I’ve been putting together information for a couple of panels I’m on in the next few month. While I was creating outlines and gathering things I wanted to present in handouts and discussion I realized I needed to explain my goals–my goals as an author of M/M erotic romance, goals in promotions, and goals as a publisher of gay erotic romance and fiction. I needed to explain why I write it. Why I choose to invest so much time, energy and money into this genre.
I’ve spend a couple of years now writing nothing but M/M romance. I’ve been nominated for a number of awards for my writing and even won some of them. all the while trying to shed a bit of legitimacy and light on the genre in places like RWA, Passionate Ink, RT, Affaire de Couer, and a list of marvelous romance review sites, and looking to find thousands of female (for the most part) readers I know are out there. I’ve pulled together a group of like-minded authors and created a well-known, successful co-op, Manloveromance.com, for advertising in this genre inside and outside the romance community, to try to attract the male half (gay) of our audience to our collective works. Then when I felt the need to provide more quality work in the genre and an outlet for authors to print publish these books, I decided to start publishing it as well. I created MLR Press (ManLoveRomance Press) and begin publishing both gay fiction and erotic romance, combining the two audiences at one press with a mix of hugely talented authors from both fields.
What am I trying to accomplish with all this? Suddenly I had an answer. A pretty simple one, too. I think I’m trying to build a bridge. A bridge between the two major audiences of M/M erotic romance–straight women and gay men who enjoy erotic romance. Working to reach both communities and bring them what they enjoy. To provide entertainment. To let people enjoy those HEAs in the genre they want, whether the readers are male or female. Trying to make sure the titles are available to them and they know where to find them easily. To have bookstores to carry the titles, whether on the romance shelves or the glbt shelves, or virtual shelves of the Internet. Just as long as they are somewhere for readers.
So I’m not so much an author, or a publisher. or a promoter, as I am an engineer. And I don’t even own a hard hat. Hard head, yes, but no hat!
Written by Laura Baumbach
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lisabea wrote,
Funny, Laura, I’m feeling much the same way. Only on the reviewer/reader end.
Link | February 22nd, 2008 at 11:29 am
Laura Baumbach wrote,
Well, lisabea, we’ll just be engineers together on this! It has to be a team effort to work. No one person can do it all. And all my efforts are for nothing if there are no readers! Readers allow authors to exist, IMO.
Link | February 22nd, 2008 at 12:54 pm
lisabea wrote,
Laura,
Could you drop me a quick email? I’d like to do a post on MLR Press.
Link | February 27th, 2008 at 9:32 am