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GUIDELINES FOR SUBMITTING EROTICA

 

In addition to (and not instead of) the twenty foregoing submission guidelines, authors of erotica should also adhere to the following key points:

 

1

Erotic stories should contain at least one, and preferably two or more, climaxes, which should always be described in vivid but not overly clinical (or crude) detail.  Erotica should stimulate the mind as well as the body.  Stories should be protracted to generate the appropriate amount of suspense, but not so needlessly drawn out or detailed that they run the risk of overwhelming or, even worse, boring the reader.  Likewise they shouldn’t end abruptly.  Most will include at least a moment of sensuous afterglow.  Careful pacing is therefore paramount.  In general we prefer the adults-only variety of erotic fiction to bittersweet romance.  The latter may qualify as Chick Lit, so if a romance has the right sort of edge it may be submitted under that general category, which in recent years, along with Dick Lit, has been largely absorbed into mainstream literature.

 

2

Erotic narrative should bring a sense of sexual satisfaction to all the main characters, including the reader.  Sex acts should always be fundamentally consensual, even if persuasion of one form or another is involved.   The details should be provocative but never disgusting, titillating but never trite.  Interpretations are highly subjective in this regard: a description that turns one reader on may easily gross another one out.  We ask our authors to err on the side of caution and avoid the following taboo topics: 

 

·       bestiality - Exceptions may occasionally be made for shape-shifting aliens or supernatural creatures like werewolves, who are typically more human than animal anyway.  People who dress as animals, such as furry fans in the yiff subculture, are fair game as long as the identification with non-human animals is not strong.

 

·       incest - Exceptions may occasionally be made for consenting adults who are not blood relatives, such as in-laws, as long as the sex is in no way predatory or non-consensual.

 

·       mayhem - Detailed descriptions of physical dismemberment and any form of torture that may cause bodily harm, serious injury, or mental trauma must be avoided, as must most depictions of overt cruelty.   Consensual, safe, and sane roughness is allowed – even if it isn’t apparent that the encounters are consensual until the end of the story.

 

·       mental incapacity - No person who is mentally or psychological incapable of giving consent (or enjoying physical intimacy) should participate in any type of sexual activity.  Exceptions may be made in cases of temporary insanity or irresistible urges, but as a general rule anyone who can’t understand and appreciate what a sexual situation is shouldn’t take part in one.

 

·       necrophilia - Exceptions may occasionally be made for preternatural creatures like vampires and zombies, who are usually more alive in fiction than dead.

 

·       pedophilia - No person under the age of eighteen should be depicted in any even remotely sexual situation.

 

·       rape - Though narratives may occasionally include rape, the brutality of the act should never be eroticized.  Sexual activity may in some contexts start out as seemingly non-consensual (or non-con) or dubiously consensual (or dub-con) if necessary, perhaps as a way of overcoming inhibitions, but clear and honest consent should be given eventually and some sense of satisfaction experienced by all participants.  Weird Beard Press doesn’t want to expand the rape culture that casts its ugly shadow over human sexuality today.  

 

·       scatology - The eroticization of fecal matter and related bodily functions must be avoided.  Descriptions of menstruation (“colloquially, “period porn”) and urolagnia (colloquially, “piss play”) may be allowed in some instances.

        

3

The art of seduction plays a key part in most erotic narrative and naturally takes a variety of forms.  It can be used to convince characters to experiment with sexual acts and practices they might never have considered trying otherwise.  It should, however, always stop short of genuine sexual coercion, although stories about the economic aspects of sexual congress such as prostitution and sex work are allowed as long as the limitations outlined above are observed.

 

 

4

Erotic narrative should be fundamentally sex-positive yet also ethical, at least according to the author’s system of values, demonstrating both respect and empathy for the characters involved, regardless of their sexual appetites.  It can for example explore the pros and cons of marital infidelity as long as it reaches a conclusion that is satisfying to the reader without sounding heavy-handed or preachy.  It should never openly derogate any group, such as women, fetishists, or sex workers.  Any disapproval of a given lifestyle should be handled subtly. 

          Most erotic narrative expresses covert criticism of sexual repression, suggesting that we would all be happier if we could only express our sexual tastes more freely and openly.  Weird Beard Press expects its authors of erotica to take an additional step and include understated commentary on the nature of human sexuality itself, which should be viewed as a blessing as long as it’s treated in an ethical manner.  Our editors may question the tone of your narrative if we find it needlessly demeaning or hypercritical of healthy human behavior.  That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t occasionally send your characters on extended guilt trips if you so choose.  Just don’t forget to let them return from their journey sadder but wiser (and thus more humane) souls. 

