BWA (Book Whore Anonymous) Bulletin

[reviews_and_ramblings]

I made a little research... the following title are the bestselling for Romance genre in the Gay & Lesbian category on Amazon (I chose Amazon as a source cause I think it's most used all over the world...)

Gay & Lesbian › Literature & Fiction › Fiction › Romance

1. The Lonely Hearts Club by Radclyffe (Paperback - Feb 22, 2008), Bold Strokes Books - LESBIAN - CONTEMPORARY
2. Tempted by Megan Hart (Paperback - Jan 1, 2008), Harlequin - GAY - CONTEMPORARY - MENAGE
3. The Candidate by Tracey Richardson (Paperback - Jan 14, 2008), Bella Books - LESBIAN - CONTEMPORARY
4. Deeper by Ronica Black (Paperback - Feb 22, 2008), Bold Strokes Books - LESBIAN - CONTEMPORARY
5. Without Warning by KG MacGregor (Paperback - Jan 14, 2008), Bella Books - LESBIAN - CONTEMPORARY
6. The Tin Star by J. L. Langley (Paperback - Aug 6, 2006), Loose ID - GAY - CONTEMPORARY - COWBOYS (http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/1191.html)
7. Branded Ann by Merry Shannon (Paperback - Jan 23, 2008), Bold Strokes Books - LESBIAN - CONTEMPORARY
8. Capital Games by G. A. Hauser (Paperback - Jan 14, 2008), Linden Bay Romance - GAY - CONTEMPORARY (http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/210160.html)
9. Bonds of the Maleri by Kate Steele (Paperback - Feb 13, 2008), Changeling Press - GAY - FUTURISTIC (http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/25576.html)
10. Winds of Fortune by Radclyffe (Paperback - Oct 8, 2007), Bold Strokes Books - LESBIAN - CONTEMPORARY
11. Strings Attached by Nick Nolan (Kindle Edition - Dec 7, 2007), Little Eden Press - GAY - CONTEMPORARY
12. Out of Love by KG MacGregor (Paperback - Sep 10, 2007), Bella Books - LESBIAN - CONTEMPORARY
13. Blood Claim by Laura Baumbach, Angela Fiddler, and Jet Mykles (Paperback - Mar 3, 2008), MLR Press - GAY - PARANORMAL - VAMPIRES (http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/261584.html)
14. Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg (Paperback - Mar 1993), Firebrand Books - LESBIAN - CONTEMPORARY
15. Fully Involved by Erin Dutton (Paperback - Dec 10, 2007), Bold Strokes Books - LESBIAN - CONTEMPORARY
16. Beach Town by Ann Roberts (Paperback - Feb 18, 2008), Bella Books - LESBIAN - CONTEMPORARY
17 . Bite by Sean Michael (Paperback - Dec 12, 2007), Torquere Press - GAY - PARANORMAL - WEREWOLVES (http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/202843.html)
18. Hard Times by Blayne Cooper (Paperback - Nov 12, 2007), Spinsters Ink Books - LESBIAN - CONTEMPORARY
19. Mine by Georgia Beers (Paperback - Nov 12, 2007), Bold Strokes Books - LESBIAN - CONTEMPORARY
20. In the Name of the Father by Gerri Hill (Paperback - Nov 12, 2007), Bella Books - LESBIAN - CONTEMPORARY
21. Captain's Surrender by Alex Beecroft (Paperback - Jan 15, 2008), Linden Bay Romance - GAY - HISTORICAL (http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/213072.html)
22. The Painted House by Drew Zachary (Paperback - Feb 13, 2008), Torquere Press - GAY - CONTEMPORARY (http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/241209.html)
23. Seti's Heart by Kiernan Kelly, Torquere Press - GAY - PARANORMAL (Paperback - Jan 23, 2008)
24. Focus of Desire by Kim Baldwin (Paperback - Oct 8, 2007), Bold Strokes Books - LESBIAN - CONTEMPORARY
25. An Imperfect Arrangement by Chris Amisano (Paperback - Jun 22, 2007), iUniverse - GAY - CONTEMPORARY
