Romance and mystery deals of note, this first Friday in August 2006, as reported in Publishers' Marketplace:
Sandra Schwab sold a two-book erotic romance deal to Dorchester Leisure (Chris Keeslar) led by THE CASTLE OF THE WOLF, her agent being Stephanie Kip Rostan of the Levine Greenberg Literary Agency(World).
Sarah McCarty sold a two-book western romance deal beginning with HELL'S EIGHT to Harlequin Spice (Susan Pezzack) with agent Roberta Brown of Brown Literary Agency (World).
Anne Argula sold a two book mystery series deal beginning with WALLA WALLA SUITE to Ballantine (Fleetwood Robbins) with agent Vicky Bijur of the Vicky Bijur Literary Agency (site not found). There is no website for Anne Argula, but Sarah Weinman reveals that this is a pseudonym for a "well-published writer," and further surfing finds the publisher of Anne's first work [Edgar Award nominee HOMICIDE MY OWN], Pleasure Boat Studio, revealing online Anne's real identity to be that of Darryl Ponicsan, author of THE LAST DETAIL and CINDERELLA LIBERTY, and screenwriter of Nuts, Taps, Vision Quest, School Ties, and other films.
Lisa Renee Jones sold a three-book paranormal romance deal to Harlequin Nocturne (Ann Leslie Tuttle) led by THE BEAST WITHIN, her being agent Natasha Kern, in a 'nice deal' ($1-49,000).
Pamela Clare sold a two-book romantic suspense deal to Berkeley (Cindy Hwang) lead by UNLAWFUL CONTACT, her agent also being Natasha Kern, don't know the deal details.
Eliot Pattison sold a two-book mystery series deal to Carroll & Graf (Keith Wallman), again with the help of agent Natasha Kern, no money details provided.
Who is this agent, Natasha Kern, referenced in these last three listings? According to her website, she is a 1971 graduate of Columbia University whose agency was voted 11th out of the top 25 in 2003 by Writer's Market, in no small part due to a willingness to seek out new talent, to work with new writers. Check out their client list here.
Collecting online information on writing fiction for publication...and beginning in 2012, writing about whatever else I darn well please that deals with plot, or character, or anything else related in some vague way to writing fiction.
August 4, 2006
How to Copyright Your Work and Noticing the Copyright
From the US Copyright Office, the steps on Copyrighting Literary Works:
"Follow these steps to register your book, manuscript, online work, poetry, or other text:
Step 1
Make sure your work is a literary work. Literary works may be published or unpublished and include nondramatic textual works with or without illustrations. Computer programs and databases also are considered literary works. Here are more examples and specific information.
To register serials and periodicals, see the Serial Works instructions.
Step 2
Put into one envelope or package:
a completed application Form TX or Short Form TX and Form CON if needed (choose which form to use) (go to the site for downloading these forms as PDF documents)
a $45 payment to "Register of Copyrights."
nonreturnable copy(ies) of the material to be registered. Read details on deposit requirements. Please read this important notice about mail delivery disruption.
Step 3
Send the package to:
Library of Congress
Copyright Office
101 Independence Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20559-6000
Your registration becomes effective on the day that the Copyright Office receives your application, payment, and copy(ies) in acceptable form. If your submission is in order, you will receive a certificate of registration in approximately 4 months.
For more details about copyright, please see our information circulars."
About the Copyright notice, that c within a circle, the site explains:
"The use of a copyright notice is no longer required under U.S. law, although it is often beneficial. Because prior law did contain such a requirement, however, the use of notice is still relevant to the copyright status of older works.
This circular discusses both the copyright notice provisions as originally enacted in the 1976 copyright act (title 17, U.S. Code), which took effect January 1, 1978, and the effect of the 1988 Berne Convention Implementation Act, which amended the copyright law to make the use of a copyright notice optional on copies of works published on and after March 1, 1989. Specifications for the proper form and placement of the notice are described in this circular.
Works published before January 1, 1978, are governed by the previous copyright law. Under that law, if a work was published under the copyright owner’s authority without a proper notice of copyright, all copyright protection for that work was permanently lost in the United States."
"Follow these steps to register your book, manuscript, online work, poetry, or other text:
Step 1
Make sure your work is a literary work. Literary works may be published or unpublished and include nondramatic textual works with or without illustrations. Computer programs and databases also are considered literary works. Here are more examples and specific information.
To register serials and periodicals, see the Serial Works instructions.
Step 2
Put into one envelope or package:
a completed application Form TX or Short Form TX and Form CON if needed (choose which form to use) (go to the site for downloading these forms as PDF documents)
a $45 payment to "Register of Copyrights."
nonreturnable copy(ies) of the material to be registered. Read details on deposit requirements. Please read this important notice about mail delivery disruption.
