Category: Publishers & Publishing

Carina Press

In case you haven’t heard, Harlequin has opened an epublishing house called Carina Press. E-book only, no advance, high royalty (although I couldn’t find the royalty percentage on their website). Malle Vallik, who’s been with HQ forever and is a writer herself (Molly something…I can’t remember the pen name she had, but I do recall reading her first book in the now-defunct Temptation line, and it was great) is heading the venture. And guess where Angela James, formerly exec ed of Samhain is? At Carina Press, as well.

They’re taking submissions. Check out the website to learn more.

Oh, and if you’ve ever been rejected by HQ? The site says feel free to sub to Carina Press.

To quote:

Can I submit to Carina Press if Harlequin has rejected me?

Yes, you may submit a manuscript that has been rejected by any publisher, including Harlequin. There may be very good reasons why your manuscript will not fit into traditional print publisher’s program, but we have a great deal more flexibility and opportunities at Carina Press.

You know, it occurs to me, any writers who suddenly found themselves orphaned when Quartet Press went down might do well to examine this opportunity lickety-split. If Angela James liked your sub to Quartet, it might be perfect for Carina Press, too.

Over and out.

Musical Editors

I found out the other day that the editor in Japan who bought the manga rights to HEAD OVER HEELS has left the publisher. The publication will go along as planned, except now I still have no idea—and probably never will—how the editor became interested in my book.

Dear Amazing Editor with Fantastic Taste:

Thank you for finding my book and contacting my agent in Japan, who contacted the scouting agency in New York, who contacted Amber Quill Press, who contacted me, resulting in the sale. While I regret that I will never know what prompted your request for foreign rights, I’m so glad you did! And, wow, your former bosses are efficient, too. I received the advance check weeks before the date stipulated in the contract. It’s sitting nice and cozy in my bank account. A completely rewarding experience.

I’m looking forward to seeing the manga version of HEAD OVER HEELS and am thanking my good fortune that we somehow-or-other crossed paths.

Best,

Subservient (in another lifetime) Writer

Dear Blog Readers:

No, you don’t get a letter, just an observation. Which basically amounts to that editors seem to play musical chairs as much in other countries as they do in the U.S. When you consider the factor of Being In The Right Place At The Right Time, I’m feeling very blessed.

So often, timing has worked against me. For once, it worked for me. Yippee-ki-ee.

Except now I’m feeling paranoid that maybe the original editor didn’t mean to buy my rights. Maybe he bought them by accident and got fired for it. Maybe I’ve inadvertently kiboshed his career!

Should I feel guilty?

Of Note

I’m feeling tons better, and life is slowly getting back under control. So, ta-da, one blog post before the weekend. Watch, now no one will comment because I said I wouldn’t be here again until next week.

Not getting any writing done, but on Monday I had a 90-minute long Skype brainstorming session with a former critique partner, and now I have a ton of excellent revision notes for SEX, PIs & PACKING TAPE. Really looking forward to solidifying my approach to the revisions and digging into that book again. Will pass the notes by a writing friend who critiqued the full first, though. I have another manuscript I can work on in the meantime.

Guess what? I’ve already received, signed and mailed back the hard copy of the contract for the HEAD OVER HEELS manga rights. When I approved the contract via email (last week) and my contact in the Tuttle-Mori contracts department said I would receive the hard copy contract soon, she wasn’t fooling. I don’t think I’ve ever received a contract that quickly.

Also, I find it interesting that this contract was the easiest to understand and read of any I’ve ever purused for either myself or Penny. In other words, the easiest to read and understand contract from any North American publisher with whom I’ve dealt. The legalities are all in place, but not in a “foreign language,” to speak. They’re written in plain English. What a switch! 

I’m Going Manga!

Last week I hinted that I would have some good news to share soon. And here it is!

I am very happy to announce that I’ve sold the Japanese translation rights to my Amber Quill Press romantic comedy, HEAD OVER HEELS, to Ohzora Publishing in Japan. Ohzora has published a lot of Harlequin novels as manga (Japanese comic) paperbacks, and that’s what they’ll be doing with my book. I also sold the serialization rights and ebook rights. HEAD OVER HEELS will publish in Japanese manga over cell phones as well as in traditional ebook manga format.

Now here’s the interesting part. I didn’t go looking for this opportunity, it came to me. Somehow, Ohzora became interested in my book. I still have no clue how or why. I’ve been dealing with a literary agent in Japan, and I asked her to ask them, but then she went on holidays, so for now I still don’t know. I was going on my merry way enjoying the summer and working on various manuscripts when I received an email forwarded from an Amber Quill staff member—from the scouting division of an NYC literary agency. I’d never heard of the NYC scouting people, nor the Japanese literary agency they were working with, nor had I heard of Ohzora. At first I thought, this can’t be legit. But I did some major networking, including contacting a couple of State-side agents I’ve submitted to in the past. I learned that all parties involved were indeed legit.

What makes the whole thing sweeter is that while Amber Quill operates on a royalty-only model, Ohzora offers advances as well as royalties. So I’m finally getting an advance for HEAD OVER HEELS—years after its initial publication in English. That makes me giggle. It’s a decent advance, too, one that would more than satisfy RWA-PAN if they counted foreign translation advances (I have no clue if they do, and it doesn’t matter, because I’m already a member of PAN thanks to the novellas I’ve published under my pen name). So, while some members of the romance writing community aren’t quite ready to accept ebooks or accept publishing with a royalty-only house like Amber Quill, in this case it’s worked out wonderfully. I have a book I love on the cyber-shelves, and now I’ve sold the Japanese translation rights. I have a wide grin on my face that’s not likely to disappear soon.

More good news! I just learned that HEAD OVER HEELS is now available in Kindle format. Yippee!

Angela James (and Others) on the Move

Caught the news yesterday that Angela James, previously of Samhain Publishing, is now with Quartet Press as editorial director. This is great news for Quartet (way to go, Kassia). Angela seems to rock wherever she rolls. It should be an interesting year for Quartet.

I have no idea who’s head honcho at Samhain now. Anyone know?

Last week or so, Firebrand Literary closed its doors. Several days before that, Michael Stearns, Danielle Chiotti and others formerly with Firebrand, left to form the new Upstart Crow Literary Agency. No clue what Firebrand founder Nadia Cornier’s plans are.

I’m getting dizzy.