Q&A with Spice Editor Susan Pezzack Swinwood

Hi everyone,

It's been a while since I've done a Q&A on the community, and it's good to be back! Hopefully my limited computer skills won't be too obvious...we'll see if this first post makes it to the thread!

As many of you know, I'm the editor in charge of both Spice and Spice Briefs, and I'm also part of the MIRA team. I know there have been lots of questions circulating about the erotica programs, and I hope that this forum will satisfy everyone's curiosity.

So...let me have it! Start asking away, and I'll do my best to set everything straight.

If anyone could pull if off, it would be you, Megan! Smart aleck.

That does it, you're getting such a slap!

Hiya Susan!

I'm still working on Barnyard Tales, I know how thrilled you said you'd be to get my torrid tales of love in a corral...

What's your take on single author anthologies?

Lauren

Megan, keep your mitts off my cow shifters with fake leather daddy hats! (fake leather = pleather because yannow, cows woudln't wear real leather - that's a bit too edgy I'd say)

Lauren

...oh, man...the smacking is going start going around any minute, now...

Well, Susan, clearly you're a formidable, scary editor whose authors quake with fear at discussing things with you. Run away potential authors! Run away, I say! Writing for Spice is scary! We never have any fun! It's like working in a salt mine!

M

PS-- I really would like to hear about single author anthos and what you'd look for and what would make your eyes bleed. 

Okay, I guess I'll come forward with a couple of questions.

I made a first attempt at writing a spice brief. It's dark, with a hint of paranormal. In the end one of the main characters dies.

Would Spice Briefs consider something like that? I'm editing now and wondering if I should make the mood lighter and change the ending to make it "happier". I kind of like it as it is, but if it doesn't fit the line...  I'll try to come up with something else. 

Also, what is the view on swearing? Do you feel it detracts from the story? Would you prefer not to see it at all, only in moderation, or anything goes (its all in the execution)?

Thanks in advance for your help!

SueB, slinking back into lurkdom

Historical submissions--what are you getting a lot of?  What aren't you getting, that you want?  What historical period do you never want to see again?

Well, thank god for SueB and her legitimate questions keeping us on track

SueB, you've asked a good question and I'm glad you raised it -- "Will my story fit in your line?"

Here's the thing. So far with Spice I've tried really hard for the focus to be on a great story with great writing, first and foremost. If you've read a cross-section of Spice books, you'll see that some have a darker, edgier tone, like Megan Hart's novels, some are more fun, like Kayla Perrin's Getting Some, some are serious, like Jina Bacarr's The Blonde Geisha, and others have a HEA, like Sarah McCarty's Caine's Reckoning.

Everything can fit into the Spice program, theoretically. We haven't published a paranormal yet -- though Jina did do a time-travel with Naughty Paris -- but that doesn't mean that I'm not willing to put more in the schedule. It just has to be the right one, always keeping in mind the great story and great writing.

HEA are not a requirement for Spice books. What I've always stated is that the ending must be satisfying, meaning that whatever question, problem, conflict or issue raised in the story is resolved by the last page, whether or not that means one man and one woman ride off into the sunset together.

Dark and edgy stories are great, so don't feel that you have to write some happy, perky characters or plot to sell your story. If your book is dark and edgy, so be it. Be true to your story.

As for the swearing, it's absolutely fine so long as it fits with the character and doesn't become distracting. Cuss away!

Actually, I'd just like to second Megan's question re. single author anthologies. I'm really fond of writing BDSM and power exchange stories, and I'd love to do a single author antho on that theme.

Portia

Historicals are a very good topic for this forum. I am seeing a fair share of historical submissions in Spice these days, and I have to be very particular about what to acquire. As we ramp up to (hopefully) one book per month, I have to keep in mind the balance of historicals vs. contemporary and not have too many of one or the other.

Currently in Spice we have a western historical series, a couple of very different Victorians, a WWII-era, and there's a medieval coming down the pike. I would never turn down a fantastic historical, but it would have to be very special to "earn" a spot within Spice right at this moment. Now, I don't mean to discourage anyone from submitting an historical to Spice. If anyone's got one, please do send it.

As for what I'm looking for....you'll get bored hearing me say it, but the answer is always: great writing. That's the bottom line. All time periods, all countries and settings are welcome. And, of course, research and detail must be meticulous.

They're a 'Yay'.

(Just a note -- Anthologies are multi-story volumes written by several authors. Collections are several stories written by one author.) 

We published Enchanted, Nancy Madore's collection of erotic fairy tales in 2006, and have her second volume coming this fall. So yes, it's definitley something we would consider.

Thanks for the word on single author collections. I'll rummage through my story notions file. I have one novella done and finished, plus *lots* of other ideas!

Portia

...Second Verse is paranormal Susan...

