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Dreamspinner Press

Fallen

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If it helps, I used to edit for DP up until a few weeks back. All work goes through a senior editor who monitors the editors' progress. So although a novel can be passed between two or three editors, it's still goes back to the Senior Editor to be evaluated at each stage. With the edits I've done, any recommendations I had would be addressed by the author and then checked by the next editor. One novel won't see the same editor again, but an author who has a series etc will usually stay with the same set of editors who are familiar with their style. Or, as a contracted editor, that's how I saw work handled.

There's a lot of paperwork with the edits, with detailed notes passed between editor and editor. I'd give the script two sweeps before passing it on: an intial read with minor notes, then a major edit after I was familiar with the novel.

The constant monitoring allows the Senior Editors to keep a track on editor quality. It does give you a big brother feel (as an editor), but I can understand the need to not let quality slip over a couple of novels before anyone notices.
 

MumblingSage

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If it helps, I used to edit for DP up until a few weeks back. All work goes through a senior editor who monitors the editors' progress. So although a novel can be passed between two or three editors, it's still goes back to the Senior Editor to be evaluated at each stage. With the edits I've done, any recommendations I had would be addressed by the author and then checked by the next editor. One novel won't see the same editor again, but an author who has a series etc will usually stay with the same set of editors who are familiar with their style. Or, as a contracted editor, that's how I saw work handled.

There's a lot of paperwork with the edits, with detailed notes passed between editor and editor. I'd give the script two sweeps before passing it on: an intial read with minor notes, then a major edit after I was familiar with the novel.

The constant monitoring allows the Senior Editors to keep a track on editor quality. It does give you a big brother feel (as an editor), but I can understand the need to not let quality slip over a couple of novels before anyone notices.

As an author for DP I didn't know about the Senior Editors, but the multiple passes with different editors, plus the high detail of each pass, was true of my experience as well.
 

WriterInChains

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Edits have been very professional and suggest alterations rather than making them in the editor's own voice as other publishers I've encountered do.

The preliminary cover art is almost totally spot on, a few tweaks are in the works that should make it perfect.

So far I'm very happy with my experiences here, and that's saying a lot since I'm rather picky.

This has been my experience too. I wasn't sure what to expect from the process but the editors I worked with were all fantastic. If a proposed change was something more than punctuation or mechanics, sometimes I just got a note outlining the change they wanted to see or a "clarify this concept" type of thing. And it tickled me to see Track Change bubbles with things like "lol" or "great passage".

Plus, I didn't have to write my own blurb! I'm horrible at those but the gal I worked with on mine is definitely not. I do miss the opportunity to sub directly to an editor I know but so far it seems like a fair trade (even if I am almost 6 weeks into my second sub wait-time--who needs fingernails, right?!).

And the cover art--that process was amazing! Both the art director and the artist I have to thank for this gorgeous cover were great to work with. They took my suggestions and comments and made something better than I could've come up with in a million years.
 

Fae Sutherland

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Just a bit of info I thought was worth sharing. I know lots of writers worry about the reversion process with publishers, what happens when they take stuff out of print, how easy is it to get your rights back etc should you want to repub the story after the contract ends, stuff like that.

I'm pretty pleased with how Dreamspinner handles it. I had actually forgotten that an old short story (my very first published story, actually) included in one of their anthologies was reaching the end of its contract life. Then last week I got an email from Dreamspinner notifying me of the fact and letting me know they'd be taking the anthology out of print and relinquishing my rights. They explained what that meant, how long it'd take for vendors to remove it etc. Then four days later or so I got an edocument to sign to officialize the relinquishment of rights back to me, I followed the simple instructions and literally two minutes later I had the signed document in my email to print and file and that's that.

I've had to try and get rights back from other publishers before and it's been an absolute nightmare of epic proportions. This was really easy, really professional and no hassle whatsoever. So kudos to DSP for how they handle the tail end of a working relationship, not just the beginning and middle.
 

MumblingSage

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Just a bit of info I thought was worth sharing. I know lots of writers worry about the reversion process with publishers, what happens when they take stuff out of print, how easy is it to get your rights back etc should you want to repub the story after the contract ends, stuff like that.

I'm pretty pleased with how Dreamspinner handles it. I had actually forgotten that an old short story (my very first published story, actually) included in one of their anthologies was reaching the end of its contract life. Then last week I got an email from Dreamspinner notifying me of the fact and letting me know they'd be taking the anthology out of print and relinquishing my rights. They explained what that meant, how long it'd take for vendors to remove it etc. Then four days later or so I got an edocument to sign to officialize the relinquishment of rights back to me, I followed the simple instructions and literally two minutes later I had the signed document in my email to print and file and that's that.

I've had to try and get rights back from other publishers before and it's been an absolute nightmare of epic proportions. This was really easy, really professional and no hassle whatsoever. So kudos to DSP for how they handle the tail end of a working relationship, not just the beginning and middle.

That's good to know! I don't plan to ending my relationship with Dreamspinner anytime soon, but knowing it's the matter of a few emails and good ol' Docusign makes me feel better.

Actually, this reminds me of something I was going to ask here for other Dreamspinner authors--has the length of their contract extended recently? My first 2 stories with them were for a 3 year intial period (to renewed monthly thereafter; neither of them has reached the end of the initial period yet, though) and the most recent contract has been for 5 years. If anything, I'm pleased with the longer term, but I'm not sure what significance it has, if any. Perhaps I'm overthinking.
 

