Every day I walk through the school hallways, I think at least once that I don’t belong. I contemplate pretending to be straight. Running away. Ending my life. Questioning every little part of me one more time in the hopes that maybe – maybe – I’m not really gay.
I know that it won’t change anything, but living in the hetero-centric world that we do, it’s not like I can help it.
This type of world leaks into the book world as well. Fantasy, romance, YA – it’s all affected by this view that some people have that says I am a lesser being because of my sexuality. YA is a genre that I read more than any other, and this close minded viewpoint that I see in it pains me. It’s like someone is choking the book world so that only certain books that get out, and the others are blocked, stifling the genre. Sure, we see authors like Alex Sanchez, Perry Moore, and Nick Burd becoming famous and critically known and loved because they right gay fiction, but more often than not it’s the same.
A coming out story. Depression. Angst. Anxiety. A protagonist that starts out hating him/herself. That has other people hating him/her. Tough times, a rough patch with the parental units and friends. It’s what coming out entails. And I get that. But I’m sick of having that be the only thing I read in YA.
Imagine for a moment that you are a hormonally imbalanced teenager who has, for the most part, accepted their sexuality. If you are a teenager, then just go back to that night you were eating ice cream in bed in your underwear while watching New Moon and staring at Taylor Lautner’s chest. Don’t deny it, because I know you did it. You have just realized that you are totally okay with liking someone who is the same gender as you (or the same and different genders, if you are bisexual) and you want to read a book that explores that. So you grab one. Get through it. The romance was cute. But you got depressed by reading about the main character and how he cut himself or tried to date a girl and failed or one of the many other things questioning protagonists do.
Oh well, you think, and you grab another book. Same thing happens. You grab another. Same thing. Before you know it, you are caught in an endless spiral of depression and angst brought on by coming out stories. Then, the lightbulb goes off. You’ll read genre fiction! Then, it’s just a character that happens to be gay, instead of a character that relies on being gay for the entire plotline. Sounds easy, no?
That’s before you realize there’s crap-shit when it comes to YA genre fiction on the market.
I can name two well known titles: Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan and Hero by Perry Moore. Fun books, though they have their faults. Other than that, I can’t think of that many published by a major publishing house. More than likely, you’re stuck with trying to find alternatives. You know what you have to do then?
Search for small presses like Prizm and PD publishing. There are some great gems, like authors John Aterovis and Hayden Thorne. But it’s not enough. Some of the books just aren’t good. And more to the point, the good ones are never going to reach the public like they would if they were published by a larger-than-life publishing house like Penguin or Harper Collins.
Larger presses are by no means bad, but they have a huge monopoly in the blog world, and that makes books from places like Prizm and PD Publishing ignored. The blog world has become a huge catalyst in book buying over the last few years, and this big publisher monopoly could be more balanced so that these smaller books. The main reason these books are at small presses is because the larger publishers aren’t willing to take on LGBTQ genre fiction. While there are a few examples, I have yet to hear an editor or an agent admit that it isn’t something that they are clamoring for. Though anyone can see that publishers aren’t exactly announcing ‘We want more gay genre fiction’.
That being said, I simply don’t get why they don’t see the endless potential in it. Series such as Alex Sanchez’s Rainbow Boys have sold tremendously well, and while that is debatable genre fiction, it certainly shows that readers enjoy reading about gay male protagonists. I know many that find the idea of just an LGBTQ romance – no angst or coming out involved – to be wonderful and just as good as the other books published.
It all boils down to books being unavailable or unnoticed because of the publisher’s small press status. More publishers need to make it clear gay main characters are just as accepted as straight main characters. They need to reach out to the readers and show that there is a market for it, so future writers will not be discouraged and write those genre fiction books – and some angsty ones too.
Libraries need to order more from small presses that support genre fiction. Library budgets are tight, but if they take donations and shelve them, then donate some small press books. If there is a supply, the demand will show and will increase over time. It’s also a chance to provide some lesser-known authors with new readers. Anyone can look up a big name author online in two seconds, but the smaller ones need pushes like this to get noticed more. It’s not that they are less talented, they just didn’t get rushed into fame like the big names.
Most importantly, readers and writers need to write, agent, and submit genre fiction as well as literary/angst fiction. If you write it and it’s good, agents will sign you. They look for good books with good writing – at least, the good agents do. From there your books can be shopped to publishers and will hopefully be bid on. It’s all a matter of getting out there. If you prefer to go the smaller route, submit your work to small presses like PD Publishing and Cheyenne Publishing. You won’t see immediate success and glitz, but between online sales and ebook sales, you get more readers than you would think.
Publishing is a game – one that reflects the players. Readers, you are major players in this game. You are the ones that keep it afloat. You have to urge publishers to get more LGBTQ genre fiction, as well as librarians. It also has to be written. If enough is done, the change will slowly become apparent in the industry. The change is definitely beginning, but it can be sped along if the fervor and energy from the reader end is there.
Genre fiction can make an outsider feel normal. Whether it involves LGBTQ characters, PoC characters, handicapped characters, or characters of other religions, genre fiction shows that a minority isn’t really a minority. That they are just like everyone else. More of it needs to be on the shelves so that teens see that they really are equal.
I’m tired of being that questioning kid in the hallway, and I’m not going to settle for it anymore.
Vist John's blog, Dreaming in Books.