SFR Authors Who Straddle Publishers
AUTHOR: Jody Wallace

Small presses, mainstream presses, alternative presses, e-presses! So many places to publish books these days, it?s hard to know the right place to look for something to read, much less to submit. For readers and writers of science fiction romances, the search is compounded by the fact that not all publishers are hip to the cross-genre tales we love so well. While people who like mysteries, Oprah fiction, or contemporary romance, to name a few, can probably be sated by the offerings at their local Waldenbooks, SFR readers often find themselves straying further afield to soothe the savage reading beast. And SFR authors...well, they stray across many fields as well.

So where do you go for the good stuff? Figuring authors who?ve been on both sides of the fence might have an interesting perspective, I interviewed six SFR writers who have worked with both large and small presses to see how they compared the two sources for our addiction.

First pubbed in the group was Jane Toombs, whose gothic, TULE WITCH, came out in 1973 from Avon. After many books with traditional publishers, Toombs expanded to e-presses in the 1990?s. She?d been writing for the Silhouette Shadows line, and when it ended she simply wasn?t finished telling that type of tale. ?Small presses allow much more freedom within genres and especially the chance to cross and blend genres, which I tend to do,? she explained. Toombs has published over 60 books.

At the opposite end of the spectrum would be new author CJ Barry, whose first book, UNCHAINED, was bought by New Concepts Publishing in 2001 and a similar title, UNEARTHED, came out with Dorchester in 2003. With Barry, it wasn?t so much a conscious choice to switch venues as it was that she?d submitted to different publishers who both bought her work.

Rickey Mallory, MaryJanice Davidson and Melinda Rucker Haynes all started out with paranormal books at small presses while Janet Lane Walters began with traditional hardback career and nurse stories.

Whatever their situation, all six authors were happy to discuss the upsides and downsides of both publisher types. All of them agreed that small presses are more likely to be interested in stories that push boundaries. ?I can pitch just about any project to [my editor] at Ellora?s Cave and she?ll give me a green light,? said Davidson. ?I find with small presses I have a little more leeway.? Davidson, during revisions of UNDEAD AND UNWED when Berkley bought the

paperback rights, was asked to tone down some sex scenes, especially one that involved same-sex lip lockage.

Mallory?s paranormals so far have all been for the small press, and Barry?s small press pubbed UNCHAINED had too much science fiction for a traditional romance publisher but too much romance for a traditional science fiction publisher. Haynes? small press stories also bumped the boundaries, but she found a niche. ?Thank goodness those are exactly the same qualities that my mainstream editor [at Five Star] was looking for.?

One of the questions I asked the authors was how they would describe any other differences in the books they?ve released with mainstream and small presses. Walters described it very succinctly. ?The mainstream books were written for a specific audience and fit within the parameters of the publishers. The small press books often have quirks or combine a number of genres with one being predominant.? Toombs, with whom Walters wrote BECOMING YOUR OWN CRITIQUE PARTNER, was able to write a book set during WW1 for small press, NIGHTINGALE MAN, ?which, according to the trad pubs, is ?not a popular historical period.?...Hardshell took a chance with the book because they liked the story.?

While Barry and Haynes said their books for both types of publishers were similar, Mallory and Walters said that their writing style changed for the different publishers. Mallory, who publishes as Mallory Kane for Harlequin, pointed out that, ?there are expectations that Harlequin has for its readers, and authors who write for them must understand and meet those expectations.? Walters said that her writing style varied according to genre. ?If I?m writing suspense or adventure, the sentences are usually shorter. For romance they are longer and often more introspective. In fantasy, there?s a combination.?

How about working with the editors and art departments of the two different types of publishers? Covers can cause readers to pick a book up or be afraid to touch it, and some people feel that attentive editing can make or break a book. Toombs said that she?d had good experiences in both of those areas with most of her publishers, but ?nothing matches the ongoing relationships I?ve established with small press publishers who actually pay attention to a writer?s input.? She appreciates the fact that small press editors ?don?t tend to nit-pick your work to death the way some copy-editors of trad pubs have been known to do.?

Conversely, Haynes favored her traditional press experience. ?Contrary to some of my small press (e-publishing) experiences, my mainstream books are well-edited by professional, experienced editors. Also, the publishing house team knows their business very well and has gotten behind my novels with marketing and dedication to producing a quality product.?

