My Interview with Justyn Perry, owner of Breathless Press and a bonus interview with Deb Brody of Harlequin nonfiction imprint
Susan Palmquist (SP)-Tell us about yourself and your background.
Justyn Perry (JP)-I hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and countless years of experience in the publishing industry. I love books to no end and am thrilled that I can be part of something as great as producing them. I am self taught in graphic design and can learn just about any program in a week, so I enjoy trying new things and utilizing old techniques.
SP-What sparked the idea to start Breathless Press?
JP-I saw a decline in the number of quality eBooks being produced and needed to make a change. With the onset of self-publishing, it felt like no one cared too much about quality. Granted, there are those publishers out there concerned with quality, but they are far and few between. I wanted to provide authors with a place where they felt like it was a second home and felt welcome. Not a place they dreaded and regretted signing with as a publisher. So, I felt a need to create a place for those authors.
SP-Why did you decide on the romance genre?
JP-The romance genre is a giant market. It sells billions of dollars worth of books a year. Romance not only serves a monetary purpose, but it also provides satisfaction. It provides happiness and pleasure to those reading it. In our current economic time, I felt it was the right time to offer more books that made people forget about their problems and allow them to take a quick vacation. The romance genre provides so much to readers and I wanted to be part of that.
SP-What sets a Breathless Press book apart from other e-books?
JP-We spend a lot of time on each book. Crafting it, editing it, building it up. I view eBooks as a house. You have to have a sturdy foundation (the publisher). From there, you have to build up slowly so that once it’s finished, it won’t collapse. The time you put into the book will pay off which is why Breathless Press strives for quality.
SP-You create some of the best book covers in the business. Take us through the process of how you turn a story into one of these beautiful images?
JP-Why thank you! I love art. Art is an amazing medium and allows so much expression. I will admit now, I don’t have the time to read every story that we publish. I will read close to every title, but I just don’t have enough time to read all of them. We have the author give our art department (me) a lengthy description on the hero, heroine, location and ideas they might think would work; after all, they know the story the best. From there, I search (and search and search) for the best images that fit the cover. Sometimes it takes a few minutes (I have a large collection of images) but sometimes it can take days or even weeks.
Once the image is found, I doctor it up to make it look production worthy. This may include adding make-up, airbrushing, changing features, altering eye color, making the model smile or smirk, adding expression to the face, giving a breast implant (if needed). All of this is done in Photoshop. When someone says “Oh that model looks Photoshoped” chances are, they have been and I love doing that stuff (I am available for hire wink wink). Once the model is finished, I work on the background (if any), then the text and any effects I want done to the cover. Generally, a cover can take me anywhere from an hour (most of our covers were done in an hour or two) to a day or two. I don’t stop once I do start because I will lose whatever inspiration I had.
SP-Tell us about some upcoming books you’re especially excited about and why?
JP-I am excited about a few books. Our very first f/f book in our Aphrodite line, Strapless by Honoria Ravena, will be coming out in August. I am stoked to see how it will be welcomed in the industry since m/m is a hot seller right now. Another book I am excited about is Sable Grey’s new book: Her Laird, Her Lover. Any book by Sable Grey is an amazing one and I cannot wait to see how our readers devour it. The last one that is a big milestone for us is launching another line. I approached Kaye Spencer, western writer, to write us an erotic western to launch our brand new Branded line this fall. She agreed with a sly grin and began working. I have seen glimpses of it and am pleased to say that it will be one of our hottest releases yet.
SP-What do you look for in a submission?
JP-We look for quality writing and a great story. Without a great story, there wouldn’t be a good book and without quality writing, there wouldn’t be a story. The story has to maintain the reader’s attention throughout and make sure that there is enough twists and turns that the reader is left wanting more. It has to have appeal (not just sex appeal) and scream read me!
SP-Any story or sub-genre you’re eager to publish but have yet to find?
JP-We are launching another line (yes, three new lines) called Cyber – Satisfying all your future desires. The only problem is we haven’t been able to find any good quality futuristic/Science Fiction Erotic/Erotica. I see a market for it but have yet to had a single good submission (not saying my Acquisitions Manager doesn’t have one in her inbox right now).
SP-You publish various book lengths from short stories to full novels. Any word length you’d like to receive more submissions?
JP-Our best selling lengths are Temptations, Novelettes and Novellas. We love these lengths and would like to see more.
SP-Breathless Press is already home to some very talented writers. Why do you think Breathless Press is a good place for an author?
JP-We are like a fine hotel. We cater to most needs of authors and try and give them the best care we can. If our author is happy, we are happy and our readers will want to read their books. Each author becomes part of our family and is a friend and treated like one. I believe this allows us to have a better relationship with those authors and happy authors produce great books.
SP-Lots of publishers are now producing anthologies. Any plans for those?
JP-We have actually been contacted a few times for anthologies soo… yes. We are going to be opening submissions for some themed anthologies in the coming months.
SP-So what’s ahead for Breathless Press?
JP-What’s ahead…well, we just launched our Audio Books so readers can now listen to their favorite Breathless Press book while they work out at the gym, jog, drive, eat, sleep, breath… We aren’t picky where they listen. We will be printing a few titles this fall so watch for that on our site. Other than that, the rest is a secret 
. Oh, and a new website launching end of summer with a lot of bells and whistles!
If any of you read non-fiction you might already know that Harlequin launched a nonfiction imprint. Here is my chat with executive editor Deb Brody.
Susan Palmquist (SP)-HQN’s had huge success in the fiction market? Why did you decide to venture into nonfiction?
Deb Brody (DB)-60% of all books sold are nonfiction, and we wanted a piece of that market. Harlequin knows women like no other publisher, so it made perfect sense for us to be publishing books for all aspects of a woman’s life. I like to say that the nonfiction program is providing books for the issues women are trying to escape when they’re reading a romance novel!
SP-When was the first book released?
DB-We launched with LOVE MATTERS by radio talk show host Delilah in October 2008.
SP-You’re releasing two books a month. Any plans to expand?
DB-We’ll be publishing 14 books in 2010 and are already scheduled for 24 for 2011.
SP-So far you’ve published a diversity of books, everything from The Total Brain Workout to Underneath It All, A Girl’s Guide to Lingerie. Is this your intent or are these the books that appealed to you the most?
DB-Our goal is a diverse list, though we are looking primarily in the categories of health, diet, self-help, parenting, and memoir.
SP-You’ve been publishing books by some well know HQN authors such as Debbie Macomber and Susan Wiggs. Did they write these especially for you or were these books they’d already written?
DB-These are books that have been contracted expressly for the nonfiction program. One of our goals is brand extension of our bestselling author base.
SP-Are there any types of books/subject matter you’re looking for and so far haven’t found?
DB-Nothing comes to mind right now, as we’ve got upcoming books in so many different categories.
SP-So a writer acquires an agent and is ready to submit to you. Does it have to be completed or will you look at a book proposal?
DB-Proposal is fine, and, in fact, preferred.
SP-If so, what do you want to see when you read the book proposal?
DB-A fresh idea or a new take on an old idea. And, most importantly, an author with a platform who can go out and really help promote and sell the book.
SP-And speaking of authors having a platform, is this something you require?
DB-As I mentioned above, it’s certainly something we like, but it’s not required if there are enough other reasons to acquire a book.
