by SB Sarah • Monday, November 26, 2007 at 12:22 PM
I was so curious about report readers in romance, I emailed an editor who was kind enough to answer my questions but asked that I leave names out of it. So! Mysterious Anonymous Editor tells me everything I want to know about report readers, and I figured I'd share it with y'all.
Can you tell me more about report readers? What do they do, and what are you looking for in a romance report reader? And how did Cassie Edwards get past the report reader?
M.A.E.: Basically, readers review manuscripts for an editor. Different
publishers probably do things very differently, I am sure, but in my
experience, they are primarily used to review full manuscripts that an
editor would like feedback on. I personally would never just take a
reader report as a reason to sign or reject a book -- I would review
at least part of it myself first. I primarily find it helpful as it
weeds out the heinous and mediocre, and allows me to devote the little
time I have to review the better submissions.
As for what the reports actually are -- that varies greatly from
editor to editor. Some of the reports can be quite formal and
analytical, others can be more casual. I personally like a casual,
chatty style -- I guess because what I am editing is popular fiction,
I want a typical reader reaction to it. I don't mind snark in my
reports, and if something is so bad it is an offense to mankind, I
want to be informed of it. In my experience, reports can be as long as
3 to 5 pages, or as short as a paragraph. Mostly, what I want to see
in a report is what the reader thinks of the story, WHY they think
that, and specific examples of any problems they see in the
manuscript. If they like the manuscript, it is also helpful to know
what it is that they like about it as well.
As to how Cassie Edwards sold to begin with...that is a mystery for
the ages. Once an
author is signed, readers are no longer used. Maybe her editor had a Native American fetish, maybe she
likes really bad prose. Maybe she had just said to herself "Self, you
know what I really need to publish? Really tacky Indian romances. Why,
what is this submission on my desk? Passion's Savage Wind? This is
perfect!"
Are there people for whom reader reporting is their full time job?
M.A.E: I have no clue
what other publishers pay, but I do know it is a lot of work for
little money. As far as I know most people do reader reports on a part time
basis -- it would be awful hard to make a living at it, that's for
sure!
I'm completely fascinated like the noob I am with the report readers who look over manuscripts and write up brief reports on whether they should see the shelves. It's like a secret society that mans the first gate of publication before the Greek tycoon's virgin mistress can moon the gatekeeper long enough to distract him and run through where the rest of the romances waiting to be published pound on the door kept by the editorial assistant, and shove each other aside so that Lord Dinnae Ken's kilt flies up and shows off his boy howdy to Viscount Hawkenscresterfield, who frowns thoughtfully and adds a line to his secret blog because he traveled through time to 2007 where Jessica Inez Sarah Michelle Jenkins (aka JISMJ.blogspot.com) showed him the internet and he really didn't need a Viscountess after that.
by SB Sarah • Monday, November 05, 2007 at 01:12 AM
Last week the Gather.com
First Chapters Romance Writing Competition winners were announced, and Meredith mentioned in the comments that my post about it, which I think was 2 days before the due date, inspired her to enter. So I had to ask her a few nosy questions - and behold, a rather inspiring Smart Bitch Interview.
1. You decided to enter based on my very-last-minute posting of the contest at SBTB, which I'd found out about a few days before the deadline. Did you have a manuscript already finished or did you churn out your winning entry with the fire of deadline in your pants (or under your chair, or wherever the fire of deadline likes to reside)?
Yes, the manuscript had been sitting around for a while -- on top of a
stack of three others I'd written. I'd queried some agents about it,
and found them to be distinctly unenthusiastic about the prospect of a
historical set partly in India. (It was rather similar to the
responses I'd gotten for the manuscript before it, in which I was
informed that female thieves are not admirable enough to be heroines
in contemporary romances. Fair enough!) Shortly after the final "No
thank you" arrived, I went to India to study, and ran into a garrulous
palm reader who told me out of the blue -- without asking for money or
knowing anything about me -- that while I would "dabble" in writing,
nothing would come of it.
Now, I'm not a believer in palmistry, but I was already feeling
frustrated, and the prediction seemed both incredibly uncanny and
deeply irksome. (I should add, a day after I found out I'd won this
contest, it occurred to me to tell a friend, "Ha! The universe is
telling me the palm reader was wrong!" -- To which my friend promptly
replied, "No, the universe is telling you: Do not listen to palm
readers, you dumbass!") At this point, my discouragement was starting
to affect my writing, so I decided to take a break from trying to get
published and focus on the part of the craft that I did love: namely,
the practice of writing itself. And so I shelved
The Shadow's Kiss
and moved on. Forgot about it entirely, to be honest.
