sar@warwick.UUCP (Simon Ritchie) (01/03/86)
>In article <4729@hlexa.UUCP> hsf@hlexa.UUCP (Henry Friedman) writes: >1) Should ads for novels at least suggest whether the sex/romance > is predominantly straight or gay? (I don't think this would be > necessary if the main themes are not romantic, such as novels > about social/political oppression.) > >2) Should it make any difference? In other words, should it have > mattered to me? > >3) Was it my fault for not remembering or knowing that Delany's > sf writing has a gay slant? >4) Do I have a point in objecting to the way the book club advertised > the book? >5) Was the book such a work of creative genious that it transcended > such considerations? This is actually Jill Rose, of Quartet/Women's Press (London), using Simon's user code to follow up: At our last sales conference, the Women's Press sales reps came to the conclusion that mention of gay sexuality at the start of an ad/blurb is a disincentive to some buyers, but mention half-way is ok, because the prejudiced reader is interested by then, and the open-minded reader was never a problem. The gay reader will seek out books concerning gay sexuality (we hope). This attitude may seem mercenary, but wider sales allow us to publish more books for lesbians. These opinions are my own, and not necessarily those of my employer or any other person. PS: We just checked the spelling of this article using "spell". Did you know that "lesbian" is a spelling mistake? :-)