Mastodon
Close

January 10, 2012

It’s Time to “Pitch Your Shorts”!

Cartoon of man digging at an "X" - like "X" marks the spot

Update:  Sorry, this pitch session is now closed.  I might do another one at some point, so stay tuned. Thanks for your interest!

The Pitch Your Shorts pitch session is officially open!  Please read the whole post for all the details.

We’ll have at least six (6!) editors from Entangled Publishing visiting the blog between now and Monday, January 16th.  So if your pitch isn’t quite ready, never fear.  We have almost a week to cross our t’s and dot our i’s.

The editors are as excited by this event as we are, so they’ve upped their promise.  They guarantee they’ll make at least three requests from those who pitch here, and for the pitch that excites them the most, they’ll offer detailed feedback.

(*psst*  Truthfully, they expect to be fighting in the hallways for dibs on pitches and requesting many more than three, but that’s the minimum number.  This is more like a writing conference than a contest, and editors can request every pitch that interests them.  Woo hoo!)

Submission Guidelines (Is Your Short Fiction a Good Fit?)

Entangled Publishing is interested in stories with strong romantic elements that end in a “happily ever after” or a “happily for now.”  They’re looking for stories in the 10-60K word range and are open to many genres:

  • Contemporary
  • Historical
  • Romantic Thrillers
  • Science Fiction, Dystopian, Steampunk
  • Paranormal and Urban Fantasy
  • Fantasy

The editors are taking pitches for their Flirt (10-15K), Ever After (20-40K), and Lori Wilde’s…Indulgence (45-60K, “a smarter, hipper version of Harlequin’s lines”) imprints.  If you don’t have anything that fits now, keep an eye on their Special Calls for Submissions for various anthologies in the works.

Meet the Editors

Adrien-Luc Sanders, Senior Editor

His current interests run towards sci-fi, contemporary, and urban fantasy—the darker, the better—with a love for gritty dystopian, cyberpunk, steampunk, supernatural, and that rare cross-genre gem. He likes stories falling into that gray area of the battle between good and evil, with strong antiheros and believable villains, or heroes who face temptation and corruption and don’t always get away unscathed, though he can also be won over by quirkiness, sweetness, and humor, with a love of oddball characters and whimsy.

He’s also interested in stories that portray people of color and LGBT people as mainstream characters whose cultural, ethnic, sexual, and gender diversity are enhancements to their character rather than the primary focus of the story.

Kerri-Leigh Grady, Associate Editor

She loves paranormal romance and UF worlds that aren’t complicated by numerous mythical beasties, smart romantic comedy, dark comedy, romantic thrillers/suspense/horror, dystopian romance including steampunk, reunions, BFFs falling in love, marriage of convenience, [strong] woman in jeopardy, man in jeopardy, supernatural elements, clever monster elements, multi-cultural characters, alpha nerds, high stakes adventure, and general hilarity. She’s open to F/M, F/F, and M/M pairings in all heat levels.

For Indulgences, she’s looking specifically for the following: reunions, BFFs, marriage of convenience, ugly duckling, [strong] woman in jeopardy, man in jeopardy, road trip, alpha nerds, high stakes adventure and suspense, forbidden love, fish out of water, and smart romantic comedy. I’d love to find a military hero where the romantic conflict rings true and is related to the challenges of being a mil-girlfriend or milspouse.

Libby Murphy, Associate Editor

Libby would like to see submissions for adults and young adults written with a killer voice, and she especially loves quirky characters and plots. She loves sci-fi with aliens, robots, and high tech; urban fantasy and time travel; contemporary romance; women’s fiction with a strong romantic element; and suspense and mysteries. She craves humor, anti-heroes, and underdogs, and strong, capable heroines are a must.

For Indulgences, she’s looking specifically for the following: Best friends, best friend’s younger sister, millionaire playboy, athletes, relationship because of a bet, arranged marriages, bad boys, revenge plots, reunions, adventure (Indiana Jones meets Bridget Jones!), romantic comedy, forbidden love, geeks (hero or heroine), and military heroes. I’m not likely to request sheiks or royalty, but if the royalty is the heroine, that’s definitely more likely. I’m a huge sucker for snarky heroines, funny heroes, and heroes who are the strong, silent type. Libby was interviewed here recently.

