If you ask most literary critics, British author E L James will never win a Pulitzer Prize for her erotic novel "Fifty Shades of Grey" -- not with writing like: "Why won't he look at me? Perhaps he's changed his mind? …Oh no, I could have completely blown it."
But that bitter pill is easier to swallow when you're the toast of the publishing world, as is the case for newcomer James.
In a few short months James's super-naughty tale about college girl Anastasia Steele, businessman Christian Grey and the graphic sexual relationship they share has landed a seven-figure contract with Vintage Books.
Universal Pictures and Focus films have purchased the rights to all three books in James's trilogy for US5 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Ellen DeGeneres and "American Idol" judge Ryan Seacrest have also paid tribute to this work called "mommy porn" by fans.
Seacrest joked recently that he uses the New York Times bestseller as a love "manual."
Talk show host DeGeneres narrated a portion of this S&M tale in a campy video, with whips, handcuffs, chains, a birdcage and a paddle for special effect.
"I'm staggered by this. I never set out to do this," James, a London-based TV exec, said recently to the Associated Press.
The erotic trilogy began as "Twilight" fan fiction that slowly built an audience online before exploding onto the publishing scene.
Since then, "Fifty Shades of Grey" has been credited with spicing up marriages. It's also earned criticism for encouraging women's sexual submission.
Yet sex is the secret to this author's success.
Sex sells, especially when it involves spanking, submission and a host of sadomasochistic acts.
James's take on the power balance between men and women has hit a profound nerve with readers, and brought the darker side of sex into the mainstream.
"Fifty Shades of Grey" has also encouraged readers to have a good laugh as they turn its lurid pages.
Some fans even credit the book for inspiring them to reinvigorate their sex lives with their partners.
"When you put the book down, you will actually want to have sex with your husband. Like, a lot," wrote the popular parenting blog, Gurumommy.com.
That's not necessarily a bad thing, according to Queen's University professor Robert Morrison.
"Even back in the days of Jane Austen, sex was on people's minds," Morrison, a specialist in 19th-century literature, told CTVNews.ca.
"Generally speaking, if any book makes us talk about sex more openly that's a good thing. But I'm not sure that it takes us forward much if it isn't about respect and equality, and books do need to take us forward," he said.
Certainly the publishing business is looking to James's success to propel the industry and ignite the romantic fiction market.
Read mostly by women, romantic fiction is considered the trashy ghetto of the publishing world.
Yet according to the Association of American Publishers and Simba Information, romance sales amounted to US$1.36 billion in 2010 and a projected US$1.37 billion in 2011.
Those figures are doubling and sometimes tripling the sales of religious and inspirational books ($759 million), mystery novels ($682 million), science fiction and fantasy works ($559 million) and classic literary fiction ($455 million).
Even so, critics have questioned the relationship James portrays between the innocent Anastasia and the troubled business magnate, Grey.
"It's a rape fantasy," Dr. Drew Pinsky said recently on his HLN TV program, "Dr. Drew."
In the book, Grey requires Anastasia to sign a contract which would make her his sexual slave.
That concept makes waves. But it also sends readers the wrong message, according to Pinsky.
How such viewpoints will affect future consumer interest remains to be seen.
For now, the names of stars such as Chris Pine, Christian Bale, Michael Fassbender, Emma Watson and Rooney Mara are popping up online, as fans voice their ideal candidates to bring James's story to the big screen.
Despite such buzz, author James isn't sure she will pen another novel.
"It's really quite daunting," James told the press recently.