This August, my sister found the hard copy of the manuscript beneath a
bed at my parents' house. She read it, loved it, and started urging
me to submit it to slush piles at publishing houses (which I'd never
tried). I ignored her, because I was just starting what I think is a
very fun historical set in an entirely different time period. But at
her behest, I did root around on my old computer, which is back at my
parents' house, and make an electronic copy to take back with me to
Chicago. Which is how I had it sitting on my hard drive on the night
I surfed over here to Smart Bitches and found out a contest was under
way. :)
2. What was the experience like of being judged so publicly for your writing, and seeing comments appear so quickly after you posted your first chapter?
It was fantastic, and also bewildering. Fantastic, in the sense that
writing can be so solitary, and suddenly here I had a whole crowd of
people clamoring not only to read my work, but also to give me
feedback! And in terms of support and encouragement, it was amazing:
right from the start, I got some incredibly lovely messages from total
strangers -- people who were worried that because I wasn't
"campaigning," my chapters would be overlooked. This leads me to the
bewildering part -- because I hadn't been a member of Gather before
the contest started, it took me a while to figure out the hows and
wherefores of networking on the website. I never did effectively get
the word out about my chapters, and as a result, I lost valuable
opportunities to solicit critiques from a wider range of people.
3. Why Delhi, India, as a setting? Not too many romances are set in India, though those that are ( i.e. Kinsale's book and others) are stellar examples of the strength of the genre.
Ah, Kinsale. Le sigh. She and Judith Ivory are the twin pinnacles of
excellence to which I aspire as a writer. And I'm in the minority,
apparently, in considering
My Sweet Folly to be one of her most
interesting books. That's the one to which you're referring, yes?
As for why India -- the short version of this answer is, why aren't
there *more* historicals set in India? I, like a lot of romance fans,
am simply obsessed with British history, and in the 19th century,
India was a HUGE part of British life: highly visible in its popular
culture, and intricately involved in its social and political and
economic affairs. Going to India was not an exotic undertaking; it
was a viable career option for many, many people. In fact, I would
speculate that India didn't feel nearly as "far away" to Victorians as
it does to many Brits today. I remain puzzled as to why historical
romance has such a blind spot to British life in India back then.
The longer version of my answer is anecdotal. I should say, this
anecdote has nothing to do with the actual plot of my novel, but I
think it illustrates how many stories are waiting to be told about the
British in India. A couple of summers ago, while studying Urdu in Lucknow, I visited the Residency, a
complex of buildings, now mostly in ruins, where hundreds of women,
children, and soldiers -- British and Indian alike -- were holed up
for 87 days during the Siege of Lucknow in 1857. The conditions were
miserable, and a lot of Britons and Indians died there in terrible
ways. After the uprising was over, the British put a great deal of
effort into constructing a rather spectacular graveyard on the
Residency grounds to commemorate those who died during the Siege. The
graveyard is now completely overgrown, weeds and creepers everywhere,
but for the most part, the tombstones -- these incredibly detailed,
beautifully sculpted tombstones -- remain perfectly intact. I've
attached a
photo of one of them; once you've read what's printed on
it, you cannot tell me that British India does not suggest a thousand
stories for novels.
The tombstone reads (handkerchief warning; this is VERY sad):
"Sacred to the memory of Frances Ellen Hale, beloved wife of George
Herbert Hale, Lieutt. Adl. 2nd, who died in Lucknow Garrison on the
morning of the battle of Chinhutt, 1857 [my note: that would be on
June 30, 1857], aged 20 years. Sacred also in memory of Kate Caroline
Sophia, eldest child of the above, who died in Lucknow Garrison on the
XXIII of September 1857. Sacred also in memory of Henrietta Georgina
Frances, her infant child, who died at Secrora Dudh on the XVIII of
April 1857."
I think of the man who survived them -- who first buried his infant
child, and then his wife, and then his eldest daughter -- and I wonder
what happened to him. There is immense poignancy when reading these
notes from the past about forgotten sorrows, and there is also
something strange and uncanny about the silence that surrounds the
graveyard. The Residency is a huge green complex of long lawns and
buildings pockmarked by cannonball fire, now falling into pieces;
Lucknowi lovers now use the park grounds to meet in secret, away from
censorious eyes. But no one seems to go into the graveyard. I
visited several times, and was always the only one who entered the
gates and wandered among the tombstones. It's a place that commands a
certain gravity. It's haunting.
