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Here is a call for help.
I am not a reader of TG fiction on Amazon, but I am a writer, and I have been in touch with Amazon regarding the curious categorizations employed in the LGBTQ area.
So, we have the various categories for Kindle E-books including "Romance", "Teen and Young Adult" and "LGBTQ+". Romance and TYA have a subcategory of LGBTQ+. LGBTQ has subcategories including Romance, Literature & Fiction, Erotica, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Mystery & Detective, Biographies & Memoirs, Comics, Manga & Graphic Novels etc.
Then we have Gay Fiction, Bisexual Fiction and Transgender Fiction, and Transgender Romance.
But if you take a story at random say "Rent Or Forfeit: Illustrated TG tale of crossdressing and feminization" where would you expect to find it? it is not in any of the categories above.
Or "Little Missy ... After breaking a magical contract with a powerful witch, 36-year-old Jack Thompson is transformed into a little 7-year-old girl as punishment". Categories: Psychological Horror, Dark Fantasy Horror, Dark Fantasy
"Cross-dress Boy" - Categories: Coming of Age Fiction, Literary Fiction.
I am told that the category "Erotica" is also applied to some TG fiction.
I would like to know whether any other readers who have gone to look for some TG reading at Amazon and who have been frustrated. I have got through to an executive, but I think that I need more before I can make a full submission.
Or perhaps, somebody who has more time than I have might look in some titles on Amazon from TG authors they know to find how they are listed?
Volunteers? Anybody?
Maryanne
Comments
Good luck on that.
They also throw old classics into the Transgender Fiction search category, too; like recent reprints of The Picture of Dorian Grey (by Oscar Wilde) and reprints of Frankenstein (by Mary Shelly), to name a couple. Seems like, 'Anything Goes' is their motto over there.
charlie.
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/missing-without-a-trace-cha...
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/832524
Authors that goes missing
I agree totally with you, try finding Daring Diane on Amazon without using her name. And there are others. I read a lot of trans fiction but it’s not easy finding it which is why I read a lot on here to find Authors I enjoy.
Good luck with trying to get things changed, anything that makes finding the right genre would be good for sales.
Joan
Valleys Girls
Tagging
The Amazon book category navigation interface is a mess. It's non-intuitive, has odd "synonyms", seems inconsistent and misleading. It's not as bad as Audible but still quite bad. It would be better if they'd just farm it out to one of the search engines.
I find using DDG with search strings like "amazon.com: transgender graphic novel" more effective than depending on the on site UI.
I'm not sure that plutocratic monstrosities like Amazon are at all sensitive customer feedback. Still tilting at that windmill is a noble quest.
Crescenda
aka
Your friend
Crash