Today’s writer topic comes from QSFer Michael Barnette:
When I ran a publishing house and was trying to increase the available f/f and advertised the hell out of the need, we received no submissions. I did hear from a fair number of lesbians on a forum that most of them didn’t read fiction. The topic just died due to lack of interest. Maybe things have changed a bit and there are more readers now?
We know there’s a market out there for FF fiction. But how do you reach it as an author? Does it have its own idiosyncrasies, likes, dislikes, and rules? If authors want to branch out and write more lesbian characters, how do they reach this market?
As a writer, and as a writer of lesbian fiction, the issue of reaching out is a longstanding issue. It is true that there are many lesbians who don’t read fiction, but there are a great many who do. Admittedly, there is a plethora of romance titles. Yet F&SF has been available to lesbians since the 80’s at least. Now there are other publishers who are printing all kinds of speculative lesbian fiction. Regal Crest, Ylva, and a host of others. It’s a positive time, but still, reaching the audience is the key. Websites, twitter, facebook (lots of lesfic groups), conferences, conventions, and word of mouth are the only ways I know at the moment.