A bestselling book on The Kindle is called "Compromising Positions," and it's about an uptight businessman getting tangled up with a wild woman who introduces him to all sorts of interesting workouts (Sorry, I'm trying to keep this post relatively PG).
Anyway, you won't find the title on the NYT bestsellers list or Publisher's Weekly, but it's a topseller on Kindle. Why? It might have something to do with the fact that the book is available for free and it’s instantly downloadable. The publisher is doing this with hopes that readers will pay for future titles.
This article in Slate brings up many interesting points about the "Compromising Positions" phenomenon -- about the giveaway tactic, about the new genre of romance novel targeting men, etc. -- but what I found most interesting is the move of porn into this relatively new medium:
"Like the Kindle itself, the marriage of porn and e-reader is relatively new; much of this digital erotica has been added to the Kindle library in the last 18 months or so. From a technology standpoint, anyone who's seen Boogie Nights or Middle Men could predict this development. Every time a major new content platform—print, film, cable, VHS, DVD, the Internet, mobile phones—has experienced massive growth, it has either been driven by a porn boom or at least brought the porn industry along for the ride. (The biggest exception is probably radio.)"
This seems to support what my team learned while doing our IS-SI project on DivX. Not only is porn one of the most frequently watched type of content -- the industry has historically been among the first to use and support new technologies. It would be interesting to see what role (if any) adult fiction plays as eReaders become increasingly mainstream.
Which also makes one wonder, what does Netflix have against adult content?
Deep Six forevah!
ReplyDeleteOn a serious note, the porn industry has traditionally been an early adopter of new technologies. Romance readers ("soft porn"?) are notoriously voracious readers, ripping through books in record speed. Ebooks are a natural next step, offering users the ability to read whatever they want, on demand, without the embarrassment of a lurid cover. I also think that we will only see more 'adult fiction' for sale through ebook channels. Could this give Amazon a competitive edge over Apple?
You both seem to be industry experts, so I am somewhat reluctant to comment.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, an eBook adds an additional layer of anonymity for the reader. If one goes to a bricks and mortar store and buys a trashy novel, "everyone" sees what the shopper is purchasing. If one orders it (physical copy) on Amazon, his or her friends might see the risque collection when they are at the reader's house. With an eBook, it is just a file that resides on the Kindle and is only visible to the person looking at the screen.
The additional anonymity may be driving sales higher than they would be through more traditional distribution mediums for the manuscript.
Felicia and Jeff, you guys raise some really good points.
ReplyDeleteI've had conversations with friends about how embarrassing it could be when people see what you're reading (FYI: I don't read romance novels but I confess I briefly went through a Twilight series obsession.). With eReaders, you could be reading Tolstoy or a bodice ripper-- no one can tell! So I could definitely see adult fiction emerging as a consistent bestseller among eBooks. eReader makers should really play this up!