I’d like to thank Raelene Gorlinsky of Ellora’s Cave Publishing Inc for agreeing to answer some questions about Ellora’s Cave as well as Cerridwen Press. For further information o­n this publisher, please go to: http://www.ellorascave.com and Cerridwen Press, their sister site that publishes mainstream fiction: http://www.cerridwenpress.com

ME: Tell us a little about what’s new at Ellora’s Cave and Cerridwen Press?

RG: Ellora’s Cave publishes o­nly erotic romance, and has been around for five and a half years. We refer to ourselves as the publishing company that put erotic romance o­n the map. We were the leader, when everyone else said that women would not buy this sort of story. Now all the “big guys” are rushing to follow in our footsteps!

Cerridwen Press is an imprint of Ellora’s Cave Publishing Inc, and was launched a year ago (May 2005). It publishes most mainstream fiction genres. A large number of our titles are romances (non-erotic), but we also do mystery/suspense, horror, science fiction/fantasy, historical fiction, women’s fiction.

We are initially and primarily an e-book publisher. All our books come out in digital. Many of them will then be released in print also.

ME: Are there certain lines that you are actively seeking manuscripts in over others? Are there any taboo subjects? Subjects that you feel are overdone already? Subjects that just make you go…ick or enough already?

RG: For EC, we want excellent Romantica ^TM (our trademarked term for erotic romances) . They must not o­nly contain abundant and explicit sex, but must fit the definition of a romance-focus o­n the development of the romantic relationship, leading to an emotionally satisfying HEA.

In late 2006, we are launching a small line of erotica within EC, “Exotika”. These stories follow the same taboos and sex guidelines as our Romantica, but do not need to be romances, don’t need a HEA for a committed couple, don’t require the characters to be faithful/monogamous.

At the moment, we are most eager for interracial, African American, and gay erotic romances – we get a lot of reader demand for these. Our best-selling genres are paranormal, vampire/werewolf, futuristic, and BDSM.

Cerridwen is eagerly looking forward to the late 2006 launch of Cerridwen Cotillion, our line of traditional Regency romances.

Cerridwen does not publish non-fiction, poetry, children’s or young adult stories, inspirational literature, or category-style romances. We are looking for unique stories, those that will grab our editors and make them demand to have this book. Push the envelope! For romances, any level from sweet to sensual.

What we are very tired of seeing is clones of best-selling authors. Please, no more stories that are just derivations of the worlds built by LK Hamilton or Christine Feehan.

What drives our editors crazy is sloppy or inadequate world-building and historical/factual inaccuracies. Plus authors who submit sloppy work – it should be totally proofread and self-edited before you even consider submitting to a publisher.

ME: How do authors submit their work to you?

RG: We accept o­nly email submissions. The guidelines are o­n our websites (www.ellorascave.com and www.cerridwenpress.com). Basically, send an email with attached file in doc or rtf format to Submissions@ellorascave.com. The attachment must contain a detailed synopsis, first three chapters, last chapter.

ME: What is your current turnaround time o­n submissions?

RG: 75% of submissions receive a response within six weeks. For the rest, the o­nes that show great potential, they are put in a queue for an acquiring editor to read; this can take six months or more. Submissions in the hot subgenres or for our two upcoming new lines receive priority attention.

ME: What are some of the common mistakes you are seeing in submissions?

RG: Authors don’t know the difference between a blurb (a short teaser, like o­n the back cover) and a synopsis. A synopsis describes the setting and main characters and provides a complete outline of the full book, including resolution.

Authors initially send the full ms – sorry, that just annoys us, it does not encourage us to read it.

ME: What can an author do to really catch your attention?

RG: Have a short, concise but exciting cover email to Submissions, and be sure it is well-written! It’s hard to believe that a story might be good if the cover letter is misspelled, full of grammatical errors, and so forth.

ME: How does Ellora’s Cave/ Cerridwen Press market their books. Are you strictly e-books or are you doing trade paperback as well? Are your books sold strictly o­n your website or are they available through other means?

RG: Our e-books are sold through our website and Amazon.com, or by direct customer order (phone, mail, email). They are also carried by some third-party e-books vendors.

Our print books (trade size) can be found not o­nly at our o­nline store, but at Borders bookstores, and at a huge number of other chain and independent bookstores. Any bookstore can order our books through Baker&Taylor distributor.

ME: How many previously unpublished authors have you bought so far?

RG: Many, many (I’d say well over half) of our authors were not published before they came to Ellora’s Cave or Cerridwen. We love giving authors a chance, seeing them succeed and grow as readers discover their great stories.

Currently, Mary Eason has three e-books in publication, a short story due out in November along with two more e-books in September. Her article entitled, Keeping The Faith, published through Romance at Heart allowed her the opportunity to connect with many talented Inspirational Chick Lit writers. You can learn more about Mary at: www.maryeason.bravehost.com

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