DahlELama

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I used to copy edit for DSP, and I can definitely confirm that it goes through multiple phases on that front - two passes plus a proofread. And yes, it very much depends on the state of the manuscript; I've gotten ones that were incredibly clean (blows kiss at Captcha) and ones that literally required corrections in every paragraph. We CEs definitely want to believe we're perfect but sometimes it's just impossible to get them all when there are that many! I can't speak to the depth of the developmental editing, but on a copyediting level, they definitely put manuscripts through the full monty.
 

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Actually, this reminds me of something I was going to ask here for other Dreamspinner authors--has the length of their contract extended recently? My first 2 stories with them were for a 3 year intial period (to renewed monthly thereafter; neither of them has reached the end of the initial period yet, though) and the most recent contract has been for 5 years. If anything, I'm pleased with the longer term, but I'm not sure what significance it has, if any. Perhaps I'm overthinking.

I could be wrong, but I think they shifted to 5 years when they started expanding to foreign markets and audio books - I guess if they're going to put the effort into translating/recording them, they want to be sure they have the rights long enough for their investment to pay off.

(I don't know this for sure, I just know that I had a few books on 3-year contracts and they contacted me and said they wanted to do translations but would need me to sign a new, 5-year contract).
 

KimJo

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I have one title with Dreamspinner, and my first title with their young adult imprint Harmony Ink Press comes out tomorrow. I have to say (and may have said earlier in this thread) how impressed I am with their editing and the promotion/marketing they do on behalf of their authors. I'm not a hundred percent sure on bookstore placement, but the Boston Public Library has several Harmony Ink books in their YA section, and my book has been getting buzz and pre-orders for at least a month now.
 

WriterInChains

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I think their contract terms depend on the category the story fits into. The initial contract period for my novella is 5 years, but my short story for the Christmas anthology is for 3.

At this point I can see just letting both auto-renew; the whole DsP team has been wonderful to work with, even during the hectic summer months.

I have to echo KimJo--pre-order availability is wonderful (i had a pre-order link a month in advance) and they have the contacts to get reviews, even for an unknown like me. I had a couple of reviews before my publication date and was surprised by the number of reviewers who chose to read/review my book because DsP made it available to them. I plan to do a lot more to promote my fall release, now that i know the ropes a little better.
 

c.m.n.

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I know I'm late, but thank you all for answering about editing at DsP.

I'm about 6 weeks in with a submission, so crossing fingers (and toes).
 

KimJo

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I have one novella with Dreamspinner, which came out in July 2012, and they recently contracted a novel with me that's due out July-ish of this year. I also have a novel with their YA imprint, Harmony Ink (hey, mods, can we add Harmony Ink to the thread title, maybe?) and recently submitted my second to that imprint.

I've been VERY impressed with the process. Editing is smooth. While there isn't always an editing relationship like other houses have (in other words, authors are not assigned a specific editor who's always their editor), communication is always open with editors, promotions folks, and even the owner of the company. The promotions they provide are among the best I've experienced; they promote their books *and* create opportunities for authors to do so. And the promo folks are open to brainstorming with individual authors to get a solid promo plan down.

Royalties are paid quarterly, always on time, and statements are provided. (Which sounds like it should be obvious, but I know of a few publishers that don't give royalty statements...)

I'm not sure about their print program for the Dreamspinner adult M/M titles. For Harmony Ink titles, they have library distribution (I found a few Harmony titles in the Boston Public Library) and try to make print books available. Because the Harmony Ink titles are exclusively GLBTQ, the folks running the show are doing everything they can to make those books AVAILABLE--as in, in sight on shelves--to GLBTQ teens.

So yeah...can you tell I recommend these guys? ;)
 
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ccbridges

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I have a book coming out with Dreamspinner in March and I have to say I have been very impressed with the editing process. Also I love my cover. (I have to go add it to my signature ASAP:)
 

Becky Black

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I've just sold a short for an anthology to Dreamspinner and today had an email with a detailed breakdown of what to expect of the editing and general pre-publication process and rough timings of when the various stages should be completed.

I've got experience of the editing process at other publishers, but it's still good to get the details of exactly how this individual publisher does it. And it would be very useful for anyone who's just sold their first ever story and is wondering "what happens now?"
 

Jamiekswriter

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I've heard such good things about this publisher. I had the chance to speak with them at the BEA booth last year. They were enthusiastic about all their authors and eager to put books in our hands.
 

JulesJones

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Just sold a short story for a flat fee (probably to the same anthology as Becky Black), and received payment within two days of returning the signed contract. I'd also note that I was notified that the story had been accepted within a few days of the anthology closing to submissions.
 

VanessaNorth

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Just sold a short story for a flat fee (probably to the same anthology as Becky Black), and received payment within two days of returning the signed contract. I'd also note that I was notified that the story had been accepted within a few days of the anthology closing to submissions.

Wait... The anthologies aren't royalty based?
 

JulesJones

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Multi-author short story anthologies are flat fee based on length, and it states that in the submission guidelines.
 

WriterInChains

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One of my stories was included in the 2013 Advent Calendar and those are also available separately (ebook only as far as I know). Rights are secured with a flat fee payment; royalties are paid on the copies sold separately.

My payments from Dreamspinner have always arrived within a day or two after signing a contract or receiving a statement. :D
 

JulesJones

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It doesn't explicitly state in the guidelines what the rate is, but I thought from the size of the advance for novels and novellas that it would probably be about 1c/word. Which it was, to the first approximation. Not mentioned in the guidelines, but in the contract, were two print copies of the anthology. So low end of semi-pro by sf&f standards, and in line with the US-published print erotica anthologies I occasionally submit to. (UK ones tend to be 1p/word.)

(FX rummages: ah, SFWA is still using 5c/word for minimum level to be considered pro.)