I just posted a new column on Romancing the Blog. This time around I'm talking about an issue brought up during a discussion on Torquere's Yahoo group regarding the reasons why the editor-in-chief of Ace and Roc thinks there's no print market for m/m romances. She's just repeating the party line which is passed around the New York publishers, but it seems to me that the basic premise behind that party line -- that women won't buy m/m romances because they want to insert themselves into the story in the heroine's place, and since m/m books don't have a heroine there's no part for the reader to "play" -- is deeply flawed. If it's impossible for the (presumably female) het romance reader to enjoy an m/m romance because there's no female protag, that implies that it's impossible for anyone to enjoy reading a book where there's no same-gender protag. Am I the only one whose eyes cross at that particular piece of logic...? [squint]
Aside from the fact that most of the m/m romances being sold right now -- in print as well as e-pub -- are purchased by women. [cough]
Anyway, I'm collecting data from readers -- come give me your two cents' worth. :)
Angie
4 comments:
Well, honestly, I wouldn't buy an M/M romance. I've only read five or six romances that were M/F. If the story was in a particular genre like horror or SF I'd be more likely to buy it. But I really don't find books in which the "primary" focus is on a relationship all that interesting.
Charles -- that's fine, if it's just not your cup of tea. [nod] There are plenty of genres and sub-genres I'm just not into for the same reason; everyone has stuff they're into and stuff they simply don't care for.
It's the assumption that the primary reason women who are into romances wouldn't buy m/m is because there's no female protag whose place they can assume during the story that got me all cross-eyed, you know? Because that implies so much else that's completely ridiculous. :/
Angie
My favorite reads are science fiction, fantasy, and mystery. Most sf and many mysteries have male protagonists, and I read them anyway. I don't need to identify with a character to enjoy a book.
Shauna -- that's been the concensus, overwhelmingly. [nod] Even people who've said they do insert themselves into the protagonist's place in the story have said that it's not a problem if the protagonist is a different gender, or a vampire or an alien or an elf or a cat or whatever.
Angie
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