 

5

Authors should never be afraid to tackle the risks of sexual activity, including but not limited to addiction, anxiety, arrest, coldness, cruelty, envy, exposure (including being “outed” as GLBTQIA+ or a fetishist), frustration, guilt, incompatibility (specifically outside the bedroom), infidelity, insatiability, jealousy, promiscuity, shame, unwanted pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and vanity as obstacles along the path to sexual fulfillment to be overcome during the course of the narrative.  Many would argue that these topics have no place in erotic narrative because they work against arousal, but since they normally result from sexual contact and raise issues that most of us deal with at one time or another in our lives, whether directly or indirectly, they shouldn’t be avoided.  They don’t have to be acknowledged in a story even when risks are taken, but there’s no reason they should be ignored either.  Remember that literature puts topics customarily avoided in “polite society” on the table for discussion.

 

6

The editors reserve the right to reject at their sole discretion any subject matter they deem objectionable to their reader base.  Although erotica is intended primarily to arouse -- which it should never fail to do – the best examples also explore the circumstances of the human condition, elucidating the ever inventive ways people bond with each other in pairs, groups, or communities in the face of ambition, fear, desire, inequality, injustice, and, and various kinds of passion.  It should provide subtle psychological insights into sexual motivation without belaboring the point, typically by raising (and sometimes answering) the question, “Why do people do this?”

 

 

 

Weird Beard Press recognizes the following sixteen general (and 80 specific) categories of sexual narrative, with the headings near the top of the list being generally the most popular.  These frequently overlap, and do not incorporate specific literary genres.  Therefore vanilla lesbians (Category 3.1), to cite one possible example, can experiment with the leatherwear subculture (13.3) in a horror setting (Horror being one of Weird Beard Press’s main publication categories).  Over the years the categories have become increasingly fluid and now tend to intermix. 

 

1. STRAIGHT

         1.1 vanilla includes masturbation (which can be solo or mutual), seduction, oral sex, vaginal sex, and anal sex (including pegging)

         1.2 spice is edgier, involving bitches (tough, often dominant women), kept men, womanizers, and people who exchange sex for money, grades, jobs, or other benefits; the subgenre addresses both the abuse and defiance of authority

         1.3 virgin seduction describes the sexual awakening of the inexperienced, male or female, who must not be under eighteen

         1.4 revenge sex usually involves cheating to get back at a jilted or otherwise wronged lover: as such it should never be too cruel or sadistic

 

 

 

 

2. GAY

         2.1 vanilla again includes solo or mutual masturbation, seduction, oral sex, and anal sex (including anilingus or rimming)

         2.2 bareback sex is unprotected sexual intercourse, until recently a controversial topic in the GLBTQIA+ community because of the risks involved; these have been greatly reduced (though not entirely eliminated) by PrEP and related drugs

         2.3 bear erotica features husky, typically hairy, men, often gay or bisexual, but not always, who may or may not also be muscular

         2.4 twink erotica features younger, smoother, typically less sexually experienced men, all over eighteen, some of whom are looking for a daddy (loosely, a father figure) or a sugar daddy (loosely, a benefactor)

         2.5 queer erotica or queerotica depicts various types of sexual nonconformity, particularly gender nonconformity

         2.6 gay revenge sex usually involves cheating, sometimes with a straight partner, to get back at a jilted or otherwise wronged lover: as such it should never be too cruel or sadistic; vengeful “outing,” or exposing a closeted person, falls under this heading as well

 

 

3. LESBIAN

         3.1 vanilla includes solo or mutual masturbation, seduction, oral sex, vaginal sex, and anal sex

         3.2 spice here involves sex toys and/or the seduction of women who are in relationships with men

         3.3 virgin seduction describes the sexual awakening of the inexperienced, who again must not be under eighteen

 

4. BISEXUAL

         4.1 vanilla includes masturbation, seduction, oral sex, vaginal sex (when applicable), and anal sex (including anilingus or rimming)

         4.2 spice here involves the shock of discovering one’s own or a partner’s bisexuality and coming to terms with it

         4.3 initiation describes the sexual awakening of the inexperienced, who again must not be under eighteen

        4.4 pansexual involves attraction to persons without regard for their sex or gender identity; members sometimes describe themselves as “gender-blind

        NOTE that in pornographic films the bisexual subgenre typically refers to scenarios in which a female and two males (MMF) or a male and two females (FFM) engage in threesomes.  This paradigm, which is relatively rare in actual practice, need not carry over into erotic literature, where more clandestine bisexual relationships are the norm.