*facing corner with dunce cap on*

M 

I meant that we hadn't published any paranormals yet...sorry I wasn't clear! I edited that post...

Susan - My questions were actually refering to the briefs, not the novels. Sorry if I wasn't clear. Right now I only have a couple of brief ideas in the queue. I think I may need to read a few more spice novels before I  tackle one.  *wink*

Thanks for the info on the turn around times for the slush piles. They are right about where I thought they would be...

Thanks Megan, for the info. Loved your online read, btw.

Portia - I went over my Sven writing quota the past couple of days - very proud of that. I'm afraid I've been slacking today, though... 

SueB

Joking aside, what I've loved so much about writing for Spice is the freedom to write the books I really *want* to write without feeling like I have to shoehorn them into some sort of mold.

The book I'm working on now is different even for me (don't be scared, Susan!) though of course the more I write on it the more I realize it's NOT different. Apparently I have themes and a "voice" who knew?

Anyway, the point is, I'm taking a bit longer with it because it's challenging me, and I love that I'm able to write it for Spice because Susan doesn't say "slot A and Tab B is all we're looking for."

M 

Portia, my very general answer is yes, any country would be fine in contemporaries too.

However, authors should bear in mind who their audience is when they're choosing the setting for their books. We all know France, Spain, Australia, England, etc... but is the average reader in middle America going to be interested in reading a book set in, say, Belgrade? If it was a literary novel, the world is your oyster. But when it comes to erotica you have to imagine the reader at the bookstore, a sea of erotica books to choose from before them. Is she going to choose the super hot novel set in the English countryside, or the one set in Serbia? Chances are, they're going to pick the setting they're more familiar with.

Again, that's not to say it's right or better to stick with the usual settings, and it's not at all to say that any culture or people is less interesting than another. We all know that's not true. But there's also a reason books set in the US, England and France sell so well. Just be cautious

Thanks for that answer, Susan. And I totally understand the reasoning. It's so much easier to connect with a book if you've a degree of familiarity with, or a fondness for, the setting.

I'm just happy that UK settings are good for Spice! My stories are almost always set in England.

Acquiring previously-published books is not unheard of. Nancy Madore self-published Enchanted when we bought it. There are certain cases where we would not choose to buy a certain book -- level of distribution, quantites sold, etc... -- but from the sounds of it yours wouldn't be a problem.

Hi Susan! I've got a question about Spice Briefs. How does the selection process go? For example, are all the submissions read by one person first, and then they get weeded out there or moved up the chain of command?  Thanks!

Hi Susan,

My question concerns the word count for Spice Briefs.  I note the ceiling of 15K.  I have a 17K manuscript that feels like a good fit for the Spice line.  The manuscript was originally over 24K and I've cut it down to 17.  Would I need to trim another 2K to be considered?  Or is there some wiggle room in there?  I don't want to sub something that is destined for the trash because of word count.

 K.B.

Hi Jodie, thanks for dropping in!

Right now we are a group of five editors and freelancers reading the Spice Briefs submissions, including myself. Everything we read is basically sorted into a "Yes" or "No" pile. I personally read all the submissions in the "Yes" pile, and from there I select which ones to acquire for the program.

I've got a Brief wanna be :-) sitting in your surely massive TBR pile, so I was just curious as to the process. Thanks for indulging me. I'm sure I'll have more questions later as I try to create more of these!

I love the opportunity to write someting so, well, brief! I love writing, love crafting a story, but sometimes the full length stories are too long for me in this busy life! This seems the perfect way for me to be able to indulge my passion for writing and still have time for family. Thanks for the opportunity!!

Last night I was thinking about Spice Briefs and what helpful information I could pass along. I thought I might just briefly mention how the editing process works for SB, because it's quite different from our print books.

We receive SB submissions via the SB email address (spicebriefs@harlequin.ca). Unlike our print books, which go through several editing stages on top of author revisions, Briefs only get one edit.

When we're deciding on which stories to acquire, part of our criteria is that the story is in the best possible shape editorially speaking. Because of very tight deadlines with our production and internet teams, authors do not get a chance to do revisions to their SB manuscript -- once we've acquired your story, that's the last you'll see of it until it's published online. This is why it's imperative that your submission is as polished and as perfect as you can make it and, equally important, that you're satisfied with what you've written.

The newly acquired story then goes to a copy editor who corrects any technical errors -- grammar, spelling, fixes any repetition or inconsistencies. After that, a whole whack of magical things happen with the computer whizzes (i.e. not me) to get it formatted and translated to electronic files (I'm totally making up this terminology) and then, poof! it's available for sale online.

So be sure that when you submit your Brief that you've gone over it with a fine-toothed comb, and maybe even have another pair of eyes give it the once-over to be sure it's exactly as you want it.