time), but our indulgence in wild and violent sex is validated by the fact that there is a moral in the end. Because these women have avoided the advances of past men, they must somehow be above the "fallen" women. The men who star in these novels see them as different and desirable because they, themselves, don't want to be seen in that way.

I think it a good point to note, too, that Richardson changed Pamela's writings in later editions of the book, because her speech was too low-class. In order to make the union between her and Mr. B more acceptable to society, she had to appear more intelligent.

I think we see the same thing with Fifty Shades. In order to make it more compatible with current views on feminism, the woman can't simply conform to purity and innocence. She has to be independent, career-oriented, and intelligent.

So, we have some dirty, violent sex scenes in both books that would be viewed as extremely anti-woman, except that the ideal woman who is intelligent and doesn't succumb to pressures of society is the one engaging in these acts. Suddenly, the sex isn't so taboo. We can happily read these books by the pool because our desires to indulge in violent sex and be persuaded with mental abuse--our desire to be overpowered--is validated by a woman we can look up to with pride (one that is intelligent and thinks for herself).

The danger I see here, is that both stories are unrealistic. No way in 1740 would a man as powerful as Mr. B marry someone of Pamela's status--no matter how innocent she was. As others have pointed out, how likely is it that a deep and fulfilling relationship could develop out out someone trying to change the other person? How likely is it that a young woman, even with all her intelligence, could change a powerful, rich man of his ways?

I also think that both books present the problem of perpetuating the idea that woman want to be overpowered. Even the intelligent ones.

But the books don't have a tasteless cover so how would your kids even know what its about? Not a big deal!

You really didn't think it was that badly written? Um, are you sure you read Fifty Shades of Grey? I read the first two (won't even bother with the third one) and wondered how something like that got could get published (and NOT re-edited!)As a woman who doesn't mind BDSM, that didn't bother me. The sentence structure and and poor editing bothered me. Tell me that you didn't find yourself editing it as you read it!

I just realized that my comment rambled on way too long, so I deleted it. I tend to be in constant essay mode, so sorry about that long comment.

The heroine of Fifty Shades was portrayed as the intelligent virgin. She's career-oriented; a model we can look up to. There are more graphic sex novels out there, but we can feel validated in knowing that this isn't just sex--there's a moral to be learned.

The pure female character changes the rich, powerful man. In this way, it seems as though the female holds a special power over the male. We can feel united with this woman who is powerful and intelligent.

Her power is an illusion that the reader is happy to look right through because it validates our desire to indulge in a book where male dominates female--something that would usually be seen as anti-woman today.

I think this satisfaction one receives from watching an intelligent woman enjoy being dominated is where the intrigue of this book is rooted. We want the mental and physical dominance, and we want to justify it.

The danger in holding up such heroines as a role model, though, is that it perpetuates this idea that all women want to be dominated. They may resist at first, but deep down, they want it.

Two flights-

Ah man, I thought it was great and was going to feature it in a comment roundup tomorrow, is that okay?

I believe that Fifty Shades is popular because the author has written most things well (sex scenes, descriptive details, lush language...) but she also did one thing very, very well... she made the readers totally relate to the protagonist. Anastasia would dismiss one thing after another (while biting her lower lip) only to work herself around to the idea as the pages flipped by (rather quickly) and I was right there with her... even if I am 3 times older! As you say, it is not Shakespeare but it is a GOOD read.

I have not read this book. However as the wife of a private pilot I know where the helicopters name came from and it makes perfect sense. When we call a tower we give our planes call letters which consist of numbers followed by letters. C=Charley and T=Tango at every tower where planes fly. That IS the name.

I got suckered into reading it because everyone else I know read it. My sister read the trilogy then shipped her copies to me. Got them for free... Of course I'm going to read them... then loan them out to every friend of mine who hasn't read them and wants to. They really aren't so great I would want to pay to read them. EVER. I couldn't even be bothered to sign up on the wait list at my local library to read them.