 

 

5. TRANSGENDER

         5.1 typical narratives involve a cisgender male having oral and/or anal sex with a preoperative male-to-female (MTF) transgender, usually including initial apprehension, surprise, or shock but eventual acceptance and fulfillment; occasionally the transgender will “top” or penetrate a cisgender male or female 

         5.2 atypical narratives involve intersexuals (persons born with two sets of genitals) and postoperative transsexuals, including female-to-male (FTM) transgender persons, engaged in a variety of sexual acts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. BDSM

         6.1 bondage and discipline involve restraint and/or punishment, along with the threat (or is it a promise?) of either

         6.2 dominance and submission represent an occasionally fluid dichotomy between various types of masters and mistresses and their servants, these days referred to as alphas, betas, and so on down to omegas or deep submissives

         6.3 femdom features women in sexually dominant roles

         6.4 humiliation and degradation involve exposure to ridicule and verbal abuse

         6.4 latex and rubber here refer to the use of these materials in erotic play, typically in the form of sex toys and BDSM accessories such as gags, restraints, and whips

         6.5 leather here refers to the use of animal hides in bondage and discipline

         6.6 pain and shame (including torturotica) lie at the core of BDSM, though not every type of scene involves them, and describe eroticized suffering and embarrassment not specifically connected with roleplaying

         6.7 roleplaying begins with the basic dominant and submissive roles covered in Section 6.2 above, but then expands into more specialized portrayals of teachers and their pupils, doctors and their patients, athletes and their coaches, bosses and their employees, and so on; the “traditional” roles may of course be reversed 

         6.8 sadomasochism combines the foregoing categories in its emphasis on the exchange of psychological and physical pain, which, apart from consensual body modification such as piercing and scarification, should never result in lasting harm or injury

        6.9 the omegaverse draws on a hierarchy of dominant alphas, subsidiary betas, and submissive omegas – all ethological terms originally used to describe the social structures of various animal species, particularly wolves, a natural analogue to mythical werewolves; behaviors include a breeding season featuring both estrus or heat cycles among females and rutting among males (who have a knotted penis that’s locked inside the vagina during breeding), pheromonal attraction, territoriality, scent marking, pack formation, the hunt, and predation

        6.10 male impregnation (or mpreg) is a plot device found in a lot of erotic fantasy, where it can take a number of imaginative forms: men can be forced to carry a (typically alien) baby to term, or the implanted embryo may take over his mind or consume his body  

 

 

7. EXHIBITIONISM AND VOYEURISM

         7.1 exhibitionism includes nudity and sexual activity intended to attract attention, typically in public or semi-public places

         7.2 voyeurism involves watching persons who are engaged in acts that are normally considered private, such as undressing, bathing, or taking part in sexual activity; in erotica it should never become truly predatory

         7.3 porn addiction is demonstrated by an obsessive consumption of pornography in virtually any form, including strip shows and other live media

         7.4 sexual mania, traditionally satyriasis for men and nymphomania for women(though both terms are widely considered judgmental and are practically obsolete now), involves an inordinate desire for sexual stimulation and/or release, often to the extent that it interferes with everyday activities

 

 

 

 

8. ABUSE OF AUTHORITY

         8.1 educational scenarios involve intimate instruction, with or without disciplinary action, often for gain on the part of the student

         8.2 medical porn involves doctors and/or nurses performing intimate physical exams and often providing specialized treatment, which traditionally included administering enemas

         8.3 police porn involves typically abusive detention, false accusations, forceful arrests, strip searches, body cavity probes, and so on

         8.4 workplace harassment provides realistic but still fictional accounts (as opposed to fantasy scenarios) of sexual dynamics in all types of workplace

         8.5 miscellaneous examples include any interactions in which one or more persons may take sexual advantage of others, such as taxi drivers requesting sexual favors from their passengers under threat of leaving them stranded

 

