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Samhain Spotlight
Check out www.samhainbooks.com. At RT in April, Samhain discussed what they are looking for and how their company works:
Based in Georgia, Samhain publishes e-books and print books from 12,000 words to 120,000 words, although 120,000 does “push the limit” somewhat. Working with agented an un-agented authors (although 90% of their authors do not have agents), Samahin works not to flood the market with a writer’s work – releases are scheduled about every 3 months, no sooner. Electronic releases over 50,000 words tend to go to print after approx. 10 months. Royalties are fairly standard for digital – 30-40% and 7.5-8% on print books.
What are they looking for? Samhain releases 4-5 special calls each year for various anthologies, ie this year’s shape changer anthology – check their call for submissions page. Currently they are looking for good sci-fi or futuristic romances – space cowboys (think Firefly) where Romantic Elements make up 70% of the story and the science fiction fills the other 30%. Westerns were also specifically mentioned. E-books have a different audience, and Westerns still have a strong following. Erotic romance is still hot, MM, MFM etc, it’s all good! Nothing is currently being deemed “overdone”.
Samhain reminds us that their electronic rights are for 7 years, keeping the books on the “shelf” a long time. They say “new books sell old books” as buyers tend to look up an author’s backlist.
Response time is anywhere from 2-12 weeks, depending on the length of the book and the editor’s schedule. Editors are not genre specific – all submissions go through an submissions coordinator and are then passed to the appropriate editor. If an editor feels the work is good but not for them, they will pass the work on to a different editor.
One final reminder – if you submit to Samhain (or any publisher!), remember to add them to your “acceptable” list on your email! And, if you do get a rejection, do not be disappointed or offended by the form letter you receive – all rejections are form letters, it isn’t personal.
On a personal note – I’ve met Samhain editor Angela James a few times now and have found her to be very personable, and a sweet lady!
Lilly
Book Review - YA - You're So Undead To Me
Now normally I wouldn't read too many YA stories, and I probably wouldn't review them on here. BUT...I met the author Stacey Jay at the RT Conference in April and I loved the gal. She is awesome! Plus that sweet Southern accent kills me. She also writes under another name some seriously hot stuff (will review that later!) but this one really caught me and I found that I HAD to read it, despite looming deadlines.
Reading for Teens: You’re So Undead To Me
Imagine you are back in high school. Remember the angst, the pressure to belong, your first crush and the homecoming dance in sophomore year? Now add a swarm of undead to your memories. Life could be easier if Megan Berry wasn’t a Zombie Settler by birth, and after losing her memories and power for five years it looked like the worst thing she would face in her teens would be possible rejection from the Pom Squad. Instead, her powers return on the eve of her first date with the school football hottie. So much for a social life.
As Megan’s powers and memories return, so does her childhood crush Ethan, now a junior level Protector. Megan has difficulties deciding if he is interested in her or simply concerned for her life. Things become more dicey when Megan becomes aware of a plot to ruin homecoming. The Elder Settlers don’t believe that the blackest voodoo could be being practiced by teens, let alone for the reasons Megan believes, but as the danger increases Megan must break the rules to save her friends, and the big dance.
With such dark subject matter – Zombies! – I expected a more sinister feeling book, but was delighted with the lighthearted approach that author Stacey Jay took to this high school horror. Megan’s mistakes and manner are just what you would expect in a teen who feels her powers are more of a curse than a blessing. Ethan is hot, but since this book is a YA, the heat level is just the right level of toasty. For the parents out there, Megan has a great relationship with her family, and learns from her mistakes.
With its edgy feel and easy reading, its kicking cover and fantastic title, I’d give this book four Lilies, right off the top of the coffin.
Lilly 
A Spotlight on Ravenous Romance
Ravenous Romance – First spotlight on several E-Publishers at RT
While I was at RT I met informally with publishers from Ravenous Romance. They were quite nice, which didn’t surprise me based on my earlier guest blog with author Lisa Lane. Lisa works with Ravenous Romance and you can find her books on their website, www.ravenousromance.com in their erotic line.
Ravenous Romance publishes e-books and audio books in the erotic and more traditional romance lines, in every subcategory! For those of us looking to publish, they have great opportunities with their anthology series and shorts, and with their longer books in the 50,000-60,000 word length range. They accept un-agented and agented work, and have a 6-8 week response time. They do pay a small advance and typical e-book royalties. One note is their focus on MM romances (many written by men!) – about 25-30% of their readership are estimated to be men, a different focus than many e-publishers.
I have to say I was struck by the quality of their covers, for a fairly new publisher they are awesome! Currently they are using Allen Penn for their photography, and the attention they are putting on these covers is wonderful.
What about print books? Well, currently they do license another company to handle the printing of the books, but only the gay and lesbian lines. More on this to come. For now they are really concentrating on their electronic releases.
Want to know what they are up to behind the scenes? Check them out as RavenousRomance on Twitter, Yahoo and Facebook.
Lilly
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