Vampires Rule...Still

At the RWA writer's conference, I went to most of the publisher's spotlights. Just when we thought there was a glut of vampire books on the market...the editors pretty much all said to keep writing them, they want them and the readers want to read them. Well hell...maybe Aria needs to get sucked on by a vampire in my next "THIRTEEN" book. Not. Maybe Book 3.

One trend I noticed in the free books I brought home: I'd say 75% of them were paranormal. Yep, publishers are still drooling for paranormal books. Dark, gritty, tortured vampires, demon hunters, shape-shifters, etc. etc., are still big and seem to have found a "permanent" niche in the market. Love it! Not that I write real dark, gritty, tortured characters...but the editors said they want paranoramals/urban fantasy of all caliber.

This was all good news for me, since this is what I love to read and love to write. Now I just need to sell THIRTEEN!

More to come...

New Market for Romance Fiction!

I love it when a new market opens up. Another great place for authors to submit their work in hopes of getting published. Yeah, it's more competition for readers but the market can bear it. Romance fiction generated $1.2 billion in sales in 2004. Half of all paperback fiction sold is romance fiction. It's a huge market and it increases every year.

Here's the skinny (I also reported this in my Market News on my website):

Publisher Sourcebooks, Inc. is launching into the romance fiction game. Their Casablanca line will now publish all genres of romance fiction, including paranormal, time-travel, contemporary, romantic suspense, historical, erotic and Regency. Sourcebook's new line launches this fall with 3 titles. The imprint will eventually publish 15 to 20 titles per season in a mixture of mass market and trade paperback formats. Their goal is to launch new authors and "pick up authors looking for a new direction in their careers." See Submission Guidelines. (Source: Publisher's Weekly).