No, they aren't the worst books I've ever read. Yes, they are erotica, but definitely not the best I've ever read. Maybe if I'm REALLY bored sometime I'll read them again. (If my friends return them.)

And I do NOT understand why they are so insanely popular. Sure, they are based on Twilight fanfiction, but doesn't that fact alone sort of make it terrible that they've become so popular? The characters are rip-offs of someone else's work!

I find it all rather mind-boggling.

Yes, it is true, no matter what some women may say, many women like & want to be dominated, but more importantly, they want a man who knows this without having to ask & possibly embarrass them by making them admit it. They want the man to just take over & do what he wants & still feel like they are strong women who had no choice, when actually they did. Some women feel guilty or sleazy to have these desires, so if a man can satisfy their fantasy without them acknowledging it even IS their fantasy, then that's the perfect scenario. And 50SoG feeds into & satisfies that in women who know they'll never get it. And maybe, if they're lucky, their men will want to know why they like the book so much & they can admit without feeling bad about themselves.

I was blown away when I discovered that my super macho fireman lover was reading 50 Shades of Grey. (His sister-in-law gave it to him?) I was unwilling to pay for a book I'd heard so much negative criticism about, but when he gave me his copy (and pointed out some similarities between the characters' and our relationship), I couldn't help but devour the thing. It was mildly titillating, but annoying as heck, and I've resisted reading the sequels as a result (so many other books are, I believe more worthy of my precious time).

The point I'm trying to make in a rather round about way is that this book appealed to people you'd never guess would like it and it contained just enough "average female angst" with respect to relationship dynamics that I think many women could sympathize. The incorporation of email dialogue modernized the couple's interaction and was something I particularly connected with.

As far as the argument that this book is anti-feminist, well, yes, I suppose it is, but there has been so much dialogue surrounding its popularity that surely the less "enlightened" women reading it have had the concerns regarding that aspect of the work drummed into their tiny little heads so much so that the book has certainly served to open up dialogue that, as far as I know, hasn't been at the fore of social commentary for quite a long time. It got us talking. That's a good thing, right?

Nathan,

I'd be honored if you used my comment. Do I need to repost it?

Blushing,
TwoFlightsDown

I was blown away when I discovered that my super macho fireman lover was reading 50 Shades of Grey. (His sister-in-law gave it to him?) I was unwilling to pay for a book I'd heard so much negative criticism about, but when he gave me his copy (and pointed out some similarities between the characters' and our relationship), I couldn't help but devour the thing. It was mildly titillating, but annoying as heck, and I've resisted reading the sequels as a result (so many other books are, I believe more worthy of my precious time).

The point I'm trying to make in a rather round about way is that this book appealed to people you'd never guess would like it and it contained just enough "average female angst" with respect to relationship dynamics that I think many women could sympathize. The incorporation of email dialogue modernized the couple's interaction and was something I particularly connected with.

As far as the argument that this book is anti-feminist, well, yes, I suppose it is, but there has been so much dialogue surrounding its popularity that surely the less "enlightened" women reading it have had the concerns regarding that aspect of the work drummed into their tiny little heads so much so that the book has certainly served to open up dialogue that, as far as I know, hasn't been at the fore of social commentary for quite a long time. It got us talking. That's a good thing, right?Nathan! I have been waiting and watching for this blog! I agree wholeheartedly with your insights and loved the method you used to hide the spoiler. Cool.

My own experience of 50 Shades began day when I discovered that my uber-macho, fireman lover was reading it. I was blown away and my curiosity was naturally piqued. I’d been unwilling to pay for a book I'd heard so much negative criticism about, but when he gave me his copy (and pointed out some similarities between the characters' and our relationship), I couldn't help but devour the thing. It was mildly titillating and admittedly great foreplay, but annoying as heck, and I've resisted reading the sequels as a result (so many books, so little time).