Step 3
Send the package to:
Library of Congress
Copyright Office
101 Independence Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20559-6000
Your registration becomes effective on the day that the Copyright Office receives your application, payment, and copy(ies) in acceptable form. If your submission is in order, you will receive a certificate of registration in approximately 4 months.
For more details about copyright, please see our information circulars."
About the Copyright notice, that c within a circle, the site explains:
"The use of a copyright notice is no longer required under U.S. law, although it is often beneficial. Because prior law did contain such a requirement, however, the use of notice is still relevant to the copyright status of older works.
This circular discusses both the copyright notice provisions as originally enacted in the 1976 copyright act (title 17, U.S. Code), which took effect January 1, 1978, and the effect of the 1988 Berne Convention Implementation Act, which amended the copyright law to make the use of a copyright notice optional on copies of works published on and after March 1, 1989. Specifications for the proper form and placement of the notice are described in this circular.
Works published before January 1, 1978, are governed by the previous copyright law. Under that law, if a work was published under the copyright owner’s authority without a proper notice of copyright, all copyright protection for that work was permanently lost in the United States."
Great Avon Info from Jordan Summers
From Jordan Summer's blog, citing Cindy Myer's newsletter:
"The Spotlight on Avon was a lively session with a lot of information. The spotlight was presented by Lucia Macro, Executive Editor for Morrow/Avon; Mai Chen, Editor, Tessa Woodward, Editorial Assistant, and another editorial assistant whose name I did not catch. Senior Editors Lyssa Keusch and Erika Tsang were not present, but they also acquire for Avons romance program. In the core romance program, Avon publishes four historical and one contemporary romance each month. They also publish various lead titles and trade paperback fiction monthly. Theyre looking for 90,000 to 100,000 word manuscripts historical, contemporary, paranormal, romantic suspense, chick lit and womens fiction, multi-cultural and erotica.
"The spotlight on Avon is courtesy of Cindi Myers Newsletter.
"Lucia Macro primarily focuses on Avons established, lead-level authors but she does acquire some books from new authors. The perfect book for her is a sexy, emotional story with great dialogue and an amazing author voice. She wants lively, interesting, vibrant characters who are pro-active no wimps allowed.
"In historicals the editors are still primarily interested in 1800s English and Scottish settings and medievals, except for historical erotica, in which any setting goes. In romantic suspense they prefer dark, gritty stories. For contemporary romance, Avon is moving away from romantic comedy. The editors would like to see meaty stories that may have comic moments, but with depth. Erica Tsang has a special love for paranormal romance of all types. Avon is also very interested in African-American romance, either historical or contemporary.
"Mai Chen spoke about the Avon Red program. Avon Red publishes one erotic romance each month in trade paper. Theyre looking for romance-driven erotica with a strong emotional under-current. Books may be historical in any time period, contemporary, paranormal, fantasy, urban fiction and either short stories or full-length novels. 25,000 - 40,000 words for short stories, 80,000-90,000 words for novels.
"Avon does accept unagented material. Authors must query via email first to avonromance@harpercollins.com. Put Query in your subject line and in the body of the email indicate any particular editor youre interested in submitted to. The two editorial assistants review all the email and they offered a list of Dos and Donts for authors:
"Do proofread very carefully.
"Dont send the same query over and over send it once. You will get an answer.
"Do research. Make sure the person youre querying and the imprint youre interested in actually exist.
"Dont query for poetry or YA. Avon romance does not publish these.
"Do query in your query explain what your story is about.
"Dont argue with the editors if youre rejected.
"Do follow up if you havent heard anything in four weeks.
"Dont follow up the next day.
"Do be original.
"Dont have a plot twist solely for the sake of a plot twist.
"Dont get discouraged.
"In May 2007 Avon will launch Avon Inspirational, publishing Christian inspirational romance. The line will be handled out of Avons San Francisco office but interested authors may query to avonromance@harpercollins.com and the query will be directed to the appropriate editor.
"Avon Fan Lit is a new online venture in which authors compete to write a collaborative e-books. Avon editors will create six story lines and participants will vote for their favorite. Once the story line is selected, participants submit a chapter each week and everyone votes on the best chapter. The top ten vote-getters go to a final vote. Each week starts a new chapter. Winning authors are profiled on the site and will win prizes. The final product will be published as an e-book. The project launches August 23rd. You can sign up now at Harpercollins Avon Fan Lit
"St. Martin's spotlight was interesting. They broke down the levels of promotion that they put into new and established authors. What I found interesting was the fact that they seem to be the only publishing house that puts a lot of emphasis on promotion. They have one person who deals strictly with Wal-mart, another for Amazon, and even another for independent sellers. They have programs in place to reward retailers for supporting new authors. It's truly impressive.