Libby is especially interested in Flirts and Ever Afters that fit the following:

  • Scientists or inventor-types who walk the line between good and bad (like Batman)
  • Paranormals with a villain hero/heroine who is redeemed by the end
  • Disaster or apocalyptic events in which people find love, despite everything falling apart around them (can be sci-fi, fantasy, or contemporary featuring a natural disaster, for example)
  • Quirky contemporaries or paranormals—humor is a must!
  • Sci-fi, especially if it has a Tron, I, Robot, or a Terminator type setting
  • Thrillers set in a small town
  • Zombie hunters 🙂
  • Romantic Comedy (would love to see a trilogy about a group of girlfriends finding love)

Lewis Pollak, Associate Editor

A student of philosophy, psychology, and the sciences, Lewis Pollak has an appreciation for both characters with complex motivations and stories that are thought-provoking. Find him on Twitter at @LewisPollak.

Lewis loves books that take readers to new worlds, whether they are alien landscapes, alternate histories, or contemporaries with a twist. He also enjoys books that strike a balance between serious and humorous moments. While partial to all sorts of speculative fiction from high fantasy and urban fantasy (but not Keith Urban fantasies) to science fiction and paranormal, interesting characters with genuine emotions and snappy retorts usually win him over regardless of genre.

Kerry Vail, Associate Editor

Kerry loves the whole spectrum of speculative fiction, from hard scifi to space opera to sociological. She loves dystopian futures and alternate histories, especially when combined with a compelling voice and an unusual twist. She also enjoys urban fantasy, high fantasy, and paranormal thrillers, and gravitates toward strong female leads who are intelligent and can save themselves and fall in love. She is open to stories of love in any of its many forms and any heat level.

Josh Vogt, Associate Editor

Josh Vogt has a passion for reading and writing speculative fiction. He’s seen all sides of the publishing industry, works as a freelance copywriter and editor, and is currently signed with a literary agent to get his novels published. He brings to the team his love for books, plus a desire to help aspiring authors in their quest for publication success. Find him on Twitter at @JRVogt.

Josh is interested in all types of fantasy and science fiction, from urban fantasy to steampunk to space opera to epic and YA fantasy. He loves stories that suck him in without warning and compel him to keep reading thanks to fascinating characters, great dialogue, twisting plots, and powerful worldbuilding.

Read more about the editing team at Entangled Publishing.

How to Pitch Your Shorts—All the Details

Before midnight Eastern time on Monday, January 16, 2012, post the information about your story, your two-sentence pitch, and the first 100 words of your story in the comments of this post.  Like so…

TITLE: insert title here
GENRE: insert genre here
WORD COUNT: approximate word count here

TWO-SENTENCE PITCH:
Insert your two sentence pitch here.

FIRST 100 WORDS:
Insert your first 100-ish words here.  You’re allowed to end slightly before or after 100 words to finish with a complete sentence.

(Formatting Notes: This blog uses WordPress comments, so you won’t be able to edit or delete your comment after it’s posted.  Boo, hiss, I know.  So pay attention here.)

  • If you want a blank line between paragraphs, hit “Enter” twice.
  • If you want italics, use this code: <em>these words would be italicized</em>.   The <em> code turns italics on, and the </em> code turns italics off.
  • Don’t forget to turn italics off, or the rest of your comment will be italicized.
  • If you make a mistake, contact me via the Contact form on my blog or through Twitter and I will edit/fix/delete your comment as you wish.  (I want us all to do our best.)
  • Comments will be moderated, so your pitch will not be public right away.  (This will let me ensure that all comments are pitches and give you time to contact me with issues.)

I love conversations in the comments, but for the sake of this pitch session, I ask you to comment to this post only with a pitch.  Just this once, restrain your brilliant thoughts and help me spread the word about this pitch session instead.  *smile*

I’ll be closing the comment section at midnight Eastern time on Monday, January 16th.  Until then, good luck to everyone and Pitch Your Shorts!