Click here for Book Cover information.
AWE-STRUCK E-BOOKS IS CLOSED FOR SUBMISSIONS FOR A LIMITED PERIOD OF TIME.
We will reopen once we get caught up, but we will not consider or even open submissions until that time. Watch this page for the reopening date.
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IF
YOU DON'T WANT US TO FIND YOUR MANUSCRIPT IN THE SLUSH
PILE, DO THE FOLLOWING!
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1> We sell romances. And that means the romance must be the overriding element of the story. So, for example, if you have written a historical romance, don't give us a history lesson. Romance readers are interested in some history. They want the flavor of the times, but really they want romance. Use the history as a setting rather than the reason for the story. Same goes for a sci fi romance. Put the reader into your starships, but make darned sure there's some real romance taking place as your heroes jump into hyperspace. Make the romance, not the genre, motivate the characters. We're not interested in hard sci fi or hard history. We're interested in a clever romantic tale that lives in the genre you've chosen to write in.
2> Plant the hook early! Preferably in the first sentence. If not that early, put it in the first paragraph. Romance readers will not have the patience to read even 5% of the way into your book without at least seeing the lovers meet and start to form that all important relationship.
First sentence hooks:
# "I'm quite surprised to see that a female is the chief of the highway patrol," Geoff said as he grinned in her face.
# She couldn't imagine why she, a quiet school teacher, was so attracted to this leather-jacketed man on a motorcycle, but she was.
# He felt himself screaming as the lash tore at his flesh before his dog nuzzled him awake from his ever-repeating nightmare.
# "Did I hear you say that you're looking for the Four Clovers Dairy Farm? I'm the ramrod of that outfit. I'd be happy to show you where it's located."
# To dance the minuet would be, oh, so easy, if he would just ask her.
# "Please help me, sir; I think I'm being followed!"
# Why did she feel as if she knew him?
You get the idea. <g>
3> Make something seriously happen in the first three chapters so when the reader finishes Chapter Three s/he can't want to read Chapter Four. Why? Because our online previews show the first three chapters. If you haven't piqued that potential customer's interest in the first three chapters, you've lost a sale. And so have we.
4> Send us your best effort. That means the manuscript must be clean before you send it to us. Although we edit your book, (if accepted), and although the edit is at no cost to you, we might accept a book with the understanding that you will have to clean it up before we even begin an edit. If you can't find your own mistakes, find someone on your end who can before you send us your final manuscript. Does this mean your book has to be without error? Certainly not. But it does have to be reasonably fit to edit. If it's not, it's wasted effort for all of us.
Our bottom line is to sell books. We want your story to be a good one, and we want you to write according to the guidelilnes above. This doesn't mean we are relegating you to a formula. There are a gazillion directions you can take and still adhere to these guidelines. But your bottom line, no doubt, is that you want your book to sell, as well. Help us do this by moving the action forward with an interesting beginning that will lead your poor reader through your excellent story. :-)
Awe-Struck E-Books is open for for submissions for releases in 2009 in the following areas:
>
Regency Romance
> Historical Romance
> Paranormal Romance
> S/F and New-Age Romance
> Inspirational Romance
> 'Out of the Box' Romance--something new and different!
> Futuristic Romance
> Time-Travel Romance
Please visit our site and read the submission guidelines. (They
are pretty simple.) We do ask for a clean manuscript in Word,
sent as an attachment to a cover letter. We also ask for a synopsis.
Please put your email address on Everything you send us. Sometimes
all the information gets divided up and placed in different folders/mailboxes
and we don't want to lose you.
If you want to have your work considered, you must follow our submission guidelines. If you don't adhere to them, your submission will be deleted. Click for submission guidelines.
Send submissions to--
We are NOT seeking the following:
young adult,
children's books,
erotica or erotic novels,
nonfiction,
cookbooks,
action/adventure,
military (Rambo-type),
confessionals,
travel,
poetry anthologies,
mysteries
We would like interesting plot lines that do not sound like other plot lines we have read. Please tell an original story. Send a COVER LETTER WITH A SYNOPSIS of your story line, and attach three to five chapters of the book in WORD (we do not accept manuscripts written in other word processing programs)--important: please PUT YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS ON YOUR MANUSCRIPT, along with the TITLE and YOUR NAME or PEN NAME. The cover letter is separated from the manuscript in our filing system. We don't want to take the chance of losing your address.
PLEASE edit and proofread your work--from start to finish. Send us your best work, your most interesting novel (novel length is minimum 45,000 words). Please do not patch several partial novels together--it usually shows. When an author sends material that has not been proofed or planned well he/she sends a message that: ebook publishing is not worth the effort, OR that he/she is incapable of using the English language in a grammatically correct way. Although our editing services are free (we are a full-service publisher), we will not rewrite your book, nor willl we make massive syntax and grammar changes. That responsibility lies with you, the author. We are getting more and more 'fussy' about requiring clean manuscripts. Before sending us ANYTHING, go to--
http://www.awe-struck.net/FAQs/faqmenu.html
Find out how we want you to send us your manuscript. We receive many submissions. Regardless of how good your book might be, we will reject those manuscripts that aren't set up reasonably correctly according to our posted guidelines. Please visit our site and check those out. It could very well save you from an unnecessary rejection email.