4. PhD in what? And are you telling your classmates?
Ph.D. in anthropology. I'm lucky; my discipline recognizes the
importance and significance of popular narratives and genres, and
friends in the program whom I've told are very excited for me. In
fact, I think they're more impressed than my friends outside academia,
some of whom continue to ask me why I would want to write romance
rather than "regular fiction." Grr.
5. Is it difficult to switch from writing evocative fiction to writing academic prose? I have to go back and forth periodically and it's a challenge - unless your PhD is also in writing romance? And if so, where?!
LOL, a Ph.D. in writing romance -- wouldn't that be fantastic!
Academic writing certainly has a different tenor to it, but I think
good writing is good writing, no matter the genre. It's an
understanding of the importance of rhythm to a sentence; it's a feel
for how words fit together and create a certain musicality which lures
the reader onward. My diction is certainly different when writing an
academic paper, but I think my fiction writing has served me in very
good stead in academia. Academics do appreciate good writing. If
more of them read popular fiction, perhaps more of them would be able
to produce it as well.
6. Let's talk about your favorite romances - which ones will be pried from your cold fingers before you let them go?
Ah, what an easy question!
1) To Have and to Hold - Patricia Gaffney
2) The Shadow and the Star - Laura Kinsale
3) Bliss - Judith Ivory
4) Miss Wonderful - Loretta Chase
5) As You Desire - Connie Brockway
6) Checkmate - Dorothy Dunnett
And in terms of authors, my auto-buys also include Meljean Brook, Anne
Stuart, and Linnea Sinclair.
7. Your favorite romance plot cliche: confess!
Argh, this is embarrassing. I suppose my guilty pleasure is the plot
contrivance where, for some reason or another, the immensely
self-assured hero is compelled to be deliberately cruel to the heroine
whom he secretly feels increasingly drawn to. I credit this to an
unhealthy adolescent obsession with the movie
Dangerous Liaisons.
Looking at my top six books, I see that at least half of the six
qualify as instantiations of this cliche -- definitely
Checkmate and
To Have and To Hold, and perhaps also
Bliss: Nardi isn't exactly
Prince Charming to Hannah.
8. If you could cook dinner for one author, who would it be, and what would you make?
Oh, Laura Kinsale, no doubt. And my motives are purely nefarious. I
would serve extremely light food (perhaps a salad and chowder?) in
conjunction with a GREAT deal of wine (nice wine, because it's Laura
fracking Kinsale!) in the hopes that I could intoxicate her
sufficiently to convince her to give me a copy of that completed
manuscript which she apparently has not yet found the right publisher
for.
Okay, now the disclaimer: I'd probably serve her a main course as
well. After all... she's Laura Kinsale!!
by SB Sarah • Monday, October 15, 2007 at 12:35 PM
I get a good number of “Have you read...?” questions about new books but when I am asked repeatedly if I’ve read an ARC for a specific book, then I know there’s buzz ahoy. I encountered a lot of “Have you read...?” from publishing folks, both during and after the RWA national about C.L. Wilson’s books, and like the nosy Bitch I am, I chased her down for an interview shortly after I finished Lady of Light and Shadows. I got all up in her business about world building, websites, writing and whatnot, and she was gracious enough to put up with my nebby self.
Sarah: I’m curious about the linguistic sources of the Fey words - in a lot of ways, the vowel pairings and sounds seem similar to Hebrew, especially in contemporary transliteration. Was that intentional? Or is it just me? What’s your source for fantasy language development?
C.L. Wilson: Unintentional. I just love putting words and sounds together, always have. My background in languages has been primarily as a student of them. I took a number of years of French in school, some German, and started to teach myself Japanese. (This was back when I actually had spare time in my life.) I used what I learned about languages through being taught how to speak them to construct my grammar, syntax, and verb conjugations, and choose the basic building blocks of a language. The words themselves I created based on a set of phonetic rules I established early on (certain sounds that are most prevalent, others that are not used at all).
Sarah: You’ve received some outstanding reviews, proclaiming you the best new author in romance, and in fantasy. Has it gone to your head? Did you buy yourself a Porsche with “Best Author Ever!” emblazoned on the side? Seriously, what has your reaction, beyond OMG SQUEE!, been to the feedback and response to your book(s)?
C.L. Wilson: Regarding praise going to my head: I have a husband and three kids (plus three siblings and several very, very dear friends) who are quite adept at keeping my feet firmly attached to the ground and my head still fitting in a hat.
