Ellora's Cave

brainstorm77 · Aug 19, 2006

Have any of you been accepted for publication with them? I really like their books and have been thinking about submitting. Any tips on submitting?

Stacia Kane · Aug 19, 2006

I have a few friends who write for them and my cp and I are expecting an answer on our full in the next week or so (fingers crossed!)

I know they're really looking for m/m and menage right now. Those subs will be looked at a little more quickly, but in general expect a loooong wait-I have friends who just got a full request after subbing the query and first three over a year ago. Aparently they've hired some new editors to help speed things up, but there's a lot in their queue-everybody wants to write for them!

JanDarby · Aug 19, 2006

I know they're really looking for m/m and menage right now. Those subs will be looked at a little more quickly, but in general expect a loooong wait

Yep. I heard the exact same thing.

JD

veinglory · Aug 19, 2006

I suggest looking over a few of theirs that you know and contrast them others in the genre, they tend to have a specifc tone to them that is quite distinctive IMHO.

Susan Gable · Aug 19, 2006

I do know, from writers published with them, that their best-sellers are the BDSM stories.

Susan G.

Gillhoughly · Aug 19, 2006

Pay close attention to their guidelines and write well.

Have more than one submission ready to go and be working on a third.

A pen name is okay if you're shy or don't want Granny Murgatroyd to know what you're writing.

A Don't Do This Cautionary Tale: A gal in my writer's group thinks as long as she mentions body parts and heavy breathing that she will get published with them, so her stuff is bloody awful. She thinks she doesn't have to put any effort into her writing since (to her) "it's just smut."

We tell her different, that writing is writing whatever the genre and it deserves your best work, but she essentially puts fingers in her ears and hums loudly until we're done.

Since I've known her (a good 9 years) she has yet to place/sell anything with/to ANYONE.

Oh, yeah--she's writing a book about how to be a writer.

Be afraid.

.

Stacia Kane · Aug 19, 2006

Gillhoughly said:
A Don't Do This Cautionary Tale: A gal in my writer's group thinks as long as she mentions body parts and heavy breathing that she will get published with them, so her stuff is bloody awful. She thinks she doesn't have to put any effort into her writing since (to her) "it's just smut."

We tell her different, that writing is writing whatever the genre and it deserves your best work, but she essentially puts fingers in her ears and hums loudly until we're done.

Since I've known her (a good 9 years) she has yet to place/sell anything with/to ANYONE.

Oh, yeah--she's writing a book about how to be a writer.

Be afraid.
.

Oh, dear. Oh dear oh dear oh dear!

Writer2011 · Aug 21, 2006

I have heard nothing but good things about Ellora's Cave

I would say follow their guidlines and go for it.

gwendy85 · Aug 21, 2006

I've submitted my work to Ellora's Cave, mostly out of sheer curiosity. They liked the synopsis and first three chapters as well as the epilogue (that's what they asked for last time) but there a LOT of mistakes in my ms. I didn't know much then and I had terrible grammatical errors and I didn't develop the characters well enough. Ellora's Cave pointed that out but also pointed out the good points in the ms, which is the story and the 'rich settings'. They also encouraged me a lot, which is why I'm working on my first REAL novel. If you're planning to submit to them, you're in for a real treat! They're legit, and they're very nice! Their rejection to my ms was personalized, in that they point out the wrong and right aspects to the specifics. I'm thinking of revising my ms, but I'm busy with my new story.
My advice is show a little personality in your e-mail correspondences. In my query letter, I don't really think I came off as stiff (purely business). In my next e-mails, I was even more eccentric (as though I were e-mailing a friend). I think they were okay with it and the reply to me wasn't business like either. It's as though you have that---a friend.
Good luck on your submission and more power to Ellora's Cave!

Gillhoughly · Aug 22, 2006

I met the editorial core at a DragonCon a few years back and have to say these gals REALLY enjoy their work! I had a nice chat with all, they confirmed all the info on their website and answered some questions not addressed there.

They had a cool booth, lots of flyers and were actively courting pros to send stuff in.

It didn't hurt that they'd hired a primo male model to hang (tee hee!) at the booth and pass out flyers and sometimes kiss ladies' hands. The wig was goofy, but he had a great a--uh...um....loincloth!

kristin724 · Aug 25, 2006

I've got EC on my list of potentials of course, but I can't stand the waiting process! The question is do you go for the big one or try one or two smaller ones where you are more likely to get accepted faster?

