# Gay romance writers?



## jamielakenovels (Jan 14, 2014)

Are there any other gay romance or mm erotica writers on the board? I'd love to connect with you so we can exchange ideas, do cross-promotions and beta-read each other's work. Let me know!


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## Crime fighters (Nov 27, 2013)

I haven't started writing m/m yet, but it's in the plans.


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## steve40004 (Apr 22, 2014)

I have one book that has 197,000 words.  Yes, that is far too big, but I see it as a series.  Stages of life of one male couple from eighteen, right on through to their grandchildren (they adopted).  A dream to make contact with another gay romance writer to share with and talk with.  Thank you
Steve


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## AJ Truman (Apr 4, 2014)

Hey guys,

I am planning to publish my first M/M romance this September. It's my first time with self-publishing, and I'm definitely excited. I'll be keeping an eye on this thread. Also, for those M/M writers already published, what % of your sales were for print copies? I'm debating whether to pay extra to have my book available in print. Is it worth the added cost?


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## Annette_g (Nov 27, 2012)

I do, one m/m novel and quite a few m/m short stories out so far 

I also have an M/M blog called Zipper Rippers, if anyone would like to submit their m/m stuff for free promo/cover reveals/spotlights/interviews etc.

http://zipperrippers.blogspot.co.uk/

I've sold more on ebooks that print copies of my novel, only a handful of paperbacks, less than 20 or so I think. A lot of m/m readers read quite a lot of books, so ebooks might be your best bet, they're usually cheaper and don't take up so much room


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## Kia Zi Shiru (Feb 7, 2011)

I write gay fiction (though not necessarily romance). If you want to connect to many people writing in your genre, contact me on facebook and I can introduce you to some amazing people. If you want to 

I also run a fb group (still small at the moment) to help LGBT authors connect to LGBT bloggers and authors with blogs, which can help with blog tours and other promo things.


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## ElHawk (Aug 13, 2012)

A good friend of mine writes TONS of gay romance and erotic romance. She just started self-publishing but most of her work is with various small presses. I keep telling her to get her butt over to Kboards because it rules here. Hopefully she'll show up soon!!

I don't write gay romance, but I have lots of gay characters. I even have a bisexual/possibly transgendered Pharaoh.


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## Eva Lefoy (Jan 25, 2014)

Kia what is the fb group called?

I'm a mm / lesbian author as well

Thanks

Eva

Sent from my LG-VM701 using Tapatalk 2


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## Kia Zi Shiru (Feb 7, 2011)

Eva, the group is called LGBT Authors and Blogges Connect! It's a closed group since I don't want to have to moderate for spam and hatefull stuff. If you request membership under the name you use here I can immediately add you, otherwise you can find my profile as the admin and send me a message. (offer is for anyone by the way)


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## Brian Olsen (Jan 13, 2013)

Kia Zi Shiru said:


> Eva, the group is called LGBT Authors and Blogges Connect! It's a closed group since I don't want to have to moderate for spam and hatefull stuff. If you request membership under the name you use here I can immediately add you, otherwise you can find my profile as the admin and send me a message. (offer is for anyone by the way)


I just sent a join request - the group sounds like a great idea, I hope it grows! I don't write romance but I include loads of LGBT characters in my sci-fi thriller series, and would love to connect with other LGBT authors.


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## ElHawk (Aug 13, 2012)

Brian Olsen said:


> I just sent a join request - the group sounds like a great idea, I hope it grows! I don't write romance but I include loads of LGBT characters in my sci-fi thriller series, and would love to connect with other LGBT authors.


Yeah, I think you sent it to me. I couldn't figure out wtf you were talking about, since I specifically said in this thread that I'm not a gay romance author.


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## Michelle Maibelle (Oct 24, 2013)

I also write gay romance. I'd love to connect with all you guys!


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## Brian Olsen (Jan 13, 2013)

ElHawk said:


> Yeah, I think you sent it to me. I couldn't figure out wtf you were talking about, since I specifically said in this thread that I'm not a gay romance author.


Hah! No, I don't think that was me - I just clicked "join" on the group's page, I didn't send anyone a Facebook message.


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## meh (Apr 18, 2013)

I'm writing an M/M suspense/mystery novel under my other name (J.T. Hall--I also write erotica under that name). I'm active over at the M/M writers group on Goodreads as well as in an M/M writing critique group on Yahoo. We're a very supportive bunch.


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## LBrent (Jul 1, 2013)

My people!


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## Andrew Ashling (Nov 15, 2010)

My series D_ark Tales of Randamor the Recluse_ is Historical/Epic Fantasy with liberal amounts of Gay Romance.


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## Caddy (Sep 13, 2011)

All of my work has gay or lesbian characters in them. The first 3 books of Gastien have gay or lesbian side characters. In the 4th book, Giselle, the 2nd half is taken over by her gay teen-age son and then the 5th book is all his and many other gay men. It is gay historical romance. A very poignant love story and romance.

My There Was a House series is psychological thriller and a gay boy shares main character status with a female. He enters into the story late in the first book and goes from there.


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## Eva Lefoy (Jan 25, 2014)

Annette_g said:


> I also have an M/M blog called Zipper Rippers, if anyone would like to submit their m/m stuff for free promo/cover reveals/spotlights/interviews etc.
> 
> http://zipperrippers.blogspot.co.uk/


*drools on Annette's covers*

I just sent you a blog post my dear.

Eva


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## meh (Apr 18, 2013)

Does anyone have any suggestions for advertising new releases, not just M/M, but any spectrum of QUILTBAG?


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## 77071 (May 15, 2014)

I write gay romance. I've had stories published through ebook publishers and self-published the rest.



Caddy said:


> All of my work has gay or lesbian characters in them. The first 3 books of Gastien have gay or lesbian side characters.


Can I ask who does your art? I love your covers.


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## X. Aratare (Feb 5, 2013)

Another m/m writer here!  Mostly have yaoi manga for individual sale and a subscription website for the novels, but will be putting out more individual releases soon!