The point I'm trying to make is that this book appealed to people you'd never guess would like it and it contained more than enough “female angst" to make “average” women like myself sympathize with the protagonist. The incorporation of email dialogue contemporized the couple's interaction and the fact that Anastasia could express herself more fully in that medium than when faced with the knee-weakening Grey was something I related to in particular.

As far as the argument that this book is anti-feminist, well, yes, I suppose it is, but there has been so much dialogue surrounding its popularity that surely the less "enlightened" women reading it have had the concerns regarding that aspect of the work drummed into their tiny little heads so much so that the book has certainly served to reignite dialogue that, as far as I know, hasn't been at the fore of social commentary for quite some time. It got us talking. That's a good thing, right?

Two flights-

That's ok, I got it.

I think it was said already, but erotic romantic ebooks are a huge industry. I'm surprised that anyone is surprised by this. Many millions of dollars are made in the erotica genre. They used to call them bodice rippers, didn't they? This particular book is very accessible and, as you said, competently written. It isn't the best adult erotica I've ever read but it isn't at all the worst. It was also well publicized and the author knew how to put it together in a fairly polished manner.

I read it and did not like it.

First, it was such a blatant rip-off of Twilight that I was offended on Stephenie Meyer's behalf. If someone did that with my work, I'd want royalties. I felt that it should have matured past fan-fiction before selling a bazillion copies.

In the same vein, the characters were flat as a pancake. Flatter even than Stephenie Meyer's, which is impressive. Anastasia's constant shock at Christian Grey's appetites, despite the fact that they were pretty clear from the outset, was exhausting, as was the endless lip biting and obsessing about the way Mr. Grey's pants hung off of him. (Did he need a smaller size?)

Finally, I just found it a bit, well, unbelievable. Perhaps I'm a prude, but I couldn't help but think that there would be chafing issues after a while.

My answer is d) Bestsellers are largely random.

Everyone I know who has read it has done so because "everyone is reading it." None of my friends have admitted to liking it, but they all sought it out in the first place because of the peer pressure. There's a social component to bestsellerdom: once a book reaches the tipping point, everyone else reads it to see what the others are talking about. I saw this happen with The Da Vinci Code, too.

How does a book build to that tipping point in the first place? I'm not sure anyone really knows. Whatever 50 Shades has in terms of romantic and erotic elements, there are other books that have it too, but never sell as widely. Perhaps the fan base that others mentioned was critical in building the initial buzz.

I don't think it's anything new to publishing to have these huge sensations, to have a book that's The It Book. But because that can't be forced, and that kind of success can't be manufactured, writers and publishers just keep working at it, chasing the dream and hoping that the lightning strikes.

I haven't read it yet, but I love love love your write-up of it! Nicely done, my friend! xoJulia

The only problem with the comparison of the Byronic romance with the Magic Pixie Dream Girl -- and I think you might be on to something there -- is that while in the Byronic fantasy, the woman is young and naive and sacrifices her own pursuit of happiness for her man, in the MPDG fantasy, the woman is young and naive and sacrifices her own pursuit of happiness for her man.

Tara-

Ha - yeah, maybe. But in both cases I think they're about "unlocking" something inside of the woman/man. The heroine confronting the Byronic hero must give in to temptation, the man in the MPDG story must waken to the world anew.

In both archetypes the man is ostensibly giving something up too. The Byronic hero letting himself be tamed, the MPDG hero loses his powerful cynicism which allegedly weakens him -- one reason why he doesn't usually end up with the MPDG.

"Maybe, at the end of the day..." reading such an atrociously written pile of poo has you using clichés such as "at the end of the day", without even understanding what it's done to you.
Really Nathan...

