The last of our essay guest posts for the month comes from Milena McKay and is about her experiences of publishing in the sapphic romance community. Take a read! (And then go buy her books.)
As a fairly new author, publishing in the sapphic romance genre, every time I do a podcast or an interview, I get asked what advice I would give other newbies who are just starting out. What has been the single most important thing that helped me on my publishing journey? What made the biggest difference?
It is always tempting to name twenty or so things, which are all absolutely valid, that are instrumental to an author. Put words on the page, be disciplined, be smart about your social media choices, be savvy with your marketing strategy, learn your terrain and use it to your advantage… There are so many excellent answers to those questions. All of them are appropriate. Especially the one about putting words on the page. I had an idea, I developed it and it’s beautiful in my head. But what do you mean it won’t write itself?
However, despite all that outstanding advice above, the answer I give is always the same, and it seems to surprise many, because the follow-up question is always a version of “what do you mean?”
To me—and for me—this one single concept has been and always will be instrumental to a self-published author. I firmly believe that in niche markets like sapphic fiction, this is the only thing that makes or breaks a book. No matter the problem, the hurdle, the fatigue, it is what has helped countless times, because it is generous and kind, and unbelievably supportive. It’s community.
For someone who grew up as a reader and started writing on the fanfiction side of the literary space, community was a very easy concept to understand. It meant fandom—with everything that entails. Support, comments, kudos and canon/non-canon ships and feuds, and also camaraderie and a sense of kinship.
I started my sapphic fiction journey, reading stories from WLW fandoms such as Carol, Devil Wears Prada, Supergirl and a few others. I appreciated the people and friendships and the support provided to the authors and the love the stories received. We fangirled together, we rejoiced if our ships became canon, and we were grateful to fanfiction authors who did our non-canon ships justice in their stories.
Once I ventured into writing my own fanfiction, those friendships and the encouragement from readers and other writers made the experience better and more interesting. And for a perpetual loner and introvert such as myself, that connection was a lifeline.
When I crossed into original sapphic fiction publishing, I realized I hadn’t even been close in my assessment of what community really is and can be. Nor did I have any idea of how important it was.
I published my debut novel, The Delicate Things We Make, in January 2021. I was never particularly well known in the fandom that I wrote in, but some of my audience did follow me to self-publishing, as I’d hoped they might. Beyond that, my thought was that maybe a few sapphic fiction readers would notice me and incrementally, with every new book, I would build an audience.
What I was absolutely unprepared for was the sapphic fiction community taking matters pretty much into their own, kind hands and running with helping my writing career, and taking me along for the amazing ride. Essentially, they made me. It’s that simple. The kindness of strangers, their support, their generosity in seemingly innocuous—but in reality immense—things have been instrumental in helping me find my feet in this literary space.
My book was released to minimal fuss, as I was still very much a novice when it came to such mystifying things as marketing, ads and reviews. My acumen pretty much boiled down to “push the publish button on Amazon and pray.”
And then amazing things started to happen. A sapphic fiction author tweeted about my book. She’d read it. She liked it. And did the one thing that is so inherent to everyone in this wonderful niche of sapphic romance—she signal-boosted it. Immediately. (Yes, Quinn Ivins, I’m talking about you.) One tweet, which was followed by likes and comments from her followers in acknowledgement of her find. I was super grateful because whoa, she herself had just published an amazing book with a well-known sapphic small press, is super talented and popular and has a ton of followers.
But even after Quinn tweeted, I still was completely surprised by what happened next. Two days later, I woke up to an absolutely amazing review by another major sapphic fiction author. This person took the time not only to read an absolute newbie’s work, but also wrote an 804 word review about it. Yes, I counted. Well, my computer counted, but I wanted to know exactly, because it was one of the most generous acts anyone in a position of influence and recognizability has ever done for me. The review itself was a piece of art and gained a ton of traction on Goodreads.
Then, one of the most important reviewers in the sapphic romance reached out to me, asking if I’d provide her with a review copy. And then another. And another.
The snowball was growing.
All of this occurred because the community came together and was propping up a newbie. For no reason other than they are kind. They saw a hapless, clueless author muddling her way through her first release and lent a helping hand.
Fast forward to a year later.
Never in my wildest dreams did I think that my debut would become a Goldie nominee, alongside authors I have long admired. My second novel is a LAMBDA lesbian romance finalist.
And none of this could or would have ever happened without this community. Without these people, who are simply amazing in their kindness and their effort and their willingness to lift others up.
They were also instrumental in the creation of the books themselves, and not just in what happens after publication. The amazing beta readers, editors, designers—this group of people is unbelievably talented, and blessed with some of the nicest individuals who will share their knowledge and skills with you if you only reach out.
And one of the greatest feelings in the world has been to be able to reciprocate, to share what I have learned—what this community has so generously taught me—with other up-and-coming authors.
And books aside, the sapphic fiction community is one of the most united and supportive places out there. Be it a natural disaster, a medical emergency or a personal crisis, this group of people will come together. Nobody gets left behind.
And this small, niche sector of the publishing world is nothing without its readers. Due to its size—as an author—you get to know members of your audience, and you get to see the impact your books have. You also get to experience genuine support and readership loyalty firsthand. They’re excited about your books, they amplify your voice, they leave the crucial ratings and reviews, and they make up the most important part of the sapphic romance community.
This close-knit group of people in my corner of the publishing world will help with every aspect of your life, personal or professional, they will hold your hand, and you will find your inbox full of messages, and your author pages full of reviews… For the longest time, we were on the outside, looking in. Our stories were rarely told. So now, we lift up our authors and we treasure every book, every story.
Because we’re all in this together.
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