What I’ve noticed in my six months of working in a bookstore is that the buying trends at the store level essentially match the buying trends at the national level. The really popular books nationwide are also really popular at Half Price Books. There are a number of books that simply cannot be kept in stock because they’re consistently bought. But then there are other books that are consistently sold back to the store and not bought as much by the public. One of the series we see a lot of but that isn’t flying off the shelf happens to be written by EL James.
I see people buying Zane, Maya Banks, and other erotica authors; but not as much EL James as you might expect. I’m saying this knowing exactly how popular Grey was last year, but perhaps the series as a whole has lost just a little bit of steam. Perhaps.
Do you think the Fifty Shades is still as popular as it’s been before? I think it’s still popular, but maybe just a notch or two lower than before.
Johnny Reads 
I think pretty much everyone who wanted to read this book has read it or seen the movie. What I wonder is when is James is going to write something else? I want to see her own writing, not fan fiction gone erotic.
LikeLike
Fan fiction gone erotic is a pretty great spin for her work. Although I have no interest in anything she writes. Whether it’s fan fiction or not.
LikeLike
I’m not sure why she isn’t as popular unless it’s because everyone who was interested in reading those books has done so already? I haven’t read, nor do I intend to, any of the Grey books.
LikeLike
Maybe everyone is just sick of her work by now. 😂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Could be that 😄
LikeLike
I think a lot of copies were sold because of the media and peer pressure. When you actually read the books, it’s like the reaction when the drugs wore off at the Grateful Dead concert. You realize that the product isn’t all that good.
LikeLike
Hm. Well I don’t think many people buy those books because they think they’re written well. I’d say they buy them because they want to read the genre.
LikeLiked by 1 person
True. There are so many indie authors in that genre that write much better.
LikeLike
I’m sure.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m not shocked about “50 Shades” lowering a notch in popularity. Most trends have a peak, then slow down. EL James made waves last year with “Grey” and the movie of “50 Shades.” But I have to wonder if she’ll expand from that story and write other stories. JK Rowling has shown that she wasn’t a one-trick pony by publishing other stories that didn’t involve Harry Potter. Can EL James do the same thing?
LikeLike
I think comparing the writing merits of EL James and JK Rowling is a little ridiculous.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hadn’t put them together before, but I thought it was funny. Both created very popular fantasy series. Of course, for much different audiences.
LikeLike
Erotica is erotica. Young adult fantasy is young adult fantasy. I’m not seeing the comparison.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Erotica offers sexual fantasy. EL James and JK Rowling both conjured fantasies for readers. Of course, “50 Shades” is meant for only a grown-up audience. Based on what I’ve read on reviewers’ blogs about “50 Shades,” they were caught up in the billionaire fantasy.
LikeLike
You may be interested in a refresher course on genres.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Genres make for a convenient classification system. As a writer, I think putting restrictions on a “type” of book can be limiting to creativity. I enjoy when stories have elements of different genres. So if a refresher course has a lesson of “erotica is erotica,” then I’m not interested in that course.
LikeLike
I’ve lost interest.
LikeLike
I wish you happy reading.
LikeLike