Send submissions to--
You can send your work to either address. It takes several weeks for me to read submissions. I try to read them a few at a time, but please be patient.
Spread the word--we are open!
FINAL REMINDERS:
Please follow our guidelines very carefully. If your manuscript does not conform to our guidelines (including an articulate cover letter) or is not in a genre we publish, it will not be read.
We
will NOT accept Word Perfect files. We accept manuscripts
originally written in Microsoft
Word only.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
- E-mail us a cover letter. In the cover letter, include your book’s title, the genre, your pen name (if you use one) and a short synopsis of the novel. Also SEND US AT LEAST THE FIRST THREE CHAPTERS OF THE NOVEL. Do not send the entire manuscript unless we ask for it. Be sure your email address can be found at the beginning of the manuscript. We don’t want to lose our ability to contact you.
- The file you attach must be in Microsoft Word format. We will accept no other format.
- The file you attach must be labeled with your last name.
- Compress the file before you attach it to your e-mail. Mac users, the software to properly Stuff your file can be gotten at stuffit.com. Most Macs already have this software onboard when you buy it. PC users, the software to properly zip your file can be gotten at winzip.com.
- Send submissions to: kdstruck at mchsi.com
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CONTRACTS:
What next? If we are interested in possible publication of your manuscript, we will contact you by e-mail within three weeks to update you on its status in the reading queue or to ask for the complete manuscript and other necessary information.
Why should you want to publish with Awe-Struck? We are flexible and we communicate with authors. We want to see good writers get published in a fair, exciting manner for all. Because Awe-Struck is an electronic publishing company, it has less overhead than a traditional publisher, so we can offer authors a bigger slice of the pie, so to speak. We may ask you to make some changes in the content of your manuscript, or we may request further editing to the manuscript, but once we accept the final form for on-line publication, your commission on each book we sell will be approximately 30%-35% of the sales price of the ebook. (We offer a separate contract for print rights.)
If we do agree to publish your book, we will have it for sale by the agreed upon date of release. No excuses--unless the killer asteroid hits!
How long will we continue to feature your book on-line? We feature your book for as long as the contract reads. Right now we offer a two year renewable contract.
IMPORTANT! When printing off contracts, be sure to Refresh (or Reload) the contract page in your web browser to make sure it's the latest contract update that prints. Sending us an old version will slow down the process.
Copyright Information:
NOTE: The following copyright information has been updated by Elise Dee Beraru, Attorney at Law, Beverly Hills, California. Elise is also an Awe-Struck author who has written the multi award winning The Hero's Best Friend, as well as The Hungry Heart.
How can you copyright your material before sending it to us? Good authors are reticent to send their manuscripts to someone they don't know. The Copyright Act of 1976 provides for copyright protection for any work you have written as soon as it exists in any recordable form (paper, computer disk, CD or drive, audiotape) although there are some limitations on damages for unregistered copyrights. It is not generally advisable to register the copyright of a manuscript until the final version because it will have to be re-registered if there have been any material changes during the editing process.
An inexpensive
way to prove the date of existence of your manuscript before you send
it out to us is simple to do. Here are the steps-
- Before you send us your manuscript, make a copy of it. This could be in the form of a print-out, but it also could be on a floppy, or Zip cartridge, or even a CD, if you happen to have that level of technology available to you.
- Package the manuscript and send it to yourself!
- When you receive your manuscript from the Post Office, don't open it! This is your copyright. If you should ever have to provide proof of copyright, take the still sealed package to court and have the judge open it. The postmark, legal in a court of law, will prove that you owned the manuscript long before someone else who tried to claim it as theirs.
How can you go about acquiring a formal, legal copyright? There is a great site that explains all! Go here: Copyright Site Clicking on the link opens a new window. When you are finished investigating or book marking the site, close the window and you will be back at this window.
When should you formally register your copyright? If you file the formal registration papers within 90 days of the release of the book to the marketplace, you will be fully protected retroactive to the release date of the book. Beyond 90 days your protection begins on the date the application form and fee are received by the Copyright Office. If you choose, you can wait to register your copyright until after someone has infringed on it, but you will lose the right to be awarded attorneys fees separately from your damages if you wait until after there has been an act of infringement. Additionally, if there has been an infringement, you must have a registered copyright in order to have access to the court to pursue a lawsuit, even if you've established a date of existence by the self-mailing process listed above.
We are not interested in acquiring the copyright on your material. We will sell your material while you hold the copyright.
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How long will we continue to feature your
book on-line? We
feature your book for as long as the contract reads.
Do we ask for an exclusive contract? Only for electronic rights. You are free to pursue agents and print publishers while we sell your book at our site and through many other on-line bookseller sites.