Publishers and Editors

We admit we’re not at our best in the morning (nor afternoons), but PW recently reported that romance novels are outselling all other genres. Yet Torstar points to romance as the recent for its recent dip in profits. Oh yes, we understand the crazy world of corporate accounting (well, in theory), and we agree this dip is just temporary. However, we will be watching the quarterly reports for other publishers closely — we’re not shy about starting a get out and buy a book campaign. Heck, we can’t go the grocery store without one of those crazy paperbacks falling into […]

Perhaps we spent too much time in the entertainment industry, but when it comes to branding and synergy and maximizing product and all that, we usually think “bad.” Yes, it’s probably a knee jerk reaction after seeing so many lofty plans plummet to the ground. But, we will say, a string of failures doesn’t stop anyone from pressing forward. In this instance, the BBC and Penguin have joined hands to, you guessed it, monetize the hell out of the BBC’s library of lovable characters. We eagerly await the first Teletubby memoir. Perhaps we’ll finally understand what’s up with that baby/sun

We rather like this PW story about an author’s deal being cancelled due his stretching the truth about his background. Possibly because we believe everyone fibs on occasion. But mostly because we like the fact that it took so long for Seven Stories Press to cut the cord. We understand due diligence and all that (oh, do we), but this seems to be a long time coming. Seven Stories Cancels Book Over Author’s False Claim

ePublishers come and epublishers go. It’s a tough business. But rarely has a new epublisher caught our attention in this manner: Loose ID is your traditional epub focusing on the various romance genres…with a twist. They’re looking for proposals developed around (are you ready?) 1980’s songs. This means you (yes, you, the one who’s longed to immortalize Husker Du’s “Makes No Sense At All”) can take your revenge on the song that won’t stop playing in your head. Loose ID

In author circles, as we well know, the subject of self publishing is quite controversial. Nobody wants to admit they’ve considered it — even as they rail against the futility of beating heads against publisher doors (in a manner of speaking. We don’t advocate author violence.). And those who have? Well, they find their backs to the wall as they defend their choices. But we’ve all heard the stories…that little self published novel picked up by the major publishers, making the author a household name. The bad news is that there will always be a certain stigma to self publishing;

Wide-eyed blondes. Swaggering private eyes. Murder most foul. Yes, we agree. It’s time the publishing industry took us back to the glory of hardboiled crime fiction. Hard Case Crime, from Dorchester and Winterfall LLC, will be releasing a mix of classic and new noir titles. No guidelines on the site, but you know what they want… Hard Case Crime

O’Reilly & Associates will now be known as O’Reilly Media, reflecting the publisher’s diversity. Though they promise to keep their famous “animal” books (speaking of which, has anyone seen my copy of the owl book?), they’ll also emphasize their online presence, including the electronic bookshelf, Safari (if any print pubs out there are looking for a great model for e-pubbing, check out Safari). O’Reilly & Associates, Inc. Changes Name to O’Reilly Media, Inc.

According to a helpful tipster who received the detailed guidelines, Changeling Press will be publishing erotic inspirational fiction. Okay, maybe erotic is the wrong word. They’re looking for novellas (12,000 – 18,000 words) that include characters coming to terms with their own sensuality. The usual rules (what is it with people and their aversion to vanilla sex?) apply. Check out the website and contact the publisher for more details. Changeling Press

Sally Kim has joined the Shaye Areheart Books/Harmony team at the Crown Publishing division of Random House (bloodlines are so important). Welcome her to her new office in a traditional way: query! They’re looking to expand their list of commercial and literary fiction. Shaye Areheart Books