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## PDSinger (May 15, 2014)

This thread startled me out of lurkdom. I write mm romance as well. (Now I have to figure out signatures and avatars for this board.  )


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## 77071 (May 15, 2014)

By the way, is Facebook REALLY necessary? I joined Twitter recently, but I don't plan to use it much. Haven't taken the FB plunge & would rather avoid if I can.



PDSinger said:


> This thread startled me out of lurkdom.


Me too.


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## Caddy (Sep 13, 2011)

> Can I ask who does your art? I love your covers.


I private messaged you. I wouldn't recommend the person who did the Gastien covers. I WOULD recommend the person who did my House covers: ElHawk, who is an author here.


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## jamielakenovels (Jan 14, 2014)

PDSinger said:


> This thread startled me out of lurkdom. I write mm romance as well. (Now I have to figure out signatures and avatars for this board. )


Glad you like it.

Regarding Facebook and Twitter. I doesn't matter what social media platform you use, they all have pluses and minuses including Goodreads. I used to never use Twitter but I find that it's much easier to find people interested in gay romance and to engage with them than Facebook which sometimes punishes you if you add someone God-forbid you don't know yet.


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## Jeanne Marcella (Apr 5, 2013)

jamielakenovels said:


> Glad you like it.
> 
> Regarding Facebook and Twitter. I doesn't matter what social media platform you use, they all have pluses and minuses including Goodreads. I used to never use Twitter but I find that it's much easier to find people interested in gay romance and to engage with them than Facebook which sometimes punishes you if you add someone God-forbid you don't know yet.


I was just going to ask where else everyone who wrote in this genre hung out. I did join the FB thread.

And yes, I recently heard FB punishes you if you don't know someone. What is all that about?


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## jamielakenovels (Jan 14, 2014)

Jeanne Marcella said:


> And yes, I recently heard FB punishes you if you don't know someone. What is all that about?


I know. It's ridiculous. First, they recommend a bunch of people they think you should add as a friend and then when you do, they threaten to block you for 7 days. With their billions of dollars, they don't seem to be able to afford a customer service department to handle issues like that. Don't get me started with Facebook. (sigh)


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## AshMP (Dec 30, 2009)

Actually, my current WIP deals with homosexuality (m/m)...but isn't erotic, and there actually isn't sex in it all. If anyone would be interested in chatting, I've done a fair bit of research, and spent some time interviewing -- all of which I'd be happy to share if anyone would like to "partner up" on the finer points.


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## 77071 (May 15, 2014)

Thank you, Caddy and JamieLake! (Messaged you back -- very appreciated.) 

I'm looking to avoid joining FB if I can, so if it's not necessary to hang out there, I won't. I am a member of a Goodreads group for gay romance writing, but I don't post there extremely often. I tend to do better when I spend more time writing and less time networking, because I'm not that great at it!

Now, on the self-publishing front.

I haven't done a lot of advertising or promo, but I have posted more of my stories to KDP and used a lot of free days. This got my name out there and people discovered my free stories. I've used most of my time for writing, getting better at editing (and at hiring an editor!), and feel like I'm growing as an author and also becoming more well known.

I've had four stories published with Dreamspinner Press, one with Less Than Three, but the rest are all on my own.

Cover art -- I've made my own (sometimes with better results than others!). This two were both a success for me: www.amazon.com/dp/B00ESV9MSS, http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E2TMORW/.

I also had covers made for me by Alchemy Ebook Covers (http://www.alchemybookcovers.com/), using the Quick Cover option. Very happy there, especially with Fireproof, my best selling SP title to date.

I've also used premade covers from Dreamspring (http://marionsipe.blogspot.com/), Go On Write (http://www.goonwrite.com/), and Ebook Indie Covers (http://ebookindiecovers.com/). They have all been great to work with so far.

Licensing stock photos can be a bit trickier. Some places don't want anything used for gay romance unless they state that it's ok. They also don't seem to be clear there's a difference between gay ROMANCE and gay EROTICA, which burns my buttons a bit.  Right now I know I'm safe with Istockphoto.com as long as I use a disclaimer. I like Shutterstock images but don't feel I can use the ones with people in unless they've used gay as a keyword, but I've still found a few great things there.

The best (non-technical) advice I can give is already on my blog if anybody is curious what I think (SOOO fascinating, me!)  http://hollisshiloh.blogspot.com/2014/03/some-writer-advice.html It's rather rambly, though.

I'm currently self-publishing with Amazon, and sometimes Draft 2 Digital. I don't use Smashwords or All Romance Ebooks. They both seem too difficult to me, even when people have been kind enough to give me advice about how to join. But maybe I'll get there someday. 

I'm always looking for new things to learn, so if anybody has some great advice or things that have worked for them in the publishing world, I'd love to hear it. 

Oh, I have a small, slowly growing mailing list, and I do it all by hand, no MailChimp, only add people when they give me permission, and I keep my emails short and to the point about new releases only. Also post announcements to GR and my blog, but that's pretty much it.

Story-wise, I tend to write on the sweet end of the spectrum, with little if any graphic sexual content in most of my stories. I feel like this makes me a bit of an oddity sometimes, but I'm OK with that -- it's nothing new!!


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## PDSinger (May 15, 2014)

Hollis, ARe isn't hard to work with. They pay quarterly by Paypal, have a good dashboard, and show you free download numbers now, which is new. Their software asks for an ISBN, but as long as it's a unique identifier 13 digits long, you're good. They will do you a dummy prototype, or you can generate it. Mine is RCKRDG0000001, etc. because my imprint is Rocky Ridge Press. It's a good market for our genre, most months it's my second best, and the only market I know of for PDFs aside from Google Play.  I sell MOBI, ePub, and PDF of the possible formats. PDFs do still sell. You have to generate your files yourself, but that's what Calibre is for, or you can do it with Draft2Digital files. Permafree is easy, and so is running a sale. Sales are easier here than anywhere else, actually: set your percentage discount, your dates to run, and BAM! Done. Live immediately.

Word of warning, **do not** set up a book intending to make it go live later, or you will lose your place in the new release queue, and be buried pages back. Ask me how I know....

