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November 21st, 2006 (04:48 pm)
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Utterly disgusted!

Laura Baumbach , author of many m/m books, and head honcho over at www.manloveromance.com to name but one of her many pies - has been shafted good and proper by the blinkered folk at Romantic Times.

Laura - always working hard for promotion of self (and selflessly of others, too) had signed up to the Romantic Times Faery Ball Court (which personally sounds the sort of thing I'd have to take an Uzi to). It's horrendously expensive but the CONTRACT said that "one book would be reviewed."

She checked with Faery Ball Court beforehand, too and they said "Yes, no problem, send the book." So she sent it and they sent it back saying 'NO. Our policy excludes reviewing M/M romance, Faery Ball Court member or not'. But they've made no effort to return her money at time of writing this.

If this had happened over here I'd have them in Small Claims Court before they could BLINK.

Unbelievable. A little while ago Romantic Times had one of their largest responses ever to their question "Do women really enjoy m/m?" to which there were about 21 pages of replies, mostly positive saying "Hell, yes!"

That they don't wish to review them is one point. To renege on a contract is just.... there are no words. This isn't the first time they've done this kind of thing either. I remember reading that someone, in good faith, paid for advertising in Romantic Times and then - as per the contract - sent their book in only to be told that the book would not be reviewed.

Affaire de Coeur HAVE, however, woken up to the 21st century, and have now agreed to review m/m books. Good for them! The fact that I didn't know that they'll only take books pre-publication is rather galling, and i'm a bit miffed my publisher didn't tell me this....*grump*

Romantic Times? I think that's rather a good name. Definition of Romantic: fanciful; impractical; unrealistic: You guys live behind pink glass and you are foolishly ignoring what's happening in the world and in publishing.

Perhaps you should think about rebranding to "Behind the Times"

Comments

Posted by: Becky/MargretSCA ([info]rwday)
Posted at: November 21st, 2006 04:58 pm (UTC)

Unless the language of the contract explicitly stated that they do not review M/M regardless of all other considerations, if I were her, I'd sue. Unless someone takes a stand, they'll keep doing this crap.

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Posted by: Erastes ([info]erastes)
Posted at: November 21st, 2006 08:06 pm (UTC)

I agree. It's been a while since I did contract law, and I wonder if they could use "But she knew of our policy regarding m/m books" no matter what the contract says, and whether they could wiggle out of that loophole.

I'll have to ask a contract lawyer tomorrow. Of course, that's only over here, but still, it makes me cross.

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Posted by: Hayden Thorne ([info]haydenthorne)
Posted at: November 21st, 2006 05:04 pm (UTC)

Such dinosaurs. I'd send them boxes of explicit M/M titles for review just to piss them off.

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Posted by: Erastes ([info]erastes)
Posted at: November 21st, 2006 08:08 pm (UTC)

Which they would pointedly ignore.

RWA has included m/m in romance (which annoys me just in principle anyway, as if anyone needs an organisation to deem what "romance" is!!) and it's about time they woke up and smelled the civil partnerships.

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Posted by: james_nicoll ([info]james_nicoll)
Posted at: November 21st, 2006 05:05 pm (UTC)

May I link to this?

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Posted by: Erastes ([info]erastes)
Posted at: November 21st, 2006 08:10 pm (UTC)

go for it!

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Posted by: lamardeuse ([info]lamardeuse)
Posted at: November 21st, 2006 05:09 pm (UTC)
 Make me gay

Morons. Ah, come the revolution, we will deal with them in the time-honoured tradition...

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Posted by: Erastes ([info]erastes)
Posted at: November 21st, 2006 07:55 pm (UTC)

Yes! We shall write gay porn!

*G*

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Posted by: fajrdrako ([info]fajrdrako)
Posted at: November 21st, 2006 06:24 pm (UTC)

I wonder why they have that policy. You'd think it would be counter-productive for them.

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Posted by: Erastes ([info]erastes)
Posted at: November 21st, 2006 07:53 pm (UTC)

I know. It pisses the m/m readers and writers off, it certainly does me.

I intend to support ADC whole heartedly (no pun intended) and I hope the other m/m do too.

grrrr

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Posted by: fajrdrako ([info]fajrdrako)
Posted at: November 21st, 2006 08:10 pm (UTC)

I would, on the basis of that policy alone.

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Posted by: Jodi Payne ([info]jodi_payne)
Posted at: November 21st, 2006 07:44 pm (UTC)

She's had no end of trouble with them. Wasn't she the one that tried to get an m/m discussion panel set up and they pulled the plug on that, too?

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Posted by: Erastes ([info]erastes)
Posted at: November 21st, 2006 07:55 pm (UTC)

Nod nod. She's just been trying to break through, for the rest of us as well as herself. We should get a petition up or something.

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Posted by: Jodi Payne ([info]jodi_payne)
Posted at: November 21st, 2006 08:15 pm (UTC)

One has to wonder if it's worth it.

