Welcome to our erotic writing course. This is an online (distance learning) course designed to get you writing erotic literature, and to get your work published.

Erotic literature has finally come of age. Even the most staid of bookshops carry erotica titles, and many have whole sections devoted to the genre. There are any number of highly respectable magazines covering the subject, while even the most cursory search of the World Wide Web will produce hundreds of specialist sites dedicated to erotica.

For authors interested in writing erotica this is all extremely good news. Not only is there now a massive and ever-growing demand for material – but there is a very, very good income to be had from writing it.

The most important qualification for any writer of erotica

There is as much of an art to writing first-class erotica as there is to any other creative endeavour. It is not simply a matter of describing your real-life or imaginary experiences. It needs to be planned and plotted. The characters need to be developed. The author’s individual style must be honed and refined. Only then can a writer hope to reach a really wide (and profitable) audience.

You’ll notice I said ‘the author’s individual style must be honed and refined’. I don’t believe you necessarily have to be a great writer to be a great writer of erotica. Your readers aren’t going to be worrying about whether you have split an infinitive or made some other grammatical error. What they want is something that grips and excites them. Tone of voice is everything. Some of the sexiest and most tantalising erotic stories I have ever read have been written by people who learned English as a second language. They carry it off because they write with passion. Passion and a determination to succeed are the two most important qualifications for any writer of erotica.

One of our testimonials is from the author, Jonathan Self. He pretty much stopped going to school at age 14 – as he explains in his best-selling memoir Self Abuse. Yet he has been published by newspapers such as the Observer, the Mail on Sunday and the Evening Standard – proving that you don’t have to pass a single exam to become a professional writer. (Jonathan is also one of our course tutors.)

This is why our course is open to everyone. All you need to take this course is enthusiasm.

(Having said this, I should add that if your personal tutor doesn’t feel you are benefiting from the course he or she will write to tell you – and the college will refund your money in full. After well over fifty years as an academic institution, our reputation is more important to us than any one student’s course fees.)

How the course works

The course is divided into ten separate lectures and tutorials – each of which is summarised below.

Nine of the lectures were written by me and one was written by a guest lecturer – Mitzi Szereto.

At the end of some lectures are exercises for you to complete by yourself. These will help you develop your erotic writing techniques. At the end of other lectures there is an opportunity to submit work for assessment by your personal tutor.

All your course material will be available online. A hard copy can be posted to you for an additional charge.

At the end of some lectures are exercises for you to complete by yourself. These will help you develop your erotic writing techniques. At the end of other lectures there is an opportunity to submit work for assessment by your tutor. If you decide to take advantage of our slightly dearer ‘Personal Mentor’ option, by the way, your tutor will provide unlimited one-to-one support for a full 12 months after you enrol.

What you’ll get from the course

The primary purpose of this programme is to help you get your erotic literature published. Everyone who completes the modules should have at least one piece of finished, publishable work.

The lessons include very useful sections on subjects such as how to submit work to publishers, copyright, legal considerations and selling internationally. In other words, it is comprehensive. There is nothing you need to know about writing and selling erotica that isn’t included… and, if we have forgotten something, you can always ask your personal tutor for additional information.

In your own time

One of the benefits of this programme is that you can complete it at your own pace and in the comfort of your own home.

There is no date by which you must complete by. However, if you wish to submit work for appraisal and comment (which is included in the price), you must do so within six months of enrolling. That said, if for some reason beyond your control you need longer than six months, the college is normally willing to grant an extension.