Wednesday Writing Tips: Write For Us

Okay, this isn't a grammar-and-punctuation type of tip. It's for you authors and aspiring authors--we've put out calls for submissions for 2013, here's your opportunity!

Curve Appeal
Dangerous curves ahead! Cuddle up to some Big Beautiful Women in this series featuring hot ’n’ heavy heroines who have a little (or a lot!) extra cushion for the pushin’.

~ Length: 20K - 45K
~ Deadline for internal/external submissions: 3/1/13 (earlier is preferred)
~ All Lines and sub-genres welcome
~ Rubenesque heroines are a must; size must be one of the themes (heroines who are already comfortable in their plus-sized skin are definitely welcome
~ Stories release in September 2013

Boys Will Do Boys
Let’s get one thing straight—these heroes are not. Sorry ladies, no heroines allowed in these tales of lust and love between men. Bring on the M/M! (Or M/M/M, or M/M/M/M…)

~ Length: 20K – 70K words
~ Deadline for internal/external submissions: 5/1/13 (earlier is preferred
~ All stories will release under our Spectrum (GLBT) Line, but all sub-genres and themes are welcome
~ Stories release in December 2013/January 2014

Cotillion Christmas Traditions
Sweet, Christmas-themed traditional Regencies from our Blush Line of non-erotic romance.

~ Length: 12K – 25K
~ Deadline for internal submissions: June 15
~ Deadline for external submissions: May 15
~ Regency Christmas traditions must be a theme in all stories, with particular dedication to historical accuracy (no Victorian Christmas trees, etc.)
~ Cotillion guidelines: sweet (kisses only); set in Regency-era England; focus on the social setting/mores of the time
~ Ebooks release in October 2013
~ Print anthology releases in November 2013

New Line: EC for Men

Stories written specifically for our male readers.
We are now accepting submissions (find instructions in the Author Information brochure available under Submissions on our website).

~ 7,000 to 30,000 words

~ May contain relationships, but should focus more on the sex than the romance; Romantica is fine, Exotika is also encouraged

~ Realistic wording and dialogue for male characters (not the language women WISH men spoke); this extends to the male narrative

~ Written from male POV preferred

~ Should be aimed at male sexual fantasies (what men think of when they get off)

~ More of what men want or need from women: sex, love, acceptance, admiration, dirty talk; less of what they don't need (judgment, drama, expectation of anticipating woman's needs)

* Examples include, but are in no way limited to:
- Women taking the initiative during sex
- Female pursuit of the man
- Voyeurism of female/female sex (as well as F/M/F and F/F/M themes)
- Risky sexual situations or locations; a sense of the forbidden (e.g. the boss's mistress, the maid, the college professor, sex in public, etc.)

Remember that sex is largely visual and verbal for men (for women, it is mainly mental and emotional). Men polled preferred "real women" (natural as opposed to surgically enhanced) and wanted women to "do some of the work". Interpret that as you will!

New EC Lines!

Authors, get your typing fingers ready! We've got two new Lines (genres) to announce and we're itchin' for new submissions. The deets:

Ellora's Cave Shivers
You know those erotic horror subs our Editor-in-Chief (@EditMeThis) has been begging for on Twitter and Facebook? They've finally got a name, and the very first one releases on March 25 (Endless Lust by Lexxie Couper)! The horror genre is broad, and in the spirit of encompassing as wide a definition as possible and appealing to various types of readers, your horror submission can be:

* Psychologically scary
* Blood-and-guts scary
* Pee-your-pants, hide-under-the-covers scary

You catch that keyword? And let's not forget, above all, erotic. However, mindful that horror doesn't always lend itself to happy endings, HEAs and HFNs are optional in Shivers stories. But hey...if you can work a believable romance in there, we'll be impressed. And might even send you candy. Let crippling fear fuel your characters' lusts, authors...drive them to the brink of insanity and orgasm.

Ellora's Cave Kink
This aptly named Line is just what you'd expect -- kink and fetish. No, not BDSM. That has it's own Line (Taboo), and is less kinky these days than you might think (oh, those jaded readers!). We'll give most subject matter serious consideration if the execution is stellar, but remember what EC readers love most -- hot sex and happily ever afters. We want romantic relationships that develop not despite a kink, but because of it. A single foot-rub scene won't get the Kink banner on your cover. The sexual thrust of the story (no pun intended) should revolve around your chosen fetish or kink. Delve into the psychology behind it, both historically and from your characters' POVs. How does the fetish make the characters feel, physically and emotionally? How has it evolved? How did previous lovers handle it? And so, so much more; there are endless ways to develop your story -- but no dry History of Kink lessons here. Make it fresh, make it funky, make it fetish.  ;-)

Like all our Lines, Shivers and Kink are open to all EC book lengths (7K to 120K-ish), and can have as many themes as you'd like (menage, vampire, shifter, historical, Rubenesque, M/M, F/F, etc.).

Got something sitting on your computer right now that might work? Perhaps some idea brewing in that big brain? Then check out the Submissions page on http://www.ellorascave.com/, download the Author Info PDF for additional instructions, including submissions address, and start flooding our inbox!

And pass it on!

How to Query The Bible

by Raelene Gorlinsky

EC does not need or want query letters - just read our submission guidelines, send us a cover email with sample chapters. However, a query letter is the way to approach most agents and many publishing houses. (Always check their website to see what is required.) So if you are struggling with the task of writing that query, let me point you to an excellent - and highly entertaining - resource, agent Janet Reid's Query Shark blog.

http://queryshark.blogspot.com/

She dissects letters, explains what works and what doesn't. And she is very blunt, which is what is needed! Here's her analysis of part of a query letter, it's the same thing I've told writers many times.

Letter: I have become irrevocably attached to Jeromy and his heroic tale; I know that many readers will feel the same way, and I hope you will give him a glance and find out whether he is able to break your heart and put it back together.


