Reviews for LGBT (YA) fiction

[Patricia Williams]

Hi guys!

I just wanted to check the pulse of the Book Blogs community and ask about querying book bloggers for a review of a YA paranormal romance where the protagonist is in love with another female.  

I know politically/religiously/whatever-ly some people prefer to not read anything with LGBT characters. While the description that I usually include when I query would be pretty open as far as the story being about a same sex relationship, should I reiterate that fact? ("insert book title" is a LGBT paranormal romance/heads up, it's about a f/f relationship etc.)

It kinda rubs me wrong, because I feel like it's a disclaimer which I personally don't think it needs, but I know that the book blogging community is wide and varied and don't want to offend or put off any potential reviewers. 

 

What do yall think?

[Tara Calaby]

Politically, I feel like it shouldn't need to be emphasised, but I think that it's in an author's best interest to be as detailed as possible about book content when seeking reviews, simply because you don't want to end up with a bad review because the reviewer's personal beliefs/biases mean that they aren't able to enjoy your book. If someone's offended by same-sex content, then that's their own problem, but if that offence results in a bad review for you, it unfortunately becomes your problem as well. 

 

There are heaps of GLBTQ identified or allied reviewers out there, so I'm sure you won't struggle to find reviewers who appropriately represent your audience. It's always worth checking tags or past reviews, as well, to see whether a potential reviewer has read similar books in the past (and handled the same-sex content in an accepting manner). I personally have tags for both "GLBTQ content" and "GLBTQ focus" on my blog, because in my world, those are book traits that friends are often searching for :)

[Grace]

I'd use the disclaimer, even though I wish it wasn't necessary, because many reviewers are picky about the content of books that they review.  I think that if you include the disclaimer you may also find that there are book reviewers here who will be excited to review a book with LGBT themes!

 

Books Without Any Pictures

[Indolent Reader]

I agree! You shouldn't have to use a disclaimer (and of course you don't 'have' to, but...) and I also wish there was no need for one at all, but by doing so you will at least avoid your book getting into the hands of someone you'd really rather wasn't reviewing it, i.e. someone who will give it a bad review because they don't approve of the content.

 

On the other hand... it's difficult, because if you don't consider the book to be specifically 'for' a LGBT readership, but rather for 'people who like books', then you may miss out on some readers who see the tag and wrongly assume the book is 'not for them'. I'd still err on the side of thinking the tag is the best way to go, though...

[Patricia Williams]

Thanks for all of the feedback y'all!  I think I'll just make sure my book description is detailed and hopefully it won't be a problem.