"Now to what they're looking for...Monique Patterson wants stories that have lively worlds. She's not the only editor stressing world-building. Many publishing houses mentioned the lack of world-building in the submissions they're receiving lately. She's looking for books that are funny, sexy, or scary. She's particularly interested in paranormal, women's fiction, and erotic romance. She said she loves fairytales and classic stories. Jennifer Enderlin is on the hunt for a super sexy western romance. The language in the above books can be extreme as long as it fits the story. (Again, something I heard from a lot of publishers.) Jennifer, Monique, and Rose are all looking for historicals and literary fiction. They prefer settings before 1900. They said everything after that date is hard to market and would probably be placed under historical fiction, not romance. They love recurring characters (ie Stephanie Plum series) They're interested in Romantic Suspense, Action/adventure, Multi-cultural, and even YA. They said if you're writing YA that it should be aimed at ages 15+. They said you can submit anthologies, but mainly they come from in house. If you do choose to submit an anthology, please make sure the book stays in the same category (ie paranormal, romantic suspense, contemp, historical, etc.). Don't jump around. The editors are also interested in literary fiction, but NOT sweet romance. They said right now there isn't a market for sweet romance, but they expect that to change.
"A few things to know about St. Martin's before submitting, they buy in multiple books because they believe in building a writer's career. They prefer book-length to be between 90-125,000 words. Erotica and erotic romances can be shorter than 90K, but they wouldn't like to see the books fall below 80K because then you're getting into category-length territory. They do NOT buy first time authors on proposal. You need to have a finished manuscript first. All editors except Monique Patterson prefer a query letter first. Monique said she can't tell anything from a query alone, so she wants people to send her a query, synopsis, and the first three chapters of the book. She said it takes around 2 months to hear back on a partial and 4 to 6 months to hear back on a full.
"Luna, Nocturne, and other paranormal lines spotlight. Apparently, Harlequin has several lines in what they call their paranormal stream. These lines include Nocturne, HQN, LUNA, MIRA, and BLAZE. Nocturne launches this coming Oct. with two titles per month. The books should be between 70-75,000 words and lean toward fantasy in the world-building. (They want the rich worlds that come from fantasy.) They're looking for shape-shifters, vampires, and hot alpha males with a twist. The books CAN be graphic. In fact they mentioned Angela Knight, Christine Feehan, and Laurell K. Hamilton as the types of books they'd like to see for the new line. They currently aren't interested in historicals, unless the historical part is used to tell a vampires' history. You can make up your own myths about the creatures in your world. They prefer darker books over comedy. The turnaround time is currently 3 months. Luna and Mira publish urban fantasy. Luna's emphasis is on the fantasy part of the equation. They don't care whether there's sex in the books. They are willing to look at sexier books as long as the plot is strong and incorporates the sex.
"The Spotlight on Avon was a lively session with a lot of information. The spotlight was presented by Lucia Macro, Executive Editor for Morrow/Avon; Mai Chen, Editor, Tessa Woodward, Editorial Assistant, and another editorial assistant whose name I did not catch. Senior Editors Lyssa Keusch and Erika Tsang were not present, but they also acquire for Avons romance program. In the core romance program, Avon publishes four historical and one contemporary romance each month. They also publish various lead titles and trade paperback fiction monthly. Theyre looking for 90,000 to 100,000 word manuscripts historical, contemporary, paranormal, romantic suspense, chick lit and womens fiction, multi-cultural and erotica.
"The spotlight on Avon is courtesy of Cindi Myers Newsletter.
"Lucia Macro primarily focuses on Avons established, lead-level authors but she does acquire some books from new authors. The perfect book for her is a sexy, emotional story with great dialogue and an amazing author voice. She wants lively, interesting, vibrant characters who are pro-active no wimps allowed.
"In historicals the editors are still primarily interested in 1800s English and Scottish settings and medievals, except for historical erotica, in which any setting goes. In romantic suspense they prefer dark, gritty stories. For contemporary romance, Avon is moving away from romantic comedy. The editors would like to see meaty stories that may have comic moments, but with depth. Erica Tsang has a special love for paranormal romance of all types. Avon is also very interested in African-American romance, either historical or contemporary.
"Mai Chen spoke about the Avon Red program. Avon Red publishes one erotic romance each month in trade paper. Theyre looking for romance-driven erotica with a strong emotional under-current. Books may be historical in any time period, contemporary, paranormal, fantasy, urban fiction and either short stories or full-length novels. 25,000 - 40,000 words for short stories, 80,000-90,000 words for novels.