Janet's Critique: This is a HUGE warning sign in a query. What you think it means is you're passionate about your work. What I think it means is you're the kind of writer who is more likely to take rejection personally, not be able to handle revisions with objectivity and be a total pain in the ass.

But mostly I read this blog for the entertainment value. Whether you are an author or not, writing a query letter or not, you must read the query letter from The Lord, pitching his book THE BIBLE, a 775,000-word historical fiction/religious memoir.

http://queryshark.blogspot.com/2011/02/blog-post.html

When Not to Hit Send

by Meghan Conrad

The other day, Raelene was talking about Self-Rejection by Non-Submission--reasons authors don't submit their work, and why they should.

Today I'm going to look at the other side of that story--reasons you shouldn't submit your work, at least not yet.

1. You're really writing this story for yourself.
Raelene mentioned this in her point five--some people just love to write and don't have any desire to get published. There's nothing wrong with this, and if you fall into this category, not submitting is a perfectly okay thing to do. You can enjoy playing piano without wanting to be a concert pianist--writing's no different.

2. You're done writing, not revising.
Just because the book has a beginning, middle and end doesn't mean that it's done. Have you read the book? Have you set it aside for a month, then picked it up and reread it? Have your crit partners read it, and have you addressed (or at least considered) their criticisms? If you're not saying yes to all of those questions, you're not ready to submit.

3. You think the story is perfect.
I know, I know--I just told you to finish revising before you submit, but this is different. If you're not able to look at your book and admit to yourself that there are things that could make it better, even if you don't yet know what those things are, you're not ready to submit. We think that your baby's lovely--and it would be even lovelier if we were to edit its face just a little.

4. You don't have enough time to commit to the process.
Getting published isn't easy, and that doesn't change once you've signed a contract. First there's researching companies and submitting to them. Then if you're lucky enough to have your book signed, there's edits, more edits, promoting your book, more edits... If you're in your last year of grad school, are six months pregnant, have four children under three, work full time, and are moving across the country in two months, maybe you should consider waiting until your life settles down before submitting.

5. You're not prepared to be rejected.
It takes a fairly thick skin to be rejected over and over--and let's face it, most people are rejected over and over--and not let it destroy you. If you can't handle gentle comments from crit partners or you feel like being rejected might put you off writing altogether, consider that maybe you're not yet psychologically ready to go through the potentially grueling submission process.

There are plenty of really fantastic reasons to submit you work, but when you do submit, make sure you're ready to really go for it. Publishers will still be buying books next year, and for a long time after that. There's no shame in waiting.

Pitchin' Good

by Raelene Gorlinsky

The stories about awful pitch experiences are always more entertaining (see Kelli's "Pitchy Behavior" post). But there are also some good "outside the scheduled appointment time" opportunities to talk to an editor or agent about your book.

Of course, there is the most common--as Meghan says, "Buy me a drink and I'll listen to anything." Editors often congregate in the bar at conferences. They are feeling chatty and friendly. Make conversation, offer to buy a drink or a plate of munchies. Just show common courtesy--if the editor is in a group or a general conversation, don't expect her to ignore everyone else just to talk to you. Maybe you can turn the conversation to "so, what's everyone working on now?" and get all the authors present talking. Throw in your WIP description, maybe the editor will look interested and ask for more info. Or if you can get a few private moments with her, ask her if you can talk to her about your book or if you can set up a time with her to do so.

Drive the editor. This is my favorite. I greatly appreciate conferences that arrange to have someone meet me at the airport, rather than leaving me to struggle with finding a shuttle or expensive taxi. And of course while I'm in the car with you, my designated driver, I'm going to make polite conversation, starting with "What do you write?" That's your cue that I'm willing to listen. I've had authors fighting over who will take me back to the airport at the end of the conference, getting the chance to do a car pitch to me.

Feed the editor. There are always meals that are not included in the conference schedule. The editors have to eat somewhere with someone--so why not ask one if she is free to join you? This is good if there are several authors together. And it doesn't always mean you have to pick up the tab--just phrase the invitation appropriately: "would you like to join us" versus "can we take you to...". Do allow the editor time to chew and to have some general pleasant conversation; don't make the whole meal a series of book pitches.

Be kind to the editor.  These are serendipitous opportunities. There was the time I arrived at a conference with a painfully damaged knee and back. An author I bumped into in the hotel lobby helped me check in and drag my luggage to my room, offered to go get me something from the lobby coffee shop, and was generally helpful when I really needed the hand. So besides thanking her profusely, I did the conversation thing: "What do you write? Got anything ready to submit?"
At the lengthy and crowded pitch appointments at an RWA National conference, I was exhausted and commented on how I really, really needed some chocolate to keep me going. A few minutes later, a man I'd seen standing in line showed up with candy bars! No, he didn't have or need a pitch appointment with me. But his wife was an author, and I had a nice chat with her when I spotted them at dinner that night--we progressed from "You have such a wonderful, considerate husband" to "So, what do you write?".

In other words, editors are normal people who appreciate kindness and helpfulness, and will try to repay that with what they have to offer--their time to talk about your book or answer your questions.

What Not to Submit

by Meghan Conrad

Ellora's Cave, as most of you know, only accepts electronic submissions. It's easier for the editors, easier on the environment, and arguably harder for the authors, who have even more to remember when sending in their manuscript.

This is a list of things we wish you'd avoid when submitting electronically. While none of these things will get you rejected, they certainly don't win you any points.

1. PDFs. Yes, they're wonderful when you need to control every aspect of the document, but this isn't that time. That's why it's called submitting. If you send us a PDF file, we will simply delete it and email back to ask you to send a doc file.

2. Locked documents. Maybe we hate Courier and want to change the font; maybe we need to add your contact info to the header; maybe we want to be able to leave notes to ourself in the document. If you lock it, we can't do any of those things.

