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Jhoanna Carrascal | Contributing Writer
opinion@fiusm.com
Steamy, heavy-breathing and finger cringing are some of the words people use when they talk about the novel, and now film, “50 Shades of Grey.” The book is breaking records for the fastest selling paperback with just the first novel release, surpassing the Harry Potter series. It is riveting to get to know the face behind the rare feat in the self-publishing industry.
E.L. James, a middle age wife and mother to two boys, living in Britain, considers herself a typical woman, just one with a great imagination which lead to her success. Inspired by the Stephanie Meyer Twilight series, James began writing erotic-fantasies on fanfiction.net about the sparkly vampires.
Soon enough, she adapted her own version of a romantic erotic-fiction where her main characters had fans screaming. Entrepreneur and bachelor Christian Grey, who happens to be a dominant, and shy, self-conscious, Anastasia Steele, who is a college virgin, meet when Anastasia’s best friend Katherine who writes for the student newspaper is ill. Anastasia then enters Grey Enterprises Holdings Inc and is immediately attracted to Christian within seconds of meeting him. Their relationship opens with explicit erotic scenes and thus begins the story of their romance.
James later published the novel on her website, FiftyShadesOfGrey.com. After, her e-book was picked up by Australian virtual publisher, The Writer’s Coffee Shop. Soon, large publishing companies were jumping to buy her novel. She also had proposals for the movie rights to her novel. Her fantasies became an overnight success.
Although criticized for the context, James has broken the boundaries in women’s literature, with a mass appeal in the market towards adult women. The novel spread worldwide with mostly female based audience with the help of social media and word of mouth. Named the number one top seller for USA Today, the series has sold over 100 million copies worldwide and has been translated in to 52 languages.
She states “The best part is getting emails from people saying they have not read a book in five years or didn’t enjoy reading books but they read my book.”
Alison Baverstock, an associate professor in publishing at Kingston University said her research showed a clear gender split, with 65% self- publishers being women and 35% men. Although self-publishers are often criticized, they know their audience and are confident about their work.
James, amongst other successful female writers, is an example of how well-educated women are dominating the growing e-book publishing market.
James is a game changing author whose humble and cunning personality were key elements in making her novel successful. Her novel has impacted a great audience, including readers and authors. Without a doubt, James is an inspiration for all women, demonstrating that anything is possible with perseverance and a little imagination.
This author is obviously as insecure and confused about love as Anastasia. How could a woman be advocating for such a gender degrading book/movie? And not to mention the whole article was just a copy and past from other articles