As for my reaction to the praise. Honestly? Um…SQUEEEE…then terror. LOL. When the bar is set high, it can feel rather intimidating. But I keep trying to tell myself that no matter how hard I try, I can’t expect to please everyone. So I do the best I can and hope that will be good enough, same as everyone else does, I suspect.
Sarah: You are doing a bang-up job of generating a great deal of interest in your book using your website to offer giveaways, games, and prizes - and copies of your book. Many authors take a great deal of time trying to build a site that’s as diverse as yours and miss by a mile. Your site has something for a variety of visitors - a blog, a bio, and lessons on world building as well as your history as a writer and critique partner. What was your model for your website, and who helped you develop it?
C.L. Wilson: Thanks so much. I’m so glad you enjoyed the website. Because I was doing something so different with LORD, and because I’d spent so much time developing the world, I really wanted to share that in the hopes that the information about the world would get people interested in the books. I wrote the content, decided how I wanted it laid out, downloaded a template, then handed everything to my dad and said “can you help me program this?” (My dad is something of a computer programming wiz. He was an IBM mainframe programmer who worked at NASA during 1960s then went on to start his own very successful computer software company.)
Well, he’s been retired and not doing much in programming for the last seven years, so he was a little hesitant to tackle the project at first. Then I (innocently) asked, “Gee, Dad. You helped put men on the moon. How hard can a little HTML be?” Oooh. I learned something I never knew about my father. He does not back down from a challenge! In a few weeks, he taught himself the basics of Javascript, HTML, Flash, Dreamweaver, and Photoshop. And I had a website. You gotta love it.
Sarah: Do you consider your book a romance or a fantasy novel? Or has romance become so easily blended and hybridized that few books fit solely into one category any longer?
C.L. Wilson: Ultimately, the key to the fantasy quest lies with Rain and Ellie’s ability to complete their truemate bond. I think most people will, therefore, consider it a romance. To me, it has always been both a fantasy and a romance.
Sarah: Most authors of multi-part series that depict an entirely constructed world are asked how they came up with that idea. JK Rowling says she had an idea on a train and a clear picture of Harry Potter, which blew up rapidly into an entirely, pardon the pun, novel universe. What was your starting point with Lord and Lady. I don’t mean so much “Where did you get your idea?” so much as “What was your point of access into creating this universe?”
C.L. Wilson: I love fantasy and I love romance. I’ve always read fairly widely in both, and I’ve always loved the idea of an immutable union of souls. I knew I wanted to write a book that combined both the fantasy and the romance so tightly the two plots could not exist without each other and basing a quest that requires (for reasons that are still unfolding in the plot) the completion of the truemate bond between the hero and heroine seemed a perfect vehicle to achieve that aim.
My lifelong love of dragons, shapeshifters, magic, epic fantasy, noble and courageous heroes, self-sacrifice and immutable bonds of love all converged together one day and I had this vision of Rain Tairen Soul (he was Rain Dragon Soul then) sitting on a golden throne, facing the extinction of both the tairen (dragons then) and the Fey. He confronts a magical oracle for help, and the oracle’s response sends him to a city he despises and to a woman who drags him back into all the messy emotion of life with the promise of that immutable, perfect union of souls as the catalyst, the quest, and the reward all wrapped in one. Everything, absolutely everything, sprang from that one image.
Sarah: This book, it is LONG - and therefore, as you’ve said on your site, split into two. Are there outtakes? How much was cut? Will you share?
C.L. Wilson: Wayyyy long. I wrote it as an unpublished writer. And with no deadline, I could have fun wandering, so I did. I’m not a fast writer, so I cannot bear to throw away even cut scenes that I may have spent hours on. I keep all deleted scenes in the hope that someday I may find a use for them. I also cut the original book in two earlier on, and some 300 of those pages are being adapted for inclusion in books 3 and 4.
Sarah: In terms of your critique partnership with Christine Feehan - holy duo, Batman! How did you hook up with Christine Feehan, and what has she taught you about worldbuilding, writing, and handling success? And what do you think she’s learned from you?
C.L. Wilson: I love Christine. We became friends long before she was really famous. I read Dark Desire the day it came out, and that was it for me. Fan for life. I tracked her down over the internet, signed her guestbook, joined her discussion group, and promptly started telling everyone “Go to the bookstores. Turn these books cover out! Tell your friends about her! Tell them to tell their friends.” I wanted her to succeed, so she would keep writing those marvelous books! LOL. I don’t think she needed my help. Her books were already flying off the shelves. One thing led to another, and we started critiquing when she was writing Dark Fire, Darius’s story, and have been ever since.