3. Wrong file versions. If you realize you've sent the wrong version of your manuscript, send the right version immediately. If you don't realize that you sent the wrong version until you've heard back from the editor, you're probably out of luck unless you have a fantastic working relationship with that person--and even then, you're going to be waiting until your manuscript comes back to the top of the queue.

4. Missing attachments. Everyone does this once in a while--I did it earlier this week (sorry again, Dee!)--but it's worse when you're submitting. This goes double if you're submitting to a catch-all submissions address instead of a specific person. Making more work for people who deal with the tedious task of logging the slush submissions gets you a special place in hell.

5. Comments from your crit partners. I'm really thrilled that you have a crit partner. A good crit partner is worth their weight in rhodium. I do not, however, need or want to see their comments about your book. I promise that I can think of plenty of comments on my own.

6. Tracked changes. Invaluable while you're revising, but do you really want to have an editor reading over the scenes that you deleted? Because while I can't speak for anyone but myself, if the words are still there, I'm going to read them.

7. Unlabeled manuscripts. A manuscript that's named submission.doc could belong to anyone. Even worse is when it's called submission.doc and doesn't have the author's name or the title anywhere within the document.

8. Reply-to addresses that aren't the same as the from address. If you don't want me responding to your work email, then don't submit from your work email. Every major email provider offers web access--use it.

9. Uninformative emails--or, worse, emails with no text in the body. Don't attach a cover letter--that should go in the body of the email. And, as with all cover letters, it should have the title, word count, genre, your name and your contact information.

10. Email stationary. We don't need fancy backgrounds, sparkles, or theme music when we open your email. It's the digital equivalent of submitting with your cover letter written on Lisa Frank stationary--not a fantastic first impression...unless you're writing to an eight-year-old.

Self-Rejection by Non-Submission

by Raelene Gorlinsky

I am frequently amazed by how many writers will write and write...and never submit their work to be considered for publication. Why pour all that effort and commitment into a product that you then hide away? Talking to such writers, I've come up with some of the reasons. Do you see yourself in any of these?

1. Fear of rejection/failure

"If I submit, I may be rejected." Well, yes, acceptances are rare, rejections frequent. But if you don't submit, you are just rejecting yourself. You'll never get feedback, never find out what publishing professionals (editors, agents) think of your work, never get the chance to incorporate that advice into improving your work.

2. Lack of knowledge on how to take the next step

You've labored over that story for months or years. You've self-edited, you've had others critique and proofread it, you've polished and polished. But then you don't know what to do next! How and where do you submit your story, what are the requirements, the process?
Okay, here's where you have to accept that writing for publication is a profession, not a hobby. Join a professional writing organization! Study the profession, subscribe to the appropriate magazines, e-newsletters. Join writer groups, in person and online. Attend workshops. All the information you need is out there--go find it.

3. Love to write, hate the "business" end of things

Researching agents and publishers. Writing query letters, preparing and sending submissions, then keeping track of them all. If you do get a wonderful acceptance, then it's analyzing the offer, wading through the contract language. Then deadlines and other commitments on the way to seeing that story actually be published. Does all that make you scream "But I just want to WRITE!"? Time to ask yourself the question again--is writing a hobby you enjoy for itself alone, or is it a profession involving publication?

4. Love to write, hate to market yourself

This is a business, remember? It does no good to produce a product if you don't get out there and sell it. Nowadays, all publishers expect the author to handle much of the promotion of their book and their author name. Even the large NY publishers expend minimal promotional dollars on most of their authors; only a small percentage of the very top sellers get heavy marketing support. So as an author (or aspiring author), you do have to put effort into things like a website, blog, e-newsletter, presence on the social networks. Belong to writing groups that offer you networking and cross-promotional opportunities, take workshops on self-promotion and book marketing that are offered by author organizations. If your book is contracted by a publisher, you will indeed need a plan for how you will promote the book. Your potential income from a book is dependent on how much you put into publicizing your book and your author name.

5. Priorities and commitment: Love to write, less interest in being published

This is for the writers who are willing to honestly admit that what they enjoy is the process of writing, and admiring their finished product themselves--but they don't necessary need or want to or can commit the effort to getting published. Writing as a hobby is perfectly valid, don't feel guilty about it. But don't pretend to yourself or others that you are striving for professional publication if you are not.

I have to admit that I fall into the "why I haven't submitted" group for this reason. I write children's picture books. I love doing it, I love sharing them with my friends, my crit group, my family. (Nothing will erase the memory of my father's joy when, for his 80th birthday, I gave him a story based on his tradition of making special pancakes for my sisters and me when we were children.) Sure, I would love to see my stories professionally illustrated and published, I'd even like to make money from them. BUT--I have an incredibly busy and stressful life, many things I'd like to do but can't get to. So the huge amount of time needed to do all the steps of submitting my stories to children's publishers just hasn't made it high enough on my personal priority list. Maybe someday, but meanwhile I can enjoy the writing itself.

What's your reason for not submitting your story?

Write Us a Story!

Ellora's Cave Publishing announces its special theme series for 2011.

~ Story length 18K - 45K words.
~ Any genres, settings.
~ Must use the theme as a primary story element.

Submissions should be sent (as .doc email attachment) to Submissions@ellorascave.com. Include full story, 2-page synopsis, and professional cover email. See our Author Information brochure (available under Submissions heading on our website) for additional info.

Submission deadlines are firm. Earlier is preferred.

AHOY!
Theme is pirates: historical, contemporary, futuristic/space, or your interpretation.
Stories will release in June 2011.
Submission deadline is January 15, 2011.

SEX BYTES
Theme is tech sex: all the ways to meet and fall in lust and love via modern technology--texting, IM, skype, online dating.
Stories release in October 2011.
Submission deadline is April 30, 2011.

LOVE LETTERS
Theme is love letters, cards, diaries.
Stories will release in January/February 2012 (in time for Valentine's Day).
Submission deadline is August 31, 2011.

