Hellooo and welcome! Also, big-up the gay fiction massive *grin*.
I would agree that writing m/m (I term I dislike, but which is a useful shorthand for a particular market sub-section) is tricky. In my experience, at least half the readership (and reviewership) have a sort of mandatory expectation level about the amount of flesh they're going to get to 'see', but there are pubs who are known for a wider genre approach. MLR Press have a strong line in mystery and detective fiction, despite placing an emphasis on erotica, and Dreamspinner are a romance publisher open to and known for a wider range of less explicit work. (I have a thing out there in October, which I believe doesn't actually contain the word 'cock' once. Gasp(!))
Tbh, I think things are open enough now that you can place well-written fiction anywhere, regardless of GLBT content... yet it's also true that, where said title involves sex or romance, gay characters are less bankable for large mainstream publishers, which means many 'mainstream' gay titles get marginalised to small presses, especially when written by new or little-known authors. It's changed a lot in the past fifteen years, but not changed completely, I think.
Also, I agree: research the hell out of anywhere you submit, regardless of the company's size. ;)
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I would agree that writing m/m (I term I dislike, but which is a useful shorthand for a particular market sub-section) is tricky. In my experience, at least half the readership (and reviewership) have a sort of mandatory expectation level about the amount of flesh they're going to get to 'see', but there are pubs who are known for a wider genre approach. MLR Press have a strong line in mystery and detective fiction, despite placing an emphasis on erotica, and Dreamspinner are a romance publisher open to and known for a wider range of less explicit work. (I have a thing out there in October, which I believe doesn't actually contain the word 'cock' once. Gasp(!))
Tbh, I think things are open enough now that you can place well-written fiction anywhere, regardless of GLBT content... yet it's also true that, where said title involves sex or romance, gay characters are less bankable for large mainstream publishers, which means many 'mainstream' gay titles get marginalised to small presses, especially when written by new or little-known authors. It's changed a lot in the past fifteen years, but not changed completely, I think.
Also, I agree: research the hell out of anywhere you submit, regardless of the company's size. ;)