I've never read it however, I can't help but feel a trifle irritated by the fact that everyone, from television to blogosphere, talks about this book endlessly. And didn't the book come out months ago? Enough, already. There are other well-deserving books out there that would like to be talked about too!
However, I have to say, kudos to E.L. James for doing an amazing job of selling her own book :-)
Yvette Carol

It was just announced last week that another popular Twilight fanfic called "The Office," just scored a two-book deal with Gallery Books. And let's not forget "Gabriel's Inferno & Gabriel's Rapture" (in the fanfic world known as "The University of Edward Masen") was recently published by Penguin's Berkeley imprint. Both of these had a huge fan base in the Twilight fandom. As an author who has been trying to get published, I'm thinking of changing my MC names to Edward and Bella...LOL!

It was just announced last week that another popular Twilight fanfic called "The Office," just scored a two-book deal with Gallery Books. And let's not forget "Gabriel's Inferno & Gabriel's Rapture" (in the fanfic world known as "The University of Edward Masen") was recently published by Penguin's Berkeley imprint. Both of these had a huge fan base in the Twilight fandom. As an author who has been trying to get published, I'm thinking of changing my MC names to Edward and Bella...LOL!

50 Shades of Sex, A short parody http://dailybrass.blogspot.com/2012/07/50-shades-of-sex-parody.html

I couldn't finish the series.

It's just, ughhh, such an abusive relationship. Having been in an emotionally abusive relationship, it triggered me really badly to read Christian's constant manipulation and Ana's constant self-doubt and weeping misery. It isn't romantic, it's a nightmare.

I was interested in reading it because it was supposedly a mainstream representation of BDSM. But the whole plot seemed to be that only damaged, abused people engage in BDSM, and the love of a good woman will cure them of their perversion. Yikes! Not to mention the fact that it wasn't even BDSM anyway-- BDSM is consensual, the Dom only does what the sub enjoys and nothing more. So Christian pressuring Ana to do things that make her cry all the time isn't him being dominant, it's him being a jerk.

@ Anne R. Allen - I agree that some women want to be dominated, but some studies have shown that an equal, or even greater, number of men want to be dominated, too. How's that for setting gender sterotypes on its ears. :)

So, great analysis, Nathan! Really interesting, thoughtful and perceptive. And funny.

So, she really wants him to really, really like her? While biting her lower lip? Really, really biting?

So, I agree with Jan Priddy, this seems like a paternalistic archtype.

It's the archtype of a girl who is abused/neglected and/or unloved by her father, earning his care, attention and love by having him finally see her 'goodness'.

The sexualization of a father/daughter relationship is, in part, about release of tension. When the abuse stops, it feels like a great relief. That gets sexualized.

I think specific books become popular for all the reasons that people are saying: word of mouth, the titillation, the water-cooler effect, etc.

But the archtype of an abused daughter finding paternal love, where her father figure transforms from a distant "monster" to a loving man, can be found all over and is extremely popular, starting, perhaps, with the Beauty and the Beast fairytale.

Twilight was definitely the same archtype. And you find it in tons of romance books, which are read by millions of women (and men).

There is a sad part to this, though. The intense popularity of this particular archtype speaks to how many people felt abused and/or neglected by their fathers. That's sad, and very real.

Byronic Hero? Really? No, it's a lot simpler than that.

Beauty and the Beast + sex.

Peace, Seeley

Why is it popular? Because it's entertaining! I read the whole series, and I have to say, I was entertained. Sure, the writing had some issues, but it was still a fun read.

By the way, I'm totally impressed that you read it!

Fifty Shades has not outsold the Harry Potter SERIES: it has outsold Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows *in the U.K.*

From the Daily Telegraph:

"Global sales of the trilogy are said to be over 40 million - still a long way from the 450 million achieved by JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/9459779/50-Shades-of-Grey-is-best-selling-book-of-all-time.html

I am wondering if you read the whole series or just the first book? Because if you have just read the first one then you are truly missing out ;)

I read the first book because I swear every girl in my office was reading it and telling me how great it was. Although, at first I did try to resist and be the conservative southern girl I was raised to be, but curiosity got the better of me and I gave in and read the first book. I read the second two because I had to know what happened and to be honest it was kind of fun to read something a little sexy.