OH, CANADA!
Stories must be set in Canada, at least one of the main characters must be Canadian, and the story should have a Canadian "flavor" (slang, customs, holidays, etc).
Submissions for this can be any length 7K to 120K words.
Submissions must be received before September 1, 2011.
Stories release throughout 2011.

Nothing but 'Net

By Kelli Collins

The lovely ladies over at Three Wicked Writers plus Two tell me they've fielded lots of questions from new authors regarding websites. As in, whether or not to have one, and the importance of the content contained therein. What works, what doesn't...and what editors recommend. That's where I come in, by answering some of the Wicked Writers' most frequently asked questions. I'm honored you would want my opinion, ladies. The fact you may have asked because I never shut up and have an opinion on everything has crossed my mind...but I don't care! I'm taking the opportunity and running with it! (Oh, and gentlemen, we love you and we love men who write erotica, but considering the industry is dominated by chicks, I'll be going with the feminine pronoun for the purposes of this post. No offense, dudes.)

Why do editors need to look at an author's website?
Need? Well, some think they don't. But for my money, it's the quickest way to learn about a prospective author, in particular how she presents herself. And not just her site...but her blog, tweets and Facebook posts as well. Is the site a raging grammatical nightmare? That's likely how her submissions will look (don't kid yourself; your mom's/sister's/friend's proofing skills only go so far, in most cases). Is the author slamming fellow writers or (god forbid) publishing companies on her blog? Is her Facebook wall just a loooong rundown of game posts? To me, these things matter. They tell me pretty much everything I need to know. And they continue to tell me things after an author is signed. (Your edits are 5 weeks late because you've contracted a disease that renders your fingers immobile? That's funny. According to FB, you've been playing FarmVille for the last 15 hours straight, and your Twitter feed from the last week could be a novel unto itself.)

If a website seared your retinas and offended your sensibilities to the point you thought the author had committed web page murder, would you feel compelled to tell then they may be better off changing their website?
Yes. Lol! I have no problem telling authors why I don't visit their sites. The music (which I can't turn off!!) makes me wanna commit hari-kari. The home page is a visual nightmare, with texts and graphics seemingly placed at random so my eyes ping-pong all over with no place to land. The text is too small; the colors are too visually straining (black is always easiest to read...but not on an equally dark background). Some semblance of order is needed. Without it, it's just too mentally exhausting to navigate the site.

If yes, how would you broach the subject and what would you say?
Well, seeing as how I have little to no filter, I just lay it on the line: "Hon, you need to revamp your site." Followed by all the reasons why. It's not personal for me, it's business. And I relay that to the author, explaining as best I can why her site might be offending the masses. Websites are an author's number one promotional tool. If you're lucky enough to get readers to visit, but can't get them to stay, well...you're pretty much screwed.

Where does your gaze land when you view a website for the first time? The banner? The sidebars?
On websites, as in newspapers and magazines, our eyes are attracted to images first, large headlines second. I'm no different. Because our eyes are also trained to read top to bottom, left to right, my eyes are drawn to the banner first if there's an interesting graphic element. My eyes almost always go to sidebars last; an argument to place links to site pages beneath the banner. (We're conditioned to think sidebars are largely reserved for links, advertisements, etc. Things that may hold my interest the least.) Because graphics and headlines are so frequently viewed, make them count. Use them to point readers in the direction you want them to go, to entice them to read your posts and as tools to keep readers on your site as long as possible.

If you see a vulgar website, does it put you off reading any of the author's work?
Not necessarily. While vulgarity does tell me a bit about the author as a person, it doesn't necessarily reflect the type of books they write. But that's years of experience talking. An author might not get so lucky with readers, who may well assume a crude site is a sign of crude books. But while I might still read authors' works, their use of vulgar images, language, etc., is another thing that might keep me away from their sites. For instance, I swear like a sailor and I love looking at hot bods as much as the next person, but there's something to be said for teasing glimpses and a modicum of professionalism. There's at least one site I no longer visit because I'm just not interested in seeing the author's "cock of the month" pictures. There are plenty of other places I can go for that, if I really want to see it. Websites should appeal to the broadest range of readers possible.

As tastes are subjective, what one person thinks is an ugly website, another will like. What are the basic things you look for when visiting sites?
Some sort of order; if I want to see your bio or view your current releases, finding the pages easily is key for me. A degree of simplicity (you don't need to pack every square inch of the site with content or images. Seriously). A pleasing color scheme. If my eyes are happy, I'll stay on the site longer.

What is the one thing you do NOT want to see on a website, as in, something that looks unprofessional in your opinion?
See previous "cock of the month" mention...

What is the main thing that turns you off a website?
Disorder, followed very closely by dated information. I can't tell you how often I visit sites that haven't been updated for months. There's just no point in having one if you're not maintaining it. Silly, poser-style images. Come on, people, there are oodles of free pics available on the 'Net, nearly all of which are more appealing than creepy-looking pod people. Finally, no contact link. If you're interested in publishing...you might want to give editors/publishers a way to contact you (and of course, readers LOVE to email authors).

Would you advise authors to post portions of a WIP on their website?
Man. Tough question. And I'm truly torn. Half of me would rather see a short, super-enticing blurb. For one thing, I've seen some seriously long excerpts (as in, several chapters). Why should readers buy the cow when they're getting the milk for free? But more importantly, excerpts from current WIPs are unedited. No. I'm sorry. I don't care if you've had 12 people read it. They're still unedited. And that can work against an author in a big way, particularly if the excerpt doesn't specifically state it's unedited (no, most readers won't assume).

On the other hand, I'd be lying if I said I haven't invited authors to submit books directly to me on the strength of excerpts on their sites. I've done so frequently, actually. If an author follows me on Twitter, for instance, I check out their site (if they are smart enough to link it in their Twitter bio). If there's an excerpt or a free read of some sort, I read it. Nearly every time. And knowing these things are largely unedited makes me doubly impressed if I stumble upon one that's clean and compelling. I don't hesitate to invite those authors to submit. So I suppose in the case of new authors, there are great advantages to excerpting your WIPs. But if you choose to...for the love of all that's holy, make sure the excerpts are as clean as humanly possible and chosen VERY carefully (use the excerpt you think will instantly hook the reader).

