Thursday, November 10, 2005

What's doing at Tor?

Cindi Meyers, that font of knowledge, reports that Tor Publishing is broadening its scope more into the romance side of the industry, looking also for Chick Lit and Paranormal Romance. Tor has been known mainly for its science fiction and fantasy lines up to now. I have a few friends who have had paranormal romances requested from them, so I know this to be true. I sat in on a panel by their publishing house in Reno and decided their editor, Anna Genoese, looked about twelve years old (sigh) but was very sharp.

In the area of Chick Lit (think Bridget Jones Diary), they want more than clothes and shopping. Cindi reports the stories need to be "smart, compelling, and realistic." You can get more on the guidelines for Chick Lit at http://www.tor.com/torforgechicklit.pdf

For paranormal romance, think beasties (vampires, werewolves and the like), fantasy, futuristic, horror, etc. It seems romance and science fiction don't make for a great combination in their opinion. Guidelines for paranormal can be found at http://www.tor.com/paranormalromance/about/submissions.html

They are also looking for erotica, which is defined by Tor's editors as not "NC-17 romance novels...[but] true erotic novels." Okay, since I don't read erotica, I admit that one stumped me, so I asked a friend who writes it, Eden Bradley, what the difference is. She said the former (NC-17) probably falls in the category of...well, the sexier category lines, like Harlequin's Blaze, Temptation, and Desire, or Kensington's Brava line, which are romances with lots of sex, while the latter (a true erotica) is more about the sex, fairly graphic, plenty of it, with romance supporting the story, and possibly with elements some might find objectionable (e.g., bondage). You can find out more about this genre if you are interested at Eden's site, www.edenbradleyerotica.com

(A romance is currently defined as a story that has a satisfying conclusion in which there is an implied or actual commitment at the end between the couple involved. RWA is still wrestling with whether that couple should be identified as male and female, or two people.)

Cindi also reports Tor is still publishing mainstream fiction as well, and they are looking for romances involving older heroines, say over 35 to about 50, as well as seeking YA (Young Adult) fiction, too.

Good info to know!

TJB

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