Houses, Companies & Imprints...oh, my!

For those of you on the journey to publication I thought I’d pass on knowledge gathered over many years concerning single title publishing houses, specifically in the mainstream sci-fi/fantasy/paranormal and romance genres.

Starting out I knew of a few major houses, mostly from looking at the spine of the books on my shelf but, over time and with the help of other writers, I’ve sifted through the information and think :-) I have a better handle on it.

A couple of great research websites include Speculative Fiction Book Publisher Markets website - they lists many print & e-publishing houses, Preditors & Editors - they have a huge listing of publishers, in alphabetical order and with recommendations and warnings, and Book Crossroads - a directory of e-publishers with submission guidelines.

I hope you find the lists useful in your quest for publication. Unless otherwise indicated the publishing houses are based in the US market and are mostly listed as Publishing House, Company and/or Imprint name. (NB. The headings Mainstream and Romance are my own distinctions not industry divisions, folks.) Googling the names should give you links to their websites.

Mainstream SF/F Houses
Penguin Putnam :DAW
Penguin Putnam: ACE & ROC
Random House: Doubleday, Bantam Press, Black Swan, Bantam & Corgi (UK)
(Random House)Ballantine: Del Rey & Spectra
Hachette Book Group: Grand Central Publishing: Orbit Books
Macmillan/Tom Doherty: Tor
Pocket Books: JUNO Books
Baen Books
Penguin: Viking, Sphere, Orion & Signet (UK)
HarperCollins: Voyager & Angry Robot (UK)
Prometheus: PYR
Arrow Books: Legend (UK)
Solaris (UK)
BL Publishing (UK)
Victor Gollancz Inc: VGSF & Magnet (UK)
Mushroom eBooks (e-publisher)

Romance SF/F/paranormal Houses
Harlequin: LUNA fantasy imprint
HarperCollins: EOS fantasy imprint
HarperCollins: AVON paranormal romance imprint
Penguin: Berkley Sensation & Jove imprints
Penguin: Signet novel imprint
Penguin: NAL romance imprint
Hachette Book Group: Grand Central Publishing: Forever paranormal romance imprint
Kensington: Zebra paranormal romance imprint
(Macmillian) Tom Doherty Assoc.: Tor romance imprint
(Macmillian) St.Martin’s Press: St.Martin’s Paperback romance (US)
Random House: Bantam Books romance imprint
Dorchester: Leisure paranormal romance imprint
Dorchester: Lovespell paranormal romance imprint
Simon & Schuster: Pocket Star Books imprint
Medallion Press: Jewel Imprint Sci-Fi romance
Hachette Book Group: Little, Brown Book Group: Piatkus (UK)
Carina Press (e-publisher)
Desert Breeze Publishing (e-publisher)
Devine Destinies(e-publisher)
Ellora’s Cave: Romantica imprint (e-publisher)
Loose Id (e-publisher)
Liquid Silver Books (e-publisher)
Lyrical Press (e-publisher)
Mundania Press:Mundania, Phaze Books, Awe-Struck, and Hard Shell Word Factory (e-publisher)
New Concepts Publishing (e-publisher)
Red Rose Publishing (e-publisher)
Samhain Publishing (e-publisher)
Shadowfire Press (e-publisher)
Wild Rose Press (e-publisher)
Wings e-Press (e-publisher)
Whispers Publishing (e-publisher)

(*Some e-publishers also have available print books)

By no means is this a complete list - I’m sure I’ve missed many but it’s a place to start. You’ll have to do the leg-work to find out more about them and their latest submission guidelines :-) .

Happy submitting!

RWA FFP 2010 On The Far Side

The contest results for the RWA FFP Chapter On the Far Side contest are now up...and if you look closely, we have 2 Brigaders who've placed in the HSF/SF/F section!

Hard SF/SF/F: Danielle Rose Poiesz, Editor, Penguin
1st: Jennifer Hart - "Stellar Timing"
2nd: Elizabeth Struble - "StarWay to Paradise"
3rd: Laurie Green - "The Outer Planets"

Well done, Jennifer & Laurie!!!

To see the full results, use this link.

