It's common for new manga fans to confuse doujinshi with manga. Actually, for a fan, there isn't a lot of difference between the two since the content, art, and material are essentially the same. There are even some anime based on doujinshi. However, doujinshi — often shortened to "dj" or "doujin" — are actually self-published works, that often tend to be more LGBTQ+-friendly projects.
from CBR