It should not be shocking that I purchased them on my kindle, since I already admitted to being conservative. However, I think if there was no such thing as e-readers I would have still purchased the book. I just might have resisted for a little longer.

Needless to say I overlooked the perceptual lip biting, and enjoyed the books for what they were - Beauty and the Beast plus sex @Seeley.

@Two Flights Down - I am glad you are letting Nathan post your first comment. I read it earlier and really enjoyed your point-of-view. I also felt like I learned a lot from it. I was actually looking back to re-read it!

Haven't read it, although I tried to but couldn't get past the first page. I'm not sure why, perhaps it was because I knew something explicit and sexual was around the corner. Not a big fan of reading about it. I wonder if it is actually the dominant male women yearn for or is it the charming, understanding and fun-to-be-with, boyish male who has confidence in himself and isn't intimidated by the woman-as-goddess type of thing. Women love men who love and admire them and are, you know, interesting. But dominant, no, I think that would get wearing after awhile and result in tension, but not of the sexual kind. I think most women appreciate a male who is smarter than that.

Nathan, I work in an independent bookstore, and I've been looking forward to this post ever since you announced that you were reading "that book." As a bookseller, I witnessed firsthand how this book went from an e-book that a lot of women asked about to the most popular book of the spring and summer, with a record 98 copies sold the day before Mother's Day. Practically everyone from ages 20 on up were asking about the book. I was surprised at how many of our longtime customers in their sixties and seventies were reading it. Sales have slacked off for the time being, but we're still selling at least three copies a week.

I tried to read it, but I couldn't get past chapter two. It killed me to even devote that much time to the book as there were so many other books I wanted to read. But as a bookseller, I felt like I had to find out what all the hype was about. In the end, I went to the customers and they said that "Fifty Shades of Grey" was a compelling story with fun characters, but the writing was mediocre. They also said books two and three were better than one. Most of them said that at first the books were about the sex parts, but then those parts got old, and they sped through the sex parts to get to the action parts.

I know it would have made less money for Random, but I wish they had combined all three books and edited the crap out of them to make one well-written book.

Today, we received the book, "Fifty Shades of Chicken." It's a cookbook with a humorous story about an inexperienced chicken being dominated by a chef. I'm not joking. We've already sold three copies. And we've sold a lot of other Fifty Shades parodies, too. But the best writing based on Fifty Shades has to be the Amazon reviews of the books. Those are hilarious.
--Jen

@Mira--I did NOT say women want to be dominated. I said women are drawn to power. Look at that woman who got mixed up with David Petraeus. You think she'd have gone for it if he'd been a grocery clerk? Or that she fell for that cute receding hairline? She wasn't attracted to his power over HER--but his power in the world. She wanted that power to rub off on her. It's the primal appeal of the tribal chieftan.

Anne, I'm sorry! I got confused. The comment I was responding to was Nancy Thompson's. Sorry.

I agree with you, in that I think people are often attracted to someone who has what we don't have and want. I don't know about women in general being attracted to power, although, since they have been denied power for many centuries, that makes sense.

I have met men who are attracted to powerful women, though.

Interesting discussion.

The romance and sex. And sex, and sex. And more sex.

It's a fantasy. No one really wants to be dominated or hurt in real life but it is fun to read about it and imagine what you would do in the same situation, especially given that Christian, (and Edward) is so beautiful, dreamy, athletic, not to mention rich. Plus, he is vulnerable at heart so she can fix him. We all want to fix people.

I thoroughly enjoyed all three books and am prepared to forgo beautiful writing in favor of the occasional ripping yarn. I think excessive editing and tailoring a story to suit a publisher's idea of what's fun to read sometimes spoils the fun. Just saying . . .

I haven't read 50 yet, but I think it's about fantasy, like other posts have said. I think often fantasy is much better than the real thing.

I read 50 Shades because I enjoyed a few of the Twilight books, plus, as a writer, whenever hoards of people are reading a book and telling how great it is, I have to see what the fuss is.