Three Wicked Writers plus Two are Tess MacKall, Regina Carlysle, Anne Rainey, Natalie Dae and Madison Scott. Together, along with a host of guest bloggers, they post several times per week.

Cover Letter Hell

There are a zillion online articles and blogs and websites and classes that try to teach how to write a query letter or the cover letter for a submission. But the people who need those most are the ones who don't bother learning. (And likely are not reading this blog, I'm just preaching to the choir.) One self-described "grumpy" agent keeps us entertained with some of the worst lines from query letters.

http://slushpilehell.tumblr.com/

It's especially fun for other agents and editors to read, because we've all gotten very similar stuff. (Please, please don't tell me about your goat farm, or your personal sexual hangups, or how you got the idea for this story while cleaning up after your puking child.)

It cannot be said enough - make the letter professional, write only about your story and not your personal life. And keep your ego in check.

Science Fiction Romance

by Raelene Gorlinsky

I recently (May 19) did an interview on SFR Brigade (http://sfrcontests.blogspot.com/). This is an extract from that blog article.

What are the most common reasons a novel (especially a Science Fiction Romance novel) is rejected?
Most common – and unfortunately VERY common – is lack of consistent, detailed and believable (logical) world building. World building is important in any book, but absolutely critical in science fiction or fantasy.

What grabs your attention, makes you sit up and want to read more?
A unique or very uncommon premise and setting (world). A heroine I admire, who behaves intelligently and believably.

Tell me about a few of your favorite/best-selling Science Fiction Romances novels. What really stood out in these stories that made them unique?

My favorites? – These are stories that have uncommon plots and characters, rather than the standard clichés or tropes of the genre. I especially love the strong heroines; I can’t stand a wimpy or TSTL character.

Linnea Sinclair’s An Accidental Goddess – I adore this.

Susan Grant’s The Star King

All the books in Judy Mays’ Celestial Passions series! (http://www.jasminejade.com/s-30-celestial-passions.aspx)

Beast of Dreams by Cynthia Williams (http://www.jasminejade.com/p-4740-beast-of-dreams.aspx)

Kate Douglas’ Starquest series (http://www.jasminejade.com/s-116-starquest.aspx) – although that’s more futuristic, not really science fiction

The Sailmaster’s Woman by Annie Windsor (http://www.jasminejade.com/p-4690-the-sailmasters-woman.aspx)

I just ordered Close Encounters by Katherine Allred, and am looking forward to reading it. Also on my TBR list is the steampunk Mechanical Rose by Nathalie Gray (http://www.jasminejade.com/p-5657-mechanical-rose.aspx).

What are you looking for right now? What kinds of submissions would you like to see pop up in your e-queries? Anything you’re dying to see more of? Steampunk? Futuristic? Space Opera?

I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to see erotic steampunk. Steampunk romance is one of my favorite subgenres for my personal reading. An author who can combine incredible world building in a steampunk setting with a super-steamy sexual and romantic relationship will be a hit with me and with EC.

Hmm, any of you writers do urban fantasy romance? That’s another favorite subgenre of mine – contemporary or slightly future set. (Nalini Singh’s Angel series !!) EC would love to get erotic urban fantasy submissions.

Oh, and note that I always mention the “romance” part. I personally prefer romance in my science fiction, steampunk, or UF. For EC, we accept sexy stories with romance (Romantica®) or without romance (erotica). Futuristic erotic romances also generally do quite well at EC.

We have editors who love science fiction romance in all forms, so if you write a great erotic book, one of our staff may be able to fall in love with it.

Submissions Hall of Shame

by Raelene Gorlinsky

Some writers are hesitant to submit their work to an editor or agent because they aren't sure if their writing is "good enough" to ask someone to look at. Well, if you ever feel like that, you can perk yourself up by seeing the REALLY BAD stuff that some people submit. Several years ago, our editors compiled a "worst of the worst submissions" list. Believe me, none of you reading this blog could do worse. Pity the poor editors who have to look at this stuff.

~ Aack! Thirteen-year-old boy gets drunk, has sex with his four adult aunts, gets them all pregnant. By the time he is 17, he's fathered seven children. Author stated this is the first in a four-book series about the "hero's" life. Claimed it was an important psychological study of the development of the male psyche.

~ OMG! Futuristic post-Armageddon Earth. Chapter One contains a murdered, mutiliated baby, evil beastmen sodomizing and slaughtering villagers. Graphic violence, no romance, no 'good' sex. Why was this submitted as an erotic romance?

~ Historical with gang-rape of captured women. Sixteen-year-old heroine gets sexual turn-on from rape. Suggest writer look up "sensual" and "erotic" in dictionary; this story is neither.

~ A lovely, uplifting story of an escaped prisoner, the family he takes refuge with (all of whom he eventually kills), and the woman who loves him enough to commit murder and suicide at the end of the book so they can be together forever.

~ Where to begin? Hmm, maybe with the gratuitous rape of the 'bad guys', or the death scene that involves a stabbing in the crotch, or the utterly cliche and offensive Southern characterizations.

~ First person fan fiction featuring Nintendo characters. Umm, "romance"?

~ Historical romance based on the Iliad, featuring spankings and rape. Very boring. Neat trick to be able to write boring rape and spanking scenes.

~ Paranormal contemporary tale about a selkie. Basically the sex life of seals--Aesop's Fable meets National Geographic special.

~ Story told in first person by dying serial killer. Describes his first murder--of his best friend by cutting off his penis and slashing his throat--then pinning the murder on the new kid in town.

~ Ick, ick, ick! Hero and heroine marry when she is three years old. Hero actually gets turned on at one point by child bride. Typical dialogue from husband to wife: "Suck it, bitch!" I don't think so.

