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Emails between December 15th-24th

Angela James | January 4th, 2010

**this post is a sticky. Please scroll down to see the next post/new content.

Due to the vagaries and curses of technology, everything in our submissions and general inquiries main inbox disappeared sometime on Christmas Eve. Like…poofed into cyberspace in a place not to be found. Not the way I hoped to start my holidays, believe me! This was emails sent between December 15th and December 24th only, as all other emails had been moved out of the main inboxes and filed appropriately. I’ve been stressing over this for two weeks, and the Help Desk has made a valiant effort to find the missing emails. They’re still trying and will exhaust every possibility, I’m sure, but in the meantime I don’t want anyone to have to wait longer than necessary for a reply.

So, please accept my apologies for any inconvenience, but if you sent a submission or an inquiry of any kind to the submissions@ or generalinquiries@carinapress.com inboxes between December 15th and December 24th, and haven’t received a personal response (not an autoresponse, but a personal response) please resend your email. When you resend, please note the original date you sent it, if it’s a submission, so I can be sure to move it to the proper place in the queue and be sure it doesn’t add any extra time to your wait.

*it is not necessary to resend any emails that fall outside this time period, even if you haven’t received a personal response!

Tags: Behind the Scenes, Carina Press, employment, submissions
Posted in Carina Press | 11 Comments »

Week 13…editors and submissions

Angela James | February 8th, 2010

I made some inroads into working through the copy editor tests and developmental editor emails. I’ll be sending out some emails today, but I’m still working on copy editors. Copy editors are actually much more difficult to hire than developmental editors, for some reason. Part of it is that, over the years, I’ve found that some people think they have the chops for copy editing, because they pick out typos or missing punctuation in the books they read, but the truth is that copy editing is an incredibly multi-layered position and to be a copy editor, you have to be highly skilled, very detail-oriented, know the ins and outs of the Chicago Manual of Style and grammar rules quite well, and be able to remember details, timelines and other things in order to compare and spot inconsistencies. In short, it takes amazing focus and not many of us have that.

I know some of you have been waiting for a submissions update. There are still November books under consideration. This could generally be considered a good thing, because taking longer means they’re getting a closer look. Any reprints submitted are still under consideration while we worked out our plan for them. We’ve got that in place and editors are looking through them as we speak. Because of the number of editors we have, at any given time, anywhere from 70 to 130 submissons are being actively reviewed. Now that we’re up and running, response times will be well within the 8 to 12 weeks for anyone submitting. I’ll do a more thorough submissions update this week, but we’re moving very quickly through submissions and now is a good time to get your submission in, as we’re still looking to acquire for Summer 2010 release. We’re especially targeting erotic romance, contemporary and paranormal romance, m/m romance, fantasy, science fiction and historical. But we’ve acquired across the board in all fiction genres, so if you have a good story, get it polished and send it in!

Something new we’ve started and just announced the first date for to our authors: we’ll be doing live meeting chats (using phone and computer) with our authors on a regular basis. These are going to include chats about general items, what’s happening at Carina, marketing tips and training, and more.

On that note, you know what I’ll be working on this week (submissions! copy editors!) and I’ll do a submission update later this week. In the meantime, I’ll be doing all that huddled here inside and trying to avoid looking out my window. Here in my part of Maryland, we got about 16 inches of snow. In addition to the ten we already had. More than we normally get in 3 or 4 years of winter. I’m going to sit inside and pretend it’s summer. Who’s with me?

Tags: Behind the Scenes, editorial, employment, submissions
Posted in Behind the Scenes | 21 Comments »

Carrie Lofty title poll results

Angela James | February 4th, 2010

Two weeks ago we held a poll for Carrie Lofty’s upcoming historical romance and I promised to announce the results. I apologize for the delay, but Carrie and I were also talking behind the scenes about the final title result and an idea she had and we needed a little extra time to get the details of that in place so we could share them at the same time.

On that note (ha ha, play on words purely unintentional), I’m thrilled to announce that Song of Seduction was the winning title in the poll, with 42% of well over two hundred votes. And I’m also thrilled to announce that the new title inspired Carrie to brainstorm an idea for a follow-up book, Portrait of Seduction, which she has also contracted with Carina Press!

Portrait of Seduction

Gifted painter Gretchen Zweig earns her keep by forging masterpieces, whereby wealthy families can hide the priceless originals from Napoleon’s advancing armies. She yearns to be known for her own work, but her uncle, a destitute marquis, exploits her desire for an advantageous marriage. Oliver Doerger, a German duke’s bastard and former soldier, poses as a valet in order to further his aristocratic half-brother’s political career. He, too, longs to emerge from the shadows—to be regarded not as a spy but as a respected member of society.

When someone begins marketing Gretchen’s forgeries as originals, Oliver is drawn into her world of art and subterfuge. She will do anything to shield her family from scandal, even if that means resisting her improper attraction to the intense, surprising valet. But the appearance of a charismatic grifter threatens to reveal a shameful debt from Oliver’s past. Caught between love and duty, he must choose between honoring his loyalties and indulging in a passionate affair with Gretchen that could expose them both.

