I'm wondering if you've seen this:
http://www.stormgrant.com/storm_work/nonfiction/market_calls.htm

You may wish to subscribe to duotropes 2 newsletters--short fiction and novel length--and also Ralan's report. My fave place to find erotica market calls is http://erotica-readers.com/ERA/AR/Erotica_Authors_Resources.htm. Ask to be added to their emails and the calls just drop into your mailbox, complete with warnings and endorsements.

Hope you find it helpful.

Yes, I did sign up for those newsletters. Hadn't thought of Ralan's report -- is that still mostly sci fi/fantasy? I look at erotica-readers fairly often, but I never knew there was an e-mail list. Thanks! :-)

You're right about Ralan's. I pursue both so I forgot not everyone else does. ;-)

I just got an interesting email from the ERWA list. I'll forward it to you so you can see what I'm referring to. I'll use the email on your lj profile page?

Thank you. I sent an e-mail asking if I could subscribe. I have a tall task ahead for me. Figuring out how to sell a humor collection. Very tough market unless you're a famous stand-up comedian.

Humour erotica or just humour?
(Inquiring minds and all...)

>>Figuring out how to sell a humor collection.

Is the problem figuring out how to sell it or *where* to sell it?

I'm thinking you need an agent. There are several agent databases around (don't pay $s for that one, I'll pull up info for you), and you can search for who's looking for humour. Alternatively, figure out who agents/ publishes the people you like. Literary humour? Who's Tom Robbin's agent? (There's a "Who Reps Who" database somewhere that I've recently misplaced.

More everyday humour? Subscribe to the Erma Bombeck newsletter (she may be dead but she's still funny.)

Post in your blog and let us all brainstorm. 70 heads are better than 1, eh? ;-)

Just my 2cents, Canadian.

I've been trying to cross-reference agents who are looking for both short story collections and humor. Came up with only about four or five using the Guide to Literary Agents.

No, it's not erotica at all. It's more like Dave Barry, but fictional stories about all the bad things in a city I named Bustleburg (America's Worst City). It's not literary either in my opinion as the writing style is pretty casual.

Thanks for your two cents Canadian. It's worth a lot these days :)

Sort of a Lake Woebegon thing, then. http://www.amazon.com/Lake-Wobegon-Days-Garrison-Keillor/dp/0140131612
Find out who Garrison Keillor's agent is. And Dave Barry's. I think these kind of themed books are very popular. And have great bestseller potential!

I'm ahead of you. :) Dave Barry's agency is Fox Chase in Pennsylvania. They do not accept short story collections although they are closed to submissions altogether anyway. I've actually been told this is more of an anti-Garrison Keillor project. I've only heard is radio show a few times, so I don't know how to judge. I had thought that Lake Woebegon was kind of idyllic while Bustleburg is dystopian. However, I guess the objective in both cases is to make the reader laugh. Anyhow, Mr. Keillor is with Ellen Levine at Trident which is super-agent Robert Gottleib's agency. I suppose it's a one in a million shot.

You really are ahead of me. Often I meet writers and they either know what they need to do and just need some encouragement, or they don't know where to start. Then I can leap in a be all helpful-y (Cuz I like being helpful) with my 5 minutes of publishing knowledge. But in your case, you obviously know what you're doing.

I'm pitching agents myself at the moment. So far, no nibbles. But hope springs eternal, not unlike my dog.

No, no, you ARE helping. Just don't want you to think I've been slack. :) I suffer from fairly major depression, and having someone like you saying "yeah, go call him, him and her" is probably a great thing for me.

And I like being helpful, too. That's why I've made comments on your blog. Do you have the Writer's Digest Guide to Literary Agents. I can dig through it looking for agents who want gay and lesbian fiction if you wish.

Take care! :)

I suffer from fairly major depression,

I used to suffer from clinical depression, and now I don't, so every morning I wake up without a black cloud over my head is cause for celebration. A decade has passed and I never forget what it was like. So go, you for doing anything let alone finishing novels and things.

I can dig through it looking for agents who want gay and lesbian fiction if you wish.
That's very kind of you, and I may take you up on it, just not yet. I used a number of online guides and generated a database of agents who handle both GBLT and romance. A lot of places take literary gay fiction, but not my fluffy stuff. I've got 9 or 10 that drifted to the top and I'm working my way through them.

Oddly, no matter how many rejections I get, it doesn't seem to dampen my enthusiasm. I wish I'd made a career in publishing. It would have been a wild ride.

If I ever lose my current job, Harlequin's head office is just up the street. ;-)

Yes, you are late, hun! I've been using it for years! Don't know if it has ever helped me sell anything, but they have a good submissions tracker. www.ralan.com is also useful.

Duotrope has been around for years; it's a great resource. I think lots of folks link to them, I do. You still have to look at the publisher's websites for details on many calls, but the link buttons are right there.

:0 Have fun trolling through it.