Erotic Romance Calls for Submission

I would like to think the title of this post is a funny double entendre...or maybe I'm just writing this too early in the morning.

Anyway, I have been going through an odd stretch of writer's block that is a combination of a strong desire to write, coupled with ideas to write about and, amazingly, the time to write, with a complete inability to write.  All of metaphorical ducks are in a row, yet I'm not writing.  It's almost like I'm spoiled for choice.  Or lazy.  Maybe, really, just lazy.

Well, here's hoping it passes and quickly.

In the meantime, I wanted to share some recent calls for submission by erotic romance publishers that might help you (and me) get our fingers moving.  Typing, I meant.  Geez, get your mind out of the gutter.  Or in, as the case may be.

Entangled: I'm really bummed about missing this publisher's zombie call but there's a Valentine's Day theme that gives us all until the last week in November to come up with a sexy book-length story.  Complete manuscripts only.

Carina Press: This publisher is always seek erotic romance as well as erotica but they also have a special call for holiday themed romance and erotic romance with a deadline in March 2013.  Plenty of time to get those pencils moving!  Bonus: there's also a military "home for the holidays" collection they are seeking stories for.

Ellora's Cave: They're looking for stories about bounty hunters and also expanding their Fusion line (multicultural and interracial stories).  They also have a EC for Men line that was launched this year that is currently seeking submisisons.

Bonus: Forever Yours is a new digital publisher on the block which is seeking all kinds of romance, so they may certainly be worth a query.

Submissions: How Not To Give In

I've written before about the agonies of waiting for a response to a writing submission.  It's been more than a week (nearly two) since I sent in my first romance manuscript to Carina Press.

Although I received the auto-response saying that they received my submission, the submission guidelines on the Carina Press website say that I should wait twelve to sixteen weeks for an editorial response.

Twelve to sixteen weeks!?!

I know that's not long in the grand scheme of things, and certainly much shorter than the response times I've grown accustomed to from literary journals, but it's three or four months of waiting when the stakes are personally very high.  Therein lies the agony.

Writing a book is like, well, you've heard all of the analogies.  Most often, you hear "giving birth to a child".  I wouldn't have any firsthand knowledge of that one but just let me say "oh no" and "ouch!".

So, other than twiddling my spacebar-pressers endlessly, what do I do?

Well, in the meantime, I lessen the agony with worrying to my friends and family, my writing group, and taking occasional forays into the Harlequin forums, which are filled with people in the same position as me.  It helps to see others suffering the same agony (there must be a long German word for the phenomenon) but mostly it helps to commiserate and know that I'm not alone.

We're all in the same boat, sink or swim.  The few of us who are thrown a life jacket in the form of a R & R (revise and resubmit) or a request for the full manuscript (full request) are celebrated by the whole community.  It's a great feeling of fellowship and sympathy, even when you lurk around the forums as I often do.

The best advice I've read on the Submission Care forums is also the most frequent: keep at it.  Keep submitting your manuscripts even if you receive the dreaded R -- a rejection without any feedback.  I've had those.  They smart.

And, most important of all, keep writing.  While I'm waiting on the response to my first Carina Press submission, I will be writing my second -- and while I'm waiting for the reply on that one, I'll be writing my third.  Because (I think) each one gets a little (or a lot) better and each one takes me closer to my goal of a published romance novel.

For all of you out there in the same situation, good luck!  You're not alone.

Romance Novel Submission, or Waiting for Success

I try to be positive.  Generally speaking (and my family and friends will vouch for this), I am an optimist.  I typically believe that everything will work out, at some point, in some way.  The situation may not turn out exactly the way I wanted but I tend to believe that it was for the best anyway.

The same attitude applies to adversity.  I forge through, I employ all of my experience/ skills/ knowledge, and usually everything is roses.  Or crabgrass.  But the point is, I get through it.

Why, then, do I find it so unbearable to wait for the response to my romance novel submission?

Well, for one thing, it's been more than six months since my first chapter was rejected in the Mills & Boon New Voices competition.  I felt really badly about my writing for a really long time.

But the New Voices contest was not my first tango.

Years ago, I wrote a series of terrible historical romances which I deemed too terrible to see the light of day.

Then, more recently, I spent a good chunk of the past decade writing nearly a dozen contemporary romances.  I sent many of these out to Harlequin and was rejected, again and again, in increasingly terse letters.

I am a many time loser.  So why do I keep trying?  Why am I still so optimistic about the chance that I will one day become...dat dat duuuuuh...a published romance novelist?  There are a few reasons.

Keep learning

Every time I sit down to produce a romance manuscript (not an easy process, despite my numerous completed mss), I'm more knowledgeable about my writing and the romance genre.  I've read more articles on the subject.  I have used the internet to learn about romance novel writing and my subscription to writing magazines to think about the craft in general.

Be prepared

I have put more energy into crafting the plot, characters and structure of my novel before I even sit down in front of the computer.  Because this isn't my first manuscript, I've thought through the old tropes and come up with ways to make the storyline more interesting and captivating (I hope) for my mythical reader.

In addition, my preparing extends to the post-production process.  I've learned to edit myself carefully and have others (usually in my writing group) to review my work and offer constructive criticism.  I've also researched the possible markets and publishers for my work and polished my query letter.

Turn rejection into motivation

Every time one of my manuscripts is rejected, this spurs me to create something better the next time.  If I receive actual advice, I scour my work to see where I can apply it.  Basically, I am always trying to improve my book.  Not just for myself, so that I can be a better writer, but because I have a goal in mind.

I will be published.  Aside from everything else I'm doing to better my writing, I will continue to stay positive.

Photo courtesy of Sayan Samana at freedigitalphotos.net