[Publisher] Avalon Books

Have not heard of them before but they seem to lean heavily on supplying their books to Librarys. There isn't any mention of national or international distribution and ominously for a New York 'commercial publisher' they only mention on line availability through Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Not sure whether you have read their submission guidelines but they are also pretty strict, not just on the format of novel submissions (40k - 70k, Western, Romance mainly), but they are a good old 'wholesome' publisher according to their web page, meaning, no cursing, limited mention of alcohol and no 'sexy writing'!

They also accept unagented submissions, again, in these times, that is unusual for a New York Publishing House.

There are small things which set off alarm bells about this one, not that I'm saying they are not legitimate, but rather they may not be the kind of publisher most serious author considering writing novels full time - dare I say for a living - with ambitions of 'best seller' list should consider.

Unless of course you write 'wholesome' novels.

I know a writer who has written a few books for them. They are indeed "wholesome" (or boring, depending on your mindset). Mick is correct that they do sell mostly to libraries. If memory serves they only do hardcover (I could be wrong about that one though...it's been a while.)

From what the writer said, they seem to take an extraordinarily long time to get back to their authors (as in taking two years getting back to an author they've published before). Still, she seems relatively happy with them.

If you want to see your book in libraries, they might be for you. If you're looking to build a career outside of libraries, I'm not so sure.

Someone on the Romance/Women's Fiction board JUST sold to Avalon. (in the Who's Sold? thread) Maybe you should IM her....

I sold a book to Avalon yesterday. Unagented, it was 8 months from submission to acceptance. I had 3 chapters at Avon for a year before they deigned to get back to my agent. I thought this was good.

No, you won't be a bestseller but library sales can be strong. I have a friend who writes for Harlequin and she never makes more $ than her advance. Her books are available in stores for 1 month then they're pulped. My library gets new Avalon books every month and they're in the stacks. People read them.

Again, I think this is good.

We submitted a western to them some time ago. They rejected it saying that the language was offensive. The only expression that was stronger than "dang" was "son-of-a-bitch." That was too strong for them. There were two drinking scenes, both comical. Not for them. Yes, they are very conservative, but very legit.

Completely legit. Like Five Star, their focus in on selling to libraries, not in bookstores. And what everyone else has said about the rigor of their requirements vis-a-vis language and situations: no sex, no drink, no cussing, no playing cards.

IceCreamEmpress said:

Completely legit. Like Five Star, their focus in on selling to libraries, not in bookstores. And what everyone else has said about the rigor of their requirements vis-a-vis language and situations: no sex, no drink, no cussing, no playing cards.

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IceCreamEmpress,

Five star? You're either legitimate or you're not. Carrying out the basic job of being a publisher shouldn't be a star rating system.

I worry about publishers like this. The attention to library sales was the first warning bell to me that we were not dealing with a publisher who is grounded in the world the rest of us live in. I take my hat off to them that they have identified a market and genres of books which work for them. But IMHO, I can't shake off a feeling of uneasiness about their approach to what they publish and how they see the world we all live in.

MickRooney said:

Five star? You're either legitimate or you're not. Carrying out the basic job of being a publisher shouldn't be a star rating system...

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Fivestar is a publisher ICE is comparing Avon to, Mick. She's not creating a new rating system.

Five Star sells hardcovers. I've seen a couple and they're rather nice--nothing terribly fancy, but adequate. Five Star's advances, like Avalon's, are said to be modest. Word lately is that they're scuttling their suspense line and focusing on romance.

Giant Baby said:

Fivestar is a publisher ICE is comparing Avon to, Mick. She's not creating a new rating system.

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Doh! The caps on Five Star should have given that away!

Avalon Books

Hello! I'm considering sending my novel (historical western) to Avalon. I've done the basic research (read the website guidelines, become familiar with what they publish) but I'd really like some further information.

Has anyone on here dealt with them? Have you considered sending something to them?

Any help would be very appreciated!

A friend sold a couple books to them, including a western romance. She enjoyed the experience, although, admittedly, it was quite a few years ago, so I don't know anyone with really recent experience there.

I've submitted to them (although obviously under a different name, since they publish sweet stuff exclusively). Got close to acceptance once, and then the editor who loved me left, and the incoming editor wasn't impressed by the story. Sigh.

JD

Thank you! This is very helpful!

They recently went through an editor change, so it may be longer than usual. I haven't subbed in a couple years, but when I did, the initial response was pretty quick -- a few weeks, no more than two months, once as short as a week. I've heard that they're significantly backlogged reading the requested full manuscripts.

JD

One of my former critique group colleagues had two books released by Avalon. They were both sweet, fast-paced romances, but I would have liked to see the distribution a little wider than Amazon and libraries.

I think it's a good credit if looking for an agent with the next book.

Avalon Books

Does anyone know how to contact Avalon Books? I tried Email but it keeps getting bounced back, I tried snail mail but they haven't gotten back to me that way either... I know they aren't accepting email submissions anymore but does anyone have a valid email address?
Thanks

Avalon Sold to Amazon?

Via "The Passive Voice" today:

link here

Very interesting development....(scroll down in the comments section for a letter of explanation, from Avalon's owner).

Amazon/Avalon

Read on the news yesterday that Amazon bought out Avalon Books. I wonder how it will impact Avalon's authors?

Carlene

I wonder if Amazon will take new submissions and if they can include sex and cussin'?

I suppose they'll get whatever you get for backlist royalties, if Amazon finds them all. It did seem from the Passive Voice that Avalon didn't know where their authors were. That seems odd when Avalon continued to hold the rights to their books. They must have been positive there would be no more royalties paid -- ever.

I saw this today too. An interesting development. Will Amazon retain the Avalon name, I wonder? Yeah, now I'll send them some raunchy stuff and see how it flies.

tri