"Avon does accept unagented material. Authors must query via email first to avonromance@harpercollins.com. Put Query in your subject line and in the body of the email indicate any particular editor youre interested in submitted to. The two editorial assistants review all the email and they offered a list of Dos and Donts for authors:
"Do proofread very carefully.
"Dont send the same query over and over send it once. You will get an answer.
"Do research. Make sure the person youre querying and the imprint youre interested in actually exist.
"Dont query for poetry or YA. Avon romance does not publish these.
"Do query in your query explain what your story is about.
"Dont argue with the editors if youre rejected.
"Do follow up if you havent heard anything in four weeks.
"Dont follow up the next day.
"Do be original.
"Dont have a plot twist solely for the sake of a plot twist.
"Dont get discouraged.
"In May 2007 Avon will launch Avon Inspirational, publishing Christian inspirational romance. The line will be handled out of Avons San Francisco office but interested authors may query to avonromance@harpercollins.com and the query will be directed to the appropriate editor.
"Avon Fan Lit is a new online venture in which authors compete to write a collaborative e-books. Avon editors will create six story lines and participants will vote for their favorite. Once the story line is selected, participants submit a chapter each week and everyone votes on the best chapter. The top ten vote-getters go to a final vote. Each week starts a new chapter. Winning authors are profiled on the site and will win prizes. The final product will be published as an e-book. The project launches August 23rd. You can sign up now at Harpercollins Avon Fan Lit
"St. Martin's spotlight was interesting. They broke down the levels of promotion that they put into new and established authors. What I found interesting was the fact that they seem to be the only publishing house that puts a lot of emphasis on promotion. They have one person who deals strictly with Wal-mart, another for Amazon, and even another for independent sellers. They have programs in place to reward retailers for supporting new authors. It's truly impressive.
"Now to what they're looking for...Monique Patterson wants stories that have lively worlds. She's not the only editor stressing world-building. Many publishing houses mentioned the lack of world-building in the submissions they're receiving lately. She's looking for books that are funny, sexy, or scary. She's particularly interested in paranormal, women's fiction, and erotic romance. She said she loves fairytales and classic stories. Jennifer Enderlin is on the hunt for a super sexy western romance. The language in the above books can be extreme as long as it fits the story. (Again, something I heard from a lot of publishers.) Jennifer, Monique, and Rose are all looking for historicals and literary fiction. They prefer settings before 1900. They said everything after that date is hard to market and would probably be placed under historical fiction, not romance. They love recurring characters (ie Stephanie Plum series) They're interested in Romantic Suspense, Action/adventure, Multi-cultural, and even YA. They said if you're writing YA that it should be aimed at ages 15+. They said you can submit anthologies, but mainly they come from in house. If you do choose to submit an anthology, please make sure the book stays in the same category (ie paranormal, romantic suspense, contemp, historical, etc.). Don't jump around. The editors are also interested in literary fiction, but NOT sweet romance. They said right now there isn't a market for sweet romance, but they expect that to change.
"A few things to know about St. Martin's before submitting, they buy in multiple books because they believe in building a writer's career. They prefer book-length to be between 90-125,000 words. Erotica and erotic romances can be shorter than 90K, but they wouldn't like to see the books fall below 80K because then you're getting into category-length territory. They do NOT buy first time authors on proposal. You need to have a finished manuscript first. All editors except Monique Patterson prefer a query letter first. Monique said she can't tell anything from a query alone, so she wants people to send her a query, synopsis, and the first three chapters of the book. She said it takes around 2 months to hear back on a partial and 4 to 6 months to hear back on a full.
"Luna, Nocturne, and other paranormal lines spotlight. Apparently, Harlequin has several lines in what they call their paranormal stream. These lines include Nocturne, HQN, LUNA, MIRA, and BLAZE. Nocturne launches this coming Oct. with two titles per month. The books should be between 70-75,000 words and lean toward fantasy in the world-building. (They want the rich worlds that come from fantasy.) They're looking for shape-shifters, vampires, and hot alpha males with a twist. The books CAN be graphic. In fact they mentioned Angela Knight, Christine Feehan, and Laurell K. Hamilton as the types of books they'd like to see for the new line. They currently aren't interested in historicals, unless the historical part is used to tell a vampires' history. You can make up your own myths about the creatures in your world. They prefer darker books over comedy. The turnaround time is currently 3 months. Luna and Mira publish urban fantasy. Luna's emphasis is on the fantasy part of the equation. They don't care whether there's sex in the books. They are willing to look at sexier books as long as the plot is strong and incorporates the sex.
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