Faery Editors Chiming In With Their Thoughts!

Faery Editors Chiming In With Their Thoughts!
Hello everyone, just a bit of information from the Faery section of the garden.

The definition of Faery for me is simple, something magical, mystical, something that will make dreams come true. That is what I am looking for as an editor, to help grant wishes for contracts. However, that is not always the easiest thing to do. Each author, whether pubbed already or not, must do their part to help realize their dream.

Romance has to be the key word. I don’t want sweetness and nice all the time, because life isn’t truly that way. I want to see a work that will pull me in from the first page if not the first sentence. Believe me, it can be done. Give me Goal, Motivation, and Conflict in spades. If I can’t believe in it, then I can’t sell it. I want to know your characters, what they feel, their reason for doing what they do, and to rejoice in a Happy Ever After.

One thing I see, as an editor, are manuscripts not properly formatted, basic writing skills not being utilized, and a general not knowing what the guidelines are for our line or our publishing house. Do yourself a favor, look these up. They are invaluable to a writer wanting to break into the literary world.

If you send me something that does not follow the guidelines from the query letter and synopsis, then I will wonder if you will be able to follow instructions about revising your work if we get that far.

Now, if you have a romance that is filled with characters that leap off the page, make my heart warm reading about them, you still have to know the writing basics. Unless you are a multi-pubbed author, you can’t get away with sloppy point of view. That is what keeps your readers focused on your work. Poorly written POV can pull them out of your work and make them put your book down. As an editor, I am the same way. Again, follow the guidelines, and if you are not certain about the writing basics then utilize the Green House, it is outstanding for giving authors the help they need to hone their work.

As for what I want to see personally, I love heroes and heroines who make me want to step into their books. I want to be so drawn in, I have to remember I’m supposed to be evaluation the work and not just enjoy the romance.

Amanda Barnett/Senior Editor/Faery Rose

Please read what our wonderful Faery Editors have to say about what they like or dislike.

What Editor Claudia Fallon says:

Different publishers may have different ideas about what a romance is. Before you submit your story, please make sure that it is indeed a romance, and a romance of the type that The Wild Rose Press publishes. Buy a couple ebooks from the line you are interested in submitting to (like Faery!) and read them. Also, check out the Greenhouse in the Writers' Resource section on our website at http://www.thewildrosepress.com/ I hate having to reject a perfectly good manuscript just because it's a story with romantic elements rather than a true romance!

What Editor Sarah Hansen states:

Point-of-view control is crucial to me. While true there is more than one big-name author out there who skips from character's head to character's head within a scene, I find it distracting. The ability to keep within one character's head for a scene shows me the author is working to bring the reader inside their creation. Mastery over point of view allows the depth of emotion, conflict, and resolution that a story with bouncing points of view do not. I find stories with fewer, stronger, and longer points of view offer a tighter and more satisfying story than those that jump frequently. Draw the reader in and hold on tight by allowing them the full range of your character's "life."

What Editor Frances Sevilla is looking for:

I want memorable characters and a plot that draws me in from the first paragraph and keeps me reading long after I want to put it aside.

That takes in all the necessary qualities to make a manuscript a good book.

What Kelly Schaub wants to see:

Submission guidelines often preach to the choir. Those who don't follow the guidelines or don't have the skill necessary in their writing craft to be published are the very writers we are forced to reject. I don't like rejecting. I don't like getting excited by a premise only to be disappointed when the partial manuscript shows a lack of craft polish or the well-written full manuscript proves to be a non-romance. Telling a hopeful writer "no" breaks my heart. What my coworkers have already said they want to see, I second. Sing with the choir--learn all you can about writing craft and put it into practice before you send your manuscript to us. Competition is high for contracts. Don't assume "the editor will fix it later." Give your product the best chance of success by selling it at the right state of readiness to the right people.


If the writing is solid but not romance enough for Faery here at TWRP--don't dispair. Genre fiction is a funny thing, and here at Faery we have a crossover blend with fantasy and science fiction. The whole world of Scifi/Fantasy publishing is open to good books we've rejected for not focusing enough on the romance angle. Market it as Scifi/Fantasy with romantic elements. Just be sure to read their guidelines.