Barry and Davidson were pleased with their editorial experiences at all their contracted houses. Davidson complimented her editors and said that, ?none of them try to change my style or ever tell me what to write. They make suggestions to improve the story, and they catch plot holes and make me look really, really smart.?

When it came to cover art, all authors reported filling out author questionnaires for both types of publishers with varying degrees of success. Mallory designs her own covers for small press, so obviously they?re what she wants, though Harlequin?s in-house artists take over for her traditional press books. The authors agreed that they have more influence with their small press covers. Barry notes that the fact that large presses don?t take author opinions into account as much might be because of ?lead times and scheduling than anything else.?

One of the last questions I asked the authors is the one we?d all like to know. (No, not about the money! I didn?t ask that, although Davidson volunteered that her small press publisher was a lot more scheduled about payments and Mallory said that ?the big gorilla?, Harlequin, paid well.) What I asked was whether there was anything that defined a book that would appeal more to small press or traditional press editors. Where should we send these weird, hard-to-market manuscripts we all keep writing?

First, the authors, in their collective wisdom, advised that we read a lot. Mallory stated, ?find a publisher who publishes the kind of stuff you like to write or read, and target them.? Also, as Haynes said, ?shop that sucker tirelessly.... You want to get all the ?nos? out of the way, so you can move on to the YES.?

?It may be as simple as connecting with the one person who likes your book enough to get behind it, work it up through the chain and win, then offer you a contract,? Haynes continued. That so-intelligent editor can be at a small press just as easily as she can be at a mainstream one.

Regardless of luck or kismet, regardless of the fact that ?editors come and go in this business faster than your favorite coffee purveyor goes through baristas? (Haynes), it?s important to get an idea of what each publisher prefers so you don?t waste your time and money sending your stuff to the wrong place. Do your research. Don?t send ghostly romantica to Christian publishers, and don?t send paranormal romances to science fiction publishers. And so on and so forth. Familiarity will narrow your search as surely as getting rejections, though it doesn?t hurt to query the New York markets first. ?[A writer] might even get some good feedback if the manuscript is rejected,? Toombs explained. ?But the small presses seem much more willing to do quite a bit of editing on promising new writers? manuscripts--in other words helping them along.?

If your manuscript is daring or different, one piece of good news these authors offered is that you?re no longer restricted to small press. Though Walters observed, ?the mainstream publisher has narrower parameters than the small publisher,? some traditional publishers are starting to branch out. ?I see many mainstream publishers, especially Dorchester, letting authors push the envelope,? said Barry. ?The more vocal [readers] are in demanding new and different, the more traditional publishers will take a chance on those kinds of books.?

More specifically, Davidson gave examples. ?Take the rise (no pun intended) in interest in romantica, for example, or the surge of interest in paranormal,? she said. ?Publishers are a lot more open to those kinds of books than they were even five years ago.? Supporting this, Toombs pointed out that several new lines that accept paranormal have recently opened up in New York, like H/S?s Luna and Bombshell, and the Anna Genoese at Tor is looking for paranormal romance.

While mainstream houses are a relatively sure bet, provided you can get your foot in the door (getting a manuscript read takes quite a bit longer than at a small press) and, on occasion, have a savvy agent to help negotiate your contract, Toombs offered some advice on researching small presses. ?My experiences with small press pubs have, on the whole, been friendly and reasonably profitable. But, like everything else in this world, it pays to do research before a writer commits his or her book to a small press. How long have they been in business? Is their URL site up-to-date? Do they ever advertise in the review mags like RT? My advice would be to also email one or more of their authors and ask how they like writing for that particular company.?

So where do you go for the good stuff? Sounds like the answer is...everywhere!

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My thanks to Rickey Mallory (www.rickeymallory.com), Melinda Rucker Haynes (www.melindaruckerhaynes.com), CJ Barry (www.cjbarry.com), MaryJanice Davidson (www.maryjanicedavidson.com), Jane Toombs (www.janetoombs.com), and Janet Lane Walters (http://www.ebookdirectory.homestead.com/WALTERS.html) for their cooperation and patience with my questions. I recommend you visit the websites of these authors for further insight into their publisher balancing acts.