I think it's popular for a number of reasons:
1. The author is building off of her Twilight Fan Fiction base (as a few people have already mentioned.)
2. Far as I can tell, she's bringing something out into the open, mainstream life, that people rarely talk about. To tell you the truth, I'd never heard of a Dominant until I'd read this book! Of course, I knew about BDSM, but...I think she's bringing a "somewhat secret" lifestyle out into the open, almost saying it's "okay" to do this.

The writing was horrific, but, I was compelled to finish the first story, and then I felt compelled to read the second story.

Things started going flat for me after about the third or fourth chapter of the second story. I felt the second book had a VERY SAGGING MIDDLE! I was bored with 2nd book, almost did not finish it.

The 3rd book was not as entertaining as the first, but, not as SLOW as the second one.

@Mira Oh, good. I didn't want people to think I was into that sub stuff. I have a recurring character in my books who's a dominatrix, though. :-)

The lure of power does work both ways. The scullery maid who ends up with the prince is one archetype (Those Regency romances are always about the girl who falls for Rakish Duke, not the Rakish Stable Boy With Great Abs.) But another archetype is La Belle Dame Sans Merci--the unattainable high-born Lady of the troubadour poets. Both archetypes live on in our fantasies.

50 Shades works because it has tapped into an archetypal fantasy. It's the fantasy, not the prose that people are attracted to.

I think Fifty Shades, aside from the 'billionaire guy' fantasy many women have, hit precisely because it was raw and 'flawed' on so many levels.

It was simple. Something the average person...alright in parts... can relate it. It didn't pretend to be intellectual, or a writing masterpiece. It was just a story about a girl. Believable or not in some places was irrelevant.

Think 'Gangnam Style' which if I'm not mistaken, has taken the slot for most viewed Youtube Video ever. What makes this song great? It doesn't follow convention or rules... it's just an odd dude, doing odd things and not giving a toot what anything thinks.

I think most of us are pretty basic creatures. And for reasons we can't fathom, we relate to basic things. Primal things.

I think Fifty Shades gave that to many people. That's why, even people who don't read... could relate to it. E.L just told her story exactly how she envisioned it.

Does this always work? Who knows. It did for her.

It's sexy. Point, blank and period. I read it and I was not impressed from a prose standpoint. But I have a slew of girlfriends who for months could not do anything but quote the book lines and wonder about who is going to play Christian in the movie. And I have to admit I will go see the movie. In the age of reality tv where someone named Snookie is rich and famous, are we really surprised that this book has been so popular?

This comment has been removed by the author.

@Anne, so it's more that you're into dom stuff, right? ;)

Just kidding. :)

I totally agree. The writing needs to be good enough so it doesn't distract the reader. But after that, it's the fantasy that will sell a book.

Absolutely HATED the whole twilight series but LOVE the fifty shades series! Weird, right lol

Here's what I find weird: I have never heard an actual plot mentioned in relation to this book. I mean, is there a journey? A pivotal moment? What's at stake for the main character? I keep hearing about sex, sex, sex, but nothing ever happens.

Logline: Girl meets hot businessman; they go on a sexual journey.

Okay, I guess I can buy that. But still, I'm feeling mental pain over this. *hits head with Fifty Shades*

Adding: Maybe I just don't like the idea of my mom reading this thing. If she does, I'm moving to Pluto.

When I read your comment that FSOG 'gave an urbane veneer to a romance genre that very often skews rural/suburban' I thought 'YES!'. For years now I've been a disenfranchised chicklit reader. From once being cool stories about smart, metropolis dwelling singletons meeting & falling in love, chicklit has descended into a twee genre about second time rounders, empty nesters & heroines knitting their own houses. They don't even focus on a relationship anymore - they're all to do with setting up a business, saving a shop or a building (insert as appropriate). Yawn.
It's why I dumped chicklit, serendipitously found fanfic & never looked back.
I'd hoped the publication of FSOG would give chicklit/romance the kick up the pants it needed, would make it flirtier, sexier, funnier and more relationship centred but alas, the sniffy, superior response of most chicklit authors suggest it'll be another twenty years of heroines baking cupcakes & knitting tea cosies.