Agita! I've taken a gander at Changeling, Venus Press, Loose Id, Phaze, New Concepts, and Liquid Silver.

Jumping the gun? Sure, but it's called *research* !

ta!

Gillhoughly · Aug 28, 2006

My unofficial rule of thumb on where to submit is ALWAYS start at the top first.

'Cause, hey, ya never know--they might BUY it!

Cure for the wait: Work on your next three books.

Not kidding on that. When I sold my 1st they wanted another five right behind it.

Writing keeps your head from exploding.

brainstorm77 · Sep 3, 2006

My current WIP is geared for Ellora's cave

Katherine Cross · Sep 22, 2006

The key to Ellora's Cave, I think, is that you have to remember that they're one of the top recognizable erotic romance houses. This is great because it means higher sales and more visibility than with some of the other epubs (not all, but some) but it also means the infamous response time. A lot of people are afraid of submitting to Ellora’s Cave because of the long wait in the electronic slush pile.

One way to get around this, however, is to target their special projects. Keep your ear to the ground and find out what they’re planning to do for the coming year. Find out your deadlines, read a lot of the books in that targeted area and write something sharp specifically drafted for that line. Say… the Cavemen or the Wild Winter or the Valentine series. Submit it and say in your query that it is for one of those lines. Your book will get cycled through to an acquiring editor a lot faster than if you just submit a book that hadn’t been targeted. Once you’re accepted, you submit directly to your editor, so the long, long waits are over!

That was, at least, my theory going in.

JulesJones · Sep 22, 2006

The thing that put me off EC wasn't the long wait times -- it's that I'm an m/m writer, and until recently the EC guidelines explicitly said that they could accept a little f/f with their het, but they could not consider anything with any m/m content, as they catered to women's fantasies and women didn't like that sort of thing. Sufficiently recently that I had already been published for some time with one publisher, and signed a contract with another on a book that was well into production by the time EC saw the bandwagon rolling by.

inanna · Dec 21, 2006

Katherine Cross said:
The key to Ellora's Cave, I think, is that you have to remember that they're one of the top recognizable erotic romance houses. This is great because it means higher sales and more visibility than with some of the other epubs (not all, but some) but it also means the infamous response time. A lot of people are afraid of submitting to Ellora’s Cave because of the long wait in the electronic slush pile.

One way to get around this, however, is to target their special projects. Keep your ear to the ground and find out what they’re planning to do for the coming year. Find out your deadlines, read a lot of the books in that targeted area and write something sharp specifically drafted for that line. Say… the Cavemen or the Wild Winter or the Valentine series. Submit it and say in your query that it is for one of those lines. Your book will get cycled through to an acquiring editor a lot faster than if you just submit a book that hadn’t been targeted. Once you’re accepted, you submit directly to your editor, so the long, long waits are over!

That was, at least, my theory going in.

I'm going to bump this rather than start a new thread, but I'm looking for some specific info on their Tarot project: does anyone know what Tarot cards are left, and if not, how to find out rather quickly?

I emailed them last week to inquire, but I'm afraid it may take until some time after the holidays to hear back. Submissions are due in March, so if ther are any slots still open, there's not much time. I'm reluctant to pester them about it. Hopefully someone here has an idea and can put me out of my wondering misery (especially if submissions are closed).

Thanks in advance ... and apologies if this belongs somewhere else.

Stacia Kane · Dec 22, 2006

I was just thinking about doing another one myself, Inanna. I'll ask in the EC authors loop and see if I can get the list.

I've asked on the loop, but with the office closed on Monday and half the staff on vacation it may take a few days. Just n update.

LilaDubois · Dec 29, 2006

Don't know if anyone still needs this but here is what the sent me on Dec. 1

I was uninspired by any of the cards and don't have the spare time to devote to such a long shot gamble.

"
Dear author,

The list of available cards changes, currently available are:

7 of Swords
5 of Swords
Knight of Cups
6 of Cups
5 of Cups
4 of Cups
Knight of Wands
9 of Wands
8 of Wands
2 through 6 of Wands
4 through 10 of Pentacles
Ace of Pentacles

We cannot promise acceptance nor card availability.

