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Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Wild Rose Press and Callie Lynn Wolfe



Hello, and thank you so much for having me here today. First, let me tell you a bit about myself. My name, as you know, is Callie Lynn Wolfe, and I am the senior editor for the Black Rose line at The Wild Rose Press. Black Rose is the darker paranormal side of the garden. We handle all vamp, shifter, and other darker creatures such as demons, witches, warlocks, gargoyles—well you get the picture.

I have been on staff with TWRP for almost as long as they have been open. I began with their Champagne line but not soon after transferred to Black when an opening became available. Dark Paranormal is my thing and I have to tell you I love it there!

For those of you not familiar with The Wild Rose Press, we are strictly a romance publisher. Our stories always have a happy-ever-after ending and must contain at least 75% of the storyline pertaining to romance. We are going into our fourth year and continue to be “the gentler publisher.” We have one guarantee and that is never will an author receive a form rejection from our house. Our editing staff will always give authors an encouraging and constructive letter detailing why their submission was rejected. We pride our selves by not only giving all authors a chance but aiding in making their writing better.

Black Rose is always in the market for unique twists and fresh ideas when it comes to the traditional vampire, werewolf lore. We look for new creatures as well. So if you’ve got a darker, more imaginative take on these mystical heroes and heroines, we’re looking for you.

Black Rose submission information:

The Black Rose Line at The Wild Rose Press is actively open for spicy to very hot story submissions.

The darker side of the garden seeks steamy, Alpha male or female weres, to die for vamps, or any other delicious mystical creature you have locked up in your wildest imaginations. These stories should include vampires, werewolves, shape shifters, and mystical creatures of all types. The stories are darker, but must have a strong romance theme as the central story thread. We are open to a wide range of stories, and because these creatures tend to be sensual in nature, Black Rose accepts manuscripts that fit the Sensual, Spicy, and Hot ratings parameters, but sex should not be used as the main story thread.

In addition, please be sure your story is a romance before submitting. For more information on how we define ROMANCE, please read the articles listed in our FAQ section.

For more detailed information, please visit our Black Rose Submission Guideline page at TWRP.

Now down to the nitty gritty of what I look for in a submission.

The first thing I look for is that the author has followed submission guidelines. Then I assess whether the story is the same old story or a fresh new concept on the traditional lore. The next thing that stands out for me is the author’s execution, grammar and punctuation as well craft mechanics. If the copy is sloppy, no matter how good the story, the errors will be grossly distracting so an important thing to remember before submitting your heart’s work is to PROOFREAD or have a fresh set of eyes look over the story carefully.

My pet peeve is passive language. This is when the story is told more than shown to the reader. The use of words like was/were and ‘to be’ verbs slow the story down and contribute to its passivity. Also, beginning sentences with “there was” puts me over the edge, LOL. I want to feel like I’ve been dropped into the center of things. I want to see, smell, feel, taste the story as if I am part of it. Use of the senses and building wonderful scenes through descriptive imagery will accomplish this. If you keep this in mind and choose your words carefully, your story will shine.

Another important thing to keep in mind is the pace. If your story is filled with action and events unfolding all around your characters, you will want to keep the pace moving quickly with short sentences. If sentence length rambles on this will slow the story and in effect may tend to bore the reader. Passive/telling will also give the story quality a slow, meandering pace. Keep things moving. Avoid excessive information dumps/backstory and long descriptive narratives. Always try to find clever, active ways to give the reader information you want them to know. You can do this by dropping tidbits into dialogue between characters or in a quick memory, etc.

I hope this information has helped all you writers out there and I look forward to hearing from you.

I wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a very Happy Holiday season, as well a Happy New Year. I will check in periodically so if you have any questions please do not hesitate to post them. I will also be giving away some Wild Rose Press bucks to one lucky poster. So, if there is a book you’ve had your eyes on be sure to post a comment.

Oh, and if you are looking for some fabulous last minute gifts, please check out our store for some unique ideas. Also, we’re now offering print bundles, which means you can save up to 40% on these groupings. Now that’s a great idea book lovers.

Where to find me:

callielynnwrp@aol.com

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the post. This is great stuff here.

Merry Christmas.

Laura Kaye said...

It's always great to have an editor take the time to tell us exactly why they look for. So thanks so much for chatting with us!

Lisa Hannah Wells said...

TWRP is one of my favorite places to submit to since they do give personalized feedback, which makes improving your writing easier. This blog from one of their better editors is extremely helpful and timely for me. Thanks Callie.

Sharon Hamilton said...

Thanks for this good advice. All I want for Christmas is an acceptance! Thanks for your time.

Mia Celeste said...

I've heard lots of good things about Wild Rose Press and I appreciate finding out what you look for in a submission. Thank you for the tips.

Callie Lynn said...

Thank you, Ladies, for dropping in today. Best of luck with your submissions and may the New Year bring you the acceptance you all desire.

Best,

Callie

Shelley Munro said...

It's great learning the sort of things that stop editors reading a submission and make them reject a manuscript. Note to self - careful word choice!

Beth Caudill said...

Hey Callie

Thanks for stopping by. Great to know you're still looking for different things.

Denysé Bridger said...

As always, Callie - great post, and excellent information. I've enjoyed working with you, and the other people I've had the pleasure to work with at TWRP, and I hope to do it again soon! Have some new tales in the works, and next year promises to be good!!

Happy Holidays, and Hugs always....
Denyse
Denysé Bridger

Callie Lynn said...

Hi, Shelley and Beth. Glad to see you both here.