Also, if you are fortunate, your newly live book may be on the front page when the newsletter generates. You are then in front of 30,000 sets of eyeballs. This has happened to me twice.


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## 77071 (May 15, 2014)

Ooh!  Thank you for the tips!  

I may have to take the plunge after all.  I just keep hoping that D2D will start working with them, so I won't have to sign up specially...


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## BT Keeney (Jul 9, 2010)

PDSinger said:


> This thread startled me out of lurkdom. I write mm romance as well. (Now I have to figure out signatures and avatars for this board. )


I worked with PD at a small GLBT press, and lemme tell ya: PD can *write*.  Glad to see you're getting those stories out there on your own, PD! Best wishes,

B and Vincent


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## Annette_g (Nov 27, 2012)

HSh said:


> Ooh! Thank you for the tips!
> 
> I may have to take the plunge after all. I just keep hoping that D2D will start working with them, so I won't have to sign up specially...


You're losing out a bit on the market if you don't use ARE, M/M romance and erotica books are the best selling genres over there. I've never had any trouble with uploading or them paying me on time 

I do sometimes forget that they only accept file names like this : annettesbook rather than annette_book, their system won't recognise anything except letters and there can't be any spaces in your file names. I sell a lot more there than at Amazon at the moment.


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## PDSinger (May 15, 2014)

BT Keeney said:


> I worked with PD at a small GLBT press, and lemme tell ya: PD can *write*.  Glad to see you're getting those stories out there on your own, PD! Best wishes,
> 
> B and Vincent


**flyingtackleglomps** Glad to see you here! And thanks for the kind words.

For those who didn't know, BT is also a kick-ass editor (who taught me how to make an action scene active) who is quite comfortable with our genre.


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## Andrew Ashling (Nov 15, 2010)

Just wondering, did any of you participate in the _*Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia 2014*_?

FWHIW, this is my contribution: http://www.ximerion.com/blog/hop-against-homophobia-and-transphobia-2014/


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## 77071 (May 15, 2014)

Thanks for the thoughts about ARe.  I'll have to move this up my priority list I guess.  

Just wanted to mention a strange Amazon experience.

I wrote a short story that I thought was really a bit too short (and on the "downer" side) for anyone to pay for, so I launched it with the 5 free days on Amazon, figuring everyone who wanted to read it would download it then.  (It was also a thank you to my readers; I tried to warn for the angst.)

Definitely a lost-leader, though.  Surprisingly, it was well-received, which was nice.  But now it's gone back to 99 cents...and so far, it's still selling.  

I've used free days before and found them helpful for getting reviews, sometimes even getting better sales, but I must say this really surprised me.

Most of my titles are 15,000+ words and I usually price at 2.99 except for special sales and free days.  I've had some success that way, but now I'll be keeping an open mind about 99 cent short stories with free launches in the future.  

This could've been a fluke, but if not....


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## PDSinger (May 15, 2014)

> I'm under no illusions that a 6000 word story for 99 cents is a particularly good deal.


Why not? The small pubs in our genre sell that for $1.99 +.

Value your work. Isn't your story worth as much as a candy bar? Just as much pleasure and less likely to stick to your hips.


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## 77071 (May 15, 2014)

Sorry, I already edited that out of my post.  It sounded stupid.    But I really did feel that way.

Never really know which of my stories are going to be worth it to readers, you know?


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## Hildred (Sep 9, 2012)

Kia Zi Shiru said:


> Eva, the group is called LGBT Authors and Blogges Connect! It's a closed group since I don't want to have to moderate for spam and hatefull stuff. If you request membership under the name you use here I can immediately add you, otherwise you can find my profile as the admin and send me a message. (offer is for anyone by the way)


This is awesome. I sent a request, same name as here.

I write lesbian fiction (romance and erotica) and trans* themed works but no M/M. But, you know, I saw the word "gay".


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## AJ Truman (Apr 4, 2014)

I'm so glad I found this thread! Thanks everyone for chiming in. I'm still scrambling to edit and get everything together for a fall launch. It seems like M/M romance sells pretty well, from looking at the ranks. I wonder how much of that audience is gay men vs. straight women. I think my book has more appeal to the former, though who knows. 

Also, did any of you use developmental editors or just copy editors (or none)?


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## 77071 (May 15, 2014)

My readers are both, couldn't tell you the percentages, though.



> I think my book has more appeal to the former, though who knows.


There's definitely crossover appeal. I think female readers are more insistent on every story containing romance, not just sex. But this is a broad designation. Whoever you think you'll appeal to, it's probably best not to denigrate anyone who you don't think will read your stories. Because you never know, do you, and why tell part of your possible audience they might not be welcome? Every reader you can get is a great reader!



> Also, did any of you use developmental editors or just copy editors (or none)?


I use a line editor more often lately, since it brings better results. But many of my stories haven't had any editor other than myself. I can definitely use the help, though, and am trying to steer towards more professionally edited material. It really DOES make a difference, both in the final product and the reviews you get. People don't like typos, and it seems there are always more hiding no matter how many times you edit. If you can afford a copy editor, or have friends to help, it'll be better for the final product. Also, putting the story on your Kindle (if you have one) and having it read it aloud to you can help you spot some problems.



> It seems like M/M romance sells pretty well, from looking at the ranks.


It really depends, on the story, the author, and a bunch of other factors nobody can predict. Sometimes things sell well, sometimes they don't. We're still in a minority of romance writers, I believe. I've heard people say they could make much more money if they wrote M/F, not that money is the primary factor for them or, I'm guessing, for any of us.


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## Lia Cooper (Jan 28, 2014)

/waves

my first m/m novel is published, working on the 2 sequels atm. i mostly hang out on twitter and my blog


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## jamielakenovels (Jan 14, 2014)

It's so great to see our little m/m gay romance family coming together. Love it! Would anyone like to beta-read for me? Here's a link to sign up: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1WS1fBssIIj6GXGJ6NhQwCbGjFiFHD5JGUl4iRYe2-m0/viewform


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## Dormouse (Nov 10, 2012)

I write m/m erotic Romance. Currently trying to finish my first novel and editing a novella. I am on fancebook but not that active (too busy writing) which I really need to change. 

