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Writing the book is only part of publishing it.
Authors also have to explain what kind of book they wrote, choose accurate tropes, write a description that attracts the right readers, prepare a launch, find reviewers, decide where promotion is worth their time or money, and make sure discovery sites have accurate information about the book.
That is what this resource center is for. Lesbian Romance Reads provides free practical resources for sapphic romance authors, from positioning a manuscript to promoting a published book. These guides are built specifically around sapphic and lesbian romance rather than taking generic book-marketing advice and simply changing the genre name.
Start wherever you are in the process:
- Writing or positioning your book? Start with tropes.
- Preparing your retailer page? Work on your blurb.
- Planning publication? Use the launch checklist.
- Looking for reviews? Read the reviewer guide.
- Ready to promote? Use the promotion directory.
- Want LRR to know about your book? Submit it free.
LRR for Authors at a Glance
- Free book submissionSubmitting a book to LRR does not cost anything.
- Indie authors welcomeSelf-published, independent, small-press and traditionally published books can be submitted.
- Honest reviews onlyA review is an editorial opinion. Payment does not purchase a positive review or rating.
- Sapphic-specific resourcesOur guides focus on the questions that arise when positioning, reviewing and promoting sapphic romance.
- Built around reader discoveryThe objective is not simply more exposure. It is helping the right readers understand and discover the right books.
- Research where we have the dataLRR analyzes its own review catalogue to understand tropes, combinations, heat and other patterns (see the Sapphic Trope Index).
Start Here: From Manuscript to Readers
You do not need to read these resources in order. But if you are preparing a new sapphic romance for publication, this is the sequence we recommend.
- 1Position
Sapphic Romance Tropes for Authors
Choose the tropes that define your book and build your LRR Trope Stack.
Open the guide →What it covers ↓ - 2Write
How to Write a Sapphic Romance Blurb
Turn your positioning into a description that attracts the right readers.
Open the guide →What it covers ↓ - 3Launch
Sapphic Romance Book Launch Checklist
Work backward from publication day, from 12 weeks out to 90 days after.
Open the guide →What it covers ↓ - 4Review
How to Get a Sapphic Romance Book Reviewed
Find the right reviewers and send a professional review request.
Open the guide →What it covers ↓ - 5Promote
Where to Promote a Sapphic Romance Book
A verified directory of free and paid sapphic promotion opportunities.
Open the guide →What it covers ↓
1. Position Your Book
Sapphic Romance Tropes for Authors
Your book may contain ten recognizable tropes. You probably should not market all ten.
Learn how to distinguish genre, subgenre, primary tropes, secondary tropes, relationship dynamics, setting, tone, heat and ending information. The guide introduces the LRR Trope Stack, a structured way to describe the reading experience without turning your book into a wall of tags.
Use this if you’re asking:
- What are my book’s main tropes?
- Which tropes should I market?
- Is this really enemies to lovers?
- Is this trope primary or secondary?
- How should I describe my book to reviewers?
2. Turn Positioning Into a Blurb
How to Write a Sapphic Romance Blurb
Once you know what the book is, you need to make someone want to read it. Our blurb guide uses a six-part framework:
Hook → Character One → Character Two → Attraction → Obstacle & Stakes → Promise
It also includes the LRR 15-Second Blurb Test, a weak-to-rewritten example, a worksheet, editing techniques and current Amazon KDP description rules. Most importantly, it shows how to take a Trope Stack and turn those labels into story rather than pasting keywords into a description.
Use this if you’re asking:
- Why does my blurb feel flat?
- How much plot should I reveal?
- Should I put tropes in my description?
- How do I describe both protagonists?
- Is my blurb becoming a synopsis?
3. Plan the Release
Sapphic Romance Book Launch Checklist
A launch begins before release day and continues after it. Our launch checklist works backward from publication:
8–12+ weeks before → 6–8 weeks → 4–6 weeks → 2–4 weeks → launch week → first 30 days → 30–90 days
It covers positioning, ARC preparation, retailer checks, reviewer outreach, promotion, launch assets and post-release measurement, with a checkable checklist and a priority plan for authors whose book is already launching next week.
Use this if you’re asking:
- What should I do before release?
- When should I contact reviewers?
- When should I start promotion?
- What have I forgotten?
- What should I do after launch week?
4. Find the Right Reviewers
How to Get a Sapphic Romance Book Reviewed
Getting reviews is not about sending the same message to as many people as possible. It starts with fit.
Our reviewer guide explains how to identify active reviewers, check submission policies, prepare the information they need and write a professional review request. It also explains the difference between an independent review and paid promotion.
Use this if you’re asking:
- Where can I find sapphic book reviewers?
- When should I send an ARC?
- What should my review request contain?
- Should I send the ebook immediately?
- Can I pay for a review?
- Why aren’t reviewers answering?
5. Find Places to Promote Your Book
Where to Promote a Sapphic Romance Book
There are hundreds of generic lists of book-promotion websites. That doesn’t mean those services are useful for a sapphic romance. LRR’s promotion directory separates opportunities by what they actually offer, including:
- Sapphic-specific discovery
- LGBTQ+ book promotion
- Editorial review opportunities
- Mainstream book-promotion services with relevant categories
- ARC services
- Communities
- Cross-promotions
- BookTok and Bookstagram considerations
- Awards
- Libraries and events
Listings include verification information and the date we last checked them. The guide also explains how to evaluate a promotion before paying for it.