26. Wet: True Lesbian Sex Stories by Nicole Foster (Paperback - Dec 1, 2002), Alyson Books - LESBIAN - CONTEMPORARY
27. Surrender's Edge by Pepper Espinoza (Paperback - Feb 7, 2007), Amber Quill Press - GAY - CONTEMPORARY - MENAGE
28. The Kiss by G. A. Hauser (Paperback - Aug 17, 2007), Linden Bay Romance - GAY - CONTEMPORARY (http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/128685.html)
29. The price of salt by Claire Morgan (Unknown Binding - 1958), Bantam Books - LESBIAN - CONTEMPORARY
30. Belchamber by Howard Overing Sturgis (Perfect Paperback - Aug 21, 2007), ReadHowYouWant.com - GAY - HISTORICAL
31. To Love a Cowboy by Rhianne Aile (Kindle Edition - Sep 15, 2007), Dreamspinner Press - GAY - CONTEMPORARY - COWBOYS (http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/236309.html)
32. The Cost of Eternity by Shayla Kersten (Paperback - Jun 29, 2007), Ellora's Cave - GAY - PARANORMAL - VAMPIRES (http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/44847.html)
33. The Protector by N.L. Gassert (Paperback - Jan 18, 2008), Seventh Window Publications - GAY - CONTEMPORARY (http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/254628.html)
34. Standish by Erastes (Paperback - Nov 6, 2006), P.D. Publishing - GAY - HISTORICAL (http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/15429.html)
35. Secrets and Misdemeanors by G. A. Hauser (Paperback - Nov 19, 2007), Linden Bay Romance - GAY - CONTEMPORARY (http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/180102.html)
36. The Ties That Bind by Laura Baumbach, J.L. Langley, Jet Mykles, and Kimberly Gardner (Paperback - Jan 24, 2008), MLR Press - GAY - CONTEMPORARY (http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/234104.html)
37. Heart 2 Heart by Julie Cannon (Paperback - Dec 10, 2007), Bold Strokes Books - LESBIAN - CONTEMPORARY
38. Too Close to Touch by Georgia Beers (Paperback - Jul 30, 2006), Bold Strokes Books - LESBIAN - CONTEMPORARY
39. Always by M. Rhodes (Paperback - Oct 13, 2007), Amber Quill Press - GAY - CONTEMPORARY (http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/114786.html)
40. Changing Tides by Michael Thomas Ford (Hardcover - Sep 1, 2007), Kensington Books - GAY - CONTEMPORARY
41. Honor Under Siege by Radclyffe (Paperback - Jun 30, 2007), Bold Strokes Books - LESBIAN - CONTEMPORARY
42. Honor Bound by Radclyffe (Paperback - Oct 2002), Renaissance Alliance Publishing - LESBIAN - CONTEMPORARY
43. Ransom by Lee Rowan (Paperback - Sep 1, 2006), Linden Bay Romance - GAY - HISTORICAL
44. Lessons by Kim Pritekel (Paperback - Oct 19, 2006), P.D. Publishing - LESBIAN - CONTEMPORARY
45. A Bit of Rough by Laura Baumbach (Kindle Edition - Nov 27, 2007), MLR Press - GAY - CONTEMPORARY (http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/2623.html)
46. Learning Curve by Rachel Spangler (Paperback - Jan 23, 2008), Bold Strokes Books - LESBIAN - CONTEMPORARY
47. The Cottage by Gerri Hill (Paperback - Jul 30, 2007), Bella Books - LESBIAN - CONTEMPORARY
48. Shield of Justice by Radclyffe (Paperback - Sep 2005), Bold Strokes Books - LESBIAN - CONTEMPORARY
49. My Fair Captain by J. L. Langley (Paperback - April 29, 2008), Samhain Publishing - GAY - FUTURISTIC (http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/106500.html)
50. Sumter Point by KG MacGregor (Paperback - Mar 30, 2007), Bella Books - LESBIAN - CONTEMPORARY