New contacts for chatting, support etc. always welcome.


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## mutantclover (May 21, 2014)

I'm super late to the party, but a friend pointed me in the direction of this thread because I've been complaining to her that I'm not part of an M/M writing group yet. Just took the self-publishing plunge recently to put out some M/M fantasy novellas, and I'd love to be involved in this group. I'll check into the Facebook group as Jacob Lagadi--many thanks for taking the time to reach out!

Jamie--urg if I didn't have multiple other things to beta read I'd totally do it for you. Best of luck with your new work!


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## Kia Zi Shiru (Feb 7, 2011)

mutantclover said:


> I'm super late to the party, but a friend pointed me in the direction of this thread because I've been complaining to her that I'm not part of an M/M writing group yet. Just took the self-publishing plunge recently to put out some M/M fantasy novellas, and I'd love to be involved in this group. I'll check into the Facebook group as Jacob Lagadi--many thanks for taking the time to reach out.


I accepted you in the group. Go make awesome friends


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## Amanda Hough (Feb 17, 2014)

I have an amazingly terrific client who writes m/m. I don't think Rain would mind if shared work. I told her to get on this board so she could chat with other writers.
This is such an exciting genre. Best of luck to you all.
Amanda

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Rain%20Carrington&search-alias=digital-text

https://www.progressivedits.com/


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## 77071 (May 15, 2014)

BTW, in the last couple of months I experimented with 99 cent launch price.  It worked really well for one title, and OK for a second, shorter title.  My reasoning was that

1) I'm thanking regular readers with a lower price point
2) I'm lowering the barriers to new readers who'd like to try me out without investing a lot of $$
3) I'm getting into the Amazon rec engine and getting more visibility


I've also seen a major gay romance publisher doing this with some titles, and it seems to be working well for them in gaining visibility and traction.  Just thought I'd throw that out there in case anyone else is thinking about launching strategies.


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## 77071 (May 15, 2014)

Oh, and sorry, I meant "launch price" as in temporary pricing, going up to regular price in 5-7 days.


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## jamielakenovels (Jan 14, 2014)

HSh said:


> BTW, in the last couple of months I experimented with 99 cent launch price. It worked really well for one title, and OK for a second, shorter title.


I like your covers!

I've found including an excerpt in the back of my books with a link to the Amazon page has worked INCREDIBLY well. Would anyone be interested in cross promoting even if it's just for a week or two by including your excerpt and a link to your book and you, doing the same? If so, please private message me.


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## CherilNClarke (Aug 29, 2011)

I started out with FF novels over ten years ago, but at this time sexuality is fluid throughout my works. Feel free to write me through here or visit www.cherilnclarke.com. My email is cherilnc AT cherilnclarke.com.

Sidenote: I've also written and produced plays as well as published LGBT children's books so I have a pretty broad view of this target market.


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## 77071 (May 15, 2014)

jamielakenovels said:


> I like your covers!


Thank you! Two are from my publisher, two were purchased by me, and the middle one I made myself (though they don't always turn out that well when I make them myself). (Two purchased ones are a pre-made from Melody Simmons and a Quick Cover from Alchemy Book Covers where I picked the stock image.)



> I've found including an excerpt in the back of my books with a link to the Amazon page has worked INCREDIBLY well. Would anyone be interested in cross promoting even if it's just for a week or two by including your excerpt and a link to your book and you, doing the same? If so, please private message me.


Interesting! I used to put excerpts in the back of my stories, but lately I've been starting to steer away from it. I have been worried about annoying readers when they find out there's space at the end that isn't story. You feel it's worth the possibly annoyance factor, then?


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## jamielakenovels (Jan 14, 2014)

HSh said:


> Interesting! I used to put excerpts in the back of my stories, but lately I've been starting to steer away from it. I have been worried about annoying readers when they find out there's space at the end that isn't story. You feel it's worth the possibly annoyance factor, then?


Worth it? Let's put it this way, my sales became almost 10 times as profitable when I did that. And I put a bit.ly link in it and found out that I got tons of traffic from doing that. But I'd like to swap excerpts and links with other m/m authors, as many as 2 authors per book.


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## 77071 (May 15, 2014)

Holy horsehockey, Batman!  Looks like I'll be experimenting with excerpts on my next release(s)....



> But I'd like to swap excerpts and links with other m/m authors, as many as 2 authors per book.


I've heard good things about this, but not tried it myself. Not much of an innovator, lol. My concerns would be that it would probably only work if the stories are similar enough that the same audience will like them both. Similar length/pricing might be an issue, and heat levels/themes/subgenres. Is that correct?


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## jamielakenovels (Jan 14, 2014)

HSh said:


> Holy horsehockey, Batman!  Looks like I'll be experimenting with excerpts on my next release(s)....
> 
> I've heard good things about this, but not tried it myself. Not much of an innovator, lol. My concerns would be that it would probably only work if the stories are similar enough that the same audience will like them both. Similar length/pricing might be an issue, and heat levels/themes/subgenres. Is that correct?


The beauty with Kindle is that you can experiment and if it doesn't work after a few days, you try something new.


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## jamielakenovels (Jan 14, 2014)

Anyone interested in joining together to do a gay romance box set bundle on Amazon?


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## 77071 (May 15, 2014)

Mm, I think I would, if I knew how it was going down.

1) special theme/etc.? (I don't do bondage or straight-up erotica.)

2) payment or free? (I was in this free Christmas anthology and it was a ball: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-christmasdelights-1364783-166.html

If payment, we'd all have to give our payment details to someone and let them be in charge. Or let it go to charity, etc.

3) who puts it out there and on what platforms (please don't make me be the formator)

4) new stories or old? length? permanently in the anthology or can republish later?

I'm figuring it would be a promo thing, 99 cents or free, just to get names out there. Is that what you had in mind?


