My experience writing my MM romance books which don't quite fit the genre
I have started writing again in 2019 and have never stopped since. Having had a long hiatus in my creative writing from my teens to my forties, it was a thrill to jot down the first lines of a fantasy WIP, then a short story between a Roman general and a slave… this was the start of my MM romance writer career, as this seemingly short encounter between two men turned into a love story trilogy. From then on, there was no turning back. I had not joined any writing communities on social media back then, and just wrote down what I was seeing in my head, what my characters acted out. This is still my process and it is not going to change. The stories just kept coming, and since I had to stop writing when my characters didn’t act, I hopped onto the next story that came into my mind and I put my Ancient Romans aside at the beginning of Book 3 in November 2019. A morning run in a park, a young man listening to music, his thoughts all over the place, a bit hungover, and he trips and falls. A kind stranger helps him up and their eyes lock. This was the start of “Fall”, my first published book, a love story between a rich, disaster med student and a dirt-poor trapeze artist.
It took me until March 2021 to self-publish “Fall”, and in the meantime, I had joined twitter and Instagram, and the writing advice just kept pouring… Genre, what you should write if you write MM, how, what should be on your cover, what is ok, what is not ok, ideal book length…. It took me a while to read through all that there was to know about publishing and self-publishing, and since “Fall” was almost done, the Romans too, and more WIPs were in the making, I had to assess what I had. A nearly 500 pages long MM romance novel, with protagonists that didn’t quite fit expectations, a story which had just poured out of my heart, just as the others. And it didn’t fit what I’ve seen of MM, at least from my readings. It’s romance, but there are also sex scenes, so it is also erotica, right? I decided to go for MM romance laced with erotica. Protagonists should be hot with great bodies. Ok, Doug has that, he’s an acrobat, but Jake is a soft, spoiled kid who is not a fitness buff. There were also quite a few dark elements in the book and it didn’t follow any “typical” story structure either. And it was huge. But, as ever, I decided to learn the rules and ignore them after. It still took me ten complete editing rounds, and beta readers’ feedback, to finalize “Fall” and decide to self-publish it.
This would be an article in itself, but in a gist, I went for self-publishing because I wanted to get my stories to readers as soon as they were ready, and also be in full control of my works. So far, for “Fall”, the reception has been very positive, and I was a bit floored that some readers had quite strong reactions to the story, that it spoke to them, that the characters made them laugh, or cry, that they stirred their emotions and reached their hearts.
This is what has pushed me ahead too to continue writing my WIPs which still, according to me, fall outside of the typical MM romance genre books, as they don’t stick to, for example, just contemporary. Whereas MM romance is their umbrella genre, I dabble into contemporary, crime, Ancient Rome, fantasy, science-fiction, and Regency so far. All feature men in love, but as I like to put it “in various times and settings”. All these stories also have a dark side, this is just what the characters bring, probably feeding on my dark side like silent leeches. When you read a Maxime book, you will have the love story, but also the characters unique background, their often tragic or traumatizing backstory, their struggles which can take surprising turns. Many of these protagonists won’t be rich, special, and definitely won’t have sculpted bodies. This is where they also diverge from the typical MM genre books. I am not against reading about sculpted, perfect men, after all, it’s fiction and one can dream, but my characters, save for a few exceptions, will have average bodies, and some are overweight, or have those soft, cuddly bodies. Also, body hair. It is very rare that my characters are clean shaven on their bodies. It is not even their bodies or looks that are at the centre of the stories, as my descriptions are usually limited to eyes, hair color, and what the other sees in their love interest. The rest is left to the readers’ imagination. The focus is more on the emotional and psychological side of my characters, their personality, how they battle for their love, or how their life changes after their struggles. Sometimes, it will involve a physical change too by the end of the story. All my stories have age-gap, that is maybe a bit unconventional too, but this is how my characters come to me.
I also write bi characters and polyamorous relationships, which might surprise readers who only expect an MM dynamic.
All of the above lead to choosing the cover of “Fall”. I read that you had to look at the first 10 amazon books in rankings and make a similar cover to sell, but it was quickly out of the question, so instead of putting a half-naked superbly sculpted man on the cover, I brainstormed with the cover designer and went for the hands, which is a bit my brand too (my social media profile pic is two hands reaching for each other). It fit the book perfectly, one trying to catch the other, or letting him fall, this is up to the reader to choose. It represented the analogy of the trapeze where one has to let go to jump onto something new. It might not sell as well, as it sticks out of the majority of other MM covers, but it might be just the road I’m going to walk down on.
This is where I would like to add that I have immense respect for all my fellow authors, and their work, no matter their process, whether they’re indie or trad, genre conforming or not, following a structure or running wild. All forms of writing are valid.
So, what is cooking in the Maximeverse© cauldron? A contemporary MM romance is with beta readers, featuring a rich business man and a flight attendant. Sounds typical, but it is not your average billionaire story. I also have a vampire novel with betas, probably my bloodiest book yet, where my vampire is out of the ordinary vampire tropes. I have to edit my Ancient Rome trilogy, which is probably going to be my most controversial book because I have not toned down what happened during those ancient times. The love story between a Roman general and his slave is possibly going to ruffle some feathers. I also have a contemporary crim fiction cooking, with heavy topics, and gruesome murders. I’m currently writing a fantasy MMF romance, which is also going to be my nano project.
As I wrote earlier, so far, going forward with self-publishing my “not strictly fitting the genre” book has been positive, and I intend to continue writing the books I want to read. They might not fit the genre totally but will hopefully find their readers who will appreciate them. I am already immensely grateful to all my readers, and to my wonderful Writing Community friends who keep cheering me on.
Maxime Jaz
Maxime’s links: Maxime Jaz | Linktree
Link to Fall: getbook.at/Fall-MaximeJaz
Comments