Help?
Not sure what the heck to do with this one... I've been working on a medieval piece off and on for several years, and have just finished another polish of it. Trouble is, it's short: about 53K. It's such a coming-of-age story that it's almost YA, and if I thought I could sell it as such, the length wouldn't be a problem. But I think it's probably too sexy for YA, but not steamy enough for erotica, and not long enough for print romance (if it would count as romance, since there are a few problematic elements). So I was thinking it might possibly be appropriate for one of the e-publishers, but I don't know the market. Which is a long-winded way of asking: is anyone is interested in taking a look, either at a few chapters or the whole thing, and offering suggestions on where I might try to place it? Here's a brief description: Savagely beaten on the orders of his powerful older lover, nineteen-year-old apprentice minstrel Tommy Shelby flees to Ireland to try to heal his tattered soul—and regain the music that deserted him after his ordeal. He finds solace in the most unlikely of places: the arms of a young Irish lord haunted by ghosts only he can see. Many thanks in advance!

Damn. Although I'm horribly swamped atm (and already promised Em I'd look over something after the 1st), I love the sound of that! I'm sure there's someone who can look through it for you. :) Good luck!

Alas, I don't know the e-publishers. I might be able to offer some thoughts on print publishers. But I have two questions: 1) You say it's medieval. Historical medieval, or medieval fantasy? 2) Is this m/m? I'd assume not, since you're asking in this forum, but it sure sounds like it from your description.

Thanks, Dusk! The answers to your questions are (1) historical, and (2) yes, it's gay. I asked here because I'm unsure how to categorize this, and also because I wanted to keep it in a members-only section.

"(1) historical" Well, darn, then I can't send you over to Meisha Merlin. This is going to be difficult; the historical fiction market is a tough one, and even tougher for gay works. (I grub around in my links for a while.) Okay, here's something. Historical Novels Review Online publishes reviews of e-books (among other things). That would give you some idea of where historicalfic e-books are being published. My Homoerotic Historical Fiction Links directory is exceedingly small, but you may something helpful there. (Tries to think of an excuse to look at your story.) Well, honestly, I have one: I can't tell from your description whether this is gay historical fiction, historical fiction plus m/m romance, or historical m/m romance. And though it's been about twenty years since I looked through the young adult titles - and for all I know, there are NC-17 scenes in them now (they were getting pretty near to that in the eighties) - I can make a stab at whether the novel has a YA feel to it. I'll have to leave it to others to advise you on e-publishers, though. My e-mail address.

On its way. Thanks! :D

Torquere might take it. Thier top shelf line starts at 53 K and doesn't require all that much sex. Mundania is the non-erotic house of which Phaze is the erotic line... but I think they take mostly Fantasy/Sci Fi. Swimming Kangraoo? Wild Child? Both of them might work.

I would suggest looking at genre-crossing respectable small presses like Kunati

MJ, Freya's Bower is looking for light romance of that length. Send it on over.

Thanks for the suggestions! Very helpful. KM, I'll have to run it by my agent before submitting anywhere, but I'll definitely tell her you're looking. Thanks again!

You're welcome. :-)