Carina Press

Susan Gable said:

Thanks. (Your check is in the mail. <G>)

And if you liked it, then that hero's brother book is available on eHarlequin now (in print or ebook) and everywhere else next month. <G>

Susan G.

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Ha! I will look for it. I liked the last one, so I will buy this one.

scarletpeaches said:

I know very few writers whose work I enjoy, who would get away with fewer than 700 words a day. Good writers who aim to build a readership have sure as hell got to keep their presence current or they'll be forgotten. 700 words a day is, what, a book every four or five months? That's easily doable.

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I never meant to imply that writing 35 books in 5 years is impossible. It's certainly feasible, especially if you define book in this case as a novella or novelette--more like a long short story than a full-blown novel.

All I meant to point out is that most writers can't manage that sort of schedule. It's also clear from the post linked to earlier that the author doesn't just write like crazy, she also promotes herself full-time--something not all of us would be able to do even if we wanted to. In other words, no matter how fast you are or how good your writing, there are other elements that go into success.

It's also (again) a matter of genre. I could write 35 SF or fantasy novelettes, and even if they were remarkable little gems, I'd be lucky to unload even a few of them. There simply isn't the kind of emarket for other genres as there is for erotica and romance. I wish there were!

Which brings me back (in a fairly wide loop) to Carina. I'm glad to hear that they're actively interested in publishing non-romance genres. For one thing, I've got a Sony Reader and I like to order from small publishers whenever I can find something worth reading.

Good point about the market for other genres. The overwhelming majority of ebooks are erotic romance.

(I've got the Sony ereader Touch. Love that damn thing. Wonder how I ever managed without it. I've read maybe 2 print books since I got it four months ago and around 60 ebooks).

Yeah, I didn't think there'd be a big ol' H on that site.

I see a couple titles I would read, except they're not in the ebook formats I like. They limit their formats to only ePUB & PDF. I prefer eReader or Mobi, but I guess I can convert to Stanza for my iPhone. Plus, I didn't see anywhere that indicates the size of the book, i.e. novella vs. novel, etc. This is a pet peeve of mine...as I like my adult novels over 80K and rarely read shorter works.

I like the "presale" option so I can see what books are coming in the next couple weeks. Love their covers! All in all, I'll be watching them.

Wow, I love their covers.

Do wish we had page counts on these, though.

I'm another one who really wants to see page counts.

I'm discouraged that the one entry they have under fantasy is actually paranormal romance. I was hoping to find something new to download and read tomorrow (when I'll actually have tons of down time to read, I hope!). I'm hoping they don't actually think this paranormal romance is a real fantasy; it's pretty obvious that it's a romance with paranormal elements, not the other way round.

Same for the three books listed under SF. Two are erotica and one's romance.

I hope they broaden their selection of genres pretty soon. Then again, it sounds like this may not be a good source for someone looking for SF/F and not romance--I mean, they are an imprint (eprint?) of Harlequin. That should tip me off right there.

I saw on the Carina blog that they will be adding more to the site--book length, sample chapters etc, Browse-the-Book (sounds interesting) and another format PRC (no idea what that means). And there is no "H" on the website--but I don't really care.

Though, I would really like to see some fantasy (aka epic/high with or without romance is fine). Angela posted somewhere that they are looking for other genres --there just hasn't been as many submissions fitting the requirements.

I shall wait and see. And hope.

Larkin said:

I saw on the Carina blog that they will be adding more to the site--book length, sample chapters etc, Browse-the-Book (sounds interesting) and another format PRC (no idea what that means). And there is no "H" on the website--but I don't really care.

Though, I would really like to see some fantasy (aka epic/high with or without romance is fine). Angela posted somewhere that they are looking for other genres --there just hasn't been as many submissions fitting the requirements.

I shall wait and see. And hope.

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Good to hear about the web additions! PRC is the Mobipocket format. There's no "H" but the copyright on the bottom of the page is Harlequin. I just got their newsletter and it comes from an eHarlequin address.

I'd also love to see some epic fantasy. I prefer mine with a bit of romance!

Good to know. I'm not up on all the different digital formats. And I still haven't signed up for the newletter. I should join just to see what it looks like.

Erin said:

There's no "H" but the copyright on the bottom of the page is Harlequin.

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This is something a writer scoping out a new publisher might notice, but the average reader perusing those new-fangled things called electronic books is not going to know that they're looking at a Harlequin product.

The branding is missing.

jennontheisland said:

This is something a writer scoping out a new publisher might notice, but the average reader perusing those new-fangled things called electronic books is not going to know that they're looking at a Harlequin product.

The branding is missing.

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I agree, the Harlequin branding is lacking! I just happen to work with intellectual property and I'm always cognizant of the small legal print.

Correct me (please!) if I'm wrong, but didn't they leave the "H" branding off Carina and Dellarte on purpose? Last I heard, RWA still doesn't consider a sale to Carina a legit sale because there's no print book.

It may not fall lunder the RWA "this one counts", but Carina doesn't fall under the 'this is a vanity as DelArte does.

The H branding was never on Carina, only on DellArte.

I don't know how RWA views Carina, but since they've separated the lines of Harlequin in order to keep the company in good standing despite its vanity line, they will be able to treat Carina however they see fit without affecting the rest of the company's status.

I always assumed (and probably wrongly) that they didn't attach the "H" logo for a few reasons:

1. Not to compete with themselves. This way Harlequin can still have their romances in print and the ebooks they have on their site. (Unless this has changed.)

2. To make a dent in more markets. So they can experiment a little more with the Carina Press imprints than what they are know for. If they succeed, then they have success on two front. If it doesn't go well, they don't have to worry about the "H" being associated with Carina. They can distance themselves.