~ A cheery story about a cheating husband who kills himself at the end of the book. (Well, okay, maybe that counts as a HEA for the wife.)

~ Secret baby! Hero who can't make a commitment, heroine who learns that "love is letting go"! "Heated kisses:, "ultimate jewel in the orb of happiness". Her cute widdle doggie gets a bwoken tail. Need I go on? Did the author miss any cliches or chances for purple prose?

New Lines at EC!

by Raelene Gorlinsky

Boy, sometimes we are just so busy here that we can't find a spare minute to blog. But we're busy for a reason - lots of new and exciting stuff going on. So let us tell you about one of those projects. EC is opening two new lines (genres) of erotic romance, aimed at specific niche markets. We are open to submissions immediately. To submit, please read the Author Information brochure available on our website at http://www.jasminejade.com/t-writerscircle.aspx .

GEN-EDGE

Audience: 18- to 25-year-old modern women who would enjoy reading sexually explicit erotic romance stories about heroines with whom they can identify.

Tone and Style: The books will have a strong narrative voice. Dialogue and narrative will be very reflective of the target audience’s world.

Heroine: Must be in the 18-25 range, with behavior and attitude to match. The heroine should reflect the lifestyles and values of today's modern young woman.

Hero: The hero doesn't have to fit into the same age range. He may indeed be of age similar to the heroine, part of her peer group. But we would also accept stories of young women involved with older men.

Character Traits: Heroines are more sexually aggressive and less worried about what people think of them. Sexual fluidity (manifesting in various ways—metrosexual men, bisexual heroes/heroines, acceptance of GLBT culture, lesbian flirtation) is more common, almost expected.

Younger characters tend to be politically aware, socially liberal, and accepting of differences. Their job is probably just a job, not a major commitment or the most important thing in their life. Career paths aren't part of their life plans yet. Self-employment and entrepreneurship may be their goals.

Technology is a big part of their lives—cell phones, laptops, everything online.
The language should be current and characters will have very casual speech patterns, often sarcastic.

BRANDED

Audience: This line is for women of any age who would, or perhaps already do, enjoy EC Romantica®, but who may feel guilty about that enjoyment because of a conflict with their personal belief that sex should not occur before or outside of marriage.

Setting: The culture must involve a legal and binding public commitment ceremony between the two people that includes the intent of permanence (“’til death do us part”) and monogamy.

Sexual Content: These are indeed erotic—but the actual sex does not occur until after marriage. The stories should be the same graphic level of sexual description and sexual language as EC’s existing lines. The only difference from other lines is that the relationship must be monogamous and heterosexual, and penetrative sex cannot occur until after marriage. Before marriage, there should be a strong focus on the buildup of sexual tension; heavy petting, even leading to orgasm, is fine. The stories can include most of our other sexual elements—after marriage, anything goes!

It could be the heroine, hero, or both who have a personal belief in no sex before marriage. The character’s personal belief may be based on various factors, might include because it is a part of their religion with which they agree. But these are not religious stories; the character motivations or actions don’t focus on religion. The decision to wait for sex is a personal choice of the characters and should in no way imply a judgment that other people are wrong or "bad" for making different choices.

The characters do not have to be virgins, although it is fine if one or both are. But it also works if there were prior marriages, previous sexual experience, even previous sexual promiscuity. That could, in fact, play into the woman's or man's desire to now wait on the sex until after a legal commitment.

Bad Blog! No Cookie for You

By Meghan Conrad, Editor, Ellora’s Cave Publishing Inc.

When we were asked to write something about submissions, I had lots of great ideas: write a strong cover letter, follow the submission guidelines, proofread, have an engaging first page… Then I found out what Kelli and Raelene were writing about and realized I’d have to do something a little different.

So instead, I’m going to talk about what may be the least-known aspect of the submission process—the part where we Google you.

I realize that some of you are probably looking at me in shock. Yeah. That’s right. We Google you.

We might not Google the author of every submission, but every submission that I’m serious about gets the Google treatment. I search for the book title, the author’s pen name and the author’s real name. If you have a blog, I’ll read that; if you’re posting on message boards, I’ll read that, too. Does your LiveJournal or fanfiction.net account mention your real name? Because if it does—you’ve probably guessed—I’ll read that, too.

And, yes, what I read is going to influence my response to your work. If you’ve written the next Harry Potter, it’s unlikely anyone’s going to reject you because you present yourself badly online, but for the rest of us, it’s something to keep in mind. I’ve rejected one or two good books because the author behaved so badly online, we decided we didn’t want to work with her. I’ve rejected a great many more books I was on the fence about after the author’s online presence ultimately convinced me the author probably wasn’t worth the effort.

What are we looking for? In general, we’re looking for signs that you’re relatively normal, literate, and reasonable, which is admittedly sort of difficult to quantify. A well-written blog is a great sign, or a Twitter account with hundreds of followers. This is fiction, so you don’t need to have the platform that would be expected for nonfiction, but having followers is an indication you write well enough that people find your posts interesting and useful—points for you!

It’s easier, though, to talk about what might put an editor off. Posts slagging off publishers or editors are big red flags, especially when you’re criticizing several companies (indicating that the problem is maybe you, not them) or resorting to over-emotional rhetoric like name calling. It’s normal to have problems from time to time, and even to talk about those online, but there’s a big difference between “I’m not getting my royalty statements on time” and “I never get paid on time because those greedy jerks are trying to screw us over and take all our money to feed their crack habits”. (For added realism, please add several vulgarities to that last bit.)

Similarly, trash-talking about other authors is worrying. We’re not talking about disliking a book, we’re talking about personal attacks and flat-out nastiness—things that make you look immature and petty.

