Osiyo~

Today I’m debuting yet another new feature on The Ranch. I’m calling this one Wednesday Wrap-up. Why, you might ask. Well this feature is strictly open to editors and publishers to ‘wrap-up’ all your questions, to put rumors to rest, simplify guidelines, tell you exactly what an editor wants, or whatever they might bring to the table. It will allow these professionals to get word out on changes they might be going through, their own inner-workings, or maybe tips on how to better your writing. Once a month I’m going to try to have someone on the ‘inside’ who can answer YOUR questions. Who knows? Sometime in the future I might even host a blog pitch for readers to have the rare opportunity to interact with and get your writing in front of an editor without the slush pile headache!

So for the first edition of Wednesday Wrap-up I’m thrilled to introduce you to a great writer, a friend, sister OKRWA member and (one of) my own publisher’s excellent Suspense editor. Please show Ally some Ranch love!

Thank you for having me, Calisa. Hi! I’m Ally Robertson and I am extremely pleased to talk about our fantastic publisher, The Wild Rose Press, Inc. I am a Suspense editor for the Crimson line, and I started with TWRP when they opened their doors. We are now entering our seventh year of business, and the business continues to grow. I am thrilled and proud to be a part of the company. They truly treat authors and editors with the utmost warmth, respect, and encouragement.

We call our company a garden, and it’s fitting, because we love to help ‘grow’ writers. I don’t know much about actual gardening. (I tend to kill plant life). But I think I can compare it to the care and nurturing a gardener gives plants, helping them put down roots and eventually blossom. Our editors try to look past some of the rough edges for the beauty underneath. We don’t reject a manuscript just because a submission isn’t perfect. We have to see something in your story, in your writing, but if we do, we try to work with you and help you polish it until it’s ready for a contract offer.

I know that some authors are hesitant to sign with a relatively small e-publisher, but I have found many, many advantages to doing so. Especially with a company like TWRP. (I am an author there as well as an editor). With TWRP, you have a presence on the web that you don’t have as a self-published author. (Obviously, you have your own author presence, but not a company ‘store’ where readers can find your books) You have a wonderful marketing team, beautiful covers, editing, and a whole staff of people working for you. (As an SP, you have to pay for all of those things, sometimes, pay a LOT) Also, literally anyone in the world can self-publish. There is something about an editor wanting your work, a publisher wanting to be your publisher, that gives an author a sense of accomplishment, a sense of pride in having reached a goal. (I have self-published some of my titles, but only the ones that did not fit TWRP criteria). A publisher ‘having your back’ lends credibility to your work. There is nothing wrong with self-publishing, but having a publisher behind you elevates your status as an established author.

TWRP is always looking at how they can gain exposure for their authors. This year, for example, they are working even harder to get titles into audio, they have contracted an International Agent who helps sell the catalog to publishers overseas interested in translating the work into another language.  Such a contract was already signed with the country of Greece. They have produced a television ad (can be found on the website), the books were used as props on a movie set (the movie RED), and one of our recent promo steps was to offer authors an opportunity to have their stories come out on Kindle Select 90 days before the official release date.

Now, for some exciting TWRP news. The timing for this blog post couldn’t be more perfect. The Wild Rose Press is making some changes in 2013.

We are now open to submissions in a few genres that are not romance. Up to this point, we have been a ‘romance only’ publisher, but we are now opening up to the following:

Erotica  

Mystery/Suspense  

Women’s Fiction

Historical Fiction

In the past, I have had to reject some worthy manuscripts that I really enjoyed because the romance wasn’t strong enough. Now, I get to work with a wider variety of genres, and I couldn’t be happier.

Please feel free to ask any questions about TWRP or editing or writing in general. I would be delighted to answer to the best of my ability. You can find us here:

http://thewildrosepress.com/

Again, Calisa, thank you so much for inviting me to your blog!

Thank you, Ally! I can see I’ll have to have you back again.

Okay folks, pull out those cheat sheets and ask your questions!