I'm delighted to say we may have good news coming soon from Embrace Books. Among our first batch of full manuscript submissions, we've found some rather wonderful love stories and are currently working with a few authors on revisions - with a view to acquiring their work for Embrace.
Watch this blog for further updates!
Yet more submissions have been flagged up as promising, and full manuscripts are to be requested. Those authors should hear from us within the next ten days. If you haven't heard yet, never fear. There are quite a few partials still in the inbox. But we're getting through them fast.
No manuscripts that fit the line have been rejected without an editorial appraisal of the work.
If you'd like to submit your romance manuscript to Embrace - and we'd certainly love to have it! - a clickable link to our Submission Guidelines is in the sidebar of this blog.
The email address for both submissions, queries and general correspondence is jane AT saltpublishing DOT com
Hi,
ReplyDeleteGreat news, I don't envy you the task of sifting/sorting e-mail subs. Been there done that in helping Lisa (part-time) with her publishing enterprise!
There is a question doing the rounds with romance bloggers, not absolutely sure on your submission guidelines: are you aiming for look-a-like HM&B category romance novels - same-old-same-old - or getting away from "formulated" romance writing all together?
There's an awful lot of writers/readers who are "bored" with formulated and looking more toward Samhain/Wild Rose Press etc., for new more innovative reading material and subbing same.
best
F
Thanks for this, Francine.
ReplyDeleteMy answer was a bit lengthy, so I've turned it into a blog post.
Feel free to elaborate if you don't think I've understood your question correctly.
Cheers, Jane
Hi,
ReplyDeleteActually, I think I've done a lousy job of putting over general consensus of opinion re formula terms!
As always I'm willing to go the extra mile in prompting answers from publishers while those discussing the issue behind the scenes say "we're right behind you" wanting these answers, "but we'd prefer to keep our public images spotless".
The "talk" is more to do with HM&B house style -many books coming across as "same" author voice despite different author name - only a few HM&B authors with outstanding and distinctive voices. Hence, a lot of aspiring authors want to make an impact with their own voice.
We all know editorial input does impact on writers' adopting "voice" by default of revisions and the like and by means of suggested reading material.
Some writers who've had feedback on rejections despite fulls being requested by HM&B, have gone onto have those same ms accepted by Avon Romance - who don't have house style nor preferred voice. To achieve publication at Avon all ms targeted at HM&B needed to be upped from 50,000 wrds to 90,000 + wrd!
I think the worry among writers who've tried HM&B/Carina/Samhain etc, and other epubs - some successfully published by any or all of them - is the huge differentials in word count between the various publishers: in particular when looking to broaden writing career.
Another huge talking point is that of submission replies to partials and fulls across the board.
At present HM&B stand as the longest wait in both partials and fulls, and much disgruntled talk across the ether.
Avon get back within 2 months request for full if they liked your partial, and fairly prompt with outright rejections: according to a few successful authors.
Samhain/WildRoseP/Choc-lit all fairly fast turnaround in the reply stakes.
Re formula "boy meets girl" and "HEA" goes without saying in category romance genre.
The burning talk: Sassy heroine's (airing chic-lit Miss Angsty) Vs Classy heroine's (grace and style divas).
Second hot fire talk: Arrogant narcissistic heroes (unbelievable traits) Vs Distinguished cool dude hero (hidden depths).
What's the difference? One hell of a lot!
Oh lord, I see a blogpost coming on! ;)
Hope I've done right gals, if not damn well come ou of the woodwork and fo your own dirty work.
best
F
Hmm.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me, unless I'm misreading all this, that you really need HMB to answer most of these questions - not Embrace!
Embrace doesn't have a house style, as such. Good writing is paramount. Short paragraphs - easier to read in ebook format - elegant clauses, correct punctuation, and a preference for uncluttered prose rather than adjective and adverb-rich writing that fails to deliver a clear mental image.
Some early Embrace titles are bound to be fairly 'category' in tone, given that many will be HMB rejects. Nothing wrong with that, of course. I have a few HMB rejects of my own kicking around here. But essentially I'm hoping to establish a line of romance ebooks which are synonymous with good writing, rather than 'directed' writing, if you see what I mean.
I'm not interested in being proscriptive about how romance should be written, except in obvious instances of reader no-nos. I will, however, be editing books in the very real sense of discussing prose style, structure, and the development of a writer's natural voice. So writers who dislike constructive criticism or who feel they don't need to be edited need not apply.
If we're talking hero and heroine types, I'm extremely interested in writers who wish to break out of what's currently or traditionally hot in romance, and strike out on their own. I'm all for romance which looks and feels very realistic, and where you can imagine meeting that man. That's not to say all exotic and fantasy billionaire settings are banned. But I'd love to see a return to everyday Alpha heroes, not just those who frequent exclusive New York restaurants and usually date models from Vogue.
Response times? Well, I might as well admit that we've already accepted our first title for Embrace ... only three weeks into reading submissions. Official announcement coming soon. I've already sent out a number of rejections, and some suggested revisions and requests for fulls. But we're a very new romance line. The wait on submissions will probably be rather longer than a week once the line launches and people can see what we're about!
If the initial launch is successful, which hopefully it will be if people continue spreading the word, I'm pretty certain the line will expand to take in single titles over 90,000 words as well as other types of romantic fiction.
Nice talking with you!
Jx
Hi Jane,
ReplyDeleteYou're launch will be fine!
Para 4 and 5 covers exactly what is being discussed. Great getting that sort of thing clarified.
The HM&B comparisons come up because most of the writers targeted lines within said company, and can see where the company is going.
Like you say yours is a new romance venture so as yet no novels to read to get a feel of what's expected. It really is hard for aspiring authors to know if they're following the right path!
As for editing and rewrites, can't imagine any writer out here that doesn't expect changes to be requested, and or rejections along the publishing road. It's par for the course.
best
F
Re not being sure what to send, since our wait time is so short right now, there's nothing to lose in sending something and waiting for feedback. I'm giving feedback, often quite detailed, on most subs I receive at the moment.
ReplyDeleteOnce the launch comes up on us, I probably won't be able to keep up that level of attention. So if anyone out there is looking for feedback, and wants to get a feel for the line, now's the time to submit!