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## jamielakenovels (Jan 14, 2014)

HSh said:


> Mm, I think I would, if I knew how it was going down


I'd say payment going to the same charity we agree on, something like Marriage Equality or some other charity that supports gay rights. It's a tremendous promotional opportunity for us to be introduced to a larger audience.

Theme - we could see what sells the most (have to do some investigating)
Most of us are already on Amazon, so I could be the point-person or we can choose someone else.
It can be old stories as well.

We would all participate in doing our share of promotion.

I've seen authors do this and end up on the bestsellers list. It'd be nice to see an M/M book on a bestsellers list like USA Today or NYTs. You have to sell (not free downloads) at least 5000-10,000 copies in one day on a Sunday for NYT and Monday for USA Today to hit those lists.


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## X. Aratare (Feb 5, 2013)

I'm interested.  If it's something "new" we have to create that'll help a little bit b/c I have little individual work out there (everything's on the serial site) but I'm coming out with a story soon.


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## D.A.Chambers (May 26, 2014)

I think that could be a great idea and am very interested! If we can plan out a good promotion strategy, I think it could be a great way to get our names out there and support the LGBTQ community at the same time.


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## jamielakenovels (Jan 14, 2014)

If you're interested, please join my private Facebook Group for M/M Gay Romance authors here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/246953935496780/


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## 77071 (May 15, 2014)

Um, so, I'm still not on Facebook, but just wanted to share some good news.  I got accepted for a BookBub ad later this month!  I hope that's good news, anyway.    It seems to do well for other people, and has a good reputation, and it's exciting.  It's also a little scary -- hope it goes well!    Anyone with advice for NOT freaking out??


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## jamielakenovels (Jan 14, 2014)

Please EMAIL me if you're serious about being part of the bundle jamielakenovels AT gmail


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## Andrew Ashling (Nov 15, 2010)

As you may know, or not, I'm trying to coordinate a free anthology of indie writing.

Cliff Notes:

* Max. 1000 words
* +250 words bio
* indicate pen name + genre(s)
* include link to your author website
* Submissions before end June to mid July
* Stories needn't be original, nor exclusive

You'll find more in this thread.

Up until now, mine is the only LGBT story.


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## meh (Apr 18, 2013)

Hmm, I  could send you the Valentine's Day flash fiction I did for a blog hop with some other M/M writers. It's a complete story, at about 500 words or so.  Gay romance, with the characters from my current WIP.


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## Andrew Ashling (Nov 15, 2010)

judygoodwin said:


> Hmm, I could send you the Valentine's Day flash fiction I did for a blog hop with some other M/M writers. It's a complete story, at about 500 words or so. Gay romance, with the characters from my current WIP.


Excellent. 

Please send in at [email protected]

Subject line: Anthology 2014

Thanks.


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## PDSinger (May 15, 2014)

Andrew Ashling said:


> Excellent.
> 
> Please send in at [email protected]
> 
> ...


I just sent mine in. Thanks for coordinating the project.


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## Sera_Trevor (Jun 11, 2014)

*waves*  Another m/m writer here.  I have a novella coming out through the Goodread's MM Romance Group's Don't Read in the Closet event, and I'm working on my next novel, which will be my very first for sale book.  Pretty nervous about it.


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## 77071 (May 15, 2014)

Sera_Trevor said:


> *waves* Another m/m writer here. I have a novella coming out through the Goodread's MM Romance Group's Don't Read in the Closet event, and I'm working on my next novel, which will be my very first for sale book. Pretty nervous about it.


Best of luck! Try not to read reviews....


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## 77071 (May 15, 2014)

Hey gang, so apparently BookBub works well in our genre.  Keep it in mind if you ever get the opportunity!    

I've seen it work for other people's stories, in various genres, including our own, but now that it's worked on mine, I wouldn't be afraid to use it again if I ever get the chance.  

Yes, it's expensive, but it paid for itself in one day.


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## jamielakenovels (Jan 14, 2014)

We all really need to do a giant bundle and then chip in for BookBub (not an anthology, a gay romance bundle)...


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## Kia Zi Shiru (Feb 7, 2011)

I'd love to be part of a bundle.


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## 77071 (May 15, 2014)

*nodding icon*


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## Arrington Flynn (May 17, 2014)

judygoodwin said:


> Does anyone have any suggestions for advertising new releases, not just M/M, but any spectrum of QUILTBAG?


TNL (The Naughty List)


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## Sera_Trevor (Jun 11, 2014)

HSh said:
 

> Hey gang, so apparently BookBub works well in our genre. Keep it in mind if you ever get the opportunity!
> 
> I've seen it work for other people's stories, in various genres, including our own, but now that it's worked on mine, I wouldn't be afraid to use it again if I ever get the chance.
> 
> Yes, it's expensive, but it paid for itself in one day.


That's really good to know! Thanks for sharing.


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## jamielakenovels (Jan 14, 2014)

I'm serious about doing a giant bundle for gay romance (can be your old stuff too), short and long with links to your other work in July. We can sell it for 99 cents (it's for promotion only) and 100% of the proceeds will go to a gay rights cause we believe in. If you're serious about it, please email me at JamieLakeNovels AT Gmail.

Also, I'm going to be interviewing Gay Romance authors via email on my new blog http://www.JamieLakeNovels.com <-- if you're interested, email me and if you're a match then we can make it happen!


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## Brandon Shire (Jun 17, 2012)

Arrington Flynn said:


> TNL (The Naughty List)


You have a link? I am unfamiliar with that one and G search turns up nothing


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## raminar_dixon (Aug 26, 2013)

Brandon Shire said:


> You have a link? I am unfamiliar with that one and G search turns up nothing


I think I can help out! 

TNL, or The Naughty List, is the promotional service I launched about 3 months ago. With the help of dozens of other authors from the two largest erotica and romance communities online, who so far have contributed over 60 stories to TNL bundles which support the development of the service, TNL has built up over 1,100 subscribers in that short amount of time. TNL's main focus is on erotica, which makes up around 60% of our current list. The other 40% are romance readers. Most of what we promote is straight content, but most newsletters have at least a few books that would fall under some "spectrum of QUILTBAG" or another. The subscribers seem to like those quite a bit. Heck, they like just about everything!  Each day TNL gets somewhere between 15-30 new subs or more, so it is growing way, _way_ faster than I ever expected.

