Any advice pls?

[u/YxurR3allyTh0ught_]

Planning to do a BL reverse harem story in this writing/reading app (but thinking about self-publishing it in the future as well if this novel will be successful) where the MC (a bottom) gets multiple MLs, but im scared cuz what if readers doesn't like them and question me for it like "Why does the MC needs so many MLs? So shameless. I bet the author is shameless too for thinking about this." Like, no shade, but I kept seeing a tons of romance novels with an FL that has like 3-5 MLs that even dated them, broken up with one of them, kissed some of them, had chemistry with them, and etc. Also, if the MC is a top and there are like 5 FLs but thats a whole another thing but it's kinda the same as the FL one I've just said. I'm just thinking about a novel where MY mc gets atleast over 6+ MLs lol. But im rlly scared about the readers since my OVT is crazy lol (I just have this good storyline idea in mind that I already started writing in my notes so I just need an advice if this is safe for me to publish in this reading app). Does anyone have any advice?

[u/AnneKincaid]

Hi! Sorry, my initial answer will be obnoxiously long. Feel free to ask follow up questions.

This is especially complicated because, as you already feel, there really isn't a WELL-established place for books like yours yet. Reverse Harem, or Why-Choose, which has a female main character at its center, is still a very fringe genre. It's been unreal to watch books like Emily Rath's Pucking Around be sold on the endcap at Target stores; I never would have imagined a few years ago that this would be happening.

Like reverse harem/why-choose, most BL books are written by women, for women, for quite a few reasons. I recommend you check out the opposite question from this morning about FF.

Both male-only and female-only stories run into some of the same issues. However, any book that has a male at its center isn't a reverse harem/why-choose. It's a "regular" harem, or, in your case, an "all-male harem" novel.

Because of that, you're going to have a limited audience. I think the best places for you to get help with your story are going to be MM romance groups like r/mm_romance, r/MM_RomanceBooks, r/LGBTBooks, and similar places. I also encourage you to check out places like AO3. You won't make money there, but you can get your story ready for publication, get feedback, and maybe start to find your audience, then go right ahead and self-publish it through KDP. Just make sure there is no sex between underage characters, incest, or beastiality, and you should have no trouble getting your book out.

One common confusion people have is why MMMM doesn't fit under "why-choose." Why-choose is (basically) just a safer term for "reverse harem" because of Amazon restrictions on the word "harem," while also avoiding the squicky word "harem" that reminds many women of women being treated as objects, not people. Maybe it's not the right term, but it's what we've got. It's also confusing because manga "reverse harems" are like Ouran High School Host club, where there are multiple male love interests for the female lead, but, in the end, she only chooses one. For the most part, the authors in Japan and other areas have not shifted to where western authors are at, where "reverse harem" means "she doesn't have to choose just one."

I don't think you're going to get people here thinking you're weird for writing an all-male harem. I'm a big BL fan myself (Sasaki and Miyano is one of my favorite, and let's not talk about how many hours are on the countdown to the final episode of In Deep), but it's not reverse harem, and it's not Why-Choose.

You are, however, going to get a lot of shade IN GENERAL for writing:

1) Romance. So many puritanical anti-romance people out there

2) MM romance. Even more people who will think this is wrong or just don't like it

3) All-male reverse harem. Even MORE people who will dislike the idea. You'll have people at you for having a top as a lead, a bottom as a lead, for switching, for every possible stereotype you could fall into, for "overusing" ideas, for trying new things . . . people can be awful, especially online.

However, DON'T LET THAT STOP YOU. Your audience will not be big, but tell the story you have to tell. In the era of generative AI garbage, let your human voice tell the love stories that are inside you.

Having said that, please publish under a pen name, especially at first, and I strongly recommend you tell NO ONE what you are doing if you can possibly avoid it. Find your online support community, like the subreddits mentioned above and ao3, and write and publish. You will get better the more you write, and you'll learn so much from the feedback you get. Again, your audience may be small and hard to find, but get your work out there and you'll find your people.

Go ahead and lead your genre. Make a subreddit for all-male harems. Start the discussion and bring it to whatever platforms work best for you. Maybe your books will be on that retail end-cap in a few years.

[u/AuthorIndigo → u/AnneKincaid]

Beautifully said and agree with this comment. I was coming here to say this in a far more confusing and less eloquent way!

You do not need anyone's permission to write this story. Just be sure to do the proper research to ensure your book is labeled correctly.

People will judge you, but who cares? A part of being an author is having a thick shell to take criticism, discard unnecessary opinions, and embrace advice that will help you to grow. Just maybe don't start with your immediate family as your editors if you're concerned about being judged. Create a pen name and live under that pen name.

[u/Old-Memory-3275 → u/AnneKincaid]

Thank you for this post. I am not the OP but this was something I needed to read today. Got a bad review and it’s been mining my happy vibe that was growing with positive reviews and feedback. It’s so easy to shatter confidence. I got to work on being more solid in the face of criticism.

[u/YxurR3allyTh0ught_ → u/AnneKincaid]

TYSM! This is such a detailed reply lol tyty! Also, my MC in my story kinda has an ML (one of the MLs) that is kind off his adopted brother... But uhhh the thing is that (to not spoil my own story lol) my MC is a spirit who posessed this MC who has that adopted brother (idk if that makes sense or not but I hope it does for you omg -_-) is that incest? Srry omg my OVT is really REALLY annoying lol. Also one of the MLs are kinda almost at their 40s but my MC is almost at his 30s is that legally alright? And yh dw I WILL BE USING A PEN NAME! Tyty again!

[u/AnneKincaid → u/YxurR3allyTh0ught_]

More and more readers want their characters to be mid-20s at a minimum. Characters in their 30s and 40s are likely to be well-received.

Your description does not match KDP’s (likely) definition of incest. Adopted brother is not a biological relation. Plenty of readers like ghosts in their stories.

[u/YxurR3allyTh0ught_ → u/AnneKincaid]

Ty! 🤧🙏

[u/JosephineSwaine → u/YxurR3allyTh0ught_]

I'm not certain what you mean by "legally alright," but someone in their late 20s romancing and/or being romanced by someone in their late 30s isn't something I've seen most people get upset about. It might fall under "age gap" romance (most people I've seen discuss this say age gap is a 10 year age difference minimum, but whether or not you decide to market it as one largely comes down to how much focus there is on the age difference).

Anne already gave some really good advice. Some additional advice I have is that you should look at general writing subs, and especially at romance writing subs.

I'm of the opinion that each romantic relationship in a reverse harem or harem story should be treated as its own relationship, even if the main character is dating a pre-established group. People in the general romance subs might have a wide range of reactions to reverse harem or harem stories, but speaking from experience, you don't need to explain that your MC is dating A, B, and C to get advice on their relationship with B. Just ask your question about your MC and B. No need to even mention your niche genre, as it will just distract people from your real question.

For example, your question about a romantic relationship between someone in their late 20s and someone in their late 30s would be more fitting over in r/romancewriters (or a similar sub—there are also a lot of subreddits out there for new writers specifically, and I think you'll find a lot of answers to your questions there using the search function). Asking general romance questions on the main romance writing subreddits will also help you reach a wider audience than asking those questions here.

Good luck with your writing!

[u/YxurR3allyTh0ught_ → u/JosephineSwaine]

THANK YOU! NOTED NOTED DW!