I like smut (but please don’t tell anyone) by Elizabeth Cage
I know that you might be getting bored with any further mention of FSOG. You’ve bought the tee shirt (yes, it’s actually on sale in a store near you with the slogan, “We aim to please”) and you’ve added the cd to your Amazon wish list (which contains all the tracks mentioned by Mr Grey, who, being sophisticated, knows a lot of classical music).
But a surprising comment by a friend, a professional artist, got me thinking about an issue that probably affects erotica writers in particular, and triggered this post.
Said friend has just read my three short story collections now available on kindle, and gave me positive and honest feedback in an email, adding a question. Did I think FSOG had broken down barriers and made erotica more mainstream and acceptable? In the next sentence, she apologised for not feeling able to put a review on Amazon because her user name was her actual name and she felt inhibited about what would be a public admission that she read explicit erotica. In fact, quite a few of my friends and colleagues, who are all hugely supportive of what I do, have admitted the same. They would not want to be named publicly as a reader of smut.
This is really frustrating and not a situation I had anticipated. Surely the favour FSOG had done for erotica writers was bringing us into the mainstream? I felt disappointed. Then I reflected further. Was I being hypocritical? After all, I use a pseudonym for my erotica so I was also concealing what I did. I tell myself it’s the public perception of erotica that accounts for this. And because I write other genres under a different pen name and I wouldn’t feel comfortable if the two genres were linked.
A fellow literary writer (of non-erotica) once told me that hiding behind a pen name indicated a lack of integrity. I felt hurt – but was she right? Should I be loud and proud? Should I come out and use my real name? Maybe one day I will. But for now, it looks like I’m as conflicted as my friends on this matter. What do other writers think?
A published writer since her teens, Elizabeth Cage has been writing erotica since 1999. Her stories, poems and articles have appeared in numerous magazines including Scarlet, Desire, Forum, For Women, In the Buff, The Hotspot, and the International Journal of Erotica, as well as The Mammoth Book of Lesbian Erotica, Best Lesbian Erotica 2010 (Cleis) and her fiction regularly appears in the anthologies and e-books from Xcite . Her recent collections, Crimson Kisses, Second Helpings and Love Bites are all available from Amazon. She also does guest blogs, author talks, interviews, events and workshops.
For me, using a pen name is a personal decision to maintain my privacy. If I ever write in another genre besides erotica I will write under a pen name for the same reason, although it could likely be under a different pen name so as to avoid unnecessary negative publicity. I don’t see that as a lack of integrity, but rather as good business sense, protecting my brand. There is no way I can prevent people from being the way they are, but if I can protect myself from their stupidity, I shall.
Jim Lyon
Thanks for your comments, Jim. I do think using a pen name is pragmatic but it is partly to protect myself – although one could debate whether that should be necessary. Right now, I’ll stick with that argument.
I use a pen name, but not because I am ashamed of my career as a porn writer. I do it so that when a person sees the name they immediately know what the book is about. Nick Urzdown writes spanking material; he does not write theology.
Hi Nick – your point about branding is a good one, and many writers use different names for different genres for that reason. Thanks for commenting.
Hi – I think it’s good to separate our different genres of writing. For me, a pseudonym is essential for writing erotica as I work in a primary school and I have a feeling it would be frowned upon if any of the parents twigged! I have told some friends about my erotic writing, but have actually banned any of them from reading it! Maybe I should reconsider this – but they seemed quite happy about it! Thought-provoking post – thank you!
Hi Linda – glad you enjoyed it and thanks for your comments! It’s a topic that I do find very interesting. I currently have 2 pen names, each for a different genre. It can get confusing sometimes though!