As far as what we’ve learned from each other, we’re friends first and everything else comes a distant second. So let me just say I think Christine is an amazing talent and an even more amazing person, and my life is much richer in many ways for having her in it.
Sarah: What would you like to say to any readers who target solely Fantasy or solely romance who are curious about your book ?
C.L. Wilson: There are excerpts of the first 45 pages of Lord of the Fading Lands on my website. If you’re not sure the book is something you’d like, give those pages a try. And feel free to wander around the website to find out more about the world and the characters who live in it.
Sarah: What romance novels will you never get rid of unless they are pried from your cold, cold hands?
C.L. Wilson: Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase, Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas, Dark Desire by Christine Feehan, Flowers in the Storm by Laura Kinsale. Lover Awakened (Zsadist’s story) by JR Ward. (There’s a real theme there, lol.)
Sarah: Some writers compose to music, and others have visual images of people that remind them of their characters. Do you use any methods of visualization or auditory stimulation to write? Aromatherapy, maybe? And what do Fey smell like?
C.L. Wilson: I listen to the complete recordings of Lord of the Rings and The Two Towers by Howard Shore (brilliant music!) And come Nov 7th, I’ll be adding the complete recordings of Return of the King to that list. *gg* When I first started writing the books, I listened to the Phil Collins soundtrack of Disney’s Tarzan, but sung lyrics became a distraction. I found myself singing instead of writing. (Phil, I love you, but I have to write!)
Fey smell like springtime, like rain-washed, lightning-shot skies, like flowers and freshly-turned earth. And tairen smell of darker, richer things.
by SB Sarah • Tuesday, September 04, 2007 at 11:26 AM
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, SB Sarah sent “The Shomi Ladies” a bunch of interview questions, but then there was intergalactic warfare, promotional tours, alien intrigue, and a lot of travel and gestation. Somewhere between the 600+ comment thread and today, the debate on costumes and the varying ways to promote authors as representatives of their work became less heated and more calm. So, hello, here we go, it’s a Smart Bitch Interview about costumes, dress up, promotion, and the Shomi line.
Can you explain from your perspective what makes costumes and dress up a part of your promotional arsenal for publicizing Shomi? This isn’t meant to give you the opportunity to “defend yourself,” since you don’t necessarily need to, but more of an explanation for those who don’t get it.
The outfits were worn for two reasons. The first was as an icebreaker, which worked great! People would come up to us to comment on our outfits and it gave us an opportunity to meet new people (which we love!) and also tell them more about the Shomi line of books. We thought originally this would be simply an in-person icebreaker at conference, but thanks to the controversy, we’ve made a ton of new virtual friends as well!
Secondly, we just simply enjoy dressing up. Sherrilyn Kenyon once said, “I don’t dress up as my characters, I dress my characters like me.” I think there’s a very similar dynamic with Liz and my cosplay adventures. Dressing up is something we enjoy doing. It fit very well, this year, with our manga inspired books, but anyone who knows us knows we would be apt to do that kind of thing just for fun as well.
Honestly, our outfits are just a small part of our “promotional arsenal” as you call it. We do the boring, but effective stuff too—the bookseller mailings, the dreaded bookmarks, the websites, blogs, MySpace (Sybil’s fave!), book signings, speaking engagements, advertising, street teams, etc. etc.—though of course that stuff isn’t very blogworthy.
What excites you most about the Shomi line?
The fact that these are true hybrids. You’re bringing together two great genres—romance and sci-fi/fantasy in one unique package. As a lover of both, we found it immensely rewarding to have the opportunity to weave together elements from each genre into one novel.
Also, the stories can be complex. We’re not shying away from hardcore sci-fi plotlines here! Anything goes—even stuff that’s a little…well, out there. The stories offer action, adventure, hot sex, maybe even a laser gun fight or two. You’ve got your kick-ass heroine to root for, a hot hero to make your toes curl, and of course a guaranteed HEA.
Can you tell us how Shomi came to be?
Our editor extraordinaire, Chris Keeslar, deserves all the credit. He’s a big sci-fi buff (geek?) himself and has been publishing cross-genre type books for a long time now. For example, he was the one to first publish Susan Grant and her alien romances a while back.
Anyhow, Chris decided he wanted to launch a line of books that would bring a younger audience to the romance section of the bookstore. Giving them a fast paced, action packed sci-fi/cyberpunk tale they could sink their teeth into, while at the same time introducing them to a genre of books they may not have thought of trying before now.
