Summer Fridays mean half the office is out today, and I’m in jeans, a t-shirt, and no makeup. Luckily, I tend to get a lot more done on these days—no one here to interrupt me! My starter question for today is:
What was the last book you read for fun?
I am very fortunate. I mostly read romance, so technically, any reading I do for pleasure also counts as “industry research.” The last book I read was Lisa Kleypas’s Love in the Afternoon (I read Married By Morning and this one back to back). Lisa has been on my auto-buy list for years. Beatrix has been one of my favorite characters in the Hathaways series, and I was really glad to see she finally got her perfect hero. This book is my pick for “best in series.”
Your turn! Ask away!
Hi, Megan,
Could you explain what you acquire for Kensington? For example, is it just for Brava or do you also acquire for both Zebra and Aphrodesia?
Also, what type of story grabs you more than others? (Humor, suspense, etc.)
Thanks.
Faye
I can acquire for all lines, but my interests lie in romance for Brava and Zebra. I will also occasionally look at a general fiction project (usually Jane Austen or classic literature related, e.g. Jasper Fforde’s books).
I like pretty much anything. If the writing is good, authors can sell me on things I don’t even normally like. For instance, I bought a series by Zoe Archer where the first book is set in Mongolia. Normally I would have said no thanks, that location doesn’t interest me. But she makes it work. Generally speaking, I hate talking animals. But Lexi George’s new series for Brava has a talking dog, and I thought it was hilarious. I find when stories aren’t grabbing me, it’s not because of the type of story, but the writing and the way it’s being told.
Thanks, Megan! And I completely agree that a writer’s voice can make any plot or setting seem fresh and exciting.
May I ask another question? What are your submission guidelines?
Thanks.
Faye
Our submission guidelines can be found here: http://bit.ly/djexno Please note: we do not publish category length books. Submissions should be AT LEAST 75,000 words, preferably 80,000 words. You can use the word count feature in your document program to calculate this (I have found other methods to be inaccurate).
Thanks so much!
Faye
Hi Megan
I was recently at your spotlight at the RWA conference. There you mentioned that upon submitting, we were to include a copy of a book if we’ve been previosuly published, yet this isn’t stated anywhere in your submission guidelines I’m not if I should send a book or not.
Thanks! And I enjoyed your spotlight very much.
Michelle
We don’t require you to send a copy of previously published books, but it is certainly helpful if you do. Especially if your book is several years old.
Oh, this is good to know. Thanks, Michelle and Megan!
Faye
Hi Megan! I know you’re one of the final judges for the RWA chicklit contest coming up – what are you looking for in a winning entry?
Why do you always ask me the hard questions? :]
I’m looking for the entry that makes me want more. The one that I think about the next day and go, “Yeah, that was awesome. I really need to get that full because I am dying to read the rest.”
As a Canadian author, how do you feel about settings taking place in Canada? Are you opposed to it? I have a ms that takes place in the Rocky Mountains and the town of Jasper. I figure it’s a location most people have heard of and could relate to so it wouldn’t be so obscure for them, but was wondering how a publishing house felt about Canadian settings.
I have no objection to them, if the story fits. When I start getting annoyed is when I feel like you’ve set it there in order to make it stand out, because the story and writing wouldn’t otherwise. Then it just feels like a gimmick.
Hi Meghan,
How much input do you allow your authors re: marketing?
I’m asking because I just had my first mass market paperback come out and having come from the epublishing world where I did all my own promo, I had a bit of ‘culture shock’ when all those decisions were taken away from me.
Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s awesome that my publisher paid for bookmarks and set up my B&N signings. I wished I had been able to write my own blurb. Is that ever done.
I think you are asking about two different things. Promo materials are almost always made by the author, and at K, we only set up signings for our biggest authors. We do a few ads in RT, Realms of Fantasy, etc. The author has no input into those ads.
The cover and cover blurb are really not considered promo materials. I ask for very little author input, if any. Here’s the reason: you are really close to your book. And you may be a great writer, but that doesn’t mean you can write cover copy. We have a whole department for copy. That’s all they do. I find a lot of the best copy comes from people who aren’t as close to the book, because they can focus on the big parts without feeling like they are “leaving great stuff out.” (This is why I personally hate writing copy on my own books. I want to fit in everything and that’s just not possible). When it comes to the cover, it’s not just my decision. So I could ask for your input, and then get overruled in the art meeting, and then you’d be asking, “Well why doesn’t this look like we discussed?” And then I have to deal with author drama. Which takes up a lot of time and energy.
Bottom line, your publisher is in the business of selling books. What they have in mind might not be your vision, but they think it will sell the book best. I want my authors to be happy, but I want to sell the book more.
Query letters seem to be all about streamlining your manuscript into one or two paragraphs. With that kind of minimalism, how can an author demonstrate her voice and inspire you to request a full manuscript? What in a query letter makes you want more? What kinds of things turn you off a query?
Thank you so much for your time,
Jenny
I don’t rely on query letters to see the author’s voice. (I know many agents and editors who say otherwise.) What I look for is a good command of the English language (this is not a given), good flow to the writing, a premise that sounds workable but not overdone or too close to something else I have. I should be at least mildly interested after reading, because if I’m bored by the query, it’s almost a guarantee that I’m bored by the manuscript.
Turn ons: fresh premise, signs of research (e.g. they know K’s lines, they know some of my authors, etc)
Turn offs: any mention of Oprah, tv/film/screenplay/video game deals, comparisons to big name authors (this almost never works in your favor), generically addressed letters, saying you will accept no less than a certain $ advance
If it’s not too late to ask another question, about how long does it take for you to respond to queries and submissions?
Thank you.
Jenna F.
Queries: 2-3 weeks. Subs: usually 3 months, but as you may have heard via my Twitter feed, I am about a month behind at the moment. Reading Brava contest entries got me off schedule.
Oh, wow. You were so fast in answering me! Thank you so much.
Jenna F.
How important are things like time spent in each character’s POV and uniformity of chapter length? Do you like so see the hero and heroine’s POVs bout 50/50 or is 75/25 okay? Is it all right to have some chapters short and some long, or do you prefer them to be roughly the same length? Do you offer your writers any guidelines for how long chapters should be or how many chapters an 80,000 word novel should have?
Can you recommend any resources for this information? Or are these all thing that an editor addresses after they’ve accepted a manuscript?
Thank you very much for your time,
Jenny
Hi Megan,
I’ve been reading lately that the paranormal market is getting saturated with vampires and werewolves, and that authors need a new “creature.” Angels and demons seem to be on the rise. I’m writing a story where spirits, not visible ghosts, work with the H/H to find something. Would you consider that a paranormal?
Thanks.