BDSM – not just a good spanking

Posted on May 22, 2013 by escapepublishingblog

So, as many of you will be aware, erotic romance is a thing. Now, I’m going to get pedantic for a second and remind everyone that it was a thing among romance readers long before a certain title that rhymes with Schmifty Schmades of Schmey came out, but regardless of how you feel about that particular title, erotic romance is now no longer just a thing, it is a trendy thing.

What does that mean for writers? Well, it means opportunity. Retailers are clamouring for erotic romance to fill their shelves, titles that will appeal to readers looking to move on, move forward, or explore more deeply within the genre. Publishers are clamouring for titles that will help fill that need.

Romance readers know that good erotic romance is about more than just sex – that what happens on the psychological and emotional plane is just as, if not more, important than what’s happening on the physical plane. Which brings us to this blog’s main topic: BDSM.

There’s a lot of talk out there as to what BDSM is, and many authors trying to add a BDSM flavour to their erotic romance. So I want to explore some of the pitfalls and problems that are associated with writing BDSM erotic romance.

Quick definition: BDSM stands for Bondage, Discipline, Sadism, Masochism, with the D and S also standing for Dominant and submissive. In general terms, in erotic romance, the main role that BDSM plays is in D/s – that is, Dominant and submissive.

One of the misunderstandings I’m seeing a lot of in submissions is the depth and breadth that BDSM can play in the relationships of players. For people in the BDSM scene, it’s a true lifestyle, and takes place in more than just the bedroom. In fact, for many BDSM participants, ‘playing’ or ‘scenes’ may have little to nothing to do with sex at all – it can be about control, submitting, or role-playing. While sex, as a deeply emotional and primal act, may be fundamental to a BDSM relationship, it’s not necessarily the aspect of the relationship where BDSM is played out.

It needs to be made very clear: your characters may indulge in, and get off on, any or all of the B, the D, the S, and/or the M and still not be in a BDSM relationship. There is a difference between two people in a relationship who participate in BDSM, and two people in a BDSM relationship.

As with all erotic romance, the romance – and the eroticism – needs to start in the mind. To convey the lifestyle, you need to convey the emotions and psychological aspects long before you focus on the physical.

My advice to authors looking to explore this area of eroticism is to make sure you do your research, and do it well. There are a number of great websites that detail relationships, and a number of people in the scene who are very open to discussing what it means in the context of their lives, their careers, their families, and their relationships. BDSM can certainly add dimension to your characters and to your story, but only as a well-researched, understood, and respected lifestyle choice. Readers will know the difference – and so should you.

Call for Submissions

Posted on May 17, 2013 by escapepublishingblog

Here’s a fun fact: if you submit to Escape now, you can be a published (or multi-published) author by Christmas. We’re working to an aggressive publishing program, and we want stories!

I’m going to list some subgenres/themes that I’m very interested in, but please note: we publish all subgenres all the time. So if yours doesn’t necessarily fit in to the list, I still want to read it.

Here’s our submission page: http://www.escapepublishing.com.au/submission

Why submit to Escape?

Australian location, global reach
Actively seeking risky, niche, or cross-genre stories
Publishes short stories (of more than 5000 words), novellas, and short and long-length novels
Small, flexible team, with the backing of Harlequin’s knowledge, experience, and professionalism
No synopsis required! Just a 100-word blurb.
Two-week turn-around guarantee for initial response

So what are you waiting for?

Subgenres/themes that I’m particularly interested in:

Romantic suspense
Erotic romance
Historical romance (any period/any time/any setting)
Contemporary romance (especially Australia/NZ-set)

Got questions? Hit me: kcuthbert@eharlequin.com.au

Can’t wait to see what’s in store-y for me (see what I did there? Puns! Yay!)

First Kisses

Posted on May 14, 2013 by escapepublishingblog

It’s my absolute pleasure to be judging the First Kiss contest for the Romance Writers of Australia this year. I’ve written before about the importance and romance of that first kiss, but I thought we’d get a little personal this time.

Let’s talk ours.

In Canada, where I grew up, they have this great program called SEVEC. Essentially, it’s an intra-country exchange program. Canada is, after all, a big place, culturally and linguistically diverse. SEVEC takes young teenagers (12-16, I think) and pairs them up with a similarly aged teen in another province. Each plays host for a pre-agreed time, then each gets to play tourist. Technically, the program is open to all provinces, but the bulk of exchanges take place between an English speaking province and French speaking Quebec.

Mine did.