"

veinglory · Dec 29, 2006

They can't guarantee card availability? Then what exactly is the point of it all? Because they sure aren't replying to email queries on the matter as far as I can tell.

inanna · Dec 29, 2006

Interesting. I heard back from them yesterday, and the list is the same as yours, LilaDubois, except for two things: the 6 of cups is gone, and both the King of Cups and Wands are back on the list (????). I was sort of surprised to see any court cards at all.

It also didn't have the statement regarding availability, but as an unknown writer, I figured that went without saying for someone in my position, anyway.

This whole thing certainly favors in-house authors who get to query in advance (I suppose that's nothing new). I hate to bust my butt writing something, only to have it pulled before I'm even ready to submit.

And then there's this - submissions can be 10k - 120k. So we're running the spectrum from short story to novella and all the way to novel. Are some going to be in anthology form? Which ones? If it were me, I'd save the longer pieces for the Major Arcana, and then package the court cards as novellas, the pips as short stories. But that's just me.

I'm stumped. Should I be emailing them again with these questions? Will they answer?

Stacia Kane · Dec 29, 2006

inanna said:
Interesting. I heard back from them yesterday, and the list is the same as yours, LilaDubois, except for two things: the 6 of cups is gone, and both the King of Cups and Wands are back on the list (????). I was sort of surprised to see any court cards at all.

It also didn't have the statement regarding availability, but as an unknown writer, I figured that went without saying for someone in my position, anyway.

This whole thing certainly favors in-house authors who get to query in advance (I suppose that's nothing new). I hate to bust my butt writing something, only to have it pulled before I'm even ready to submit.

And then there's this - submissions can be 10k - 120k. So we're running the spectrum from short story to novella and all the way to novel. Are some going to be in anthology form? Which ones? If it were me, I'd save the longer pieces for the Major Arcana, and then package the court cards as novellas, the pips as short stories. But that's just me.

I'm stumped. Should I be emailing them again with these questions? Will they answer?

I suggest you pick a card and write a detailed proposal--the story, the characters, how the story fits in with the card. Basically a synopsis but with extra info about your card. Send it to them. They might hold the card for you then, but I don't know for sure.

LilaDubois · Dec 30, 2006

DecemberQuinn said:
I suggest you pick a card and write a detailed proposal--the story, the characters, how the story fits in with the card. Basically a synopsis but with extra info about your card. Send it to them. They might hold the card for you then, but I don't know for sure.

Nope.

They want a full query. For them that means synopsis, first three chapters and last chapter.

What that means is that you have to pick a card, write a complete story, and then query it, never knowing if they have picked up another story for that card, and more than likely the story will be so themeatic that you won't be able to use it for something else.

It is a very cool idea and a great project, I just don't want to put the effort into something so specific when the cards are stacked against it.

Best of luck to those of you who are going for it!

Stacia Kane · Dec 30, 2006

LilaDubois said:
Nope.

They want a full query. For them that means synopsis, first three chapters and last chapter.

What that means is that you have to pick a card, write a complete story, and then query it, never knowing if they have picked up another story for that card, and more than likely the story will be so themeatic that you won't be able to use it for something else.

It is a very cool idea and a great project, I just don't want to put the effort into something so specific when the cards are stacked against it.

Best of luck to those of you who are going for it!

Wow, that surprises me. My CP and I only had to give them a synopsis/proposal to reserve our card. She was already an EC author, but they made us finish the book before acceptance (which she didn't have to do for her solo Tarot book) so I assumed the card reservation method was the same.

I know our tarot book could easily have worked somewhere else if they hadn't wanted it, too.

inanna · Dec 30, 2006

I have a seed of an idea at the moment, and if I can pull it off, I plan to make the story more in line with the essence of the suit, and tweakable to several different cards. Tall order, but if I manage to finish this thing, I'll give it a shot. That's something I could include in a query ... right?

This would be my first EC submission, so I truly have no idea.

veinglory · Dec 30, 2006

If you are writing m/m and a short length Torquere also has a tarot series and will allow firm reservations on cards. So that could be another option for very clearly tarot-themed stories.

Ellora's Cave

practical experience, FTW

Girl Detective

volitare nequeo

Dreamer of dreams, teller of tales

Grumpy writer and editor

Girl Detective

~*Proudly Mestiza*~

Grumpy writer and editor

Grumpy writer and editor

practical experience, FTW

Katherine Cross

Queen of Typos

Girl Detective

volitare nequeo

Queen of Typos

Girl Detective

Girl Detective

Queen of Typos

volitare nequeo

~Proudly Mestiza~