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Flame Tree Publishing / Flame Tree 451
- Thread starter az shea
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Those are in high regard, so that's a pretty good sign. My agent also knows how to get into a small or independent and really work the contract and pull an advance. I trust Publisher's Marketplace. I wish I could afford the premium edition.
When their guidelines say they want a "synopsis of no more than 3 paragraphs," does that mean an actual beginning-to-end synopsis, or the normal sort of description that would be in a query letter?
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Just to chime in on them, I've tried to get in a couple of their anthologies, but didn't make the cut. But because they were on my radar for subs, I noticed a number of their previous/current-at-the-time anthologies were on an endcap at B&N-- their covers stand out, and I was impressed to not only see them in a physical store, but also not just jammed on a random shelf somewhere.
My new agent is working out the details of their offer now. I hope. I'll report back when I hear something...
Good for you, mafiaking. I hope you snag a favorable contract. I just asked my agent to give them a shot with an urban fantasy/crime crossover. Hope it gets an eye.
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Just to chime in, in case anyone is still worried about their legitimacy, one of my agent's other clients just had a book come out with Flame Tree back in January, so while they're not Big Five, they're not a scam publisher either.
I submitted to them back in February, and their confirmation email didn't mention a time frame. If it's been over 90 days, would a quick email be appropriate to check on status? Has anyone had any dealings with them to report back a general response time?
Hi, according my 'rejections.xls' spreadsheet, I submitted my MS in October and received an offer in January, with no other communications in between. I know the acquisition editor was away on some travel in the past month, and he's (hopefully) currently editing my mess of a book into something coherent as well as going through submissions for an upcoming anthology, so he's probably very busy. I'd give it another month or so.
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They are currently considering a full manuscript from me. They responded to my query less than an hour after I submitted it. My fingers are crossed!
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I couldn’t find any sites that give an example of their advances. I did find one that says they do not pay generous advances. That makes sense; they are a smaller publishing house. Since it specifically said “generous” I’m assuming they do pay some kind of advance. However, I did find that they pay industry standard royalties.
Just FYI, I submitted in December 2016 and didn't get an offer until May 2018.
My advance on the two books I've sold them was $1000; royalties are pretty standard. Book 1 came out in March but I have no idea what sales are like; book 2 is due out in February.
So far, the experience with them has been pretty good, but they are definitely a small press, so my friends pubbing with Big 5 houses are getting way more exposure. BUT, unlike a lot of small presses, FTP has gotten me into actual brick & mortar stores like Barnes & Noble.
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Thanks for sharing! I was looking for info on their advances. They’ve had my manuscript for two weeks now. I heard 8 weeks for a response time, but it’s good to know that it might be awhile.
A little late to the party on this, but thought I'd chime in with my own experience with them.
I haven't submitted to them or interacted with them as an author, but I have had quite a lot of contact with them as a reviewer. Their ARCs have a nice layout, they're readily available via NetGalley, and they seem to be working to build an online presence.
While they started out with sending out lots of ARCs (any that were asked for, to any regular reviewers who asked), they have revised this model now, with giveaways via instagram on a weekly basis. I don't see this as a warning sign, as so many publishers (even the big five) change their review terms from time to time.
In terms of their content, they definitely seem to publish a range of titles the big guys might take some coaxing on or steer completely clear of, due to the horror elements verging into kink and other extremes at times. (In one book, a mum and dad would always have porn on with the volume up while their kids were right there in the room... In another, a guy is looking for his daughter and is essentially raped by said daughter's magical/alive sex toy.)
Unfortunately, as someone mentioned, there's a high concentration of white male authors, and one of the books by a female author I set down and never bothered picking back up because the writing was so telly and clunky.
BUT I very much appreciate that this publisher is willing to take on books that at times step over the line into inappropriate territory, which is sometimes a crucial ingredient in making horror stand out from the slew of horror that goes up to the line and doesn't cross. There are only so many times we can feel truly shocked by those boundaries.
I haven't submitted to them or interacted with them as an author, but I have had quite a lot of contact with them as a reviewer. Their ARCs have a nice layout, they're readily available via NetGalley, and they seem to be working to build an online presence.
While they started out with sending out lots of ARCs (any that were asked for, to any regular reviewers who asked), they have revised this model now, with giveaways via instagram on a weekly basis. I don't see this as a warning sign, as so many publishers (even the big five) change their review terms from time to time.
In terms of their content, they definitely seem to publish a range of titles the big guys might take some coaxing on or steer completely clear of, due to the horror elements verging into kink and other extremes at times. (In one book, a mum and dad would always have porn on with the volume up while their kids were right there in the room... In another, a guy is looking for his daughter and is essentially raped by said daughter's magical/alive sex toy.)
Unfortunately, as someone mentioned, there's a high concentration of white male authors, and one of the books by a female author I set down and never bothered picking back up because the writing was so telly and clunky.
BUT I very much appreciate that this publisher is willing to take on books that at times step over the line into inappropriate territory, which is sometimes a crucial ingredient in making horror stand out from the slew of horror that goes up to the line and doesn't cross. There are only so many times we can feel truly shocked by those boundaries.
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After reading this thread I submitted my manuscript to them. Wish me luck. It's a space opera with a lot of dark/borderline horror elements that may have turned off larger publishers.
I never did figure it out, so does anyone know if the three paragraph synopsis their guidelines request is a full synopsis of the novel?
When I sent mine I just did a standard query letter with 4 short paragraphs for the "synopsis" section. The editor wrote back quickly to confirm receipt (it wasn't an auto-reply, he actually seemed to have glanced it over). And he didn't criticize the format or request a longer synopsis, so I'd say just treat it like any other query.
He's probably used to people who don't follow instructions from dealing with me
Oddly enough, the only time I seem to have success is when I butcher the format and ignore the rules. The first agent to ever request a full from me had really strict guidelines about how the letter should be written, which I read and subsequently ignored because I found them too restrictive. Rules are made to be broken, I guess?
I submitted to them in January, got a quick confirmation receipt from the editor. I'm still waiting for a response. Anyone else experiencing a long response time?
I don't think it would be unreasonable to nudge at this point. They claim to have a 2 month response time on their site.
My limited experience with them on the short fiction front has been very, very positive. They pay well and on time, the books are simply gorgeous, and they are professional in their interactions with authors.
I submitted in February, got a similar receipt, and have heard nothing since.
ETA: Just checked my records, and I nudged about my submission in June, which I had apparently forgotten about. Heard nothing back from that, either.
ETA: Just checked my records, and I nudged about my submission in June, which I had apparently forgotten about. Heard nothing back from that, either.
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