This month’s interview is with Renee Rocco who along with her husband, Frank, owns Lyrical Press…yes, I’ll admit to some shameless self promotion because it’s the home of my next book. Here Renee gives us some insight on how Lyrical Press began and what they’re currently looking for. www.lyricalpress.com
Susan Palmquist (SP)-I’m always interested in how and why people start their businesses. How did Lyrical Press come about?
Renee Rocco (RR)-When I started out in this business I had certain expectations about publishing, as do many first-time authors. Yes, that’s right. I began first as an author. Many of those expectations were exceeded. Others, however, were not. I’d branched off into cover art. I loved it but still felt like something was missing. It all went back to some of those unmet expectations. That’s when Frank and I put serious thought into opening our own house. We had a solid idea of the business model we wanted and how we wanted to run the house. We brought our different areas of expertise together and from there, gathered a phenomenal staff, acquired some extremely talented authors and launched Lyrical Press on May 5th 2008.
SP-When I came part of the Lyrical Press family of authors I was impressed at just how professional you are with every aspect of the business from the letter of congratulations to the editing. Is it something you consciously set out to achieve?
RR-Absolutely. Although Frank and I strove from the get-go that we wanted an author-friendly house, we’ve never forgotten there is a distinct difference between friendly and friends. If that line is crossed by a publisher, we both believe it is then difficult to make difficult business decisions that might be…less than popular. On the same hand, we strive to always treat our authors and staff with the respect, honesty and professionalism they deserve.
SP-Speaking of professionalism, I’m also impressed with the high standard of editing at Lyrical Press and I’m lucky enough to be working with a great editor. Most of the criticism that arises about e-books is they don’t receive the level of editing you’d expect to find at a top NY publisher and hence the writer looks sloppy and the reader gets shortchanged. Is top notch editing always been a top priority for you?
RR-One of the reasons we grabbed up Emma Wayne Porter and forced her into the position of executive editor was her intelligence and steadfast dedication to forming a strong editing department. She and I are both writers, so we came to Lyrical with the experience of being on the other side of the pen, so to speak. Our combined experience having worked in different aspects of the publishing industry, we feel, gave us the advantage to anticipate the criticism if Lyrical’s books were anything less than stellar in both editing and formatting.
SP-Renee, you’re the creator of those fantastic book covers. Are you self taught or do you have a graphic design background?
RR-Fantastic? Thank you so much I’m self taught, actually. I always doubt Lyrical’s covers can compete with other publisher’s amazing artwork, but I can’t seem to give up cover art. Now that I’ve set writing aside to focus on Lyrical, it’s my only personal creative outlet. Without the calm that comes when doing covers I’d probably be insane by now.
SP-Okay, there’s lots of new stuff on the horizon at Lyrical Press. How about telling us what type of stories you’re looking for and the new lines and series you’re working on?
RR-Right now Lyrical is focusing on romance and erotica, but we’re always open to all genres of commercial fiction. We do have three Elite lines; Allure, Elements and Vintage. These are advance paying lines with a projected launch date of May 2010 for the first book. Submissions for these lines are slightly different than our general guidelines. http://www.lyricalpress.com/imprint_submissions
SP-What do you look for in a book?
RR-One that is rich in characters with settings vivid enough to draw a reader into that story’s world and hold them there long after the book has ended. We want stories that show the author is fearless when faced with the challenge of breathing new life into old ideas.
SP-What’s an instant turn off?
RR-Since each of our editors has differing opinions on what would turn them off, I can only offer my own points of view on this.
I have two levels of turnoffs. One is during the query/submission process. I personally find a sloppy query or submission to be a major turnoff. During the submission process is when an author must put their best foot forward. To not present your work to a publisher in a clean and professional manner speaks volumes to me.
When it comes to an actual manuscript, I’d have to say cardboard characters and robotic dialog are the kiss of death.
SP-Any type of story you’re desperately looking for but just can’t seem to find?
RR-Steampunk! I would love to see more Steampunk submissions. This genre is only now starting to get the attention it deserves. Steampunk is the perfect marriage of an era when steam power was in use and science-fiction/fantasy elements. It’s a fun genre to explore that has me chomping at the bit for.
I’d also love to see gothic paranormals. Stories along the lines of Underworld, where you have a totally realized world where there is a perfect blend of fantasy and paranormal that is fully submerges in a gothic atmosphere.
SP-And for readers, what sets a Lyrical Press book apart from others?
RR-Our readers spoke and we listened. Readers wanted an eternal bookshelf. We gave it to them. Readers wanted multiple formats and that’s exactly what they get with every purchase of a digital book. We offer .pdf, two forms of .html (raw and pc), .prc, .lit and .epub. We’ve recently improved on the actual layout of Lyrical’s books – again, thanks to Brian Hunter and Emma – both geniuses in my opinion – by adding a back cover copy, highlight and a table of contents. This provides our readers with an ease of navigation throughout the book as well as the blurb and a mini excerpt right at the beginning of the book.
SP-You’re currently looking for more erotica. Are these your bestsellers? Anything you’d like to see?
RR-Yes, erotica is Lyrical’s biggest seller. We’re always on the lookout for that genre. We’d also like to see stories with a strong focus on BDSM.
SP-How about paranormals, anything that’s run its course? Any new trends on the horizon?
RR-Paranormals will always be a sought after genre. One of the reasons people love to get lost in a book is they want to get transported to a place where anything is possible. In the pages of a paranormal is the perfect escape from reality. Paranormals allow for the impossible to become possible and really, who can ever tire of the beauty of that freedom?Going back to Steampunk for a moment, although it’s not paranormal I do believe it’s on the verge of gaining some serious momentum and is one genre to watch out for. As for paranormal trends on the horizon, we’re seeing an…normalizing, if you will…on classic creatures. Vampires, angels and demons mainstreamed or assimilated into average lifestyles.
SP-So what’s in the future for Lyrical Press? Where would you like to be in say five years?
RR-I hesitate to say exactly where I’d like to see Lyrical in five years, only to prevent those words coming back to haunt me later on if I shoot for an unrealistic or grandiose goal. Or worse, putting self-imposed limitations on the house if I go for lower expectations. So, I guess I’d just love to see Lyrical continue on with its steady positive growth. We have good forward momentum and lots of ideas we plan to set into motion in the coming months by way of expansion and marketing. It’s all about taking small steps to keep forging ahead rather than bite off more than we can chew and falling back three steps for every one we take forward.
SP-Anything else you’d like to share with writers and readers?
RR-To thank our readers for their support! We really do believe we have the best readership any publisher could hope for. To authors, I’d like to mention we are always on the hunt for exciting romance and erotica, so if you’re thinking of submitting to Lyrical Press, we’d love to hear from you! submissions@lyricalpress.com