Currently TNL does ebook promotion, totally and completely free, with the following services available for authors:


Erotica newsletters every Tuesday and Friday (soon to be daily)
Romance newsletters twice a month on the 1st and the 15th (soon to be weekly)
Author interviews on our blog
Flash promos on our FB and Twitter page

TNL is currently *only* accepting books that are either: Free, Discounted, or Regularly Priced at 99 cents.

TNL's main website is: http://www.naughtylistbooks.com

Anyone interested in promoting with us is highly encouraged to check out our submission requirements on the website before sending in a promotion request. I'm not saying TNL is quite as selective as bigger services like Bookbub, but at least 1 out of every 10 requests is declined (usually because of cover art quality). Space in each newsletter is limited as well, and I handle promotion requests on a "first come, first served" basis, so if I can't provide a promotion on the specific date you request, I'll offer you the next earliest date or whatever works for you.

Oh yeah, and readers that want to sign up and get access to our growing achive of erotica and romance, as well as all the deals in the newsletters, can subscribe to TNL here: http://thenaughtylistnewsletter.blogspot.com/p/signup-page.html (also completely free, of course!)


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## jamielakenovels (Jan 14, 2014)

Exclusively for m/m gay romance authors. If you're interested in doing any of the following, please email me today at JamieLakeNovels AT gmail. I'm ready to rock and roll:

* Having a hyperlink to each other's books in the back of our eBooks 
* Swapping excerpts of our books in the back our eBooks 
* Doing an email blast to each other's lists recommending our readers read each other's books. Right now, I have a list of about 300 people. Not much, but it's growing every day. 
* A book bundle with each other's books (old, new, short, long m/m stories bundled together) and we all promote it. 
* A huge giveaway where if they enter their email address, they get a copy of one of our books (like the beginning of a series) 
* Posting an excerpt/interview/honest review of our books on each other's blogs


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## eaconnor (Jul 29, 2014)

I feel late and out of the loop responding (especially as a new user/author), but still, I'm posting. I'm a gay trans man and am roughly 2k words into my first gay trans man erotica short. I also have a couple of characters I'm hoping to use for a more romance-centered m/m story. So ah...hi, I suppose? I know I'm targeting an even smaller niche, but it's what I am and what I like so...I suppose it's at least a good starting point, yes?


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## KrisRipper (Aug 5, 2014)

Sweet! Hey, can I play, too?

Thanks for starting this thread, Jamie! If I hadn't de-lurked yesterday for unrelated reasons, I definitely would have upon seeing this!

I don't have anything to say except that this is awesome and I'll hit the Facebook pages and whatever else just to hang out. It's like finding a club that might want me for a member! Cue the version of the happy dance that doesn't wake napping toddlers.

Also, I second everyone who said to publish at ARE. Yes, this. The interface is clunky, I have problems with it every single time I use it, but I sell books and make awesome fans over there, so it's entirely worthwhile. (And PDFs. PDFs. Man. I had no idea people read fiction on PDF, but they do.)



eaconnor said:


> I feel late and out of the loop responding (especially as a new user/author), but still, I'm posting. I'm a gay trans man and am roughly 2k words into my first gay trans man erotica short. I also have a couple of characters I'm hoping to use for a more romance-centered m/m story. So ah...hi, I suppose? I know I'm targeting an even smaller niche, but it's what I am and what I like so...I suppose it's at least a good starting point, yes?


Hi! I'm genderqueer (or, as I enjoy saying, I'm the asterisk in trans*), and if you're publishing or thinking about publishing trans smut, you *really* need to be at ARE. This' goes for folks writing about bisexual characters as well, in the context of romance or erotica. There's a subcategory over there called, I swear to you, Bisexual/Transgender, and it's gotta be small because I nail that list with very few sales. It's a nice way to find people who might actually be looking for stories with trans (and bi!) characters. (Also note there are only 1700 ish books filed under Transgender on Amazon. We need more books!)

Anyway, this thread rocks. Hope everyone's having a good day!


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## jamielakenovels (Jan 14, 2014)

Sure, Kris & eaconnor. Why not?


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## KrisRipper (Aug 5, 2014)

CherilNClarke said:


> I started out with FF novels over ten years ago, but at this time sexuality is fluid throughout my works. Feel free to write me through here or visit www.cherilnclarke.com. My email is cherilnc AT cherilnclarke.com.
> 
> Sidenote: I've also written and produced plays as well as published LGBT children's books so I have a pretty broad view of this target market.


LGBT CHILDREN'S BOOKS? Forgive me while I go stalk everything you've ever written...

I write a lot of fluid sexuality, as well, and I suspect if I did that less I'd cast a wider net audience-wise. On the other hand, my fans? Are nutso super freaking amazing, so I like that the folks who dig what I'm doing REALLY dig what I'm doing.

But really, now I'm gonna go read your entire website. Gotta go!


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## eaconnor (Jul 29, 2014)

KrisRipper said:


> Sweet! Hey, can I play, too?
> 
> Thanks for starting this thread, Jamie! If I hadn't de-lurked yesterday for unrelated reasons, I definitely would have upon seeing this!
> 
> ...


I identified as GQ for like a year (and other stuff for a year or two before that). I'm so in love with my current trans story, and I look forward to publishing it, even if it doesn't get a lot of sales.


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## JRTomlin (Jan 18, 2011)

One of the things that is discouraging as a reader is that it is hard to find any gay/queer these days that isn't erotica or romance. *sigh*

Some of us queer folk read other stuff. *sigh* Just sayin'.


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## KrisRipper (Aug 5, 2014)

JRTomlin said:


> One of the things that is discouraging as a reader is that it is hard to find any gay/queer these days that isn't erotica or romance. *sigh*
> 
> Some of us queer folk read other stuff. *sigh* Just sayin'.