When Liz and I heard about the new line (we already both wrote for Chris at Dorchester) we naturally jumped at the opportunity. After all, Shomi is a line of books we’d enjoy reading as much as writing. Luckily, Chris liked our proposals and signed us up to do the launch.
The cool thing is I think that while Shomi was idealized as a line that would draw in a younger reader, in reality it has a great appeal to a wide group of readers—young, old, even male! I’ve gotten fan letters from quite a few teenage boys since my book came out a few weeks ago.
What’s your favorite anime?
I’m huge into video gaming, so I really love .hack//sign which is an anime series based on a fictional videogame called The World. I also like Final Fantasy, which started off as a videogame and spawned some anime films. And I grew up watching Voltron!!
Liz is more into reading manga than watching anime. In fact, she’s presently working with the manga publisher Tokyo Pop on a novelization of their Princess Ai manga.
What’s your favorite hackneyed romance novel device? Come on. ‘Fess up. Amnesia plotlines? Secret babies? Cross-dressing heroines? Cross-dressing heroines with amnesia who give birth to secret babies they completely forget about?
For me, it’s twins. Definitely twins. You know, where the one twin (goodie two-shoes/workaholic/celibate for the last ten years) dresses up as the other twin (wild/tattooed/short-skirt wearing/probably writes for Shomi) to solve the second twin’s murder/kidnapping/disappearance/trouble with vampires. Gets me every time.
Liz goes for the scarred war hero amputee with the tortured soul historical. What could be better than that?
Romance novels get dumped on a lot as being fit only for intellectually lazy women addicted to emotional porn. Anime gets dumped on for being the domain of terminally immature nerds who are way too attached to their Goku wigs. Feel free to wank on at length about the perils and rewards of combining these two sub-genres, and public perceptions vs. the realities of the actual consumers of these two genres.
Personally, I’m sick of all these stereotypes. They’re created by people too lazy to actually interact with the people they label. I get it at both ends. People are like, “OMG, you write ROMANCE?” and in the next breath utter, “OMG, you play VIDEOGAMES?” People can’t accept that I read and write romance because I’m not a (insert romance writer stereotype here) and they can’t accept that I play videogames because I’m not a 13 year old boy. Can’t win, I tell you. Good thing I don’t care what people think and will read, write and play what I want to.
Actually, I feel really sad for urban twenty-somethings who feel pressured to pretend they love whatever the “it” hip, indy, literary novel of the month happens to be, while denying themselves the pleasure they’d get from devouring the latest Harlequin, or whatever, just because they don’t want to be seen reading (shock/horror) a romance novel. Not that hip, indy, literary novels can’t be satisfying, too, but to only allow yourself to read what your friends deem “cool” really limits your reading experience in the long run and may in fact turn you off from books all together.
Just like those of you who have never logged into the World of Warcraft videogame because you assume it was designed for underachieving twentysomething year old guys who still live in their mother’s basement. (Okay, fine, you’re probably right, but that’s not the point.) All I’m saying is “Don’t knock it, ‘til you’ve tried it.”
Bottom line? The haters are always going to try to spoil things by trying to instill their own prejudices of what should and should not be read, using pre-conceived notions of age, race, class, gender, what have you. And you, as a reader, can choose to listen to them and define yourself and your tastes by these random people’s sense of propriety, or you can tune them out, read whatever the hell you want to, and take back your power.
That’s what I do, anyway. And when they look at me disdainfully and say, “You write ROMANCE?” or “You play VIDEOGAMES?” I smile and nod and say, “Yes. Yes, I do.”
by SB Sarah • Friday, August 31, 2007 at 07:00 AM
We’re talking a lot about ePubs lately, so when I heard back from Angela James from Samhain Publishing with the answers to my interview questions, I thought - woo! I’d originally asked to pester her with questions following the RWA conference and the discussion as to publisher recognition, but even now, as Samhain’s name is still brought up as a legit and rather fabulous ePub, I welcome the chance to learn more about the ePub business and Samhain specifically.
Now, can I be honest with you, here? You know, just between you and me? I’ve heard so many conflicting stories about what goes on behind the scenes at various ePubs, big and small, that prior to going to RWA I was of a mind that on the whole they weren’t really professional organizations. Rumors of weird financial shenanigans and bizarre rules like joining author loops and requiring participation for continued publication? Hrm. I was a little wary of the entire concept, even as I read and enjoyed greatly more than a few eBooks, AND met some very intelligent and skilled writers of eBooks through discussions on this here site. I admit, I had a rather goofy prejudice.