Complaining about low sales, especially if you’re blaming someone else for them, is probably best avoided, as well. It’s one thing to say “My last book didn’t do so well—I guess the trend for dark YA fantasy involving elves is waning.” It’s another thing entirely to say “My last book totally flopped, and I’m so angry. I can’t believe that my publisher didn’t send me on the fifty-city tour that I demanded! And the cover they made me was totally fugly—it was blue, not black, my heroine’s eyes were the wrong color, and they had gold foiling instead of silver! They ruined it!” Not only do you look like sour grapes, but you also look very, very unrealistic.

Maybe this is too obvious, but it seems like every few months, there’s another author behaving badly on Amazon or Goodreads. There’s a lot to be said for taking criticism—even the one-star-review kind of criticism—gracefully. Which is to say, of course, that it may not be in your best interest to start arguing with people who leave bad reviews of your book. I promise you, the editors and agents out there will be far more bothered by angry flame-outs than they would by the odd bad review.

Also worrying are blogs—or, worse, short stories or writing samples—with horrible grammar, punctuation, and spelling. No one expects you to be perfect, but I do tend to assume that the writing on your blog is a representative sample. If you’re missing three periods and have seventeen misspelled words in a five-hundred-word blog post, what’s your submission going to be like? Even if your submission’s in great shape, a blog riddled with errors will throw up red flags, making us doubt your abilities. After all, why would you choose to write “I cant wait for you’re book 2 cum out!” if you know better?

This is one of those lists that could go on forever. The point, though, is probably obvious by now—if you don’t want your mother, grandmother, and editor reading it, don’t put it on the internet.

Respect Yourself—And Me

by Raelene Gorlinsky, Publisher (and editor), Ellora’s Cave Publishing Inc.

Always on the checklist for submissions is “Proofread; make sure there are no typos, misspellings, grammar errors.” Seems simple and clear, a no-brainer. So why do so many authors get sloppy about this? (“Well, I spelled most of the words right.”) Do you not realize the message you are sending? Errors in your submission tell an editor two very clear—and very unpalatable—things that will get you the form rejection letter in three minutes or less.

You don’t respect your story.
If you are a skilled and professional author, you want your submission to absolutely shine, to be the very best you can do, to have the best chance of catching an editor’s attention. If you don’t care enough to proofread and self-edit, you are telling me that either this story or your writing career are not important to you. If you can’t take the time to round up several people to help you make your submission completely clean, I’m not going to have any faith in your willingness—or ability—to spend the time on revisions and editing. Bluntly, it implies to me that you are lazy, stupid or unprofessional. Instead, make your submission an example of your pride in your story and yourself.

You don’t respect editors.
So you believe that your time is more valuable than mine, that I should be your typist and proofreader? That I should waste time slogging through this mess you sent in? You need a reality check. A professional and experienced editor is focused on story development—working with the author on plot, character growth, relationship development. NOT wasting editorial time on things the author should be responsible for, like spelling, grammar, punctuation, sentence structure. Yes, an editor may (maybe!) choose to contract a fantastic book even though the author needs a little help with one or two specific writing mechanics—maybe the author doesn’t quite understand how to use dialogue tags or is choppy about POV switches. The editor may feel this is something they can teach the author—but will then expect that the author learns this and the next submission will not have the problem.

Let’s be frank about this: Great story ideas are a dime a dozen. Yours just is not unique. I can open the next ten submissions and find something just as good or better than yours, no problem. So it is how you present your great story that counts. Gee, would I contract the wonderful story concept that will require massive amounts of effort trying to teach the author how to write cleanly, need excess copy edit/proofing time, and mean working with an author I suspect is unprofessional and unskilled? Or should I contract the equally great story that obviously has been through multiple self-edits and much proofing and is nearly 100% “clean”, allowing me to focus my editorial skills where they should be? That’s not a hard choice.

How many errors are acceptable in a submission? Every error an editor hits is a black mark against you. I was on a conference panel with a group of editors from many publishers, and we were asked this question. Most of us came up with some figure. “Three”, “One per thousand words”, and so forth. But we all applauded our fellow editor who honestly and bluntly stated, “I stop reading when I hit the first error.”

(Remember that a publisher may be more lenient with, more willing to work with, an author who is already published with them and has shown very good sales numbers on the previous books. But if you are just trying to get in the door, you have to meet much higher standards to prove you are worth our time and effort.)

Turn the Page

First Impressions Part Two
by Kelli Collins, Editor-in-chief, Ellora’s Cave Publishing Inc.

So you’ve sent your cover letter and it was short and sweet and contained a blurb that has me jumping up and down and squeeing like a fangirl to read your submission. I open the submission doc—delighted and impressed that you’ve read our guidelines and sent exactly the chapters we required—read the first line, which is appropriately enticing because you’ve read all about the importance of first lines and spent months dreaming up just the right one…

Only to come to a screeching halt at paragraph two—where you proceed to tell me the heroine’s name, age, height, weight, eye and hair color, distinguishing features, boob size, job title, hometown, names of her brothers and sisters, and how she used to be a Wiccan but gave it up when she couldn’t find the nerve to go skyclad during solstice gatherings.

Oh sure, you laugh…but it happens all the time. I routinely read books in which every detail about a character, or details about the room/house/town/state/planet in which the story opens, are all crammed into the first page. Some authors like to call it “setting the scene”.

Editors call it infodumping.

And infodumps aren’t reserved for first pages only; that just happens to be where they regularly appear.

Let me set my own scene for you: Editor X has 3 minutes to spare before she boards a plane, or attends a meeting, or gets to her stop on the subway. Though she’d rather whip out her iPhone and send a few tweets into the ether, she decides to use the time more wisely and takes a peek at your submission. And instead of being instantly caught up in the action of the story, she spends that precious time wading through details she could have learned anywhere in the book (preferably spread thoughtfully throughout), but instead the author decided to chunk it all on the first page, boring Editor X to tears and ensuring the first page she reads will also be her last.

