This week, to recognize the preorder availability of my new collection, The Billionaire’s Club, I am discussing how writer’s find, select and determine whether to submit to a romance collection. My advice: don’t sign a contract until you read the recommendations below from author Jeanne St. James.
1 – The Success Story
Today’s success story is my own personal story of my first foray into a romance collection. I didn’t do my homework or know a thing about the organizer. I was unsure what I hoped to achieve. Still, I got more from the experience than I ever could have imagined. Not in sales, not in exposure to new readers– although I did get some of each. My big gain came in relationships. I got to work with some outstanding authors with far more experience than my own. They were generous in sharing their knowledge, their support and their friendship. This was – for me – a wonderful payout.
That collection, Sultry Nights had 22 contributing authors, a huge number for any collection. It meant more logistics, more sharing of royalties, more inconsistency in length of stories submitted, and inexperience levels of the writers. It also meant more authors to help with the promotion which was outstanding.
I came away with knowledge of new promotion tactics, which I have used subsequently. Are they valuable sure, but not like the relationships I have built. These connections are priceless to me. I consider these writers friends, and that was an added bonus of working on a collection that I could not have foreseen.
2 – Recommendations (okay, maybe five this week)
Speaking of friends … My thanks to Jeanne St. James, USA Today and Amazon Bestselling Author who provided todays hints. I asked her for two but she “included these five because I think these are the most important when dealing with a boxed set (or anthology).” From my own experience, I have to agree. Great advice Jeanne!
“1/ Make sure the organizer has a good reputation, has been successful with previous boxed sets they’ve organized, is a good, solid leader and is transparent. A bad or unorganized organizer will destroy the success of the boxed set. Talk to other authors in the organizer’s previous sets for references.
[bctt tweet=”A bad or disorganized organizer will destroy the success of the boxed set. Talk to other authors in the organizer’s previous sets for references. #amwriting” username=”madisonmichael_”]
2/ Make sure you work with other authors who are motivated for the set to succeed. Make sure they are established authors (have a good social media presence, brings their own fans to the table, has an ARC or street team, and is experienced in self-publishing).
3/ Make sure your goals are clear from the beginning. WHY are you doing this set? For example are you trying to make a list? Are you just trying to expand your reader base? Or are you trying to make money? All of those are different motivations and ALL authors in the set must know the set’s goal and work toward it, otherwise the set will not be successful.
4/ Make sure all terms for the set are clear. Price, contract end date, rights reversion, what’s expected of each author. Transparency is key. Know what you’re getting into before you sign on the dotted line.
5/ Make sure your book fits with the other books in the set when it comes to genre and heat level. The set can get bad reviews if there is too much of a disconnect with genres and heat levels.”
3 – Resources/Useful Mechanics: Pros, Pros and the Pros
1/ The Advantages: Staci Troilo and AIW Press share “Five Benefits to Participating in Anthologies”. This article assumes you are submitting a short story. In fact, I submitted a full novel to my first collection. No matter, the information is still valid. Plus, I learned to write a shorter entry for my second anthology, The Billionaire’s Club, and discovered many of these advantages for myself.
2/ Ask an Expert: Finding a reputable organizer for a romance collection can be difficult. Ask colleagues to make recommendations. Use the collective expertise available from Marketing for Romance Writers, follow their Facebook or Yahoo Group. Anthology organizers sometimes reach out for writers there, and you can ask colleagues for input before jumping into anything.
3/ Want to find a publisher and submit to an Anthology? Follow your favorite romance publishers, watch for them to call for submissions for their anthologies. As I write this, using a simple Google search, I can find more than 20 reputable publishers seeking submissions right now. Remember, collections are usually built around a theme – Royal Romance, June Weddings, Christmas themes are very popular. My new collection The Billionaire’s Club, is a perfect example, built around stories of – oh surprise! – billionaire romance.
GIVEAWAY: DOWN & DIRTY: ZAK
Jeanne has generously offered to give away a copy of her contemporary erotic romance Down & Dirty: Zak (Dirty Angels MC, Book 1). Zak is the first in the series about the down & dirty bikers of Shadow Valley… Zak, Hawk, Diesel, Axel, Crow, Ace, Rig, Jag, Dawg, Linc and more… and the women who unexpectedly take them to their knees. To win your copy, see our Rafflecopter on this Thursday’s blog.
Jeanne St. James is a USA Today and Amazon Bestselling Author. She is theauthor of: The Rip Cord Series, The Brothers in Blue Series, The Obsessed Novella Series, The Dare Menage Series, Made Maleen, Damaged, Down & Dirty: The Dirty Angels MC Series.
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Gem of the Week
“Amazon Deranked Certain Romance Titles For A Week Before Restoring Them” by Adam Rowe, discusses “numerous reports on Facebook, KBoards, and elsewhere that Amazon has adopted a new policy where some romance titles, most notably those titles that Amazon has identified as erotica, have been removed from the Kindle Store best-seller list.” The article goes on to explain that while the romance ebooks can still be bought and sold through Amazon, the deranking greatly limits their reach and reduces the units sold. If you are a writer of erotica or erotic romance, you want to be sure to read this.
I hope my words of “wisdom” helps another author!
Thanks Jeanne, they already helped me learn what I did wrong the first time – I was just lucky!!
I wish I’d know these tips before signing up with some shady organizers. Expensive lesson learned. Thanks, Jeanne and Madison, this is great advice. xo
Whitley,
Sadly you and I seemed to have learned from experience instead of Jeanne’s expertise. We’ll both know better next time.
BTW, I love your books!!