Use this if you’re asking:
- Where can I promote my sapphic book?
- What can I do for free?
- Which services actually target LGBTQ+ readers?
- Is a paid promotion worth trying?
- What exactly am I buying?
6. Submit Your Book to Lesbian Romance Reads
Tell us about your sapphic romance
If your book fits LRR’s coverage, you can submit it directly. Submission is free. We ask for structured information including:
- Title and author
- Genre and subgenre
- Primary tropes
- Secondary tropes
- Relationship dynamic
- Setting or world
- Tone
- Heat level
- Ending information
- Publication information
- Review-copy availability
Submitting a book does not guarantee a review, recommendation or editorial placement. It gives our editorial team accurate information about the book and allows us to consider it for relevant coverage, including new-release roundups.
Paid promotion, where offered, is separate from independent editorial opinion and does not purchase a favorable review or rating.
Before You Market a Book, Understand the Market You’re Entering
LRR doesn’t only publish author advice. We also study the sapphic books we review.
The Sapphic Trope Index
Our current Sapphic Trope Index analyzes 517 sapphic book reviews published on Lesbian Romance Reads. It tracks 35 tropes, along with trope combinations, heat levels, Goodreads averages and publishing route.
Among the books in our reviewed dataset:
- 33.8%slow burn
- 32.7%found family
- 28.4%age gap
- 26.9%forbidden love
- 26.1%forced proximity
The analysis also looks at which tropes appear together, differences between self-published and publisher-backed books, heat distribution and tropes that appear relatively uncommon within our reviewed catalogue.
An important limitation. These numbers describe the books LRR reviewed. They are not a census of every sapphic romance published, and frequency is not the same thing as reader demand. We publish the methodology and limitations with the research so authors can see exactly what the data does, and does not, tell us.
Don’t write to a statistic
Genre data can help you understand the landscape. It should not decide what story you are allowed to write. If a trope appears frequently in our catalogue, that does not mean you should avoid it. If a trope appears rarely, that does not prove readers are waiting to buy it. And a high average rating for a trope does not mean attaching that trope to a book will improve its reviews.
Execution matters. Use research to ask better questions, not to replace creative judgment.
Free Resources First
The educational resources in this author center are free to read, and book submission to LRR is free. If LRR offers paid promotional opportunities, they will be clearly identified as promotion or advertising. Paying for promotion does not buy:
- A positive review
- A higher editorial rating
- A place in an independent ranking
- Guaranteed sales
- Guaranteed reviews
Authors should know what they are paying for before purchasing a promotional service, whether from LRR or anyone else (see how to evaluate a promotion). That distinction protects authors, readers and the credibility of the site.
Indie and Self-Published Authors Are Welcome
You do not need a major publisher behind your book to submit it to LRR or use these resources. Independent authors are an important part of sapphic romance publishing. What matters to us is whether the book fits the site’s coverage and whether we have accurate information about it. The same applies to authors published through small presses and traditional publishers.
What We Mean by Sapphic Romance
We use sapphic romance as a broad term for romance centered on love and attraction between women, including stories involving lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, queer and other sapphic identities. That does not mean those identities are interchangeable. When describing an individual book or character, use the identity language that is actually accurate. A broad discovery term should never require changing who your characters are.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can indie authors submit books to Lesbian Romance Reads?
Yes. Self-published, independent, small-press and traditionally published books can be submitted for consideration.
Does it cost money to submit a book?
No. Book submission to LRR is free.
Does submitting guarantee a review?
No. Submission allows LRR to consider the book for appropriate coverage. It does not guarantee a review, recommendation or placement.
Can I pay LRR for a positive review?
No. Paid promotion and independent editorial opinion are separate. Payment does not purchase a favorable review or rating.
When should I submit an upcoming book?
Earlier is generally more useful when you want consideration around release, because reviewers and editorial sites need time. If the book is already published, you can still submit it.
What information should I prepare before submitting?
At minimum, have accurate publication information, a final or near-final cover, a clear description, genre/subgenre and your main tropes. The submission form asks for additional reader-facing information such as heat, tone and ending.
I don’t know which tropes are primary. What should I do?
Start with our Sapphic Romance Tropes for Authors guide. The LRR Trope Test and Trope Stack are designed specifically for this problem.
Start With the Problem You Need to Solve
| If this is your problem… | Go here |
|---|---|
| I don’t know how to position my book. | Sapphic Romance Tropes for Authors |
| My description isn’t working. | How to Write a Sapphic Romance Blurb |
| My release is approaching. | Sapphic Romance Book Launch Checklist |
| I need reviewers. | How to Get a Sapphic Romance Book Reviewed |
| I need places to promote it. | Where to Promote a Sapphic Romance Book |
| My book is ready for LRR. | Submit Your Book Free |
You do not need to do everything at once. Start with the problem in front of you, use the resource that solves it, and move to the next stage when you’re ready.
Ready to Tell Us About Your Book?
If you’ve written a sapphic romance that fits LRR’s coverage, send us the details. Submission is free, and indie authors are welcome.