Whenever I talk about writing, it seems I meet a new "closet writer." This isn't a bad thing and I actually encourage everyone to write. It is in the doing that one becomes more efficient as well as one learns what he or she prefers to do. Writing isn't always a rosy evening making the keys click in time. Sometimes it is long walks both in the rain and the sunlight. And sometimes those walks are very dark. Dark due to the lack of inspiration.
Maybe the hardest thing about writing is learning the craft and lest you think it an easy craft to learn, I want to share the following. Mind you, there are many "tricks" to becoming a best selling author (which I have yet to do) but I'll only share those secrets (the ones I know at this point) with the most seriously committed--and I don't mean to the funny farm.
Keep in mind that the following is the guidelines to only one publisher. Agents and publishers all have their unique standards of what is good (or trash.)
** Permission to forward and share both granted and encouraged **
Desert Breeze Publishing is currently seeking submissions to fill
specifically our 2012 release schedule. Desert Breeze Publishing
currently releases books twice a month, and as of April 2012 we will
release books three times a month.
Desert Breeze Publishing is a royalty-paying publisher of romance in
electronic novel format, but are excited to announce we will be
releasing our top sellers in print in 2012. We publish from the sweet
to the heated, with the exclusion of erotica or erotic romance and
GLBT/alternative lifestyles. Our books are currently distributed
through Amazon and Amazon International affiliates for Kindle, Barnes
and Noble, All Romance eBooks, Kobo, and the Apple iBookstore for
distribution in the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia. All
our Inspirational/Christian Romances are available at
Christianbooks.com.
Romance should be the prevailing theme of your manuscript, not
romantic elements. We are seeking manuscripts from novella length
(between 25,000 and 35,000 words approximately) to super novel length
(exceeding 100,000 words), with a preference for novels between
55,000 and 80,000 words. We are more than willing to accept queries
on book series, and will consider a series concept when at least one
book is completed and the series has been thoroughly formulated.
We are not seeking anything shorter than 25,000 words, with a strong
preference for manuscripts of at least 30,000 words.
We will review previously published manuscripts; however, proof of
release must be provided. We prefer to see some new material along
with your previously published manuscripts.
We are looking for submissions in all of the following romance sub-
genres:
* Contemporary Romance
* Romantic Suspense
* Military-themed Romance
* Romantic Comedy/Humorous Romance
* Christian Romance
* Inspirational Romance
* Fantasy Romance
* Paranormal Romance
* Science Fiction/Futuristic/Speculative Fiction Romance
* Steampunk Romance
* Modern Cowboy Romance
* Historical Romance -- both prior to 1900 and 20th Century/Vintage
* Young Adult Romance in all genres
* Manuscripts with specific celebratory or holiday themes
And while we're actively seeking all genres, there are a few types of
submissions that would really excite us!
We are interested in expanding the scope of our Vintage/20th Century
category, stepping outside the most popular time period surrounding
World War II. An exceptional amount of change occurred in the 20th
Century, and our world was challenged in many ways. We would be
interested in seeing novels set around the Korean War or the Viet Nam
Conflict, novels with themes involving The Great Depression, the
Space Race, the end of the Cold War. There are so many possibilities.
We wish to promote the growth and expansion of the Sci Fi Rom/
Futuristic Romance/Speculative Fiction Romance genres by offering
exceptional character-driven novels and series offering appeal to the
die hard sci fi fan as well as the adventurous romance lovers. Sci Fi
romance must be smart, well planned, well thought out to build
amazing worlds and possible futures with strong characters and great
character chemistry and development.
In the same vein, Steampunk (and all variations thereof, ie:
Gaslight, Diesel Punk, etc) is a genre in high demand.
We would like to see both single title -- as well as series --
romantic suspense novels, especially with characters who serve in law
enforcement, civil service, or the military. And that's not just
limited to the heroes. We'd love to see books where the heroine is
the one doing the saving and protecting, or works beside the hero in
an equal position.
We are actively seeking inspirational and Christian novels with a bit
more real world flair. It's not always easy being a Christian, and we
would like to see novels that express that.
If you are offering a manuscript with a specific celebratory or
holiday theme, please indicate this in your submission. It would be
our goal, if possible, to schedule your book release to coincide with
whatever holiday you focus on in your manuscript to optimize sales
potential.
Full details on our submission guidelines and house preferences can
be found at our website:
http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-template/policy/Page.bok
Questions regarding submissions can be sent to:
EditorInChief@DesertBreezePublishing.com
We hope to hear from you soon!
