Seems like everyone’s a writer yet the author’s grapevine is a tiny one. Most days it’s talk about who’s looking for this story and that, while on others it’s chatting about a publisher’s reputation. One company that constantly gets high praise is Samhain Publishing Ltd., so this month I decided to check them out for myself. Here telling us about the company and what they’re currently looking for is editor Tera Kleinfelter. www.samhainpublishing.com
Susan Palmquist (SP)-When did you start working at Samhain?
Tera Kleinfelter (TK)-I started working at Samhain in 2007
SP-Any particular genres you work with?
TK-I work with all genres. I won’t close myself off to anything. A great story is a great story no matter what genre it’s in. That said; I particularly like contemporary, romantic suspense, m/m and ménage, any combination.
SP-Samhain publishes everything from romances to sci fi. What’s your best selling genre?
TK-My personal best-selling genre is m/m and m/m/f, but I think a lot of that has to do with those authors and how they promo and their popularity.
SP-Any genre you think is under-represented at Samhain, meaning that you’d like to see more submissions?
TK-Wow. That’s a tough one. I try to keep up with everything that comes out and reading a lot of our books, but I simply can’t, so I can’t be sure about that.
SP-When I visited the Web site I noticed you have some upcoming anthologies. Red Hot Fantasy Tales, Steampunk Romance and Red Hot Winter Tales. Maybe you can tell us more about them?
TK-I can tell you they’ll be really good. =) Other than that and what information is on the website regarding them, I don’t actually know anything else. An anthology is that particular editor’s baby, so they are really the only ones that know all the particulars about it.
SP-Any other forthcoming anthologies you can tell us about?
TK-Of my own? No…I do however have an idea that I’m pitching that I think everyone will love and I’m pretty sure hasn’t been done before. =)
SP-I’m hearing lots about ‘steampunk’. I immediately think of the show from way back when ‘Wild Wild West’. Do you think it’s the next ‘big thing’ in publishing? And what do you look for in a steampunk submission?
TK-There has indeed been a lot of hype around steampunk lately. It seems that everywhere I turn and every time I read an article, someone is talking about steampunk. Could it be the next big thing? Sure, why not. J I have to admit, I love the idea of steampunk, but I’ve never actually edited it, and I’ve never received any submissions for it. We have other editors, like Sasha Knight, who love the genre. I would rather let editors who have a passion for it receive those submissions.
SP-And what about vampire tales and urban fantasy? Have they had their 15 minutes of fame? Or will Samhain continue to actively look for these stories?
TK-Samhain will now and forever continue to actively look for well-written, unique, and wonderful stories…no matter the romance sub-genre. I personally enjoy vampire tales and urban fantasy and have those stories in my repertoire of contracted manuscripts.
SP-In your role as editor you probably see no end of these paranormal stories. How can a writer put a new spin on them and make you take notice?
TK-I’m really not sure about that anymore. I love paranormal, but I feel like I am seeing the same stories over and over. Sometimes I wonder if there is anything original out there anymore, though I know there is. There always is. It just takes someone’s imagination and a fresh spin on an old idea. I’d like to see someone take something very UNparanormal and give it a paranormal twist.
SP-Thinking about some of the recent manuscripts you’ve acquired, what got your attention, what made you say, I have to offer the author a contract for this one?
TK-Unless a manuscript catches my attention and makes me say “I have to offer a contract on this one” I don’t contract it. Every manuscript has to have that something that grabs me. I know that seems vague, but it really is as simple as that. There is no “one” thing, because every story is different.
SP-What don’t you like to see in a submission?
TK-To me, a submission includes the query letter, so I’m going to include that too. =) The very first thing I look at is someone’s e-mail and what e-mail addy they are sending it from. I don’t like seeing an address that is obviously a family e-mail, or one that is sexygrrrl69@whatever.com. It takes two seconds to set up a free e-mail account at Yahoo! or G-mail (my personal fave) and shows that you take your writing seriously. As for query letters, I’ve posted about the on my personal blog and the Samhain weblog, so I won’t bore you with that here. =) Then comes opening the manuscript. If I see a grammar error, misspelling or word misusage on the first page, it’s going to put a bad taste in my mouth. I also don’t like to see manuscripts that start with a dream sequence of someone fantasizing about someone. I think it’s overdone and rarely done right.
SP-I love the warnings you have on each book, like deep emotions, edge of your seat suspense. Some of them make me laugh out loud. They’re very original. Does each editor write these?
TK-Actually, our authors write these. Sometimes we editors tweak them teeny teeny bits, but by and large, the authors come up with the warnings, and we encourage them to be as creative as possible with them.
SP-So for the readers out there, what makes a Samhain book different from the rest?
TK-One of the biggest I can think of is quality. We take the editing of every facet of our books very seriously. And we are very particular about the books we offer contracts on. Our cover art is also amazing; the art department does a wonderful job and we have some amazing talent working for us.
SP-Is there anything else you’d like to share with us? Anything you’d like us to know about Samhain Publishing?
TK-You’ve covered a lot here. There isn’t really anything I can think of off the top of my head to share that I haven’t already said in one way or another. Samhain is a wonderful place to work and be involved with and I’m really excited for what the future holds.