However, meeting Angela at RWA spanked my prejudice, called it “Charles,” took charge and sent it elsewhere. I was totally wrong about my preconceptions that painted all ePubs with the same brush, as James is nothing but professional (and a lot of fun) and also, did I mention her eyes glow red when she’s angry? I have a picture of that somewhere in my RWA collection. But I won’t post it. You might get hurt.
Glowing red eyes aside, her answers gave me a good schooling on the inner workings of Samhain and ePubbing.
Your official response after the RWA redefinition of approved publishers and non-vanity, non-subsidy press was measured, and your attitude was nothing but positive. Now that some weeks have passed, has this decision affected your business at all, or is it, as you said, Business As Usual at Samhain?
Angela James: Still Business As Usual (am I going to go down in infamy for that one?). We’ve been planning our trip to San Francisco next year for the 2008 RWA convention. The good news is we don’t have to worry about publisher spotlights, editor appointments or the like. It will be like a vacation! Okay, maybe not, but when I wake up in the morning, I don’t feel any differently about our business than I did prior to July. I still think we pretty much kick ass.
And though we aren’t eligible for having our conference fees waived as part of that decision, there are still plenty of chapters and conferences who very much want us to attend, whose members are more than interested in meeting with us, and those conferences are helping with expenses so we can do so. I’ve been invited to do several conferences and retreats in the next year. Just a few I’ve committed to include the Chesapeake RWA chapter’s weekend conference in November, Desert Dreams (in Arizona) next spring and next summer….we’ll be going to RWAustralia! They’re totally pumped to have us and we can’t wait!
Tell us more about the utter awesomesauce of having your books picked up for print runs in a partnership with Kensington?
Angela James: Words cannot convey the awesomesauceness of it all. And it’s not because, as some people may believe, that we think this makes us legitimate in any way. The readers love of our books, my love of our books (and not to mention my paycheck each month) were already proving that to me. But it’s a killer opportunity to hit a new audience and maybe convert some new readers to ebooks. I mean, who wouldn’t read a Samhain book and immediately think “I have to go buy their entire catalog of books RIGHT NOW.” Surely only the crazies wouldn’t fall into the Samhain-rocks system of beliefs.
How is Samhain different as an ePub, and what makes it special?
Angela James: Well, I do see readers saying that Samhain is the one publisher they can consistently count on to provide good, quality material. I forget where I read it, but someone said they’re willing to take a chance on books in our catalog they wouldn’t normally, because they’re rarely disappointed. That’s quite a compliment. It doesn’t mean every reader loves every book or that they’ll never find flaws in our books. It just means that’s not the first thing they think of when we come to mind.
But we’ve worked hard to get to that point. I don’t know how other epubs work, so I’m not doing a comparison here, but when I hire editors and copy editors I have looked at hundreds of applications. We don’t take them based on what they say their qualifications are, we make them prove it on not one, but two separate test documents that consists of editing, writing revision letters and showing that they have good skills. Then we have a pretty intense probation period where I look at everything they do. Of course, if you think I suck, then none of this will impress you at all!
Another thing that makes us stand out is our marketing plan. Lisa Amrine was hired this past winter to really step up our marketing and she’s been incredibly motivated and energetic. And she’s pushed the authors to follow in suit. She’s exploring traditional and non-traditional avenues of promotion, she’s open to new ideas and she’s always looking for something that will grow Samhain.
Further, the top executives and owners of the company are not authors. That’s somewhat unusual in the ePublishing world.
I think it’s telling and what I believe makes us really special is that everyone who works at Samhain has a genuine love for both the company and their job. It’s not just work, it’s a passion and that’s come through in what we’re producing, in my opinion.
What are some of the trends you’re seeing in your submissions, both erotica and not?
Angela James: Paranormal still seems to rule the world in both erotic and non-erotic submissions. But ménages are also a popular submission right now, as well.
One of the worst trends I’m seeing is books that have no business being erotic romance being pitched as erotic romance. Books that might really have a wonderful story but the author wants to cash in on the erotic part, that they have the characters engaging in funky sex acts as soon as they’ve exchanged hellos, to the detriment of the story. I rejected one recently that had an intriguing story idea and the potential for a solid plot but suddenly, after the first chapter and with no warning, the main characters were having sex. I was totally caught off-guard.
Other than that, we’re seeing more first person (which I personally love). I think that’s in answer to the growing popularity of urban fantasies. An increased number of young adult submissions, which we’re glad for, but a continued dearth of futuristics and really good science fiction and fantasy (we have had some fantasy but not as much as many of my editors would like).