No, you don't have to even write well to sell porn. Seen any porn flicks up for screenwriting at the Oscars lately?

Book opens with a mirror scene, terrible dialogue, an entriely unbelievable setup and then proceeds to write about bondage type relationships making it dreadfully plain not only the protagonsit is clueless, but the author didn't do a bit of research to lend any sort of believability to the scenario.

How is this "not bad?" Have literary standards REALLY sunk that low?

Porn, written by a woman, coattailing Twilight. If a man had written it, he'd be labeled a mysoginistic a$$hole, and it might still sell millions, cause it's porn.

I should point out, I don't have a problem with porn. I'll read/watch it like the next guy and get some thrills, but I won't sit back and try to rationalize it by saying it is well acted/written/directed. I'll openly admit I was looking to get stimulated by it, end of story. :)

What I read (no, I didn't finish) was AFTER the big publisher got a hold of it and presumably sent it to their editorial department. It was still atrocious.

Yes, it was poorly written.

The book was so entertaining for some. However, the dominant and submissive aspects were on and off and interchangeable between the two main characters.

A non-fiction book about this dynamic is "Leading and Supportive Love: The Truth About Dominant and Submissive Relationships".

I will never not almost piss myself laughing at Buttermilk. Definitely the best of the recent viral crop.

"Remove a comma and then print out another copy..." Hah! Perfect.

Most likely, those who would read Harry Potter are not be the same audience as those who are reading Fifty Shades.

Bikinis and books, sheesh, what next?

Forums: please leave the classics alone. Be original.

sorry, but after reading his dated sounding post, to characterize Mike Shatzkin as an "industry sage" seems overly generous.

holy moly... amazon uk, you break my heart. :(

BOYCOTT AMERICAN WOMEN
Why American men should boycott American women

http://boycottamericanwomen.blogspot.com/

I am an American man, and I have decided to boycott American women. In a nutshell, American women are the most likely to cheat on you, to divorce you, to get fat, to steal half of your money in the divorce courts, don't know how to cook or clean, don't want to have children, etc. Therefore, what intelligent man would want to get involved with American women?

American women are generally immature, selfish, extremely arrogant and self-centered, mentally unstable, irresponsible, and highly unchaste. The behavior of most American women is utterly disgusting, to say the least.

This blog is my attempt to explain why I feel American women are inferior to foreign women (non-American women), and why American men should boycott American women, and date/marry only foreign (non-American) women.

Tens of millions of American men have had their lives completely destroyed by American women through the following crimes:

1. False rape accusations (it has been proven that up to 80 percent of rape accusations are FALSE)

2. False domestic violence (DV) charges (same as above)

3. Financial destruction of men in divorce courts through alimony and support payments (women get up to 95 percent of their ex-husband's income and savings, as well as the house, car, etc)

4. Emotional destruction of men by ex-wives who have stolen their children from them and forbidden the fathers from having custody or contact with their own children

5. Divorced dads who commit suicide as a result

Not one single American woman has EVER condemned their fellow American women for committing these crimes against men. Silence means consent. Therefore, American women support and enjoy destroying men's lives and causing men to commit suicide. Apparently, American women think it is okay to be a criminal, just as long as you are a woman. Therefore, is it any surprise that a huge percent of American men no longer want anything to do with American women, other than using them for easy sex and then throwing them away?

A few more reasons to stay away from American women?

-25 percent of American women take psychiatric drugs for mental illnesses.
-25 percent of women under the age of 30 have at least one STD.
-85 percent of divorces in America are INITIATED by women, thus women are responsible for the vast majority of divorces.
-70 percent of criminals in America were raised by single mothers, thus feminism is responsible for most crime in America.
-The majority of child molestation, child abuse, and child murder in America is done by WOMEN.

