Enslow Publishing / Speeding Star / Chasing Roses

[Chris P]

There was recently a post in Paying Markets about Speeding Star, an imprint of Enslow Publishers, for short (5000 to 12,000 word) submissions.

Anybody know about them? Enslow seem to publish school books. For fiction, they have a handful of fantasy titles and a few more historical for different reading levels.

[triceretops]

No direct experience. But it's just kind of neat to see a publisher desirous of getting books in front of boy's faces. We need that more than ever today.

[mellymel]

I actually started to do a similar post here because of that thread and wanted to make sure it was legit before people start throwing their stuff out there. So, I did a little more searching (not as much as the others do here), but when I saw Enslow's home page and dug around a bit, they looked to be a fairly legit publisher in children's books, especially in the non-fiction areas. I'm pretty sure I've even seen/read some of them when I was teaching K and 1, but I'm not totally sure. Their site doesn't look like the typical publisher website, but I'm guessing they are competitors to Scholastic? Still, I'm not really sure as I couldn't find names of any editors (then again, I only dug on the surface, though how deep should I have to dig?).

And I agree with Tri that the idea of what they're calling for is wonderful, but I don't know how legit they really are. And it says specifically for the Speeding Star link that they do NOT want agented or represented authors. Why is that? Is it a middleman they'd rather not deal with or is there an ulterior motive?

[Undercover]

I was the one that posted that thread since I saw the message posted in the Verla Kay forums. Yes, Enslow is very legit. They are listed in the Book Markets for Children's Writers 2013. It says they've been around for over 30 years and they are now starting to expand to YA fiction.

And yes, I agree too, this is a grand idea for a publisher. I think the word count could be for stubborn readers, getting them more interested in reading.

[Chris P]

Originally Posted by mellymel

I actually started to do a similar post here because of that thread and wanted to make sure it was legit before people start throwing their stuff out there. So, I did a little more searching (not as much as the others do here), but when I saw Enslow's home page and dug around a bit, they looked to be a fairly legit publisher in children's books, especially in the non-fiction areas. I'm pretty sure I've even seen/read some of them when I was teaching K and 1, but I'm not totally sure. Their site doesn't look like the typical publisher website, but I'm guessing they are competitors to Scholastic? Still, I'm not really sure as I couldn't find names of any editors (then again, I only dug on the surface, though how deep should I have to dig?).

And I agree with Tri that the idea of what they're calling for is wonderful, but I don't know how legit they really are. And it says specifically for the Speeding Star link that they do NOT want agented or represented authors. Why is that? Is it a middleman they'd rather not deal with or is there an ulterior motive?

I got much the same impression you did, on many levels. The "Pirate Hannah Pritchard" novels actually look familiar, but kidlit is not my thing. The covers look attractive.

What had me a little leery is that they don't have many fiction titles, which makes me wonder how experienced they are with them. Based on their other products, I wonder if they sell directly to schools and libraries instead of bookstores? Does that make a difference in the royalties the author gets?

The "no agents" thing is curious, as publishers pay the same either way, and the agent gets a cut from the author's portion (unless I'm mistaken--I don't have an agent).

As for looking legit, there are several academic publishers that are actually POD or vanity presses.

But, getting books in the hands of preteen and teen boys is awesome! Lord knows I tried hard enough to get my kids to read. I have what might be a good fit for this market, but I want to see what others have said about it.

ETA: Thanks Undercover! I did see older references to them when I searched the forum, so I know they'd been around about ten years at least. Good to know they have a good reputation. Yes, I'm paranoid, but I'd rather look silly being paranoid now than relive my PA experience!

[Undercover]

No problem, I completely understand. This is what it says in the Children's Writers Book:

"Curriculum-based nonfiction books have been the specialty of this family-owned company for more than 30 years. It produces high-interest titles for school-age children and young adults in a wide range of subjects, for placement in schools and libraries. Its aim is to make books that are informative and appealing even to the most reluctant reader. The company is expanding its list to include YA fiction."

Fiction: Middle-grade, YA Genres. Historical fiction, sports fiction.

