I
recently reclaimed the rights to one of my stories, which had not
sold at all through its original publisher. I am planning to
self-publish it as part of my new Asian Adventures series. However,
I’m facing a dilemma.
This
tale is M/F romantic erotica, set in Cambodia. I guess you’d call
it “literary”, in the sense that it concerns itself with issues
like prejudice and cultural misunderstandings, as well as focusing on the
relationship between the main characters. In the original version,
the story has a bittersweet ending. The couple separates because, in the real world, it would be almost impossible for them to make a life
together.
As
I contemplate republishing the tale, though, I’m wondering if I
should change it to have at least a HFN ending. I know that would
probably increase sales. It also fits better with the first
installment of Asian Adventures, which definitely does end happily.
But
I’m wondering—would this be a violation of artistic integrity?
Would it be honest to flip the ending just to fit popular tastes? A
happy ending isn’t realistic for these characters. A happy
ending would also reduce the emotional punch of the story.
On the other hand, emotional punch hardly matters if nobody reads the story...
Am I being elitist? Silly? Or am I justified in feeling a bit like a whore if I modify the ending?
I
am really torn. What do you think I should do?
