“Fifty Shades of Grey” Author Hits a Nerve, But So Can Other Aspiring Writers
By Althea Benloss | Jun 21, 2012 02:18 PM EDT
"Fifty Shades of Grey" is book one of an Erotic Romance trilogy and has really taken off. British Author E L James introduces "a tale that will obsess you, possess you and stay with you forever" which has recently become the fastest selling paperback of all time. The trilogy is at 10 million and counting, but just because E L James hit the right nerve, doesn't mean other aspiring authors out there can't do the same.
"Fifty Shades of Grey," "Fifty Shades of Darker," and "Fifty Shades Feed" are the top three, respectively, on USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list, for seven weeks straight. Just this week, the Fifty Shades Trilogy Bundle made its way from #10 to #4 on the list. It features all three books in a paperback boxed set (also available in e-book form).
Readers are introduced to Literature student Anastasia Steele and the young entrepreneur Christian Grey. The innocent Anastasia is introduced to Christian's enigmatic ways and his interest in BDSM (Bondage and Discipline, Sadism and Masochism) and begins thus their unconventional display of desire.
With so much success so quickly, one would assume the author had published numerous novels prior. Surprisingly, "Fifty Shades of Grey" was E L James' very FIRST novel.
There are so many aspiring authors out there and many are already authors and just want a big break in their career.
Romance Author Claire Delacroix says that as an aspiring romance writer, you should write what you read because "when you read a great deal of any kind of book, you develop an innate sense of the rhythms of that kind of book."
Bestselling author Stephenie Meyer of the Twilight saga, states on her website that a tip that really helped her with "New Moon" and "Breaking Dawn" (Part 2 and part 3 of the "Twilight" saga) was to forget writing in order and to start writing out whichever scenes she was interested in, rather than starting at the beginning and working through the end.
"I wrote most of the books in scenes, and then went back later and tied the scenes together. It cut out a lot of writer's block to write whatever part I was most interested in at the time. And it makes it easy to finish," Meyer wrote. "By the time you get around to writing the less exciting transitions, expositions, and descriptions, you already have so much done! You can see a full novel coming together, and that's very motivating. (But you really need an outline to work that way--to keep from getting lost!)"
"Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everthing Across Italy, India and Indonesia" is a book that remained on the New York Times Best Seller list for 187 weeks and eventually became a motion picture, (as did the "Twilight" saga). In news.com.au, Author Elizabeth Gilbert said that the success was unexpected.
"I didn't anticipate the success of Eat Pray Love. I don't know how I did it and I don't know how to do it again. It was a book I needed to write and a journey I had to go on. But I guess it hit a nerve with people," Gilbert wrote.
Meyer also encourages that aspiring writers to create an outline for their story, in a non-structured, free-flowing form.
"I changed my outlines often as the writing led me in other directions--the outline is just a tool, not something mandatory that you have to follow," Meyer wrote.
Meyer noted that some of the best advice on writing was from Janet Evanovich's website:
"She said if you want to be a writer as a profession, then treat it like a job. Put in the hours. Set aside time for writing, and then make yourself sit down and do it. Sometimes it's easy--the words flow and you can get a lot done. Other times it's hard, and you might only get one sentence done in an hour. But that's better than nothing," Meyer writes.
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