The list from the Author point of view, giving to each author points equal to his books position on the bestselling list and weighting it with the book's longevity (months from the release date) (*): 

1. J. L. Langley (932)
2. KG MacGregor (423)
3. Georgia Beers (420)
4. Radclyffe (386)
5. G. A. Hauser (354)
6. Pepper Espinoza (336)
7. Erastes (289)
8. Chris Amisano (234)
9. Gerri Hill (187)
10. Shayla Kersten (171)
11. Blayne Cooper (165)
12. Kim Baldwin (162)
13. Nick Nolan (160)
14. Lee Rowan (152)
15. Howard Overing Sturgis & Megan Hart (147)
16. Erin Dutton & Tracey Richardson (144)
17. Rhianne Aile (140)
18. Sean Michael (136)
19. Kim Pritekel (119)
20. Laura Baumbach (92)
21. Alex Beecroft (90)
22. Merry Shannon (88)
23. Kate Steele (84)
24. Michael Thomas Ford (77)
25. M. L. Rhodes (72)
26. Jet Mykles (68)
27. Drew Zachary (58)
28. Julie Cannon & Kiernan Kelly (56)
29. Ronica Black (47)
30. Angela Fiddler (38)
31. N.L. Gassert (36)
32. Ann Roberts (35)
33. Dick D. & Kimberly Gardner (30)
34. Rachel Spangler (10)

(*) Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg, Wet: True Lesbian Sex Stories by Nicole Foster, The price of salt by Claire Morgan, Honor Bound by Radclyffe, Shield of Justice by Radclyffe are not counted for this statistics since their release date is before 2006 and it would means a too big range. So if you want you can consider this authors at the beginning of the list...

The list from the Publisher point of view, one point for every books in the bestselling list:

1. Bold Strokes Books (12)
2. Bella Books (7)
3. Linden Bay Romance (5)
4. MLR Press & Torquere Press (3)
5. Amber Quill Press & P.D. Publishing (2)
6. Alyson Books & Bantam Books & Changeling Press & Dreamspinner Press & Ellora's Cave & Firebrand Books & Harlequin & iUniverse & Kensington Books & Little Eden Press & Loose ID & ReadHowYouWant.com & Renaissance Alliance Publishing & Samhain Publishing & Seventh Window Publications & Spinsters Ink Books (1)

The list from the Genre point of view, one point for every books in the bestselling list:

1. Gay (25)
2. Lesbian (25)

of wich: 

1. Contemporary (40)
2. Historical (4) 
3. Paranormal (4) 
4. Futuristic (2)

My observations: 

- There is a perfect balance between Gay and Lesbian books, but I listen all around the web speaking more of M/M romance than F/F romance; why? and I have to say that the fans of F/F romance should be very good cause they spend a lot for their books having very little advice on it. Maybe I'm wrong, I would be happy to be corrected. 

- 19 on 25 of the Lesbian books on the list are from 2 Publishers (Bold Strokes Books and Bella Books) and for what I know, this two publishers are mostly print pubs and not epubs... Do they have very faithful readers who are willing to spend for a print book and its shipping costs? Is it a winning choice to print books instead of allow the ebook format? 

- 80% of the books are Contemporary, but two of the 4 Historical ones (Standish by Erastes and Ransom by Lee Rowan) are also among the most long-lived books on the list: so if there were more Historical books, is it possible that the 8% for Historical Genre would be higher? 

- J.L. Langley, the first in the author list, has already a book in the bestselling list, My Fair Captain, with a released date coming at the end of this month... I think she gained the position thanks to the pre-orders. So, having one of your books (The Tin Star) in the first positions for so long, is a good advertisement for future sales?

