At a time when the general publishing industry is in dire straits,
one genre is not only surviving, it’s thriving.
Sadly, that genre is porn. The
rise in this industry didn’t begin with a colored trilogy, but it certainly
turned grey into green.
Most of us who write mysteries spend countless hours making
sure every word matters, but the fact is most of our work will be ignored. Call it the dumbing down of America, but sex sells
regardless of content. Case in point, a
recent Sunday morning newscast featured a seventy-something year old
grandmother turned porn author who uses Ken and Barbie dolls to explore new
sexual positions. She admitted breaking
two of the figures, and said they need to come up with more limber dolls. She has published 140 graphic porn books
since 2007, and will earn more money in a year than most of our combined sales
in a lifetime. It’s easy to get
discouraged when you see such success from formula writing, but it is worse
when you consider what little thought goes into cranking out 140 novels in five
years with the aid of Ken and Barbie.
So, what does the future hold for credible writing? Quite frankly, it’s no different than
before. Accept the fact that a segment
of the population will always be drawn to porn, but quality writing will always
sell. Stay true to your writing, and don’t
get fooled into thinking no one is reading real stories anymore. E-book sales have taken off and there is no
turning back. Television shows like Castle and Blue Bloods prove there are still mystery lovers out there, and
they retain their audiences through intelligent plots and great writing. Porn may be king when it comes to money, but good
mysteries will never die.