That’s the reality of submission reading. It takes just a few minutes to read that first page, and if you haven’t hooked me immediately, there’s a great chance you never will. Sure, I’ll read several more pages, just to give you a fair shot, but I’m already suspecting the subsequent pages are going to be as ho-hum as the first, and already I’m not looking forward to them.

Leave routine details for later. Yes, I want to know what your heroine looks like so I can visualize her, but I don’t need to know from the first page. It can be discovered more naturally in her narrative later, spread throughout at the most appropriate moments. Or perhaps I’ll learn how lovely her deep red hair looks with her dark green eyes from the hero’s POV, when they first meet, etc.

I want to be in the middle of a breathless foot chase on the first page. Or in the midst of a screaming match between a sassy heroine and her soon-to-be ex. Or trepidatiously walking down a barely trodden path through a moonlit wood on the way to a séance that will hopefully unleash some sexy ghost. Or in a rodeo ring on the back of a bucking bronco with a thousand people cheering my name. Or in bed, the springs squeaking loudly, shouting someone’s name and just on the verge of…

Drop me in the middle of the action, and make me want to keep reading to see how that chase or fight or séance or bronco busting ends. Starting your book with an exciting scene straight from the guts of your plot not only keeps me moving forward—it keeps your story moving forward. And if you’re talented enough, it’ll scarcely stop long enough for readers to catch their breath.

And what reader doesn’t love being breathless?

Cover Me

A few weeks ago, the Fantasy, Futuristic & Paranormal online chapter of RWA invited us to post on their blog. We were asked to provide some insight on what editors really look for and consider in submissions. Something more detailed than the standard checklists; a look into the editor’s mind. So over the next few days, we will share with you here at Redlines and Deadlines what we had to say about cover letters, the first page, “clean” submissions, and an author’s public image.

Cover Me
First Impressions Part One
by Kelli Collins, Editor-in-chief, Ellora’s Cave Publishing Inc.

I read dozens of submission cover letters each month. Well…from those who care to include them, anyway. (Tip #1: Do!) And while the information contained within can be an endless source of amusement, there is such a thing as TMI. (Tip #2: Just because you’re submitting an erotic romance does not mean I want to read scintillating tidbits about your personal sex life. Gah!)

The first and best piece of advice I can offer in regards to cover letter: Keep it simple. I’m looking for specific things in your letter, which include:

Your real name
Your pen name
Book title
Word length
Genre (Tip #3: Know your publisher! EC publishes erotic romance and erotica. Please don’t send me your book of first-person inspirational poetry.)
Short blurb

And that’s it. No, really. An intro is nice, but keep it short. A mention of memberships to writers’ groups is fine, but keep it short. A list of previously published books isn’t necessary, though some authors like to mention other houses that currently publish their work, which is fine by me. And while authors absolutely love to include every contest they’ve entered for the last five years, this is another piece of information most editors skip over. I’m sorry; it’s true. If you must include contest details, limit yourself to first-place wins only. (Tip #4: That fifth-place win might seem impressive…until I discover there were only five finalists. Which means your book was—that’s right—last place.)

Short, sweet, to the point. If you want to make an impression, show me that you appreciate my valuable time by not sending a three-page cover letter intimately explaining how your backyard garden inspired your food-fetish erotica novel. My visual imagery works too well for those kinds of details.

Oh, and Tip #5: Spellcheck. No matter how short and sweet that cover letter is, if it’s filled with errors…I might not bother with the submission.

See you in the slush pile.

The Editors Answer - Agented Submissions?

by Raelene Gorlinsky

"Writers across the great blogosphere are tossing around the question of submissions. The most common advice is do not submit un-agented work directly to editors & publishers. [...] Ellora's Cave publishes many novella length (and shorter) stories. Many agents state 'no novellas or short stories' in their preferences.

Give it to me straight, if I want Ellora's Cave to publish my work (and I do), which is the best route: Agented, or an un-agented, direct submission?"

The best route is always to research what a specific publisher, editor or agent accepts and how. Don't bother with advice from others on how to submit - go straight to the horse's mouth, which is the company's or person's website, and get the facts. If the publisher/editor says "agented subs only", that is what they mean, they are not going to make an exception for you. If they give story lengths they accept, don't waste their time (and yours) by sending anything different.

The best route for submitting to Ellora's Cave? Go to our website and, at the Help and Info>Submissions menu, download the Author Information brochure. It tells you everything you need to know - what we are looking for, what we accept or don't, exactly how to submit to us. Make sure your story meets our length and content requirements and so forth. Then follow the submission directions to the letter.

Yes, we take unagented submissions - in fact, over 96% of our subs are direct from authors, not agents. Having an agent does not directly improve your chance of acceptance with us. It can have an indirect effect, if your agent helped you edit and polish your sub and improved its quality before sending it in.

So read our Author Information brochure and then send us your submission, please!

The Editors Answer: Submission Response Times

Question: Your web site says that you will respond within two months. If you, or another publisher, doesn't respond within the timeframe they have stated, should the writer just move on and send it to another publisher? I have yet to submit a manuscript to a publisher. Is it common for publishers to reject manuscripts without response? How is a writer to know how long to wait if stated timeframes aren't met?

Answer: First, be aware that publishers post estimated response times. Sometimes response is much faster, but if the editors are swamped with submissions at some point, it may take longer than stated.

However, always feel free to send a polite email requesting status if it's been longer than stated. (Do not phone call!) We all know emails go astray. Are you sure the publisher received your submission (whether emailed or mailed, for pubs that take paper submissions)? Or they may have replied and you didn't receive it.

At EC, our process is that we acknowledge receipt of each submission within a few business days. Then within eight weeks you will receive either a "no thanks, not right for us" or a notice that your submission has been put in queue for an acquiring editor to take a look at. After that, it could be a few weeks to a few months for a response from that editor.

I can't answer for other publishers. But if you submit to EC and don't hear back, do indeed email to Submissions@ellorascave.com and ask! We respond to every legitimate submission received.