And you? Some observations? Do you agree with me? or have you something else to say?

Comments

[megleigh.livejournal.com]

I have just this week ordered Captain's Surrender, and Beach Town from this list. :)

I am puzzled as well, about the f/f vs m/m question. If there were more f/f ebooks out there, I would buy them. I don't know why there are not, except that publishers who have made comments about the difference in number say that f/f doesn't sell as well as m/m and menage.

I'd like to find out why.

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

> except that publishers who have made comments about the difference in number say that f/f doesn't sell as well as m/m and menage.

Looking at this bestselling list, it seems not correct. There are 25 gay books and 25 lesbian books. So it's a perfect balance. Truth be told, almost all the lesbian authors have more than one books in the bestselling list, so it seems there are "faithful" readers, don't know if widening the number of authors, the results for them would be the same.

Elisa

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

Can I just nip in and say 'squee! thank you for ordering Captain's Surrender. I hope you like it!' :)

[megleigh.livejournal.com]

You're welcome! I have wanted this since I saw excerpts on LN (I think it was) and I can't wait till it arrives, got the email from Amazon yesterday, telling me it had been shipped. *squee*

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

I second that squee :) Thank you!

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

Yay! It's exciting to be on the list at all :) But I've been noticing that Linden Bay seems to be doing very well. Every time I go to Amazon, LBR has at lest three novels in the top 25 - usually more. Which is odd when you think that Ellora's Cave seem so much more famous.

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

Yes Linden Bay Romance and MLR Press, giving that are pretty "young" in the Gay&Lesbian genre, are doing pretty well. Maybe cause they are more specialized than Ellora's Cave. But you have also to count that this is the romance bestselling book, not the erotic, and Ellora's is more an erotic epub, than a romance.

Elisa

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, I keep forgetting that Amazon don't sell ebooks (other than their own version for the Kindle.) Oh that does make a difference. It's still not bad though :)

[shiawmeimei.livejournal.com]

Ellora's Cave doesn't have many m/m in print either. I believe mine, The Cost of Eternity, was the first that didn't involve a m/m/f menage. I think Claire Thompson's Golden Boy/Golden Man is the only other one but it doesn't seem to be tagged as gay.

EC has a lot of m/m books now but since EC is first an epublisher, they don't send books to print right away.

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

Yours Shayle, Golden Man/Golden Boy by Clare Thompson and Male of the Species by Kate Steele are the only M/M print titles for Ellora's Cave. The other two are tagged as gay romance, I believe, but for now they aren't on the list of 50 bestselling.

Elisa

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

Yes, I keep forgetting that Amazon doesn't sell ebooks. Consider me smacked upside the head with the clue stick ;) Sorry about that!

[zamaxfield.livejournal.com]

I always think your blog is so informative. There's a lot of powerful information here, and it's going to take me time to digest it all.

I wonder about the M/M, F/F numbers. Most of the publishers guidelines I've read are asking for more M/M.

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

Yes, it was a surprise also for me, since I'm the first to not read F/F romance (it's not my genre). But it seems that there are a lot more people out there that read them.

Elisa

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Shucks, I was at number one a few days ago, shows you how things can move around! I'm very happy at its longevity, though.

It's very reassuring to see that there are historicals there hanging on and being bought and bought.

About the lesbian romance, - I know! There's a lot of it around, and yet so many of my peers say "oh it doesn't sell." YES it does!

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

Yes, I think it is a very interesting details that the 4 historical books are also among the most long-lived in the bestselling list.

And the lesbian romance: I think there is a huge undergroung community, very alive indeed, since they have a big share of the market and not all the attention that usuaslly this means.

Elisa

[cicirossi.livejournal.com]

hmm. I think a lot of that information is skewed by what the printer and publisher choose as genre or are forced to choose. A lot of the lesbian stuff would qualify under gay lit rather than romance, and a lot of the gay titles would actually fall more into the Ellora's Cave category of erotica than into traditional romance. The one thing I will definitely agree on is that contemporary far outsells the rest!

