Kensington Publishing Corp. / Citadel / Pinnacle

They say "at least three months". That is optimistic. Four to six months seems to be standard.

There are several editors who list an interest in gay fiction, but looking at their most recent catalog, I don't see much. One book, and it's gay fiction, not what I was hoping for (m/m romance).

Does anyone know if they publish m/m romance, or just general fiction with gay characters and themes? If they DO publish m/m romance, can you give me a title or an author, to make my search easier?

Thanks for any help.

Got my rejection Saturday at about the 4-month mark.
It was a form letter, but kind of humorous.
They suggested I get an agent!

Just sent an equery to Ms. Fernandez. Any updates on response times?

Saw this on DearAuthor today:

http://dearauthor.com/argolinkroundups/monday-midday-links-publishers-weeklys-big-piece-on-romance/
Kensington is launching an epub imprint this July. Any more news on this?

Hmm. It'll be interesting to see how that develops. They've been sitting on a full of mine for almost a year.

Here's the eKensington site:

http://ekensingtonbooks.com/ekensington_index.html

I assume submissions go through normal Kensington channels since there isn't anything specific on this site...?

I can attest that submissions to their eKensington digital-first line go through normal Kensington channels.

Per their standard submission guidelines, I queried one of their editors via email, got a full request, and just today was cleared to announce that I now have a two-book ebook deal with eKensington.

Cool!

I'm still waiting on a response to a full I sent in last year....and now that I look, it seems that editor is no longer there. I should probably chase that 'script down.

Nice to know they're doing ebooks. Wish I wrote something in their purview.

Michael--I think one of the editors on the list accepts gay fiction and erotica. And their digital line may offer more flexibility.

Tiffany--good luck! And if it was Megan Records, yes, she's no longer there. I think it would be worth contacting one of their other editors and explaining your situation (especially if you still have the previous Editor's requesting email to forward to them).

Good luck!

ARoyce said:

I can attest that submissions to their eKensington digital-first line go through normal Kensington channels.

Per their standard submission guidelines, I queried one of their editors via email, got a full request, and just today was cleared to announce that I now have a two-book ebook deal with eKensington.

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Congratulations!!!!

ARoyce said:

Michael--I think one of the editors on the list accepts gay fiction and erotica. And their digital line may offer more flexibility.

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I checked out their gay titles and they're all contemporary. I don't write those. Like I said, it's too bad. Not every publisher wants the same things and I only write scifi/fantasy and paranormals.

Just a quick query...

Can anyone tell me if they still only accept paper based subs? I looked on the main Kensington site and it says emailed subs will be deleted...for a digital imprint? Is that still the case?

Cheers!

If you read further on their guidelines page, they accept queries via email. Then, if they decide they want to see the manuscript based on the query, they'll request material. So, yes, they won't accept an unsolicited manuscript submission via email--while they skip the query step for paper subs.

ARoyce said:

If you read further on their guidelines page, they accept queries via email. Then, if they decide they want to see the manuscript based on the query, they'll request material. So, yes, they won't accept an unsolicited manuscript submission via email--while they skip the query step for paper subs.

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Thanks so much ARoyce - I thought I had read all the information and missed this somewhere along the way

Kensington Timetable Question

So long story short I sent a query to Kensington last June and got a response to see the entire manuscript which I gladly sent.
I hadn't heard anything back for months so in December I sent an email asking about the status.
Surprisingly I got a response saying they were swamped with contracted work and that rest assured that when they read my manuscript they would get back to me.
I haven't heard anything since. Should I assume they passed or that they still haven't had a chance to get to it?

CynV said:

So long story short I sent a query to Kensington last June and got a response to see the entire manuscript which I gladly sent.
I hadn't heard anything back for months so in December I sent an email asking about the status.
Surprisingly I got a response saying they were swamped with contracted work and that rest assured that when they read my manuscript they would get back to me.
I haven't heard anything since. Should I assume they passed or that they still haven't had a chance to get to it?

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Wish I had an answer for this one. I've experienced a general lack of response from ALL publishers in the last year, and it's really got me stumped. The very few answers that I've received after nudging has indicated that slots are filled for this year and even into the next, in come cases. I couldn't tell if publishers are hitting the delete key more often than usually, but it sure seems like it.

tri

Zebra/Kensington

2 of my suspense novels- "Listen to the Shadows" and "Nowhere to Hide", were published by Zebra/Kensington NY and I found them just great to work with. The books eventually went out of print and are now available as both ebooks and in print from amazon.com My point being that they didn't go into a second printing though they sold through - 40,000 copies. It's not easy out there, as we all know.

Joan

ARoyce said:

If you read further on their guidelines page, they accept queries via email. Then, if they decide they want to see the manuscript based on the query, they'll request material. So, yes, they won't accept an unsolicited manuscript submission via email--while they skip the query step for paper subs.

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It actually seems like they are saying you can submit by email but to their head editor but that if you do your book will only be considered for their digital imprint? It's confusing.
They should do away with all that and just have an online form for both digital and (possible) print. That is what a lot of other NY publishers are doing now. The have an online form for their unagented submissions to eliminate their fear of getting viruses via attachments.

joanhallhovey said:

2 of my suspense novels- "Listen to the Shadows" and "Nowhere to Hide", were published by Zebra/Kensington NY and I found them just great to work with. The books eventually went out of print and are now available as both ebooks and in print from amazon.com My point being that they didn't go into a second printing though they sold through - 40,000 copies. It's not easy out there, as we all know.

Joan

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So are they now available from Amazon as POD?

any new news on this press? I sent something last august, got a reply back this september (that's more than a year) for the first 3 chapters. I sent that in along with a simple request for the receipt of those chapters, and have heard nothing else.

From what I've read, they only respond to queries they're interested in. However, I'm passed that point, since they responded to my query. But now it's a no response to my requested material.

A lot of publishers and agents guidelines now say if you don't get a response within -8-16 weeks it's a rejection by silence. So yeah after 12 weeks give a nudge and after 16 weeks I'd say stop hoping. They are a very solid well known publisher.

gingerwoman said:

They are a very solid well known publisher.

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First: a big thank-you for this response! Second: You confirming to me that they are solid and well-known is why I've refused to give up hope despite the time that has passed.

I did nudge last week but haven't gotten anything. The part that I find weird: a year passed between original query and the request. I guess my question is specifically for those who managed to reach the request stage: what was your experience after that??

I have two historical romances published (well, one published, one in production for 2014 release) by eKensington, Kensington's digital first line, but I suspect my timeline was rather atypical (perhaps because it was considered for digital first). I sent a direct query to Kensington in August of 2012, got a full request within 2 wks, and got a two-book offer within a month.

If you check querytracker.net for Kensington Publishing, specifically the Comments tab, you can see what their responses rate is like. Another author who got a book deal from them (for print) around the same time I did had actually been under consideration for much longer than I.

Plus, last year I think one of their editors was on maternity leave and then ended up not returning so that affected their responses and their schedules a bit.

Good luck!