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Posted by: Ann ([info]schmoo999)
Posted at: November 21st, 2006 09:24 pm (UTC)

Boo to Romantic Times. Soon the little old ladies who read nothing but the same old same old romance novels are going to pass on and then what?

I have been buying ebooks from Ellora's Cave for years and this past year I have noticed a huge upswing in them selling m/m books and there menage books which are almost always m/m/f now have sexual encounters between the men now too where as before there was none. There is a blossoming market for these books.

:)

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Posted by: Jules Jones ([info]julesjones)
Posted at: November 22nd, 2006 05:51 pm (UTC)

The Ellora's Cave guidelines used to say that they would take a small amount of f/f, but absolutely no m/m, as they catered to women's fantasies and women don't like That Sort Of Thing.

Then they noticed how well m/m was selling at the few publishers who did know how much some women like that sort of thing. (Mine, for example.)

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Posted by: Ann ([info]schmoo999)
Posted at: November 22nd, 2006 07:03 pm (UTC)

You write too? *in awe of the writers* :) I was thrilled to see them selling m/m books. I read everything and enjoy a well written story no matter who the couple is..or what gender they are.

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Posted by: Jules Jones ([info]julesjones)
Posted at: November 22nd, 2006 10:34 pm (UTC)
 Spindrift cover art

Writing m/m romance and erotica is how I know [info]erastes. :-)

10 books out from Loose Id, the 11th in editing, and the 12th currently in progress having been contracted on synopsis. All of them m/m (although the next one in the queue will be an m/m/f). My royalty statements and fan mail tell me women like m/m.

But then I started in slash fanfic, as did an awful lot of the people now writing m/m profic. I *know* who's reading and writing that...

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Posted by: Erastes ([info]erastes)
Posted at: November 22nd, 2006 11:57 pm (UTC)

I'm always impressed on your output. I'm struggling with book 3. However I did spend three years writing almost exclusively Potter Porn, that's my excuse and i'm sticking to it!!

I'll have to go and trawl your friends and nick some.

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Posted by: Jules Jones ([info]julesjones)
Posted at: November 23rd, 2006 10:18 pm (UTC)

Remember that I do have a bad habit of writing novellas and very short novels. :-) Though Dolphin Dreams is 100 kwords, and I'm up to 35 kwords on the WIP, so I can see myself doing 150 kwords this year.

My flist is a mix of people from afp, B7 fandom, rasfc, and sundry other sf, erotica and romance writing types. There are probably names you'd recognise.

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Posted by: Erastes ([info]erastes)
Posted at: November 22nd, 2006 11:21 pm (UTC)

i could have been their first ever m/m author, but I wanted to hang out for a print book at the time.

Not sure it was the sanest decision i ever made!

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Posted by: Ann ([info]schmoo999)
Posted at: November 22nd, 2006 11:25 pm (UTC)

There is something neat about seeing your words in print form though.

But I do enjoy my ebooks a lot.

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Posted by: busaikko ([info]busaikko)
Posted at: November 21st, 2006 10:02 pm (UTC)

My local bookshop has an aisle devoted to m/m romance (comics and novels). This is common for any major stationfront bookshop here: no one blinks an eye.

They are *completely* Behind the Times.

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Posted by: Erastes ([info]erastes)
Posted at: November 22nd, 2006 11:33 pm (UTC)

very much so! i havent been in a bookshop for ages, but i'm quite sure they have gay sections too.

*hates them*

And tell your bookshops to get Standish in!

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Posted by: busaikko ([info]busaikko)
Posted at: November 22nd, 2006 11:47 pm (UTC)

Well -- I didn't say that they had m/m in English. The English books tend to be dictionaries and Sidney Sheldon (why I'm on-line so much). Hmm. I can ask them, though. I'll take in you ISBN.

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Posted by: Jules Jones ([info]julesjones)
Posted at: November 25th, 2006 05:01 am (UTC)
 A Kiss At Midnight cover art

Some of them are turning up in the US in translation. I had a happy, happy moment last week when I went into Tower to look through their closing down sale, and discovered five yaoi manga, the manga section now being sufficiently depleted that I could actually find them. Since my editor has asked if I'd be interested in writing some yaoi-style m/m, I grabbed them. And will be claiming them as tax-deductible business expenses. They're market research materials, see.

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Posted by: Stone of stumbling and rock of offense ([info]wordweaverlynn)
Posted at: November 22nd, 2006 12:48 am (UTC)
Didn't they check the name of their event?
 bi

The Faery Ball doesn't allow M/M?

This belongs on [info]dor_irony_oops.

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Posted by: Erastes ([info]erastes)
Posted at: November 22nd, 2006 11:38 pm (UTC)
Re: Didn't they check the name of their event?

sorry for the delay in replying!

That's funny, I never thought of that! *g*

Please feel free to post it there!

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Erastes writes gay historical novels, novellas and short stories.

Her new novel TRANSGRESSIONS is out now, set in the English Civil War.



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