9. BODY PART FETISHES (as indicated, regardless of size or other distinctive characteristics)

         9.1 beards

         9.2 breasts

         9.3 buttocks

         9.4 ears

         9.5 feet and toes

         9.6 foreskins

         9.7 hair

         9.8 legs

         9.9 nipples

         9.10 penises

         9.11 scrotums

 

 

 

10. BODY TYPE FETISHES (the subcategory names are mostly self-explanatory)

         10.1 amputees

         10.2 body modifications (piercings, tattoos, scars, and branding or scarification)

         10.3 body odors

         10.4 body shaving, trimming, and waxing

         10.5 dwarfs

         10.6 hairy men

         10.7 hairy women

         10.8 obesity (a body mass index or BMI over 30 kg/m2)

         10.9 overweight (a BMI from 20 to 30 kg/m2)

         10.10 thinness (a BMI under 18 30 kg/m2)

 

 

 

11. GROUP SEX

         11.1 threesomes (regardless of the genders involved)

         11.2 mate-swapping (again regardless of the genders involved)

         11.3 orgies (regardless of orientation)

         11.4 polyamory (regardless of orientation)

       

12. INTERGENERATIONAL ATTRACTION

         12.1 typical narratives involve older, usually wealthier and more socially prominent persons playing the dominant role with younger partners

         12.2 atypical narratives involve younger people, often as trophy partners, calling the shots with their older partners, or at least thinking they are

        This subgenre has become increasingly popular in recent years, incorporating the DILF (“daddy-[type] I’d like to fuck”), MILF (“mother-[type] I’d like to fuck”), schoolgirl, and teen character types.  In spite of the names, these terms don’t normally imply incest.  DILFs and MILFs are more often neighbors, teachers, or a parent’s friends or associates who take a keen interest in the younger generation.  MILFs are sometimes described as cougars, whose somewhat predatory nature now enjoys some degree of social approval.  Though always at least eighteen, schoolgirls and teens, even if they’re still attending high school, are eager to break into adulthood and take on mature sexual roles, often with instructors, coaches, principals, bosses, bosses’ spouses, job recruiters, property owners, doctors, tax collectors, and the like.  Many have already tired of their presumed “equals” who offer them no lasting advantage.

        With the youngest baby boomers now in their late 50s, Weird Beard Press is now interested in GILF grandparent-[type] I’d like to fuck) erotica featuring sexpots over 60 who use products like Viagra and Replens to their best advantage as needed to secure a satisfying sex life.  How do sexagenarians get it on these days, wooing lovers twenty or even forty years their junior without putting their own physical and mental health at risk?  How do they introduce them to their friends and family?  What benefits do the younger generation derive from these May-December – OK, March-December – OK, March-December – romances?    

 

13. CLOTHING FETISHES

         13.1 cross-dressing involves wearing clothing most often associated with the opposite sex or gender to express gender conformity – thus the cross-dresser, once known as a transvestite, expresses gender nonconformity, which may not be visible if limited to underclothing

         13.2 diapers are typically worn as part of an infantilism fetish, that is, being dressed like a baby, seated in a playpen or high chair, and often disciplined and fed (sometimes nursed) by a nanny

         13.3 leatherwear consists of fetishistic clothing (principally jackets, boots, chaps, and other accessories) associated with (but not exclusive to) the gay and BDSM subcultures

         13.4 sleepwear includes bedtime wear including chemises (otherwise known as teddies), negligées, nightgowns, nightshirts, pajamas, peignoirs, and robes – mostly when worn in public or when they’re likely to embarrass the wearer

         13.5 sportswear runs the gamut from athletic supporters (or jockstraps) to crop tops, gym shorts, keikogi, leotards, muscle shirts (or tank tops), sports bras, sweatpants, sweat suits, and yoga pants

         13.6 underwear fetishes involve all types of underclothing and swimwear (bikinis, bras, boxer shorts, briefs, garters, slips, socks, stockings, and so forth)

         13.7 uniform fetishes figure in “professional” roleplaying involving military personnel, prison inmates, professional athletes, and maids, among others

         13.8 wet clothing outlines erotic physical attributes without exposing them directly

        13.9 clothing fetishes can also focus on specific fabrics, such as angora, chainmail, cotton, denim, jersey, lace, latex, mesh, muslin, net, nylon, organza, rubber, sackcloth, satin, silk, velvet, velour, wool, among others

        As a general rule we don’t publish fur erotica, unless the furs involved are produced synthetically.

