My guest today is Author Irene Hannon and her latest book is In Harm’s Way. I’ll be interested–What do you think of Irene’s choice?

Here’s Irene:

Just Say No

Early in my writing career, before the inspirational market took off, trying to sell romances without sex scenes was tough. Publishers were demanding more and more explicit romantic encounters, many of which happened outside marriage, and that’s not what I wrote.

On the other hand, I wanted to sell a book.

As time went by, I began to think that compromising my principles might be the only way I would become a published author.

I was more convinced of that than ever when I submitted one of my novels to a well-known publisher and got a serious nibble. The editor liked the story, liked the characters, liked the writing—but there was one little problem.

No sex scenes.

She sent me a letter, pointing out places in the manuscript where sex scenes could be inserted, and went on to say that if I added a few she’d love to take another look.

In other words, the book was fine as it was—except for the lack of sex. Put that in, and I was pretty much assured a sale.

Every writer who aspires to see his or her work in print knows how tempting it is to say yes to any offer. Writers have been known to make any requested changes, practically give their books away, or even go the vanity publishing route just to hold that printed volume in their hands. I was no different.

But I couldn’t compromise my principles. No matter how much I wanted that sale, the price was too high. If I did what the editor asked, I’d end up ashamed of the book. I’d know that the story had been perfectly fine before the sex scenes, and that I’d added them just to satisfy a boilerplate requirement. To me, this was gratuitous sex, plain and simple. And outside of marriage to boot.

So I said no. And resumed my search for a publisher.

It took a few years, but eventually I found one. And I sold that book—without the sex scenes. More than two dozen books later, I’m still selling books without sex.

I tell this story not to toot my own horn, but to encourage other writers to stick to their principles, despite the lure of publication. You won’t be sorry.

I’ll illustrate this with one final example. A few years after my moment of truth, I ran into a well-known inspirational author at an airport while we were waiting for our flights after a conference. We’d never met, and I was still very much a newbie. We chatted about our publication history, and she mentioned that early in her career, she’d tailored a number of books to the secular market (i.e., included sex scenes) and that she had always regretted doing that.

I’m glad I don’t share that regret. And I continue to believe that good writing will win out in the end. Maybe not in our time—but in God’s. Patience, hard work and integrity really do pay off.

RITA-award winner Irene Hannon is the author of more than 30 novels, including the bestselling Heroes of Quantico suspense series. A four-time RITA finalist (Book 2 in her Quantico series, An Eye For An Eye, is a current finalist), she has also been honored with a Reviewers’ Choice award from RT BOOKreviews magazine and a HOLT medallion. Her latest book, In Harm’s Way, has just been released. For more information, check out her website, www.irenehannon.com.

So did she make the right decision?–Lyn