E-publishing is quickly becoming the new thing. The frustration of working on a work--fiction, poetry, script--then finding someone who looks willing to publish it, then getting the same old rejection letter is frustrating, to say the least. E-publishing allows writers the opportunity to get their work out there for readers. If the readers don't want it, at least the writer had the chance for readers to see their work and then decide instead of some third party putting up a road block. As someone who related, for once, to Jennie Schecter (nice girl comes to L.A. from the Midwest, gets another woman's face between her legs and then kills a dog, only to end up floating in her neighbors' pool while her adorable fluffball of a dog whimpers, what's not to relate to?) when she had her wall of rejection letters on "The L Word," it's a liberating opportunity. I believe readers should get to decide if they want to buy a download for themselves, and writers should have the chance to hear it from the readers. So E-publishing is a win-win. Now there are E-publishers out there who will or won't accept an ebook to publish, but writers can also publish their own work through sites that put them up for sale directly on sites like iTunes and Amazon. With all that in mind, I did a little search for "lesbian ebooks." Here's what I was pleased to find:
Here's one of the ebook publisher sites for lesbian literature. You can browse genres from the paranormal to sci-fi to poetry to erotica to urban fantasy (my favorite genre, by the by). There are also anthologies, i.e. short story collections. You can download free ebooks, also. If you're a writer looking to publish your work as an ebook, you can submit your work here.
http://l-book.com/index.html
If you like ebooks of the romantic lesbian fiction, including historical romance, variety, go to LavenderDoor.com. Their site says most of the ebooks they offer for download aren't available anywhere else, so it's worth a browse.
http://www.lavenderdoor.com/
Have iTunes? I've had iTunes for years, though my iPod is shot (not literally shot, but it doesn't work properly, I'm so hard on my stuff), but I still buy and download music to play on my computer. So I thought I'd tell you about the books section in the iTunes store. There is a Gay Section under Fiction (they don't distinguish lesbian, bi, or trans, it's all under "Gay"). They have classic titles, like "Tipping the Velvet" by Sarah Waters and "Patience and Sarah" by by Isabel Miller, and titles that should be classics, like "The Punany Experience" (The War Between Tops and Bottoms) by Jessica Holter. There are some titles that might offend members of our community (like "A Tranny's Nine Wishes," some don't take kindly to the word "tranny") and there are some kinda funny titles ("Leonardo di Caprio is a Vampire").
If you've watched episodes of LezLit when it was a webseries, you might remember when I suggested "Best Lesbian Romance 2011," which features a story by my friend Jamie Schaffner. It's on iTunes for $9.99, which is pretty good for a new book. But if you're not up for actually buying anything, like with actual or virtual money, there are the Susan Slutt Mysteries, which are available to download for free.
If you watched one of the earliest LezLit episodes, you might remember a lesbian mystery novel by Ellen Hart I'd reviewed. A collection of her work is available, including "The Lost Women of Lost Lake," which is expected to be released in September.
It takes some sifting through the many titles to find books for the lady-loving ladies, but they are there. If it says "Lesbian Erotica Tales" or something along those lines, it's a pretty safe bet. One title that's clear is "grl2grl" by Julie Anne Peters. The books are available to download on iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and on your computer's iTunes (be sure to check each title for it's availability on each device) at http://itunes.apple.com/us/genre/books-gay/id10045?mt=11.
I hadn't planned on taking my suggestions in this post away from sites that offer ebooks for download, but I thought I might make a suggestion or two for anyone looking to publish her own ebook. To find a software program you like (and, if you're like me, can understand), you might like to read some reviews, like this one
http://ebookpublishingsoftwarereviews.com/
I use a free software download called MobiPocket Creator. You can create your ebook (including the cover photo, which I like) and publish it to the Mobi Publisher site. Either way, ebooks aren't made the old fashioned way, so I'd make sure to do my research about how they're made and what programs are out there to create one, much less finding an ebook publisher. One thing that hasn't changed is to always make sure this publisher accepts your type of work. It's still a toss-up, they might not already have your type of work but are looking to create a new niche for themselves to draw a new audience or they do have it and aren't interested in anymore or they might not have it because they don't want it or they might have it and want more because it does well for them. Like I said, it's a toss-up. A frustrating toss-up. Still, if it's your passion, it's worth a shot because readers are looking for a new voice and it is quite likely yours.
I know this might be like promoting the competition, but I look at it more like sisters in the LBTQ community connecting. This is the "Across the Page" column on AfterEllen. I'll suggest literature, of course, but this column has great suggestions, as well. And isn't it really about finding great stuff to read?
http://www.afterellen.com/columns/across_the_page
Okay, well, that's wraps up this post, bloggy-style (yes, I just said "bloggy-style"). Thanks for reading. Please, don't be shy or a stranger. If you have literature suggestions of any LGBTQ variety, please email me at lezliterature@hotmail.com
I supposed all that's left to say is happy downloading and happy reading.
Till next time,
C-ya
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