 

 

14. RITUAL FETISHES

         14.1 clergy exploitation features ministers, priests, nuns, and other church officials and/or conspicuously religious persons with sexual secrets

         14.2 cult exploitation incorporates sexual practices and their regulation into worship or other religious or quasi-religious practices

 

15. ETHNIC AND INTERETHNIC EROTICA

         15.1 typical features all forms of sexual activity between (or among) persons with obviously different skin colors, most often Blacks with Whites (as in Talia Hibbert’s erotic romance Get a Life, Chloe Brown), though increasingly between (or among) any of the “traditional” racial groupings, such as East Asians (as in Koko Brown’s Player’s Ultimatum), Latinx (as in A.M. Kusi’s Glass Secrets), Middle Eastern (as in Dyanne Davis’s Let’s Get It On), Native Americans (as in Madeline Baker’s Lakota Love Song), Pacific Islanders (as in Maida Malby’s Boracay Vows), and South Asians (as in Sajni Patel’s First Love, Take Two)

         15.2 atypical explores more complex relationships between (or among) members of specific ethnic, cultural, national, political, and sometimes religious groupings, such as a French Black Jew of Ethiopian descent secretly working for Mossad, pursuing apparent happiness in a broader, diverse, but still often ethnocentric network of societies, such as with a sexually indeterminate Burmese freedom fighter, in which irrational preconceptions won’t go away and moldy prejudices linger in out-of-the-way places

         15.3 preternatural pairs humans with otherworldly entities like angels, cryptids, demons, gods, demigods, superheroes, supervillains, superpowers, incubi and succubae, revenants (like discarnate spirits or ghosts, mummies, vampires, and zombies), werewolves, and the various types of alien, including but not limited to humanoids.  Aliens in particular have a reputation for abducting human beings, subjecting them to medical exams and (especially) body cavity probes, sometimes to the point of conducting experiments, sexual and otherwise, on them – including breeding, chip implantation, gene splicing, organ transplants, and so forth.  Preternatural creatures may inhabit or possess the bodies of others, living, dead, or undead.  The benefits they derive from sexual encounters with humans are always open to speculation but should always offer insight into one or more aspects of human experience.  Some works will describe sexual activity within alien species, like Jack Vance’s Dirdir, whose males have twelve different types of genitals and whose females have fourteen – one per individual. 

 

16. MISCELLANEOUS PARAPHILIAS

         16.1 food fetishes cover eating while having sex, with food as the primary lure, and sex play with food, from masturbating with cucumbers to sharing a watermelon among friends-with-benefits to weaponizing jalapeños: the more tasteful – pun intended – the narrative, the broader the appeal

        16.2 prostitution, or whorotica, details how people “drift” into various types of prostitution, or one-on-one sex work, and become dependent on it as long as their personal resources hold out, the subgenre (which also includes pimping and the increasingly rare whorehousing, or operating an escort service or a massage-and-more parlor) leaving plenty of room for (subtle) social commentary comparing sex work to more socially acceptable livelihoods; the subgenre includes turning gay for pay or straight for pay

        16.3 confinement showcases sexual acts and (above all) relationships that occur behind locked doors, such as in jails, prisons, hospitals, and nursing homes (apart from Abuse of Authority scenarios covered in Section 8 above).  It focuses primarily on same-sex bonding that flourishes behind bars, which may or may not be abandoned once the period of confinement ends, and includes relationships between kidnappers and their victims.  Certain types of arranged marriage fall under this general category as well, as do scenarios in which is a spouse is denied contact with his or (typically) her biological family and support system.

        16.4 virtual describes sexual activity that takes place by means of communications media, beginning with basic phone sex and continuing through various types of cybersex (including sexting and camming) to virtual sex shared with other system users or fantasy characters by means of a virtual reality headset.  Today’s technology gives users access to virtual worlds or metaverses like Red Light Center (RLC) and other “virtual world communities” that offer a variety of interactive scenarios.  Where will it take us tomorrow?  

        16.5 robotics explores human interaction with various types of artificial intelligence (or AI), from talking love dolls to fully functional androids offering all the amenities and almost indistinguishable from the genuine article: some are superhuman in both their attributes and appetites, but what does it mean to be more (or less) than human?

 

 

 

 

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