Masquerade Books

[Yami Dragon]

Anyone know anything about them? They're in NY. They claim to be "the world's largest publisher of erotica".

I email queried them and they were quick to get back to me. The told me to send in an outline and sample chapter.

They were a new listing in the 1999 Writer's Market.

Thanks in advance for any info!

 

[James D. Macdonald]

They're still in business?

Their contract is a "do with me as you will!" type contract that allows them to do anything at all to your book, up to and including having an anonymous hack totally re-write it over the weekend. Their advances are in the mid-three figures, and their commitment to actually paying any royalties due is ... spotty.

Other than that, it may well be true that they're the largest supplier of print porn in the world.

 

[Yami Dragon]

Wow. thanks for the info. one thing I do NOT want is someone butchering my work. I'd rather not publish it at all!

 

[MartyKay]

"You wanna write about <censored>ing, we wanna <censored> with your writing!!!"

 

[Yami Dragon]

That's the last thing I want. *shakes head* And to be honest, I think they can probably get away with it because there's so much bad porn out there disgusied as erotica. Anyone with a decent imagination can slap together bad porn. And all they want is to see their name in print.

Sorry, not this chick.

 

[HapiSofi]

Masquerade Books? The house whose publisher has repeatedly been heard to say that there's no such thing as a copyright on smut? Who hires underpaid and vaguely qualified freelancers to interpolate new and improved sex scenes, if he doesn't like the ones the author wrote?

Run away. Nobody needs that kind of aggravation.

 

[Yami Dragon]

Oh, crud. Thanks, everyone. You saved me on this one!

 

[CaoPaux]

Just for closure: Masquerade Books, Inc. went under late 2000.

 

[James D. Macdonald]

How is it that the OP queried them in 2006 and they got back quickly? Different company? Different name?

 

[CaoPaux]

Hard to say. The only recent titles under that name are a couple early 2006 by "Blue Moon/Masquerade". One review mentions Blue Moon Books reprinting Masquerade titles.

Blue Moon Books, formerly of Avalon, was to be picked up by Skull Press, but that fell through and they disbanded late 2006. http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=47472