Naughty Books

2020 • 82 minutes

About this movie

No one was prepared for the success of Fifty Shades of Grey. Originally written in 2010 as a piece of Twilight fan fiction and posted online, it eventually sold over 100 million copies, taking erotica mainstream.
But women didn't only read erotica in large numbers; they also wrote it. In the aftermath of Fifty Shades a cottage industry emerged around self-published romance novels. Once women who worked forty-hour-a-week jobs, living paycheck-to-paycheck, many of them are now New York Times bestselling authors with their own merchandise lines and die-hard fans.
Naughty Books follows three such women: an Air Force vet, a telemarketer, and a hospital administrator who became millionaires in under a year by using pen names to sell erotica online. They garnered thousands of fans and secured lucrative book deals with major publishing houses by writing about good girls and bad boys finding love and having steamy sex.
However, as more and more people saw writing erotic romance as a quick path to money and fame, the market became saturated with hundreds of romance novels published every month, making success difficult to maintain...

Ratings and reviews

When I heard that there was going to be a documentary about the romance world, I was really excited. What we get with Naughty Books is a background look at how publishing has affected certain authors in this genre. There are moments of heartbreak not just with publishing but in their lives as well that they let us see. My heart ached for them. I loved seeing the process of it though. How they ride high then struggle to find their place afterwards. Some of these authors I have read and loved their work. I loved that there was insight from the owners of The Ripped Bodice. Everything that they said resonated with me about how even though the romance genre is the best selling, it is still seen as taboo and that women are told not to own their sexuality. I adored their commentary about how yes, romance is a feminest movement, hear us roar essentially. Overall, I thought this was a great insight even though it has been over a course of many years, how publishing and how cut throat the market really is. I was annoyed with the one doctor on there stating that women cannot discern the difference between fantasy and reality and that it will cause abusive relationships. That irks me to no end being told this and hearing someone say that just solidifies my feelings on it. To me, readers know and can own the difference. This is why the envelope is pushed now because we know the difference. I am not sure how others felt about that aspect but that is just me. As a whole, this was a brilliant documentary! I wish we had more on this!

This! This is what I wholeheartedly believe and absolutely love about reading romance books. This documentary highlights how authors got into writing and publishing their books as well as book stores, people who read romance and how its affected us all. I loved watching it. It tells us what we have come to believe as women that it is absolutely amazing how the world has opened up to the genre and stigma surrounding these books. A definite world of possibilities, the world is our oyster. It gives a real insight to the process and it is really interesting how each author does what she does! A true testament to their hard work! It’s definitely important to understand how much it takes to go into a book! The support networks, the fans, how family feel and signings are such a huge part of life for an author! And how judgement and the struggles are real in many ways as well. Support authors by purchasing, reading and reviewing their work. Its their livelihood. Really enjoyed watching it! I love romance and will continue to read them.

I really enjoyed this documentary! It was interesting to see the ups and downs of an author. I could of watched so much more! It was so easy to get into it. I think as a reader we take for granted the books that we read and don’t think about the process these amazingly talented writers go through to get us the books we love. I would definitely recommend watching this!