PLEASE NOTE:
Embrace Books is closed to new submissions until late autumn 2011, due to sheer volume of mss received so far. Please return here in October to check for the re-opening of submissions.
Embrace has two romance series for novels and novellas: After Dark and Red Velvet.
We are particularly keen to see submissions of short category romance or paranormal romance novels for Red Velvet and After Dark. Historicals, less so.
We also have two broader historical series, Embrace Historical and Embrace Regency, and Saffron for lesbian fiction and non-fiction.
We also handle submissions to Proxima Books, a separate imprint of our parent company Salt Publishing, which specialises in science fiction and fantasy writing (non-romance).
Please see below for each series’ guidelines. What writers should submit in the first instance will follow at the end.
Red Velvet – 50-60K in length
Sexy, sophisticated romance with feisty heroines and believable Alpha males. Contemporary and paranormal categories. Millionaires acceptable but not necessary. British settings and characters welcome. Sexual content required in all books, and can be a key element, but should not be overly explicit.
After Dark – 55-65K words
Passionate, scorching romance and erotic romance. Open to unusual and daring storylines. Contemporary and paranormal settings. Must include explicit sex, which in some cases may be central to the plot.
Embrace Historicals – up to 150K
A broad range of women’s fiction with a historical setting, including category-style romances, generational sagas, romantic epics, and relationship novels. Please note, these books do not need to be romances, though they should all carry elements of romantic involvement. Lengths will vary according to sub-genre.
Embrace Regency – 70-100K
This dedicated series is for Regency and Georgian romances only. These may be traditional, comedy-of-manners romances or employ a wider-ranging, more fantastical approach. Short romances should be no more than 75k, while others may fall between 75-100K. Unusual settings and characters are positively encouraged, so long as the writing is exemplary and the period well-observed. Time-travel and paranormal storylines are acceptable. Bold sensual content is generally preferred to ‘sweet’ romance.
Saffron – up to 100K
Strong lesbian writing with an emphasis on popular commercial fiction in the following genres: contemporary, romantic, erotic, historical, paranormal, crime, thriller and suspense. Lesbian non-fiction may also be considered. Reprints where rights have reverted may be negotiated. Realistic sex is preferred for romance and utterly essential in an erotic submission, where sexual content should be strong, frequent and inventive. While not wishing to discourage darker storylines, positive depictions of lesbians and a lesbian lifestyle are preferred.
Proxima Books – science fiction and fantasy, length variable
Our editors are currently seeking submissions of quality alternative fiction for Proxima Books, including eclectic variations on science fiction, fantasy, alternative history, heroic or anti-heroic adventure, magic, horror, Gothic, supernatural, mythic or urban fantasy, and any blurring of the above sub-genres. A brief synopsis is required for all submissions, but for complex works over 50,000 words, please include a detailed synopsis, plus a glossary or list of dramatis personae where appropriate. Please note these are not romances.
Please Note: Novellas are welcome across all series and categories, from 20K up to 40K
TRIOS: Embrace is currently seeking trios of shorter stories by the same author to be published in one mini-volume, preferably hot romance (straight, gay, lesbian or bisexual) with a common or linked theme. Please state trio theme and submit all three stories at the same time as three separate Word attachments: total word count of collection not less than 10,000 nor to exceed 15,000, i.e. an av. of 5000 wds per story.
Novels and Novellas: What to Submit Please submit your first 3 chapters and a synopsis, or the full ms and synopsis if submitting a novella.
Include a writing-specific CV or account of your writing history, a few lines about the book, including word count and which line you are targeting, and why your submission would suit Embrace.
All submissions should be by Word doc (not docx). RTF will be accepted, though Word is preferred. Other formats may be rejected. Please include your title, or an abbreviation of it, and your surname in each file name, attaching the synopsis separately.
To improve your chances of acceptance, attention should be paid to rules of punctuation, spelling and good writing generally before a manuscript is submitted.
Submissions by email only to jane@embracebooks.co.uk
There are no automatic acknowledgements. Manuscripts will be acknowledged individually, in order of receipt. Response times are currently short. The sooner you send, the quicker you should hear back. If you do not hear back within six weeks, please query.
Please note, Embrace Books is a digital-first publisher.
All titles will be sold digitally. Selected titles will also be presented in a print edition. 40% royalties are offered on home downloads, 35% on other sites, 7.5% on print (where applicable). Rights are for 3 years’ duration. Payments quarterly.
Q. Newsflash – Trio, is the word count of 10,000 – 15,000 per attachment (making max 45,000)or per mini-volume?
15,000 is the TOTAL word count of the volume, i.e approx. 5000 av. per story.
Regarding Historicals, can you please advise whether you would class the 1950s as falling within your “Historical” genre.
Thanking you
Kit
Dear Kit
Absolutely, yes. We’re very interested in unusual historicals, which includes rarely treated time periods. Anything up to the sixties is considered historical, though in some cases it will depend on the treatment.
Hope this help! Jane
With the Trios, will you consider reprints (or a combination of reprints and new submissions)? Also, are the royalties on net or gross?
Email me jane @ embracebooks.co.uk
Jane, I have seven linked short stories, written from the man’s viewpoint, average word count 4400. Are you likely to be interested?
Sounds unlikely, I’m afraid. Nothing like that in the guidelines.
Hi Jane I follow you on Twitter and picked up your broadcast re submissions – in specific supernatural stories. I have a 100K plus MS, based on a tumultuous year in the life off a 30+ woman. She inherits a ghost along with a house, and changes everything about her life, focus, location, goals. It has a mix of humour, love interest and supernatural. I DID read in guidelines no romance – and although this DOES have an element of that in it – hasn’t life? – it is only as strong a theme as the ghost thread, as is the thread on rebuilding her life.
Of interest?
I’m afraid that doesn’t fit the guidelines either. Which are on the main page under SUBMISSIONS.
Hi,
Couple of quick questions.
Does the manuscript need to be complete before I query? As I’m half way through now. Also the story I’m writing is perfect for your Red Velvet series, though it will be around 70k once complete. Is the upper limit rigid on your word count?
Thank you.
Pretty much, yes. Category is generally short fiction, so the nearer 50,000 words the better. The ms doesn’t need to be complete but it will speed up the whole process. Cheers, J.
hi Jane
I am writing three short stories for the TRIO linked by soldiers, their partners and lovers. The theme is romance but how explicit is ‘hot romance’?
regards
Diana
If someone sent you a complete novel instead of just first 3 chapters, would you dismiss the submission outright or still give it your consideration.
Always happy to look at full novels rather than 3 chapters, though there’s no guarantee I’ll read BEYOND chapter three. By the way, we’re currently on a hiatus in looking at subs. So no submissions until the autumn, thanks.