Walking the Line in SFR

World Building Versus Info Dumping

First off, let me just remind everyone of one thing -- as Abraham Lincoln said, you can’t please all the people all the time. So, it’s unlikely anyone is ever going to be able to create the “perfect book”, one where they world build with the exact right amount of data and detail without any form of info dumping…at least according to the entire reading population.

You can write the most popular book in the world, but there will always be those who don’t care for it, some of them virulently. It’s the nature of art because everyone truly IS a critic: No matter what you do creatively, someone will always find fault with it.

Gini’s Definitions
World Building -- creating the sense of place and time so the reader/viewer is included into the story with a sense of acceptance or wonder and is able to suspend disbelief.

Info Dumping -- too much information, over-abundance of information, detracting from the reader’s/viewer’s enjoyment.

Info Lack -- The lack of enough information, which can leave the reader/viewer confused, annoyed, and ultimately dissatisfied because there isn’t enough explanation to allow disbelief to remain suspended.

Genre Needs Are Different
World building is important in every genre, but possibly most important in science fiction and fantasy. In these genres, authors are taking readers to a place that either exists only in the author’s imagination, or sharing events that can only or have only happened in the author’s imagination. This makes world building vital to a reader’s understanding of what’s going on, their ability to “see” the world and situations the author’s taken them too.

Romantic sparks are vital to a romance. But romance isn’t a requirement in science fiction OR fantasy. There’s plenty of romance in both, but not enough to be accepted as a natural part of the SF/F genre overall. If there’s romance, most times it’s not front and center, and many times it’s not integral to the plot.

But all that’s different with Science Fiction Romance. In this cross-genre/sub-genre, the romance is as important as the science fiction, or at least it’s darned close. (There are debates raging about Romantic Science Fiction vs. Science Fiction Romance, but I’m not getting into that here -- that’s for others to discuss and decide. For this purpose, SFR or RSF are the same: there’s a lot of romance in that science fiction story.)

Expectations
Herein lies the crux of the problem. Science fiction readers expect world building. They expect to have the science explained. You can’t say, “he moved at supersonic speed” without, somewhere along the line, explaining how that’s possible. Traveling to a new world? You’d better have some explanation for how the space flight will work. Depending on your SF -- hard or soft -- you’ll have to explain a lot or a little, but explain you will. Because science fiction readers expect it, and if you don’t do it, they can’t buy your situations.

Romance readers, on the other hand, are willing to take a lot of the world building as a given, as long as they find the characters’ romantic situation compelling enough. They’re willing to accept what the author says at face value, because what they care about most is how believable, fun, romantic, spicy, etc., the romance actually is. Their focus is on the relationships between the characters more than the characters’ relationships to the world.

I’m not saying that romance readers aren’t discerning. They are. But what they’re looking for is at odds with what most science fiction readers are looking for. They want a central relationship they can sink their teeth into and become emotionally invested in, far more than they want to understand the inner workings of black hole technology.

I’m not saying that science fiction readers don’t care about characters and relationships. They do. But what they want is a believable world, a situation that they can buy into, and proof that it could actually happen, far more than they want a romantic happily ever after.

Cater…a Little
I personally think it’s a lot easier to get the romance side to come over to SF, than the SF side to go to romance. Books shelving in the SF/F section will have a better chance of garnering both SF and romance readers -- the SF ones because the book is on “their” shelves, the romance ones most likely from buzz, be it word of mouth, reviews, or social networking.

Yes, I’m suggesting you cater more to the SF side and put in a little more of the world building and scientific explanations than you might in a straight romance. The key phrase is “a little”. Too much and you run the risk of losing the romance side. Too little, though, and you’ll lose the SF side. And as much as it pains me to write this, it’s easier and less frustrating for a reader to skim (ack!) over some explanation they’re not interested in than to wonder why and how some character can achieve some feat that appears impossible.

Walk the Line
I follow a rule here -- please your publisher. If you’re pubbing with an imprint that does no romance (like I do, since I’m with DAW Books), the SF side is always going to take precedence. If you’re with a romance imprint, the romance side will take the lead, most likely per your editor’s requirements.

Find a romance reader(s) if you’re heavy on SF. Find an SF reader(s) if you’re heavy on romance. Have them read your MS and tell you where they stumbled. Change what you can/agree with.