Thank you to everyone who voted! The runner-up title was Heart Strings, with 26% of the votes. An interesting tidbit for you: no matter how many votes the poll had, from the beginning, Song of Seduction always held around 40% of the votes and Heart Strings around 25%. The percentages never varied more than two points in either direction.

Song of Seduction will be available for purchase in June 2010 and we’ll be revealing the (beautiful) cover soon!

Tags: acquisitions, Behind the Scenes, poll
Posted in Authors, Books | 6 Comments »

Meet Andrea…what’s on her wishlist?

Angela James | February 2nd, 2010

Andrea Kerr, Producer, eHarlequin.com

I have a confession to make. I don’t own a dedicated eReader. I know you’re wondering, how can that be possible for a member of the Carina Press acquisition team? Well, as Producer of the Online Reads program on eHarlequin.com, I can tell you that a good story is a good story in any format, and strong writing compels me to turn the page, whether it be printed or digital.

In my day job, I’ve had the pleasure of working with hundreds of authors who write everything from inspirational romance to erotica. It’s given me an appreciation for a variety of genres, even ones I might not normally read outside of work. In addition, I like to think of the online reads as the “original” ebooks. So, despite the current lack of an eReader device in my life, being part of the acquisition team is a natural fit for me. I am beyond excited to be on the front lines of Carina Press, searching for fresh voices and unique stories!

So what are we looking for at Carina? Speaking on behalf of the entire team, we want a good story, well-told. We are readers, after all, even those members of the team who don’t spend their days editing. I think it’s fair to say that the love of the written word is what brought most of us to this line of work in the first place. Every time we read a new submission, we’re excited about the possibilities. We WANT to love your story and we’re on your side, really! Yes, rejections happen, but trust me, it’s not something any of us enjoys doing. After all, our reason for being is to put stories into the hands of readers, and to do that, we need to acquire books! The cool thing about Carina Press is, we’re open to submissions that might not fit into one of the print programs Harlequin currently publishes.

And what about me–what am I looking for personally, as an editor? I have a penchant for well-drawn characters, characters that are believeable and relatable and layered (everyone has flaws, right?) I love witnessing the development of the characters over the course of the book, seeing how they react to what happens to them, being convinced that they are changed by their experiences (or not).

That’s not very specific, is it? That’s because I learned long ago that fascinating characters and compelling stories can be found in any genre, and I’m open to just about anything. As long as it’s well-written.

As for that dedicated eReader? It’s on my wish list! Now, if only I could claim it as a business expense…

Andrea Kerr is the Producer on eHarlequin.com, which is a fancy way of saying web content editor. She also works on the acquisitions team for Carina Press. She has a particular fondness for historical romance, and must admit she often checks that particular Carina Press folder first. Andrea is happy that she finally has something to watch on TV now that Lost has returned! A mother of two young boys, she gets far too little sleep, and thrives on unconditional love and coffee instead. A dedicated eReader device IS in her future.

Tags: acquisitions, Behind the Scenes, Carina Press
Posted in Behind the Scenes | 6 Comments »

Week Twelve…Crazy Travel

Angela James | February 1st, 2010

I have to remind myself that these Monday blog posts are a week behind. So while we’re entering week thirteen, I’m writing about week twelve. I think. No one tell me if that’s wrong, just let me live on in my bubble, k?

Last week, part of the Carina/Harlequin team was in New York City for the first ever Digital Book World conference. Brent and I both spoke on panels, and Malle, Aideen and Eleanor also attended. Poor Eleanor was scheduled to speak on a panel on Wednesday, but she had to fly home early Wednesday morning due to not feeling well. But the rest of us soldiered on in her absence and we had two nights of lovely meals and conversation, in addition to two full days of attending panels. Wednesday night, we were fortunate to be joined at dinner by four of the Carina Press editors (Jessica, Julianne, Gina and Melissa) and two of our book blogging friends (Kassia of Booksquare and Sarah of SmartBitches) and we had several hours of high volume conversation. I’d just like to point out, that my first requirement for a restaurant was that it was quiet and I swear I made that clear to the concierge but…we ended up at what was possibly the noisiest restaurant in New York City and had to shout at each other to be heard. Malle made us play musical chairs so we all got to speak to (mostly) everyone. I think we all had a pretty fabulous time, decibel levels aside.

Amongst all the travel, we’ve still managed to have meetings and make acquisitions. I think we’ve announced only a 20-25% of the acquisitions we’ve made so far. I’m way, way behind, I’d better get on that. As a teaser, I’ll tell you we’ve acquired two m/m books, several erotica, a thriller, some mystery, romantic suspense, historical, paranormal and a partridge in a pear tree. Okay, not really the last one, but all the others are true. I can’t wait to showcase the diversity of our lineup!

