Why Pennames are more important for Erotica Writers.

Let's be honest, a lot of erotica involves catering to our fans' fetishes. That's the nature of the beast, but what can be a turn on for some readers is an absolute turn off for others. In fact, some people find various fetishes to be a complete turn-off and that can extend to wanting to read anything else the author has put out.

Now before we continue, I want to let everyone know that this isn’t about whether or not an adult writer should have a pen name— that should be obvious. Employers may not like the idea of an employee whose main claim to fame, in addition to having the best office attendance record, is his ongoing series: LUSTY CHEERLEADERS: THE LOCKER ROOM SAGA.

What we’re talking about here is the question as to whether you should have alternate pen names for the various genres and fetishes you write for. This is fairly common across the book industry of course, but it may be more important for erotica writers. After all, the readers who love big breasts may not like breast expansion stories and they may really not like pregnancy themed stories. The fellow who wants to read an erotic detective story may decide to close the book (and buy no more) when midway through it becomes a supernatural mind control story.

To demonstrate, look at the  Venn Diagram below.

You’ll notice that “Vampire Erotica” and “Breast Expansion” both have fairly large groups who read them— but the group who reads mind control stories that ALSO incorporates breast expansion is smaller.

Diagram not simply by the writer, but also proving why most writers probably shouldn't explore a career in graphic design.

So, that’s it. Just never mix the genres, right?  If having your gothic princess taken by a vampire results in sudden breast-flesh explosion, just don't do it. Simple, right?

Well…

There’s another factor to consider. How Loyal are your readers? After all, there are a LOT of erotic westerns out there. You’re competing with a large number of writers who have a lot of exposure in the field and your readers have a tremendous amount of choice. But if you have a book that say involves magically mind controlled cheerleaders that also includes breast expansion? Your fans may be fewer— but how many books do they have to choose from? For self-published erotica authors, a fan base of 1,000 people who buy every one of your books is a pretty good fan base, which, if you sell your kindle book at 2.99 will bring in well over $2,000 dollars for each story, not counting anyone else who joins up.

The key is to try to mix genres (or fetishes) that have the largest possible number of people interested in both. When doing this, using a pen name can ensure that you don’t run the risk of having a negative impact on your other published stories.

But how do you manage to convert being a popular writer in one area to popularity in another area if you’re not even using the same pen name?

We’ll talk about that in a later post.