So, once that’s done, how to still ensure the other ‘half’ of your potential readership enjoys your book? What’s a science fiction romance author to do? What any other writer should do: Write the story you want, that your editor approves, that your publisher wants to put onto the bookshelves. And know you’ll never please everyone, so you’d better please yourself.

FEATURE - Tips for Attending Smaller Cons

(posted by Jaleta Clegg, in case you're wondering)

I spent the weekend at ConDuit, a general SF/F con in Salt Lake City, Utah. Good friends, old and new; great networking opportunities; lots of good information in panels and less formal venues; local cons can be an invaluable resource to the aspiring or newly published author.

I admit, I've only attended two cons outside of my area. One was specific to Terry Pratchett and his Discworld, the other one was World Fantasy last year. Both seemed a bit overwhelming and large. Can you say, "Intimidation?"

ConDuit, on the other hand, usually has an attendance of maybe 500 - 600. We bring in one big name author, one big name artist, and occasionally another guest deserving of honor from the science fiction/fantasy community. This year, I got to meet Barbara Hambly, one of my favorite all-time authors. We also had Brandon Sanderson, but he's local and usually comes if he can. We had at least 20 established authors, numerous artists, many lesser known authors, costumers, gamers, and other specialists and professionals at the con.

So why attend your local con? Why not aspire to the big leagues? Local cons tend to be less formal, less expensive, more accessible than the big ones. And if you're like me, you'd prefer a little less social face-time with huge crowds. For an aspiring or newly published author, it's easier to be a medium or small fish in a small pond than a tiny fish in an enormous pond. You have a better chance of being noticed, of connecting with future and current readers.

Some mistakes I've made:
1. Don't be part of the committee once you are attending as an author. I spent most of my weekend stressing over the hospitality suite, my job on the ConDuit committee, not socializing and networking. Being part of the volunteer staff is a great way to get to know the organizers and open doors to participation, but be smart about it. As an author, you should be spending time getting to know the other authors and readers at the con.

2. Don't be pushy. People come to the con to have fun, not to be badgered with sales pitches for books they really aren't interested in. I bring bookmarks and leave them on the freebie table. I make sure to carry a handful with me, just in case. If someone asks, I'm more than happy to promote my book. It's a balancing act.

3. Don't hide in your room. Be in the public spaces. Be social. Reach outside your comfort zone, if necessary. And be open to other points of view. Cons are a great place to learn your craft. The insights and advice are well worth the price of admission.

4. Costumes are not necessarily the best first impression. Business casual is a good choice if you want to be taken as a professional. But feel free to dress up for the evening entertainment. Local cons usually save the silly stuff for evenings.

And some Do's:
1. Do have fun, but keep in mind that people will associate your behavior with your writing.

2. Do come prepared for interviews, blog exchanges, signings, people asking questions, etc. etc. Bring a stack of business cards with your contact info. Bring something to promote your book, like bookmarks or sample chapters. I used badge ribbons this year. Everyone wanted them. I forgot to print the title of the book on the ribbon, though. Something to change next time I order ribbons. Carry a pen with you. When someone hands you a business card, jot a note on the back - who they are, why you talked to them and got their card, and what you agreed to do as a followup, even if it's only a thank you email.

3. Do follow through. If possible, take time every night to send some emails to those people you contacted. At least make sure you have a list of who to send what email to. If you get a request for a manuscript or a query, DON'T LOSE IT IN YOUR LUGGAGE! Write a note, then put it in a pocket or bag set aside for important contacts.

Check into your local SF/F groups to see if your area is hosting a con. Ask other authors on this board or others if they know of a good local con that you can attend. Some websites attempt to gather information on local cons, but it's mostly hit and miss. Besides, it's nice to know you'll find at least one friendly face at the con when you arrive.

And if any of you are in Utah, please let me know. ConDuit (http://conduit.sfcon.org/) happens every Memorial Day weekend in downtown Salt Lake City. LTUE (http://ltue.org/LTUE_2011.html) happens every February near President's Day at BYU in Provo. Both are great opportunities to make some connections. And I'd love to meet you in person.