SOLD!!!!!! to Ellora's Cave

Hello Fellow Writers!

I have news. Big news. Ellora's Cave offered me a contract on my erotic romance "The Art Thief's Punishment"! I'm so excited!

For those of you who have been following my manuscript submission progress, here's an update: In the past five months of submitting manuscripts (I know, I'm not still wet behind the ears) I am pleased to say I have not gotten any form letters. The editors who took the time to consider my novels have all provided very helpful feedback, including a nice dose of praise for various elements of my books. I know that's not always the case. I did get two form rejection letters the two times I tried to send a book to a literary agent a few years ago, and man, that stung - and that's probably why I was scared to submit anything until recently.

Here's the breakdown: Two very nice rejection letters from Harlequin (one on a partial they requested, the other book turned down at the query and synopsis stage), two equally nice rejection letters from Samhain on the same two books, one book I'm still waiting to hear back about from Carina Press, one revise and resubmit from Ellora's Cave, which turned into..... a SALE! Whoo hoo!

For years I've been writing and just sticking my books in the desk drawer because I was afraid to find out if anyone other than me would actually want to read them. I'm so glad I finally got the balls (um, ovaries?) to send my babies out into the world!

The idea of getting paid to do something that I would do for free is icing on the cake :) Speaking of cake, my son is turning 1 on April 28th and I'm turning 30 on April 29th. Getting this news is the best birthday present I ever could have hoped for.

At the risk of sounding like I'm accepting an Academy Award, I'd like to thank everyone for their support and especially for the insightful feedback I've gotten from my writing friends who've critiqued my work.

Now to try to explain to my Grandma what an erotic romance novel is....

Wish me luck, and good luck to you too!
Yours Truly,
Shoshanna Evers

Submitting to Samhain

Hello Fellow Writers!

I've got three of my "babies" out in the world now. My revise and resubmit "The Art Thief's Punishment" is at Ellora's Cave. My query and synopsis for "Snowed in With a Millionaire" is out to Harlequin/Silhouette Desire. And "The Movie Star's Very Personal Assistant" is being reviewed by Samhain Publishing.

Samhain, you say? Tell me more about this Samhain.
I'm so glad you asked.

I first heard about them from some fellow Hudson Valley RWA chapter members. According to Samhain's website, they are primarily a digital publisher but they also publishes print versions. They have tons of answers to specific questions about submitting to them on their FAQ page.

Regarding money, they say "We pay royalties (40% of the cover price on single-author ebooks sold through My Bookstore and More, 30% of the cover price on single-author ebooks sold through third-party vendors, and 8% of the cover price on single-author print books), and we require no money from authors at any stage of the publishing process." I've heard tell of small advances being paid from Samhain, but they don't mention this on the site. In fact, they specifically say they do not pay advances.

One cool thing is that depending on the length of the novel, they will do a print version. They say:

If your manuscript is around 50,000 words or above, then yes. Approximately ten months after its electronic release, it will be produced as a print book.
Sometimes shorter books with similar themes or genres are combined for print release. But this is a decision made later in the publishing process. If your book is too short to go to print by itself then Samhain doesn’t guarantee it will ever go to print.
Our print books are all fully returnable, and can be found in Borders, Barnes & Noble and Chapters as well as other chains and independent bookstores.

It will probably take a few months before I hear back from anyone, so I need to get cracking on another book. I've been slacking a bit on my 1000 words a day. I'll admit it. I do have another idea for an erotic romance that I want to write for Ellora's Cave....
Wish me luck, and good luck to you too!
Yours Truly,
Shoshanna Evers

Rejection Letter? Get Back on the Horse!

Hello Fellow Writers!

Well, I finally heard back from Harlequin/Silhouette Desire regarding my manuscript "The Movie Star's Very Personal Assistant". They had requested a partial and I had been waiting to hear what they thought.

They passed.

BUT - it was a very nice letter, and it was not a form letter at all. I could tell that they put actual time and consideration into the rejection, which is awesome of them. And they had some nice things to say! Specifically, they said aspects of the story are compelling and the premise is interesting. So that's a plus.

I also got some more specific feedback relating to the characters. They said it might work for another publisher, so I am going to take that advice and see if another publishing company might be interested in "The Movie Star's Very Personal Assistant"!

In the meantime, I have no intention of wallowing in self pity or anything. I have another novel polished and ready to send out to Harlequin! So Monday my plan is to mail off my query and synopsis for "Snowed in With a Millionaire" and see if that story strikes a chord.

I also have my erotic romance "The Art Thief's Punishment" almost ready to resubmit to Ellora's Cave. Fingers crossed!

Wish me luck, and good luck to you too!
Yours Truly,
Shoshanna Evers