Have you read The Killer Wore Leather? (http://www.amazon.com/The-Killer-Wore-Leather-Mystery/dp/157344930X, not exactly sure how to hyperlink a phrase without HTML.) There's a thread of romance, ish, but it gets like five beats. The main relationship is between two cops investigating a murder at a leather competition. It's fun.


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## wtvr (Jun 18, 2014)

I write... uh. Everything. People like who they like. In my shifter sci-fi, everybody just gets on with whomever, cuz it's the future, see... and it's no big whup.


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## Dormouse (Nov 10, 2012)

JRTomlin said:


> One of the things that is discouraging as a reader is that it is hard to find any gay/queer these days that isn't erotica or romance. *sigh*
> 
> Some of us queer folk read other stuff. *sigh* Just sayin'.


It is still around but no longer always marked as "gay/queer" but instead is moving into the mainstream. At least that's what I've noticed in fantasy.


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## Annette_g (Nov 27, 2012)

AlixNowarra said:


> It is still around but no longer always marked as "gay/queer" but instead is moving into the mainstream. At least that's what I've noticed in fantasy.


Yes, a lot of fantasy has gay characters these days, but not necessarily romances. More saving the world etc. with characters who don't happen to be straight. There may be sex, but not always.


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## AJ Truman (Apr 4, 2014)

JRTomlin said:


> One of the things that is discouraging as a reader is that it is hard to find any gay/queer these days that isn't erotica or romance. *sigh*
> 
> Some of us queer folk read other stuff. *sigh* Just sayin'.


There's been a big surge in LGBT young adult novels recently, and they're not all about coming out or romance. There are some real gems in there like Will Grayson, Will Grayson (and pretty much anything else by David Levithan), Geography Club, Exiled to Iowa. Send Help. And Couture., Far From You, Lies My Girlfriend Told Me, etc.


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## meh (Apr 18, 2013)

JRTomlin said:


> One of the things that is discouraging as a reader is that it is hard to find any gay/queer these days that isn't erotica or romance. *sigh*
> 
> Some of us queer folk read other stuff. *sigh* Just sayin'.


I'm starting to put together a lesbian mystery series set at a college campus. Will there be romance? Yes, but it will develop slowly. This will primarily be a mystery series. I posted my initial character sketches to my blog at jthallwriting.wordpress.com and received the highest number of hits for any post I've made there. So there's definitely interest in non-erotic, non-romance LGBT fiction.


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## 77071 (May 15, 2014)

Whatever you want, it's probably out there.  It just might be hard to find.  I didn't think there was enough sweet stuff, i.e. not highly sexy romance, so I started writing it myself.  There are non-romance stories out there.  You need to look.  And maybe write some, too.


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## KrisRipper (Aug 5, 2014)

Hello, team gay romance writers!

I'm working on print versions of my books. Are any of you lot selling print books? If so, what are your word count/prices? I spent a stupid amount of time going through the top 100 yesterday trying to find what prices folks are using for print, and there is a damn lack of print books in the gay/lesbian top 100 list, y'all.

Thoughts? Print? Anyone? Thanks!


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## JessieSnow (Jul 25, 2014)

KrisRipper said:


> Hello, team gay romance writers!
> 
> I'm working on print versions of my books. Are any of you lot selling print books? If so, what are your word count/prices? I spent a stupid amount of time going through the top 100 yesterday trying to find what prices folks are using for print, and there is a d*mn lack of print books in the gay/lesbian top 100 list, y'all.
> 
> Thoughts? Print? Anyone? Thanks!


From what I've heard (I haven't printed any books yet), audio books sell much, much better than print books and most people seem to use ACX for that. Apparently, it's faster and easier, too. Some people think it's the next big thing. Print books are kind of a step backward, you know? Especially for certain genres, readers might be cover-shy. If I were to put any of my books in print, they'd be novels or novel-length collections, using Create Space. Anything shorter, I doubt it would be worth the trouble. Good luck!


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## 77071 (May 15, 2014)

I made one print edition and it's sold incredibly poorly, not paying for the extra cost for cover art, even though the ebook sells steadily.  Doesn't seem to be a print-friendly genre.  

Must add that I priced low, so it might not pay for itself without selling a lot anyway, but it really hasn't!!  Some say that having a print copy helps your ebooks sell better, though?

Anyway, it's nice having it on my shelf.  

I've had one request for print compilations of my other stories, but haven't managed it so far.  It really seems like a time and money sinkhole right now.  :-(


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## jamielakenovels (Jan 14, 2014)

Does anyone know any good reliable voice over authors on ACX or elsewhere who are willing to do gay romance audio books for 50/50 rather than an hourly or flat fee?


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## PDSinger (May 15, 2014)

@KrisRipper I do have print versions of most of my stuff, everything over 15k. I price along Dean Wesley Smith's guidelines (kinda), which is on the high side, and also not to undercut my Dreamspinner titles severely. Print is a tool as well as reading material. The biggest benefit of print is that Zon shows your listing as Large amount XXXX  Buy for small amount YYYY, you save ZZZZ and it looks like a great bargain to get the ebook. It drives sales to your ebook. If you sell some, so much the better. Definitely get into expanded distribution. I have books in libraries in print as well as ebook through Overdrive.


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## jamielakenovels (Jan 14, 2014)

September is National M/M Month. Does anyone want to do any author interview swaps, where you conduct your own interview and the other author only needs to copy and paste what you wrote on their own blog? If so, please go to this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1y3nBaaSCG98knjf4L8AlHSVCByzRVqRk6hUEMXSK8bY/viewform


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## duskpeterson (May 10, 2014)

Judy Goodwin, I haven't found the magic answer to promoting lgbtq, but here are some places that allow promotion of non-romance lgbtq titles. (For the Goodreads groups, you have to participate at the forums in other ways as well.)

http://www.glbtbookshelf.com and its blog, http://gay-romance-fiction.blogspot.com/ (not just romance and not just gay, despite the title)

http://speakitsname.com/ (gay historical fiction)

https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/15807-queereaders

https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/58514-rainbow-writers-readers

https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/64285-lgbt-fantasy-fiction

https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/28965-gay-science-fiction

EA Connor, the more narrow the niche, the more desperate the readers are to find stories.  I write trans fiction as well, in a speculative fiction setting.

