Jordan Summers

I attended the Pocket and NAL talks. They were both fabulous, so without further ado I’m going to get started because this is going to be a LONG entry. Please forgive any and all typos.

NAL handed out a lovely acquisitions guide and spent most of the session asking the audience what they wanted to see. I thought this was nice because they were genuinely looking for feedback. This was my favorite session out of the whole conference.

NAL publishes books under seven different lines. The lines are as follows: Eclipse (which puts out three mass markets per month and six to twelve trade paperbacks per year), Signet and Onyx (which publishes lead mass market romances, but does not have a set number of releases), NAL Trade (which publishes Eclipse trade and women’s fiction without a set number of releases per month), Accent (which publishes trade originals and there are no set numbers), Heat (the imprint for erotic novels that both NAL and Berkley contribute to, but have no set number of releases per month…there appears to be a difference between a Heat and a Eclipse erotic novel), and Signet Mystery (a mass market line that publishes two books per month, but also releases books in hardback and trade)

Submission requirements are as follows: They prefer agented submissions, but will consider unsolicited materials. They do not accept unsolicited materials via email. Unsolicited materials should be mailed to: Editorial/Romance, New American Library, 375 Hudson, NY, NY 10014. For the initial unsolicited submission, they’d like to see: A cover letter that summarizes the subgenre of the work and a list of your credentials, the first three chapters of the work, a synopsis between 5 to 10 pages long, and a self-addressed stamped envelope. They say their response time various from three to four months, but I got the impression it might be a tad longer than that. *g*

Historical romance is acquired by Anne Bohner, Laura Cifelli, Ellen Edwards, and Claire Zion. They publish them with the Eclipse, Signet, and Onyx lines in mass market. Contemporary romance is acquired by Anne Bohner, Laura Cifelli, and Claire Zion. It’s published under the Eclipse, Signet, and Onyx lines in mass market. Romantic suspense is acquired by Kara Cesare, Laura Cifelli, Ellen Edwards, and Claire Zion. Again, it’s published under the Eclipse, Signet, and Onyx lines in mass market. Paranormal Romance is acquired by Anne Bohner, Kara Cesare, Laura Cifelli, Ellen Edwards, and Claire Zion. They publish romances with strong paranormal elements such as vampires, werewolves, shape-shifters, ghosts, witches, genies, aliens, etc. Otherworldly creatures are welcome. These books are published under the Eclipse, Signet, and Onyx lines in mass market. They said they are looking for authors who’ve created a unique world. (Think J.R. Ward, Lynn Viehl, Savannah Russe, Colleen Gleason, etc.) Erotic romances are acquired by Anne Bohner, Tina Brown, Kara Cesare, Laura Cifelli, and Ellen Edwards. They publish traditional contemporary or historical romances in the sense that they are a story between two people who meet and fall in love, but the books are more sexually explicit and adventurous. They still want the books to have a happy ending and developed characters…so a book full of nothing but shagging need not apply. (wg) They do publish both stand-alone novels and anthologies by one or more authors. They are looking for books with strong, fun hooks. These books are published under Eclipse trade paperback. Heat line is a new line of erotica that both Berkley and NAL contribute to. The focus is not necessarily on romance, but rather on sex. These books can be anthologies or novel length. They should have a intriguing premise. Anne Bohner, Molly Boyle, Tina Brown, and Kerry Donovan acquire for the Heat line. Contemporary women’s fiction is acquired by Anne Bohner, Kara Cesare, Laura Cifelli, Ellen Edwards, and Claire Zion. Think mature chick-lit that’s fun and accessible, but with subject matters that appeal to older readers. They’re looking for strongly plotted novels. These books are published by NAL trade paperback. Historical women’s fiction is acquired by Anne Bohner, Kara Cesare, Laura Cifelli, Ellen Edwards, and Claire Zion. These books are based on real women or fictional characters close to a real personage in history. They are looking for ‘people’ who’ve lived a fascinating and dramatic life, even if she’s not well known. The time period should be pre-19th century. The books are published in NAL trade. Accent is acquired by Tracy Bernstein, Kara Cesare, Ellen Edwards, and Claire Zion. They consider these books to be novels by women, for women. They want them to be thoughtful, entertaining, and uplifting. The books are contemporary or near contemporary in setting and tend to involve turning points in women’s lives. (ie family, marriage, divorce, children, parents, etc.) They should engage the readers emotions, while offering insights and hope. The books are published in Accent trade paperbacks. Mysteries are acquired by Ellen Edwards, Kristen Weber, and Molly Boyle. They want books that range from cozies to chick-lit. The novels should be warm and funny, but not too gruesome. They are published under the Signet mass market line at two per month.

I asked about urban fantasy, but as of yet they don’t publish it under the above lines. Anne Bohner suggested that if you write that kind of book to submit it to their fantasy department.

Now to Pocket books. Contrary to what all the industry rags have been saying the publishing houses are actively buying historicals. Historicals are NOT dead. In fact, it sounds like they’re about to make a comeback. That said, most houses are NOT looking for sweet historicals. The books do not have to be erotic, but they definitely want sensual historicals (ie old Susan Johnson, Virginia Henley, etc.). Maggie (I apologize for not catching her last name.) is buying historicals at Pocket. The publisher is also actively looking for time-travels. They want to know if the book you submit is part of a series. Pocket does not accept unsolicited submissions, so you have to query them first.

Editor Selena James is looking for romance, african american romances, erotic romances, and paranormal historicals. Editor Lauren McKenna is looking for women’s fiction, paranormal romances, historicals, chick-lit, and romantic suspense. Some of her authors include Gena Showalter and Kresley Cole. Editor Micki Nuding loves sexy stories. She is looking for suspense, family stories, historicals, western romances, dark (but not too dark) paranormals, chick-lit, erotic romances, and regencies (not sweet). She doesn’t like books that are angsty. She loves humor, alpha males, and sexy anything. *g*

Pocket is actively looking for erotic romances and YA adult books. They’ve developed a deal with MTV books to publish their YA work and would like to see manuscripts between 60 to 70,000 words. They are also launching a new urban street line called G-unit Fiction. It launches in Jan. 2007 thanks to a book by the rapper 50-cent. (At least I think it was 50-cent…says the person who doesn’t know jack about rap.)

I guess that about covers everything. PLEASE DOUBLE CHECK ALL THE SPELLINGS ON THE EDITOR’S NAMES BEFORE SUBMITTING TO THEM. If you have any questions about what I’ve written here, drop me a note in the comments. I’d like to add that the material I posted about NAL came directly from their acquisitions guide. Good luck submitting.