I am very happy to help in any way I can. So ask away. I'll be as informative as I can about what I want and try to help you with the other TWRP lines as well:) If I don't know, I'll at least get you to someone who does:)

Best,
Callie

Callie Lynn said...

Hello, Denyse! Thank you so much for stopping in. I look forward to more from you:)

Callie

Emma Lai said...

Happy Holidays, Callie! Great tips!

Everyone at The Wild Rose Press has been super helpful. All the editors I've had know their stuff!

Faith Bicknell said...

It's refreshing to see this sort of info so kudos to you for looking for proper grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, setting, char dev and so on!

My work is agented (I write erotic paranormal romance), but I do write novellas for e-pubs, so I'm keeping the Black Rose line in mind for future subs.

Callie Lynn said...

Hello, Emma Lai and Faith. Thank you for dropping in and commenting:) Faith, I look forward to some of your electronic submissions.

Callie

Unknown said...

Okay, I have a question on the difference between light paranormal and dark paranormal. Is a story defined to be dark paranormal simply by the creatures/characters that populate the story or is it the story line/tone that make it dark or a combination of the two? What if a story has a vamp or shapeshifters, but the story line isn't dark in tone? Would it still be considered dark paranormal? I was just wondering as I was looking at your submission guidelines and the difference between the Black Rose and the Faery Rose lines.

M.Flagg said...

Hi Callie Lynn. This is wonderful information to anyone submitting to any house. But TWRP is a great place to be. As an author in the Black Rose Line, I can say with confidence that this part of the garden is THE place to be.
And Callie is one talented editor who teaches and guides with care. I'd take her advice to heart.
Happy Christmas to all!

Callie Lynn said...

Hello, Angelia.

Your Question: Is a story defined to be dark paranormal simply by the creatures/characters that populate the story or is it the story line/tone that make it dark or a combination of the two? What if a story has a vamp or shapeshifters, but the story line isn't dark in tone? Would it still be considered dark paranormal?

You are correct in saying that the story is a combination of both the vamp/weres as well other darker creatures such as demons, gargoyles, witches/warlocks of the darker persuasion. But we do have lighter shifter/vamp stories as well.

The Black Rose line has the monopoly on werewolf/shifter and vampire characters as well the spicier stories.

Faery typically has the lighter more whimsical side of paranormal as well the time travel stories and scifi/fantasy-type subs.

Hope I am not further confusing you, LOL

Let me simpify if I can.

Black Rose is the only line for Vampire and Werewolf/shifters and demon or darker creatures though the story can be on the lighter side.

Anything too intense, sexual, or dark is not Faery. Example: witches that practice darker magic, the darker side of an elf, LOL

Does this help?

One more distinction. Scarlet and Black also have a very fine line. Black does not take erotic stories which means anything that is all about the sex. We take hotter, spicier stories but not downright graphic totally sexually motivated stories or themes.

Are you totally confused now?

Feel free to email me directly anytime with questions about which line a story would most likely fit.

Callie

Callie Lynn said...

Hi, Mickey! Thanks for dropping in and such high praise. You make me blush, woman.

Mickey has Consequences, Book II of The Champion Chronicles coming out summer, 2010. Congrats, Mickey~

Callie

Unknown said...

Thanks Callie! I think you did an excellent job clarifying the differences between the lines for me.

Nancy J. Cohen said...

I am proud to be part of the Wild Rose garden, and I must say that your self-editing guidelines are excellent.

Callie Lynn said...

Good Morning everyone, and a Merry Christmas!

Excellent, Angelia. Glad I could help.

Hi, Nancy. Thank you for dropping by and piping in:)

Can anyone translate Chinese/Japanese??? I'm sorry but I am not even sure which language that is. LOL Thank you so much for stopping by:)

Don't get lost in the throngs of last-minute shoppers today! And by all means stay safe!

Callie

Pamala Knight said...

Thanks Callie for the great post. I'm excited because TWRP is one of the publisher's being spotlighted at my RWA chapter's local conference. So, really great stuff to pass along to attendees with questions.

Marie Tuhart said...

Thanks for the great post, Callie. TWRP is a great place to be, they're a great company. This post was helpful to me because I've been thinking about submitting to the Black Rose line (I'm already a Scarlet Rose author), and it helped me decide if my werewolf book fit Black or Scarlet.

Have a great Holiday.

Marie
www.marietuhart.com

Scarlet Pumpernickel said...

Callie, great info! Good to hear from you. Followed a link on KOD's CNN loop over here to see what you had to say. Always good advice on writing and submitting.

Scarlet

Callie Lynn said...

Pamela, Marie, and Scarlet, thank you so much for dropping by.

I look forward to your submission, Marie.

A note to all:

It's always good to hear that we are doing what our mission statement dictates. So glad to hear of all the wonderful experiences you have had with TWRP.

Thank you all for taking time out of your busy holiday schedules drop in and comment. I will be choosing the winner of the TWRP bucks on Sunday evening. Please keep your eyes on this blog.

Feel free to email me any time with questions. My mailbox is always open:)

Best wishes for a safe and happy holiday season.

Callie Lynn Wolfe
Senior Editor Black Rose Imprint
The Wild Rose Press
www.thewildrosepress
callielynnwrp@aol.com

Mary Marvella said...

Great job, Callie, as usual. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas.

Callie Lynn said...

Evening all. Thank you again for dropping in and hanging with us here. I hope you've all had a wonderful holiday and/or a Merry Christmas.

The winning of the TWRP bucks is Emma Lai! Congratulations, Emma. Please email me to claim your prize. Sharon will shoot you my address:)

Sincerely

Callie Lynn Wolfe
SE Black Rose Line
The Wild Rose Press
www.thewildrosepress.com