3. They figure they don't need to use the brand to draw people to Carina whereas there was controversy over using the H for DellArte since that WAS to specifically attract people to the brand.

Just some of my thoughts. I don't claim to be right.

I think (and it's just my own humble opinion) that Harlequin is looking for new readers who might never pick up a Harlequin in a book store (and who might very well be turned off upon seeing "Harlequin" as publisher.) I'm thinking particularly how Carina is offering m/m ebooks, but it's not something that Harlequin would ever do in their normal lines.

ccbridges said:

I think (and it's just my own humble opinion) that Harlequin is looking for new readers who might never pick up a Harlequin in a book store (and who might very well be turned off upon seeing "Harlequin" as publisher.) I'm thinking particularly how Carina is offering m/m ebooks, but it's not something that Harlequin would ever do in their normal lines.

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Right, I also meant to add that but I forgot.

I'll be curious to see how it goes. What kinds of trends they find, etc.

Carina Press response times. (merged with BR&BC thread)

I'm confused. (and sometimes it doesn't take much to make me that way.)


Taken from Carina Press submission guideline page:


All submissions will receive an auto-response acknowledging receipt of submission. Please allow 12-16 weeks for an editorial response to your submission. If a response has not been received after 10 weeks, please follow-up with the [email protected] email address.


.....So a response may take 12-16 weeks, but follow up after 10?


I sent in my submission back in early april and got the auto-response saying there was a 8-10 week wait. Okay, fine. But with Carina going live this month I assume they got waaay behind on their submissions.

My question: should I send another email or just wait? I don't want to come across as a pest.

The response time is slowly becoming longer...I know someone who subbed in the early days and heard back after 3 weeks. I subbed a few months ago and heard back in 6 weeks. A friend who subbed a few weeks ago was informed it would be 16 weeks.

It looks like the FAQ hasn't been updated in all the right places.

You wouldn't be a pest to send a polite follow-up email, especially since your response letter said 10 weeks. I say go for it.

Hi and thanks, that's good to know.


Though, I'm a wimp. I'll probably just sit back and wait.

Also, it's a 104K epic fantasy romance...so they might pick the shorter submissions first. (faster reading. I don't blame them either. Carina's editors must be pretty crazy busy with that schedule.)

Anyways, I'll go do some more writing while I wait.

As an ecstatic new Carina author, I couldn't resist commenting on a couple of points. In no particular order:

> I write urban fantasies that average 100,000 up to 111,000 (and I'm a traditionally published nonfiction author)

> Courtesy of years of classical piano (which I hated -- thanks a lot, Mom), I type ferociously fast (108 wpm with 99% accuracy), which translates to six books written in 18 months.

It took some time to settle on a process for writing, editing, and submitting. But I have one now that works well for me (and have broken my family into accepting that I write every day, without fail). Sometimes, this means writing in-between family activities and well into the wee hours. But it allows me to focus on writing and not the HOW of writing, if you see what I mean.

- Elise

Larkin said:

I'm confused. (and sometimes it doesn't take much to make me that way.)


Taken from Carina Press submission guideline page:


All submissions will receive an auto-response acknowledging receipt of submission. Please allow 12-16 weeks for an editorial response to your submission. If a response has not been received after 10 weeks, please follow-up with the [email protected] email address.


.....So a response may take 12-16 weeks, but follow up after 10?


I sent in my submission back in early april and got the auto-response saying there was a 8-10 week wait. Okay, fine. But with Carina going live this month I assume they got waaay behind on their submissions.

My question: should I send another email or just wait? I don't want to come across as a pest.

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I think the initial response time was 8-10 weeks, so it looks like they just forgot to change the # in the next sentence. Probably should read follow up after 12 weeks.

mscelina said:

I just wanted to throw in a comment here. I met Angela James at the RT convention, and not only was she extremely nice and very helpful in the workshops she participated in on panel, but she was personable and kind and everyone I spoke to about her had extremely positive things to say. There was a great deal of interest at RT in Carina Press (their publisher spotlight was right after ours) and I, for one, think that Carina would be a good direction for some writers to go in if the press meets their specific and personal goals. Angela was highly respected as an editor before she went to Carina, and her sterling reputation gave Carina a lot of credibility right from the get go.

I have a feeling that Angela would be more than willing to address any issues or questions about Carina Press should anyone wish to field them. Just my two cents' worth--take it for what it's worth.

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Wow. What a lovely compliment. Thank you.

I apologize for not reading this thread and responding to some of the conversation earlier. I didn't realize there had been new posts to the thread. I need to learn to check the thread itself rather than depending on email notification.

First, since it's most recent: yes, the response time has increased. By August I hope to have brought on 3-5 new freelance editors (in addition to the 10 we currently have) and decrease the response time again. Thanks for pointing out I flubbed when I updated the FAQ/submissions page. We're working on updating the FAQ page to include consumer-specific questions and answers, so the entire page will be updated in the next month.

Genre: We did launch with a large number of romance versus non-romance books. Going forward, you'll continue to see a high percentage of romance but we're steadily acquiring a number of non-romance books including science fiction, fantasy, thriller, women's fiction and mystery. We're also going to be doing a lot more focused marketing towards some of these markets of readers and authors in the coming year. One of the things that's wonderful about the editors we have is that they truly read across genres. For every genre, we have at least 2 editors who are actively interested in acquiring it.

Bookstore: It's a work in progress. Some of the things on the list of features to add include wishlists, word count, browse inside the book and potentially prc (mobi) format.

I'm sorry if I missed a question or concern. Please let me know if there's anything else I can answer.