Genre Confusion - Need Help!

I wrote a short novel/novella (it's about 65,000 words, so I'm unclear which label it falls under). I'm toying with the idea of self-publishing it online but I'm assuming I'll need to tag it with genre labels and I really don't know what genre(s) it is?

I don't yet have enough posts to be able to ask for a beta reader and, due to my lack of posts and certain aspects of its content, cannot post it for critique on AW. So I thought perhaps I could describe its plot and maybe get some feedback?

My MC is an 18 year old male who finds himself homeless after his abusive father locks him out. After unsuccessfully trying to find other ways to support himself, he eventually turns to prostitution. Through his work - both directly and indirectly - he meets four different prospective love interests (two male, two female) and must choose between them.

The story contains a lot of sex (mostly with other males) - some of which is described in fairly graphic detail - but not all of its sex scenes are written to arouse and sex is not the focus of the story. The focus is on the MC's path and the sacrifices he must make in the name of love. It is not an uplifting tale. The MC endures considerable abuse, especially at the hands of one of his lovers, and his story does not end happily.

How would I go about categorizing such a thing?

Well googling YA literature says YA targets readers aged 12-18 so that's definitely out. Most of the secondary characters are at least in their mid twenties and some much older.

In any case, age demographics isn't really what I meant by "Genre." Is there no way to narrow it down further than adult contemporary?

Harlequin said:

The thing is, you don't WANT to narrow it down. Not for querying. You want to go broad as possible and keep it simple.

Click to expand...

I've no intention of querying or contacting an agent at all. As I said, my intention is to self publish. I'll most likely be going through KDP and perhaps one or two other avenues.