J. R. Tomlin said, "One of the things that is discouraging as a reader is that it is hard to find any gay/queer these days that isn't erotica or romance."

And it's so hard to promote. I write gay historical speculative fiction, and while there's enough romance in my series to promote them at m/m romance sites, there are no review/promotion sites devoted to lgbt SF/F, as far as I know. At least, none that will allow self-published titles. And while Speak Its Name reviews gay historical fiction titles, it doesn't review historical speculative fiction titles.


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## katrina46 (May 23, 2014)

I write menage, girl on girl with a guy thrown in. I don't consider myself a gay romance writer, but seem to be picking up a small lesbian/ bisexual following. I've considered doing M/M, but I honestly don't think I'd be very good at it.


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## Lia Cooper (Jan 28, 2014)

duskpeterson said:


> ...there are no review/promotion sites devoted to lgbt SF/F, as far as I know. At least, none that will allow self-published titles...


Do you mean like the book tour places?

If I was better at networking with bloggers I would seriously consider starting a queer-focused blog tour for reviews or cover reveals (but i'm more of a web admin type than p2p networker =/ )


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## PDSinger (May 15, 2014)

Let me add one to the list of bloggers friendly to lgbt* titles: Cryselle's Bookself. . Aside from reviewing, she also posts a prompt pic once a week, and anyone who has a flash fic or excerpt of 100-1000 words to go with it (or an older pic, she isn't fussy) gets posted with news, links and covers. I've done several of these, and **full disclosure, I'm also her webmistress and see the stats** they get hits and clicks months or years later. Anyone can play. Doing one tends to attract her attention for reviewing, though there's no guarantee.


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## meh (Apr 18, 2013)

Thanks!  I already knew about all the Goodreads groups, but I'll have to look at the other websites. It was frighteningly easy to promote my M/M title but the LGBT fantasy one has been difficult.


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## KrisRipper (Aug 5, 2014)

PDSinger said:


> Print is a tool as well as reading material. The biggest benefit of print is that Zon shows your listing as Large amount XXXX  Buy for small amount YYYY, you save ZZZZ and it looks like a great bargain to get the ebook. It drives sales to your ebook. If you sell some, so much the better. Definitely get into expanded distribution. I have books in libraries in print as well as ebook through Overdrive.


You nailed it, PD. That's exactly what I want. And I enjoy the OCD nature of formatting, so that's a relaxing end-of-toddler-day activity in my world. But that big price crossed out thing is what I'm going for.

Took a look at your books and now feel like my $9.99 price point is probably okay. I hadn't considered that a lot of the print books in queer romance would be coming from publishers if they aren't coming from indies, and publishers always price higher. Thanks!

In other notes, has anyone used a FreeBooksy? I have a not-a-romance kinky erotica freebie that turns into a romance series, and I'd like to spend a little bit of promotion money on it, but I'm not quite sure where to go (and the FreeBooksy Facebook page was full of Christian inspirational books when I checked it yesterday, so I'm not sure that's my target audience...not to say folks who read Christian inspirational books don't also enjoy loving intimacy between two dudes who are very kinky and not romantically tied, but I'm thinking my *ideal* audience might be elsewhere). It's the first in series and I just published the eighth and final book, so it feels like it might be a good time to promote, but I haven't seen FreeBooksy on anyone's list on this thread so far, so I thought I'd ask.


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## Annette_g (Nov 27, 2012)

I have a blog called Zipper Rippers which does focus mainly on M/M romance, but I will also promote and have done in the past features on books that have any prominent LGBT characters. So fantasy, sci-fi, mystery, thrillers, horror, all genres welcome as long as they feature prominently LGBT characters. 

http://zipperrippers.blogspot.co.uk/

I do only review mostly romance, but other promos are available, such as an interview, book spotlight etc.


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## duskpeterson (May 10, 2014)

I said, "there are no review/promotion sites devoted to lgbt SF/F"

Lia Cooper asked, "Do you mean like the book tour places?"

No, I mean book review websites like this one (which has never accepted self-published books for review) or self-promotion websites like this one (which I do post at, but it's not specifically devoted to SF/F).


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## 77071 (May 15, 2014)

Looks like Bookbub just raised their prices for LGBT:

https://www.bookbub.com/partners/pricing

   

Still cheaper than most other categories, though. And it does seem to guarantee close to #1 ranking.


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## 77071 (May 15, 2014)

Hey guys. I just wanted to point out an amazing premade here: http://ebookindiecovers.com/premade-ebook-covers-fantasy/ Hell Bent, on the third row down. I think that would make a wonderful cover, unfortunately I don't write a lot of action. I hope someone will write it, though, it looks amazing.


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## 77071 (May 15, 2014)

Hey guys. Found this link through my publisher's Twitter account. They gave them some books. Basically they are trying to provide stories for the young people in the shelter to read, and Kindles for them to read on. Pretty amazing.

http://good4lgbt.wordpress.com/

Just thought you guys might be interested. Hoping to send some of my stories that suit their guidelines this weekend.


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## PDSinger (May 15, 2014)

HSh said:


> Hey guys. Found this link through my publisher's Twitter account. They gave them some books. Basically they are trying to provide stories for the young people in the shelter to read, and Kindles for them to read on. Pretty amazing.
> 
> http://good4lgbt.wordpress.com/
> 
> Just thought you guys might be interested. Hoping to send some of my stories that suit their guidelines this weekend.


Looks like a good idea. I donated a full set of my Mountain books in print to a PFLAG chapter.


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## 77071 (May 15, 2014)

In the two categories you get to pick on Amazon, they now have gay romance (under the romance section), so instead of picking gay and romance, you can pick one and use the other to target anything else your book is about, like paranormal, mystery, etc.


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## PDSinger (May 15, 2014)

Excellent news, and probably time to go tweak.

Also, your print version keywords do not have to be the same as your ebook version keywords. Since they link, a print version effectively doubles your keywords.


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