Launch seems right around the corner when you start looking at pesky things like production schedules and deadlines (which I was just doing about five minutes ago) and it’s hard to believe how much we’ve done–and how much there is still to do. A lot of what I intend to work on this week is going to sound like things you’ve heard before, though. At this point, we’re swinging into high gear so we’ll be finalizing hiring of copy editors and several more editors, acquiring launch titles, sending out contracts, planning promotion and marketing and creating our conference appearance schedule. Yes, that will all happen this week and moving forward!

And to end, I’ll leave you with a list of links mentioning Carina Press at Digital Book World. The first link also contains a two minute video interview with me.

Publishing Perspectives

Publisher Marketplace

Mick Rooney

The Bookseller

Tags: Behind the Scenes
Posted in Behind the Scenes, Carina Press | 10 Comments »

Freelance developmental editors wanted

Angela James | January 29th, 2010

I know many of you are wondering the status of your copy editor applications. Not to worry, the fact that you haven’t heard isn’t a reason for panic, but only means I’ve had to triage my to-do list and that has fallen to the bottom. However, now that my travel is done until late February and I have no more presentations (or workshops) to plan for, I’m going to be addressing all copy editor tests and applications in the next two weeks. Thank you for your patience.

In the meantime, I’m also going to be hiring two more freelance content/developmental editors. Before you get excited, please read this carefully: I am only hiring experienced editors–editors experienced in editing fiction books, in the genres I’m going to specify. Please do not apply if you don’t have experience, as I will be forced to delete your email, without response, given the time constraints on my schedule. I’m very sorry to have to limit this, as I think there are potential candidates out there who may not have experience, but may have the necessary skills. Unfortunately, I simply don’t have time to devote to training unexperienced editors at this stage.

The position is paid on a scaled flat fee based on various freelance tasks the editor will perform for Carina Press, from reading submissions, line editing, developmental edits and revision letters. The work is strictly freelance, invoicing is done every two weeks, and your work schedule will be up to you to determine, with the only requirement being that given deadlines are strictly met.

I am currently looking for two editors who are interested in editing the following genres: I need one editor interested in romance–specifically erotic romance, but other genres of romance as well. Of course, it’s fine if you wish to edit other genres in addition to romance/erotic romance, but I specifically need editors who enjoy erotic romance and are experienced with it. I also need an editor with interest in and experience with science fiction, fantasy and any associated subgenres. Again, it’s a bonus if you’re open to other genres as well, so don’t feel you’d be limited to those genres.

To apply, send an email of interest addressed to me at generalinquiries@carinapress.com In your email, please detail your experience including what publishers or authors you’ve worked with, how you conduct the developmental and line edit process, and if you’re comfortable with editing digitally. In addition, please list the genres you’re interested in editing, and how you view the editor/author relationship. Only applicants sending emails containing all of the requested information will be considered.

Permission to forward this post is granted. Questions will be answered in the comments, if necessary.

Tags: Behind the Scenes, editorial, employment
Posted in Behind the Scenes | 8 Comments »

Carina Press Podcast with Angela and Malle

Malle Vallik | January 28th, 2010

by Amy Wilkins

Despite what it says above, this is NOT Malle Vallik today! This is Amy from the Carina Press Acquisition Team popping in to share with you a podcast from Malle and Executive Editor Angela James! In it, Angela and Malle answer some FAQs about Carina Press — such as what we’re acquiring, what we’re looking to acquire, marketing, and more!

So take a listen…and be on the lookout for more podcasts from the Carina Press team in the future.

Tags: podcast
Posted in Behind the Scenes | 17 Comments »

The lost week

Angela James | January 27th, 2010

You may have noticed this week has been rather…lacking in posts. It turns out that traveling from Toronto, to home to have LASIK surgery and then to NYC for a conference where you’re giving a presentation (and among all that running and writing a self-editing workshop), well, it turns out that those things take a lot of time and there are only so many hours in one day. So something had to give and it really couldn’t be sleep because that would just be ugly. No one wants to see that.

As we speak, I’m attending the DigitalBookWorld conference in New York City, along with other Carina team members. I appeared on a panel yesterday, and no one heckled me so I think we can assume that the panel was at least moderately successful. Today I get to enjoy being an audience member, and also will get the experience of being surrounded by other tech/publishing people during today’s Apple announcement of the Apple Tablet and whatever else they’ll be announcing. That should be interesting, being able to have conversations about the announcement in real time–in person!

Next week, I will (hopefully) have a better update about Carina Press and all the new happenings we’ve been exploring. Malle and I recorded a podcast while I was in Toronto last week, so I think that’s coming to the blog soon, and later this week I’ll be posting a blog post from a Carina team member you haven’t met yet.

In the meantime, keep those submissions coming and stay tuned for new developments and acquisitions!

Tags: Behind the Scenes
Posted in Behind the Scenes | 6 Comments »