Desert Breeze Publishing

They say who they are here. Sounds a bit like Kunati in that this is a vehicle for the principals to avoid the stigma of self-publishing.

Oh dear. I think the market actively needs a good non-erotic romance epublisher but the verbiage here about "excess sex" is not putting them on a path to success.

Julie Worth said:

They say who they are here. Sounds a bit like Kunati in that this is a vehicle for the principals to avoid the stigma of self-publishing.

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Which is totally insane because any owner who publishes a book through their own company, regardless of how big their author lineup, is still considered self-published.

There are existing established sweet epublishers, POD publisher and offset publishers.

Their verbiage is disparaging to the majority of their romance epublishing peers and a good section of their potential readership. They could make the same point more diplomatically if they were writing to hit a readership, not just express their opinion.

But my general point is that, as an author-run epublishing start up, they have about a 50% chance of still operating a year from now, and rather less chance of selling over 200 copies of a book in its first year--likely more in the range of 20-50. That just based in industry norm right now. 30% royalties is at the low end of the range. Start ups will not sell well to begin with and with outfits like Samhain already in the marketplace the competition is in fact, if you will excuse the phrase, 'stiff'.

They may suprise me but the rhetoric is familiar and the flags are at least a darker shade of pink. i.e. the emphasis on excellent covers and the covers they have posted, the emphasis on a warm family approach not a sound marketing plan, the emphasis in publishing their own rejected work and declaring the industry awash with poor writing and the genre ruined by sexual content, etc.

For epublishing: http://encoreromance.com/ for sure although it is also fairly new--but the authors are at least previously publsihed and with large reputable presses. I suspect http://thewildrosepress.com would consider reprints and perhaps http://www.jasminejade.com/default.aspx?skinid=13 and Samhain on request -- they don't specify that reprints are excluded from consideration and I know all of them have at least some titles that were previously published by another publisher.

And that is just of the top of my head as someone who does not write the sweet sub-genre. Desert Breeze is most certainly mot the only option even based what little I know about the subject.

Just an FYI - Samhain will only consider re-issues if you are already one of their authors. In their guidelines they specify all works must be original if you are a new author to them. I don't know about The Wild Rose Press, though.

A quick Google of romance epublishers show Eternal and Swimming Kangaroo take sweet romance and specify that they do consider reprints.

My Cerridwen novel is a reprint. It's not sweet--there are a couple of fully consummated love scenes--but it's nowhere near the language/heat level of my EC work.

I was already an EC author when I submitted the book, so I can't say with authority that they consider reprints from new authors, but I'm pretty sure they do as long as you can prove the rights are yours again (with a letter or whatever you've been given.) And sales through Cerridwen are, in my experience anyway, pretty good.

Well I was going to ask a question that would make all of you laugh, but not now after the last post it wouldn't do me any good cause i don't have thr ights back yet to my book from Pa. But I am thinking about sending them a letter and asking for my rights back. Who do i address that to anyway? MIranda or Larry? My first book is hot and sexy but there isnt any vulgar remarks in it at all, its just hot and sexy. Would like it reprinted with another publsiher if i can get that. have to wrok on that option next week.

At the risk of sounding pessimistic, don't count on getting your rights back anytime soon. Some people have been lucky, but I've not heard anyone recently that's been able to get out of their contract early. The best you can do is continuing to send PA letters stating that you have no intention of selling or buying your book and that you want out, and write a new book in the meantime.

Wanda, why are you asking here about your PA contract, when you've been given answers to the same question over and over and OVER in the PA threads? This is a thread for an entirely different publisher, not for PA.

Wanda:

1) Practice writing
2) Write a whole new book.
3) Start sending it around to the very top places. Don't consider the brand-new start-up e-publishers until it's already been rejected by everyone else on earth.
4) Consider that it may not be worth publishing.
5) While steps 3 and 4 are going on, write a new book.
6) Repeat as necessary.

Please consider using your best grammar and spelling everywhere, always, from your shopping lists through your novels. Re-read and edit your messages here before pressing the 'post' button. Practice, practice, practice.

Desert Breeze is still in business. Interviews with the Editor-in-Chief/Owner here and here.

Congrats Deb! I would definitely send books for possible re-pub to them if they accepted novellas.

Deb Kinnard said:

You might want to pitch Gail a novella after June or so. I know she wants several novella collections for 2011.

May your work find favor!

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Thanks, good to know!

Deb Kinnard said:

Yes, they are most definitely in business and expanding. I'm pleased to say they picked up two of my reissues and a newer novel of mine comes out this April. Last week I signed a contract for a novella for next Christmas's anthology.

I'm very pleased with their level of professionalism, the quality of the covers and layout, and the instantaneous response to concerns. Sure, '09 was their start-up year but they're working assiduously in getting a higher profile online and making our books available through a steadily increasing number of sales portals. Several of our books have finalled in the EPIC award and I believe a DBP cover took first place there in the Ariana award.

In a word, color me happy.

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Are you still happy? How have sales been?

They say they do not accept simultaneous submissions, but they want 3 months to review your unsolicited submission. I've been looking at a ton of publishers recently. I have only concentrated on agents so far and now I'm branching out to small presses who take unagented subs. Nobody else I've seen is asking for exclusives on a first contact.

I can see if you send a query and they ask for an exclusive on a partial or a full request, but it's pretty tough to send them and only them your unsolicited manuscript and then wait for 12 weeks when there is a good chance they will read a few lines and pass. At least when an agent has requested a partial or full manuscript and asks for an exclusive, you know they have read your query, maybe a few pages and they are definitely interested in seeing more. Even then, out of all the partial and full requests I've gotten from agents, none of them asked for an exclusive either.

They definitely have strong emphasis on romance writing that is not explicit. That's actually what drew me to them. Explicit and erotic isn't my thing but I do like to flirt with the line.

I just can't see myself sending them my only submission for the next 3 months when there is a big list of other publishers who will look at unagented submissions and don't ask for that.