Nonfiction: Early readers, middle-grade, YA. Topics: Contemporary issues, health and drug education, history, government, holidays and customs, mathematics, science, technology, sports and recreation, biography

Submission and Payment: Catalogue available at website. Query with outline. Accepts hard copy. SASE Responds 1-6 months. Publication in 1 year. Royalty; advance.

Here's the Verla Kay link: http://www.verlakay.com/boards/index.php?topic=65831.0

[Chris P]

Originally Posted by Undercover

Here's the Verla Kay link: http://www.verlakay.com/boards/index.php?topic=65831.0

Thanks. It's asking me for a password. It autocompletes my username and password, but won't let me lot in and says there's no user associated with my email. No matter, though.

Side question, though: Are royalties for school and library sales the same as for bookstores? I seem to remember hearing they're not.

[Debbie V]

Here's the listing from the 2012 Market Survey done by the SCBWI. The indication is they do some work for hire as well as royalty based publishing.

Box 398, 40 Industrial Road
Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922-0398
(800) 398-2504 or (908) 771-9400; Fax: (908) 771-0925
www.enslow.com
PRESIDENT: Mark Enslow
VP & PUBLISHER: Brian Enslow
DESCRIPTION: Program of children’s and teen nonfiction and fiction offering approximately 200 titles a year, including elementary nonfiction imprint Enslow
Elementary. List is split equally between elementary and middle/high school levels. Interested in authors with specialized knowledge in high-interest topics for
reluctant readers and in elementary and teen fiction.
QUERY LETTERS: Preferred, with SASE
MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS: Accepting. Please indicate on query/cover letter.
UNSOLICITED MANUSCRIPTS: Accepting. Enclose SASE.
PAYMENT: Royalty and purchase outright
ARTWORK INTEREST: No
ARTWORK PAYMENT: Usually flat fee

[triceretops]

I can't quite figure out if they're open to YA fiction in the genres of fantasy, distopian and SF. Anybody know for certain about these genres and the chances? I know they're heavy into non-fiction topics. And for YA, I assume they're leaning toward contemporary.

Now, it appears like an advance paying pub house, no?

tri

ETA: Each title will be either 48, 64 or 96 pages, on topics ranging from zombie mysteries to profiles of today’s greatest sports stars.

Okie dokie. It looks like my work is too long, and possibly they're interested in male leads for the boy readership.

[Chris P]

Tri: Their fiction titles feature historical adventures (pirates and such) and the Brightstone Saga looks to be magical fantasy type. The Speeding Star call for manuscripts mentioned 5000 to 12,000 words. I assume these will be illustrated, although not a picture book.

http://www.enslow.com/displaytree.asp?Category=Fiction

When it says "royalty and purchase outright," I understand royalties, but does purchase outright mean they pay a flat rate once and that's it, like a work for hire? Is the "and" related to what the company does (sometimes royalties, sometimes purchase) or to any particular work (they purchase the manuscript and then pay royalties too--that seems strange they'd do both).

No reply yet on email asking if they would accept a themed short story collection, but it's only been a couple days.

[triceretops]

Chris, it sounds like a flat-fee payment, like a slick or small press mag would do.

[Chris P]

I tried submitting through their online form, and it will let me upload the manuscript but there is no "submit" button, so I don't know if they got it; there was no confirmation autoreply. The only email address I could find was for Customer Service. I sent a direct email over a week ago, and no reply yet. They have a toll-free number, but calling from Uganda isn't exactly toll free. Not sure how to follow up next. Burning the airtime might be worth it.

[EASchechter]

Has anyone heard anything about this publishing house?

[JulieB]

Is this them?

http://www.chasingroses.com

[Undercover]

Beginning in the spring of 2014? I would definitely wait and see how they do first.

[veinglory]

Planning to begin next year = possibly a good thing as they realize there is a lot of work to do.

[triceretops]

It does give them a lot of prep time. Hope they get it right.