At the tender age of 13 and 1 day, I set off with my parents to meet my SEVEC ‘twin’, Melanie, who hailed from the North-West Quebec city of Rouyn-Noranda. I was a country girl, fresh off the farm. Melanie lived in the middle of the city. I couldn’t get off the farm without parental help. Melanie skipped off her front step onto a city bus, or around the corner to her friends’ houses. The freedom, it was heady.

The first week was a blur of not speaking English and barely understanding anything that was said to me. The first weekend – that was the weekend of summer camp.

All of Melanie’s friends, her little sister, and I packed off into the wilds* with about 40 other kids.

*where wilds has a value of a nearby campsite with a lake

There, late one night after campfire songs and s’mores, I played my very first game of spin the bottle. He was Stefan, a blonde-haired, blue-eyed local, with wavy hair and a crinkly grin. He was 18 months older, and had the casual confidence that seems ubiquitous in French men. I’d been smitten from the beginning. Imagine my petrified delight when his bottle landed firmly pointed at me.

I had no experience whatsoever, so the approach was awkward. I don’t think I breathed from the minute the bottle stopped until the whole thing was over. I flushed bright red; heat rushed over my whole body. He came over to my side of the circle. There was a lot of left-right-left-right before he finally landed. No nose bump, but a bit of a mis-match in lips position.

It was perfect.

Sadly, however, Stefan and I were not meant to be. Probably because he had a huge crush on another Anglophone in our little group – Katherine who was visiting her grandmother for the summer. I was heartbroken when I caught them kissing (without any apparent lip-mis-match issues) on the swing set.

The magic, however, of those three seconds, have been unforgettable.

Alright – I’ve shared. It’s your turn. Go on – tell us your story!

And best of luck to the 2013 First Kiss Finalists. I can’t wait to see what you’ve got in store for me.

May Releases

Posted on May 5, 2013 by escapepublishingblog

(apologies for the lateness of this post – I thought I’d scheduled it for 1 May. Turns out I’d scheduled it for 1 June! Technical difficulties…)

Congratulations to our May Escape Artists – read on for some fabulous new stories: rural Aussie meets French magnate, hot science fiction, emotional amnesia, witty contemporary, and one genre-bending title mixing fairy tales and suspense!

Black Diamonds, Eliza Redgold – A small Australian truffle farmer battles an enigmatic French magnate in a world of exotic locations, luxurious tastes, and the most expensive flavour in the world.

Enamoured, Shannon Curtis – A title that defies description (seriously, many have tried, few have succeeded. ).Let’s call it a debut in a series that mixes suspense, sex, and just a sprinkle of fairy dust.

Awakening the Warriors, SE Gilchrist – A new, very hot story from our resident Queen of Science Fiction Romance. Set in the world of the bestselling title Legend Beyond the Stars, this is an erotic novella about two warriors who have lost the ability to desire, and the human woman who is about to wake them up.

Legally Addicted, Lena Dowling – A fast-moving, high stakes battle-of-the-sexes story with a Hepburn/Tracey flavor (and a hot one-night stand!).

Forget Me Not, Nina Blake – For fans of amnesia stories – or bthe sweet, emotional reads of Susan Wiggs and Kat Martin, an unconventional reunion story that about love, hope, and forgiveness.

Happy Star Wars Day!

Posted on May 4, 2013 by escapepublishingblog

May the Fourth be with you, always.

Where’s Escape?

Posted on May 3, 2013 by escapepublishingblog

We’ve got a lot of movement for May, so here’s a quick rundown:

May 1 University of Queensland, Brisbane – Kate’s giving a lecture to the Writing, Editing, and Publishing post-grad students about Writing About Romance.

May 1 – 5 Romantic Times Convention, Kansas City – Say hi to Escape Artists Rhian Cahill, Lexxie Couper (book coming at Christmas!) , Scarlett Dawn (book coming in August), and Nicole Flockton, who are all in the US for the convention.

May 22 The Next Step, Wheeler Centre, Melbourne – Kate is joined by Escape Artists Rhian Cahill and Charmaine Ross to talk about writing, editing, publishing, and offer tips and stories. Tickets are available now.

May 23 Forest for the Trees, Sydney Writers’ Festival Seminar, Sydney – Kate and the Harlequin team will be participating in discussions about the Australian publishing world.

