Welcome
back to Sally Quilford who this month is talking with Catherine Burke of
Sphere.
Catherine has worked in publishing for
fifteen years, first as a bookseller at BCA (Book Club Associates), then as an
Editor at Harlequin Mills & Boon where she ran the MIRA list and published
the RNA anthology, Loves Me, Loves Me Not.
In 2010, Catherine was approached to
join Little, Brown Book Group as Editorial Director and she is
now publisher of
their commercial imprint Sphere and Executive Director for Group Rights and
Hachette Audio UK. Catherine told us, “Sphere publish many wonderful authors
across all genres, including RoNA winners and nominees including Elizabeth
Chadwick, Jenny Colgan, Emma Fraser, Carole Matthews and the much-missed
Catherine King.”
How
many titles does your company publish each year and where are your books sold?
Little, Brown Book Group has an
incredibly diverse list of fiction and non-fiction titles and we publish
approximately 1700 titles per year. At Sphere, we publish around 180 novels per
year, across all commercial genres.
What
do you look for in a romantic novel?
Characters I believe in, a conflict that
must be overcome, a story that leaves me in tears – I am partial to a weep!
How
might writers improve their chances of being published by you?
Read, read and read some more. Know
what it is that you love about your favourite books and write the book you want
to read.
What
reason might you reject a novel/author?
If it doesn’t compel me to keep reading
– I look for real page-turning, immersive qualities in the novels I publish.
How
long can writers expect to wait for a response to their submissions? This
includes acknowledgements or acceptances/rejections.
We work directly with agents and we
would aim to be back in touch with an agent within two weeks of receiving the
submission – often sooner.
How
do you see the future for writers of romance and the romance publishing
industry in general?
Love absolutely does conquer all and readers
are always going to want to read romantic fiction – I can’t imagine fiction
without love and romance, it’s an absolute fundamental of life itself! As for
the wider industry, it’s hugely exciting to see the variety of ways readers
choose to enjoy their romantic fiction now – whether through audio downloads or
CDs, ebooks, HBs or PBs – all routes are open and the genre has never been more
in demand. There are some sensational authors out there and incredibly talented
new authors emerging, too.
Do
you attend RNA events? (so that our readers might have the chance to meet you)
I was at the RNA Conference last year
and regularly attend the RoNAs and the Summer and Winter RNA Parties. If you
spot me, please do come and say hello!
Thank
you, Catherine, for those informative answers.
If you have anything you want to
ask Catherine, please feel free to do so in the comments and I will point her
in your direction.
Sally Quilford:
Sally is the author of over 20 novels,
all involving a central romance, with a bit of intrigue on the side.
You can
read more about Sally here.
The RNA blog is brought to you by,
Elaine Everest & Natalie
Kleinman
If you would like to write for the blog please get in touch
on elaineeverest@aol.com
2 comments:
Sorry to be so long in commenting. Since Dot Lumley, my agent, died I have not looked for another as she had just moved me to Hale and they were happy to work directly with me. However should I assume from one of your answers that you only accept submissions via an agent? I understand this in many ways because it must cut down the slush pile and save time and money.
As I'm on my tenth book as an indie author I would now like a trad publisher what is the best way to go about this and how long do RNA books have to be in the new writers scheme. 50000 or 80000. pamelastrange.com
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