Over 50 percent of American women are single, without a boyfriend or husband; so the fact is most American men no longer want to marry American women. Let these worthless American women grow old living alone with their 10 cats.

BOYCOTT AMERICAN WOMEN!

This Buttermilk the Goat just made my day. I will save the video for the days when I can't smile and laugh. :D

Good ol' Colson. And I'm totally looking forward to Zone One.

Also, the Four Million Shades of Grey thing vaguely depressed me.

If only I could find an editor that would look at my work and say with a meaningful wink, "Repeat the above, but with fish."

Cool links, Nathan. :)

I thought the Colson Whitehead article was hilarious. I liked the one about the land shark best. Funny.

So, I have a theory about why 50 Shades is selling so well. I think it's because you can read it on an e-book, and NO ONE WILL KNOW. Pair that with the current state of semi-legitimacy that its found, and you have a winner.

I think that widget from Ted Weinstein is awesome!

I liked that Shaskin addressed the question of value added by the publisher - I like that he is taking up author concerns!

I didn't like the book cover/bikini matching because there were no men in bikinis. Where are the bikini men? That's a link I would 'like'.

I thought the thread on the forums about how publishers are planning to re-write some classics (Pride and Prejudice, etc.) with an erotic slant was fascinating. So many interesting issues there.

So, I do have a link I want to share. I thought this was cool. It's book art, for example a castle made of books. You can't see it in the pictures, but they carefully selected the title and placement of the books to match the theme. Wouldn't it be cool to walk in the tower and read the titles?

Here's the link:

http://www.epublishabook.com/2012/06/24/book-art-building-books/#axzz1yfD0it1v

See, if you'd got the ebook you wouldn't have been thinking about the cover...

(although I still sometimes buy paper books too like you)

For me the cover of a book plays an important factor - it's like setting the overall tone of the reading to come; then I go to the title.

I've seen many a great image ruined by shite fonts, and vice versa. Get the combination right and the thing just comes to life.

Don't worry, Aaron. I'm still "that guy" too. I always will be.

About the cover, yeah, it'd bug me. But that's because I'm overtly sensitiveness to marketing, consumerism, and conformity of all types.

I guess we should just be thankful they didn't put her in a mid-riff and slap a small-of-the-back tribal tattoo on her.

A quick google image search indicates that none of the various covers this book has had over the years have been particularly kind to Tansy.

I'll always prefer the movie poster:

http://ironbombs.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/1962_burn_witch_burn_poster_01.jpg?w=604

I still haven’t watched Archer yet because I’m sad Frisky Dingo never took off. God, I loved that show.

Johnny Bench called

@Chris Hero Why haven’t you watched Archer yet? That’s just wrong.

@Chris Hero by which I mean, you need to move past your frisky dingo depression. if i can move past my dollhouse related depression and go see the avengers, you can do this. i know you can.

“In other sequel news, Red 2 is in the works, also courtesy of Warner Brothers (via Spinoff Online)”

- I’m pretty sure Red and it’s sequel were produced and distributed by another film company, Summit Entertainment. DC Entertainment was involved but not Warner Bros.

The interesting story behind this movie was Greg Noveck, the former DC SVP tried to get Warner to make the movie, but they passed. And the movie did better than the other Warner Bros-DC movies that year – The Losers and Jonah Hex.

Tx, for the correction and subsequent tale of WB/DCE machinations, @akachris.

I thought “retarded” was a no-no word now…

I was thinking this took a long time to come out but I checked and the first volume was released March 2010 but I guess 19 months isn’t that long a wait for a GN. But considering this is a half an adaption it took a long time.

Hopefully the lettering is better this time.

Not enough sparkles!!!

Oh my! I’m worried. Will it be as well done as the first one!? Will it still have that same horrible horrible lettering!?

Impressive…it must have had pretty good sell-through for the first printing of vol. 2 to be just as high as vol. 1.

So in other words it prints money.