Reader Questions: I'm an author and I'm completing my first gay themed YA novel. How do I reach queer youth who might like my book?

The Lovely Author C. Lee McKenzie offered this answer:

Wish I had some super advice for you re: how to reach queer youth with your novel. Of course publication is the key and then gaining a reading audience.

My best suggestion is to find other books that are similar and appeal to gay teens. The publishers that have taken on those books would be more open to accepting subs from you.

You might get in touch with other writers who are writing for the gay reader and see if they will share names of agents who have taken them on. Malinda Lo is a good example.

I wish you a lot of luck with your story.

I'd like to add that getting involved in an organization like SCBWI (The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) offers a lot of information on the craft and business of writing for teens, as well as opportunities to get your work in front of agents and editors.




I've been involved with SCBWI for more than 6 years now, and am honored to be part of the team that blogs their international conferences - you can find out more about those conferences at our official conference blog here.

The organization has many smaller local events (like schmoozes - and yes, I co-coordinate one of those, too - out in Los Angeles) and is a wonderful resource.

As far as getting queer youth to know about you and your writing, that's where marketing and social media like facebook and twitter can play a role... but first, writing the book and making it the best it can be is key.

Best of luck on your journey, and giant thanks to C. Lee for sharing her expertise!

Namaste,
Lee

Reader Questions: Where Can I Buy This Book?

My theory on this is

buy from where you'd like to be able to shop in the future.

For instance, if you like having a local independent bookstore, buy your books there - that way, you're helping to ensure that they stay in business.

You can also check out Indiebound to help you find independent bookstores!

There are of course still some chain bookstores like Barnes and Nobel and Borders - again, buy your books where you want to keep being able to shop for them.

If you want to order a book on-line, check out Powells (a large independent bookstore that I really like, and that I've chosen to team up with here on this website - when you click a book cover on a book post at this blog, it usually takes you to the Powells page for that book. (Full disclosure: I'm part of an 'partners program' with Powells, which gives me a commission for business I send their way.)

Of course, there are other, larger online stores as well - Amazon is a giant, and often works with Affiliates to offer them commission on any click-throughs. So, if you're shopping Amazon, go to them through blogs or websites or organizations you'd like to support.

And if you can't afford to buy all the books you'd like to, contact your local library - either get the book there (the more GLBTQ Teen books circulate, the more librarians will see the books are in demand and the more GLBTQ Teen books they'll buy for their collections), or if they don't have the book, see if you can request they either purchase it for their collection or get it for you through the inter-library loan system. (I've gotten books from clear across the country this way!)

Thanks for asking, and happy reading!

Namaste,
Lee