Marketing for Romance Writers.Org is excited to announce our annual “Write-place, Write-time” Submissions event scheduled for September 8th and 9th, 2012.
We have an amazing panel of Publishers and Editors ready to give YOU, aspiring authors or seasoned authors, an opportunity to “pitch your dreams” to a listening audience.
BUT…that ever tricky timing can be a slippery little rascal. So, for you - MFRW is providing a platform of:
“Write-place, Write-time”
Let's say you are on an elevator when...
...the publisher/editor of your dreams steps through the door. Your heart is pumping, your hands are clammy and you know you have a limited amount of time to tell this person about the next New York Times Best Seller for which you have just assigned those coveted words "the end".
MFRW brings you that elevator moment.
OUR TWENTY-SECOND SPOTLIGHT OF THE MANY PARTICIPATING PUBLISHERS/EDITORS: ETOPIA PRESS
Submission Guidelines
Etopia Press is currently looking for the best, most unique, most well-crafted stories out there — and we know they’re out there. Traditional genre fiction, non-traditional or cross-genre fiction, general and literary fiction — there’s no limit to where a writer’s imagination can go when he or she is inspired, and there’s always a reader who wants to go along for the ride.
We’re a royalty-paying publisher. We are not a vanity press or a self-publishing service. We provide complete, professional editing and cover design by some of the best editors and artists in the business, as well as wide distribution through all major retailers, review coordination, and marketing support. We pay 40% royalties on e-books, and all books over 40,000 words in all genres are released in both e-book and print formats. Shorter works may be considered for inclusion in e-book and print anthologies.
We Now Offer an Advance on Romance and Erotic Romance!
We’re happy to announce that we now offer an advance on royalties for romance and erotic romance over 40,000 words of between $100 and $500. Offers will be made on an individual basis at the time of contract. Shorter works may be considered for an advance based on the author’s publishing history and other factors.
What We Publish
We publish only new, original, previously unpublished work (and select reprints) in electronic and print formats for all genres. The future of publishing is in emerging electronic markets and media, and we specifically want to pursue them. But we also want to make books available in trade paperback for authors and readers who just like them better that way. We’re sorry, but we cannot consider previously or currently self-published work.
We’re currently looking for great novels, novellas, and short stories in the following categories:
Traditional Genres: Fantasy, Urban fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Action, Romance, Erotic Romance, and Erotica. For romance, we’re looking for all subgenres, all lengths, and all heat levels from sweet to erotic, including LGBT, interracial, multicultural, big beautiful women, May/December (either the hero or the heroine can be the December), ménage and poly, BDSM, fetish, etc.
Non-traditional or Cross-Genres: Historical sci-fi, erotic thrillers, paranormal mysteries… you get the idea. Add to this whatever your muse tells you to write that may not fit traditional categories. Will all non-traditional ideas work? Probably not. Will we accept anything just because it’s “different?” Nope. But if you can make it work, and make us stay up too late at night reading it, you’ll probably keep other readers up late, too.
General Fiction and Literary Fiction: If you write this, you know what it is. All themes and styles will be considered, including short fiction and short fiction collections.
Young Adult: We’re looking for books in all subgenres that speak to teens and young adults about the challenges they face in today’s world, whether the story is contemporary, fantasy, historical, or something else. No preachy, dogmatic, or goodie-two-shoes stories (unless the story is about the trials and tribulations of being a goodie-two-shoes in a world full of street gangs, werewolves or Russian mafia). Female protagonists are preferred, but we’ll consider the well-written male-oriented story as well. Please keep protagonists in their later teens. We are not considering middle grade fiction at this time.
LGBT: We happily and proudly accept and encourage LGBT works in all the above traditional and non-traditional genres, including romance and erotic romance, as well as general and literary fiction, in all lengths.
Interracial, Multicultural, BBW, etc: People come in all colors, shapes, sizes, creeds, sexual orientations, cultures, socioeconomic backgrounds… the list goes on. We’d love to see more diversity in all genres and literary fiction.
What We Won’t Publish
Porn (erotica and erotic romance are not “porn”).
Rape for titillation (exploring it for literary reasons is OK. This isn’t the same as capture fantasy or dubious consent in romance. If you’re not sure what the difference is, please query us).
Erotica or erotic romance involving sex with characters under the age of 18, pedophilia, necrophilia, bestiality, incest, or “bodily functions for sport.” All characters in romance and erotic romance must be sentient beings (even if they’re shape-shifters, vampires, or aliens).
Racial or gender intolerance, hatred, bigotry, etc. (where it’s presented as a good thing or your social ideal. Stories “about” racism or other social issues, or featuring evil, well-written antagonists, are welcome and encouraged). If you’re not sure what the difference is, please query us.
For more information on the specific requirements of our various romance lines, please see our Romance Lines page.
For the kinds of books we’re most interested in at any given time, please see our Submission Calls page.
A Note on Fan Fiction
Please don’t send us stories based on your favorite TV shows, movies, books, anime, manga, video games, etc. Fan fiction can be a great way to connect with other fans and keep your favorite worlds alive, but we can’t publish it. Changing the names of characters isn’t enough to qualify the story as an “original work.”
Previously Published vs. Self-published Work
We prefer to publish new, unpublished works; however, we’re happy to consider reprint submissions of works which have been previously published by professional, royalty-paying publishers. If you’re looking for a new home for work that was previously published by another publisher, please note this in your cover letter and give us a brief description of the book’s publishing history. If we accept it, we’ll ask you to provide your reversion of rights letter from the previous publisher.
Due to the high volume of self-published submissions we received over the last year, which proved mostly unsuitable for us, we regret that we can no longer consider previously or currently self-published work.
Simultaneous Submissions
We understand that it makes no sense having your work spend years going around from one publisher to the next getting old and losing its timeliness. Simultaneous submissions are perfectly acceptable. If you accept a contract elsewhere, congratulations! After you celebrate, please remember to be courteous and jot a quick note to the other publishers considering your book and withdraw your submission.