Rejected? This might be why…

Posted on April 23, 2013 by escapepublishingblog

Last week, I spoke a bit about Escape’s acquisition process. In that blog, I promised another covering the problems I see most often, those that lead to a rejection. Without further ado…

Here are some of the major issues that I see on a regular basis:

Pacing: this is huge, and the number one reason I reject a submission. Your story needs to keep moving forward at a steady pace (it doesn’t have to race, but it needs to progress). Too much back story, exposition, world-building -> those things known colloquially as ‘info dump’ will slow your story down, diminish any momentum you may have already created, and bore the reader – who in this case is me, and doesn’t bode well for a positive reply.
Narration vs. Story: the second most often reason for rejection. What is your core story? What is the story you want to tell? Now where exactly does that story start? That’s where your narration should start as well. I receive countless submissions where the author doesn’t think their readers will catch up if they don’t provide full family histories on both sides. Trust us. We will. Start the story with the narration.
Inconsistent characterisation: It’s one thing to tell me your heroine is whip smart, quite another if she consistently does very dumb things. It’s one thing to tell me your hero is one of the best guys ever, quite another if he’s a jerk through the whole novel. If your character is going to be something, make sure he or she is that something.
Waffling, bloating, unnecessary fat: The best advice I can offer is to keep your story to your story. Does this scene move the plot line forward? Does it provide vital information? No? Cut it. Keeping your story lean and focused will solve a myriad of other problems – including that indefinable ‘pacing’ issue.
Clumsy writing, poor punctuation, problematic grammar: we can clean up a lot with a thorough edit, but if the actual writing is problematic, especially wooden or unnatural dialogue, I’ll reject. A great way of determining natural rhythm in writing (especially dialogue!) is to read it out loud. It will quickly become apparent where rough patches exist. Balzac used to go out to his backyard and shout his sentences to the sky. You probably don’t have to go that far, but a little out-loud reading never hurt anyone.
Not paying attention to the publisher’s requirements: we publish romance novels, not romantic novels. There is a difference: for us, a happy ending is mandatory. Not paying attention to what the publisher publishes does two things: one, it tells us that it’s likely you’re not actually interested in publishing with us, just publishing; two, it tells us that you’re not professional enough to do a little bit of research.

Take-home messages: Tell your story. Just the story. Save the other stories for later. Trust your reader. They’ll be able to catch up, make connections, understand emotional baggage. They’ll also know if you’re being insincere. Just as in real life, actions speak louder than words, so make sure your characters live their descriptions. Keep it lean. Pay attention: to your reader, to your writing, to your publisher. Be professional. Keep writing. Always keep writing.

We Want Your Story!

Posted on April 18, 2013 by escapepublishingblog

And here’s how to give it to us, just the way we want it…

Too dirty? Not dirty enough…!

Our acquisitions process is a bit different from traditional print publishers, so I thought I’d give you a run-down. You know the deal on your end. Here’s how it looks on mine:

1. All books submitted to Escape go through me, Kate, the Managing Editor. I read every submission that comes through, and make the decision on all of Escape’s titles.

2. I can’t always tell a book I’m going to accept from the get-go, but I’m pretty good at telling ones I’m not. I’m going to do another blog post on the main reasons I’ll reject a manuscript later, so watch out for that.

3. Digital publishing moves fast. Consider our publishing turnaround of four months, compared to more than a year with traditional print publishers. This means that the bar to publication may actually be higher in digital publishing, because we don’t have the luxury of time for multiple rounds of edits. So in order to be considered, a story must not require any major structural edits, and must be near-publishable as it is.

4. When reading a submission, I’m looking for a few things: consistency of character, believability of plot, realistic development of romance, good pacing over the course of the story. But I’m also looking for that undefinable spark, that feeling you get when you are invested in a character and a story, that bubble of anticipation that sits just below your ribs when you know you’re reading something special. I want to be delighted.

5. I’m also on the lookout for stories that surprise me or change the way I look at romance novels. We’re actively seeking risky manuscripts, so I want ‘different’, in terms of characters, setting, time periods, narration, style. I want to be surprised by a manuscript, and invited to take some chances.

6. Once I’ve read a submission, I’ll do one of three things: accept, request a full, or reject. If I reject, I’ll make quick notes as to why, and include those in the rejection letter. Occasionally, if a manuscript is close, or if it is one that I believe in, I will ask the author to make structural edits or changes, and then resubmit. This gives the manuscript a second chance, and I will read it again, as if I hadn’t seen it before. If I accept, I send an acceptance email through, and then celebrate with the new Escape Artist!
What does this mean for you? My advice is this: edit, polish, edit. Find a beta reader who will give it to you straight, even if the news isn’t good. Listen to that beta reader, but also to your own instincts. Write. Write some more. Write more again. It’s the only way to get good at it. Take risks and make unpopular choices, but be true to your story. Even if it doesn’t get accepted, writing the right story is better than catering to whims and trends. Take all advice with a grain of salt. Except the editing and polishing. That part is gold.