One of my biggest frustrations as a reader is that there are not very many inexpensive but quality eBook readers, and there’s about sixty-five thousand ever-loving formats, one for every different reader and program. Did we not learn this lesson with VHS and BetaMax? Coke and New Coke? Why are eBook readers and products designed to get the text to the readers not nearly streamlined, or - is this a good thing for publishers? What is the publisher’s stand on this particularly frustrating issue. Note: I am fully aware I’m taking out my own purchasing frustrations on this question, so feel free to tell me how wrong I am.)
Angela James: Before I’m an editor, I’m a reader and I share your frustrations. I think most publishers would be delirious with the happy-happy-joy-joy if the entire publishing community could come to some sort of agreements about format. And if the ultimate cheap ebook reader--but one that has everything that everyone could ever want--was put into production tomorrow. An ebook reader that could read every format, have eInk capabilities, a backlight, long battery life and memory expandable and only limited by the size of the media card you buy.
But in truth, publishers are only the ones who produce the books. We’re not the technology geeks so we have to depend on others to invent, design and market the greatest ebook reader evah! We’re still waiting but hope springs eternal and maybe the unveiling of that elusive creature is just around the corner, coming this fall. One can dream!
As a reader, what are your favorite archtypes/cliches in romance? And what book did you love that you are embarrassed to tell anyone about?
Angela James: I still love an alpha hero. Domineering, tough, a little bossy and takes charge in the bedroom. I don’t care how un-PC of me that is, I adore an alpha. It has nothing to do with how he looks and everything to do with how he acts.
This is sad, but the accidental pregnancy, heroine getting wounded and thus making the hero realize how much he loves her, and crazy/jealous ex-wife/ex-girlfriends getting shown up at the end of the book, those are all things that secretly (not so secret any more, I guess) make me squee.
I’ve never really been embarrassed to admit my love for a book, but if I’m telling this on Smart Bitches, I’d probably say I have a deep love for Kill and Tell (as well as Dream Man) by Linda Howard. I know, people think putting on the condom early was skeazy. I adore that scene. I also have realized that, even though Harlequin Presents are utterly ridiculous and I usually want to slap the heroine around for being so inconsistent, I cannot get enough of them. Especially if they have Greek in the title. No, I don’t know what’s up with that. Probably goes back to that love of alpha males thing, again. There you have it, my dirty, shameful secrets. Can you still respect me in the morning?
There’s been a lot of talk lately about the effect of author conduct on the probability of them becoming published--or remaining published. How much of an effect does author conduct REALLY have on the business end of things, in your opinion? (Unspoken: how batshit does an author have to be before a publisher sits up and takes notice?)
Angela James: I guess it depends on what kind of author conduct we’re talking about. I hear authors say they don’t want to be labeled a “problem author” so they often don’t say anything about not being paid by a publisher, problems with broken promises, etc. I can sympathize with those concerns, but there is such a huge difference between letting other authors know that repeated attempts to contact your publisher regarding concerns with royalties versus an author going batshit crazy on their blog or a message forum and telling people that their editor sucks, the company sucks and then personally attacking other authors/company employees without having any proof or basis of fact for it.
That said, I think there’s also a line between author persona and the persona you show your friends. Some things don’t need to be said in public. Ever. Trashing another author, complaining about something minor about your agent or editor (like maybe they didn’t return your email or phone call within four hours). Those types of things should be kept behind the scenes. I think it goes back to something I preach on often in interviews, but think can’t be said enough. Writing is a business. Treat it like your business, act like a professional and it’s easier to gain the respect of your peers/agents/publishers than if you air all your dirty laundry on your blog or message boards daily. You can spot the real professionals both online and in submissions/edits. The ones who think of this as their career, rather than a hobby.
So to wrap up a really long answer, do I think an author can talk or misbehave themselves out of future contracts? Yes, I do. There are a lot of hungry authors out there eager to be the next Nora Roberts, who are willing to work hard and be professional while doing it, so why would an agent or editor want to deal with an author who makes their job 10x more difficult than it has to be? (well, unless that author is Nora Roberts, because, yeah. Nuff said. But I would bet any money that she’s not that author, anyway)
But I want to end by stressing there’s a world of difference between a difficult, demanding, diva author who is never happy and must have her needs met immediately and exactly as she wants them to be versus an author who is sharing information with other authors that’s legitimate and needs to be said. A world of difference.
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