[JDMorgan]

Planning ahead is a great start. But, it says their first publications will go live January 1st of 2014 so my question is, where are the first ones coming from? Maybe I missed it but I'd hope that with first books coming eleven months away they'd have to have guidelines, submissions, decisions on who, what, etc.
Proper editing takes time even on ebooks so one would think this process should be getting started soon wouldn't it?
I think I'll watch for this one as it adds to the fun of my boring bus trip to work to see a new pub's differences or improvements from those who came before it. To see what, if anything, the mistakes other publishers have made may change the structure and concepts behind a new start up.
Like watching a rose bloom perhaps.

[frimble3]

Maybe they are doing the sensible thing, of having a few books selected in advance, so that they'll have something to show people when they go live and start looking for submissions? I would imagine that if they have backgrounds in publishing, they have access to authors.
Or, it's all their own work?

[aliceshortcake]

I'm a bit confused by this:

Chasing Roses does almost everything but print the books! We contract with outside authors to write the books.
http://www.chasingroses.com/Company_Information.aspx

It sounds like work for hire, but this isn't borne out by the submissions info:

We will only consider complete manuscripts or collections of short stories between 50,000 and 100,000 words.
http://www.chasingroses.com/Manuscript_Upload.aspx

Is there much of a market for collections of short stories?

Editorial, production, marketing, warehousing, and shipping functions all come through the Berkeley Heights location, to ensure high standards and quality books for all customers.
http://www.chasingroses.com/Company_Information.aspx

Google Earth reveals the company's address to be a unit on an industrial estate, and the provision of "warehousing" suggests that it won't be a POD. However:

We will not consider submissions from agents or representatives
http://www.chasingroses.com/Manuscript_Upload.aspx

Is this a coded way of saying "we don't pay advances"?

Aha! CRP has the same PO box number and street address as Enslow Publishers Inc, a company specializing in K-12 non-fiction library books:

http://www.enslow.com/htmlnasp.asp?file=contact_us.html

From their website:

Enslow Publishers, Inc., does almost everything but print the books! Enslow Publishers, Inc., contracts with outside authors to write the books. Editorial, production, marketing, warehousing, and shipping functions are handled at the Berkeley Heights location, to ensure high standards and quality books for all customers.
http://www.enslow.com/htmlnasp.asp?f...pany_info.html

So that's where the confusing work-for-hire bit came from!

Chris Enslow, the parent company's Marketing Production Manager, has a 'Chasing Roses' blog but there's nothing on it yet.

The probable explanation for CRP's coyness about their association with a successful publisher of children's books:

We are open to various levels of sensuality from simply kisses to explicit, but will not consider erotica.
http://www.chasingroses.com/Manuscript_Upload.aspx

What's the difference between 'explicit' and 'erotica'?

[LaylahHunter]

Originally Posted by aliceshortcake

What's the difference between 'explicit' and 'erotica'?

I would guess they mean "we will take romance with explicit content, but we don't want erotica with no romance arc." It becomes a pretty granular field when one starts squinting at it.

[EASchechter]

Yes, that's the one. They've come soliciting at my RWA chapter, and I wanted to be sure they were legit before letting my members know about a potential new market.

[Chris P]

Interesting that Enslow would branch out so much from educational materials. The boys' fiction of Speeding Star makes some sense, but they were quite direct about the link between Speeding Star and Enslow. It seems Alice had to do some digging to find this out. Checking out their website, it's the same layout as Speeding Star, with the references to Enslow omitted. Not saying anything's amiss, just, strange to me.

By the way, still no word from Speeding Star, either acknowledging the submission or my email to Enslow's customer service going on two weeks now. I'm on the road for the next two weeks, or I'd call them. I'm sure the customer service number is going to have to get back to me but I'll be out of pocket.

[Chris P]

There. I decided to stop being a whining punk and called them. The customer service desk was very helpful and they will communicate with me over email since it's not a free call to them from here. I explained how nothing seemed to happen after the MS was uploaded, and they'll check it out. I'll keep you posted.

[Chris P]

Result! Got an email from Enslow saying the online form accepted my contact information, but not the manuscripts. They allowed me to send them the manuscript and other documents (synopsis, intended audience, and credits/bio) via email.