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

Yes Contemporary genre has the lion share in the bestselling list, but I'm not total convinced that it's a readers trend rather than a market offer. Elisa

[shiawmeimei.livejournal.com]

A lot of work! Fantastic job! And I'm on the list. I still get all giggly and squeal to see The Cost of Eternity on Amazon! LOL Thank you for the information!

Hugs,
Shayla

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

I have only play with number, that is one of my hobbies! Elisa

Great stuff!

[leeteng.livejournal.com]

Very good elisa. You have me curious.
Question : Why is Tempted by Megan Hart a M/M/F at no. 1 spot? Reading the reviews I definitely would not classify this one gay romance. It is more F/M/M with emphasis on the F relationship with 2 men, a menage a trois I do not favor. Something wrong with Amazon classification?? Also the list is not really complete, with quite a lot of gay romance titles missing. Would you classify Yaoi under romance/gay ?

Re: Great stuff!

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

You are right. Even Megan Hart herself told me she wouldn't classify her Tempted as a gay romance, and indeed she told me that I could be disappointed if I read her book searching that type of relationship.

For Yaoi, you mean graphic novels? I think they have an own category. If you means yaoi novels, I think they could be in the bestselling list, but maybe in this moment no title has reached the first 50.

Elisa

Re: Great stuff!

[lee-rowan.livejournal.com]

The Amazon gay romance page is chock-full of graphic novels--I wish they would give them a separate category, because while there's a good deal of overlap among readers of print who also read graphic, I'm not so sure that there's much in the other direction--readers who are heavily into the graphic presentation as opposed to words.

Re: Great stuff!

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

I read both, more novels than graphic novels perhaps. Now there are also yaoi novels with covers like graphic novels and can be disorienting. I bought a book thinking to buy a graphic novel and instead it was a novel.

Elisa

Re: Great stuff!

[lee-rowan.livejournal.com]

I don't understand this one either, and she could pull it from "gay romance" if she or her publisher wanted to. {shrug}

Re: Great stuff!

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

Oh well, I think that Harlequin is a soo big and impersonal publishers that I think Megan has a little to say on it.

Elisa

Re: Great stuff!

[leeteng.livejournal.com]

Nothing personal here but I get irritated when I see F/M/M classifed as gay romance in this kind of list, which I use to purchase REALLY gay or M/M romance!

Re: Great stuff!

[lee-rowan.livejournal.com]

Complain to Yahoo. I don't have any argument with any configuration of consenting adults, and I wouldn't want to ban f/m/m because there are too many gay men who are married to women and dealing with a triad situation. But if the author herself doesn't consider it a gay romance... I think the person who wrote the book has the best authority to say what it's about.

Re: Great stuff!

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

Correct Lee. Megan is the first to say that Tempted is not a gay romance. Elisa

[lee-rowan.livejournal.com]

Elisa, what kind of snapshot is this? They change their ratings every hour--was this the 'picture' at the time you looked, or does this represent statistics over time?

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

The bestselling list (the 50 titles) are the picture at the time I looked at it. Then I use the data to do the Author List, using as weight the time from the release of the book.

Elisa

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

I have The Back Passage by James Lear but I don't read it yet. I need to have the right mood, I "know" it will be good, but in this moment I haven't the mood to read it.

And no, in Italian we haven't M/M or F/F romance at all. This is the reason why I read and write in English.

Elisa

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

For what I know there aren't M/M romance, and for the reason you give, in Italy gay writers must be intellectual writers and romance is not considered an intellectual genre...

Elisa

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

The only reason I can for not having M/M romance in Italy is that no Italian publisher has the courage to translate an M/M romance, and no Italian female romance writer has the courage to write one. Reason? I don't want to give details, but there are a lot of reason. Not only political and religion... In the past I had to leave my previous blog cause other bloggers think at me as a strange person...

Elisa