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Dreamspinner Press

KimJo

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Their editing is definitely good. I've had at least 3 sets of eyes other than my own on everything I've written for both the main imprint and Harmony Ink.

Speaking of which...

My second Dreamspinner title came out at the end of July. Sales have been slow and reviews haven't been great, but that isn't DSP's fault by any stretch. (The reviews have mainly been negative about the main characters, which is completely on me... though the things the reviewers don't like about the characters are kind of the entire point of them/the story...)

I just received a contract for my fourth Harmony Ink title (third novel; I also have a short in their upcoming First Time anthology). I submitted it July 1 and received the contract August 24, for those who keep track of response times.
 

Becky Black

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I have a short story coming out in their 'Hot Off The Press' anthology and have to say I'm very impressed with their editing. I especially like that they reference and check everything.

I'm in that anthology too, my second one with them. Yes, I do love all that checking for references to things. Very thorough.
 

pugalicious

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I've a novel contracted with Dreamspinner with a two-month range for the release date in the middle of next year. When should I expect the editorial process to start and/or the date to get firmed up.
 

Captcha

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I've got a book coming out with them December 1, and I just checked my e-mails - editing started late June, mostly finished by late July. Cover stuff in late August (finished, with 'ad pack' delivered by late September). Galley proof mid October.
 

Captcha

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Does anyone know how much they pay for short stories for anthologies?

Not a lot, based on my experience.

I only have one story in one anthology, but I got... $35, maybe? Maybe $50.

I think it, like most anthologies, was a good way to expose my work to new readers. So in terms of exposure, useful. In terms of profit? Not so much.

(This was about three years ago, I think, so things may have changed.)
 

JulesJones

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I had a short in one of their anthologies this year, and got paid what amounted to 1c/word, plus one copy of the ebook and two copies of the paperback. It's in line with what I've seen over the years from other presses in the literotica market, including Cleis and the late lamented Alyson.

As Captcha said, not a lot of money but good exposure to new readers. I was happy to submit to another anthology (rejected this time), and will do so again.
 

oceansoul

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Anybody have any idea of what recent Harmony Ink response times have been like?
 

Ellaroni

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Anybody have any idea of what recent Harmony Ink response times have been like?

Six to eight weeks according to their website, which is pretty accurate. They got back to me after six weeks on my most recent submission. I was accepted, by the way. :D

Harmony Ink has a new webpage and shop, separate from Dreamspinner now, so maybe they should have their own thread from now on?
 

oceansoul

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Will keep my fingers crossed that I will hear soon.
Am on four a!nd a half weeks now!

Congrats on your upcoming release!!
 

KimJo

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I think even when there's a separate imprint, this site tends to keep the same company in the same thread. Even though Harmony Ink now has a separate website--and I'm VERY glad for that; I was uncomfortable giving out the Dreamspinner links for my YA books to teachers or teens--it's still an imprint of Dreamspinner Press, not a separate entity.
 

oceansoul

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I have signed a contract with Harmony Ink! I am SO EXCITED. This manuscript has been my baby for a while.

The novel is called Unicorn Tracks and it is a YA Romantic Fantasy set in on Safari in an 1890s-Kenya-like world.

So far, Dreamspinner and Harmony have been an absolute dream to work with. They answer my questions promptly. The contract was extremely author friendly, and they paid my advance within 24 hours of acceptance. Incredibly impressed so far, and looking forward to working with them.

*dances about the room*
 

Becky Black

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Congratulations, Oceansoul!

I forgot to mention on here I sold a short novella (about 22k) to Dreamspinner's Bittersweet Dreams line. It's in edits now and will be out in the summer. That's the first one I've done with them that isn't part of an anthology.
 

KimJo

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They pay advances only on acceptances of books over... I think it's 50,000 words. Whatever their minimum is for novel-length; I would have to look it up to remember for sure. Their advances have increased in the time I've been working with them, and if I remember right, they actually polled authors at one point to get a sense of what we wanted in terms of advances, or whether we preferred just getting royalties, or whatever.

If your manuscript doesn't meet their "novel-length" criteria, there's no advance. If it is novel-length, they send out the advance as soon as possible, usually within a day at most, after you sign the contract. And unlike a couple of other publishers I've worked with, DSP/Harmony Ink take the advances out of royalties only on the book the advance is for. (I have another publisher that takes the advance out of royalties on *all* books you have with them...)
 

Viridian

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They pay advances only on acceptances of books over... I think it's 50,000 words. Whatever their minimum is for novel-length; I would have to look it up to remember for sure.
It's 60,000. The book I just signed over to them was 54k and didn't get an advance.

They say on their website that they sometimes offer an advance on novellas, but it's unclear when or why.

~ All novels are contracted in print and digital formats, which are released simultaneously. A $500-$1,000 advance is paid in a single payment upon receipt of the signed contract. Once the advance is satisfied, novels earn 40% royalties for digital sales and 30% royalties for paperback sales.

~ Novellas are released in digital format. A $200-$500 advance may be offered at the discretion of the publisher. Novellas earn 40% royalties for digital sales.

~ Short stories and novellas for anthologies are purchased for a flat amount based on the length of the work. Exceptions are made for an anthology of shorter fiction by a single author in which case the novel length guidelines apply.
 

oceansoul

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It depends on if you're talking about Dreamspinner Press or Harmony Ink, the YA imprint. For Harmony Ink, they pay advances on books over 45,000 words.

My YA manuscript was 53,000 words and they paid me an advance.

Would also just like to say that so far Harmony Ink/Dreamspinner have been absolutely fantastic to work with. They're also helping me quite a lot with a blog event I'm running for YA LGBTQ authors, which they don't have to do, so I really appreciate them. Hopefully the process continues to go well! My book isn't due out until next Spring, so I'm trying to keep myself busy writing another!
 
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KimJo

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Okay, yeah. According to their submission guidelines, for Dreamspinner (and, I assume, DSP Publications, though that isn't open to general submissions at this time), a novel is considered 60K and up. For Harmony Ink, a novel is considered 45K and up. I've only had two books through Dreamspinner proper, and only one of those was novel-length, so I wasn't totally sure of their word count criteria.

The advances are consistent across all three imprints, though. My DSP Publications title and my Harmony Ink title that were accepted around the same time both got the same advance.

For anyone who's wondering, DSP Publications is their newish imprint for gay fiction that *isn't* necessarily romance, or that has romance but doesn't fit the genre requirements entirely. At this point, I believe it's only open to in-house authors and submissions are by invitation only; I had to contact the head of the imprint and pitch my story before I was given information on how to submit. I'm not a hundred percent sure about the in-house authors only part, though.

DSP Publications also has a longer lead time between acceptance and release, partly because I think they aren't releasing as many books in general, and partly to allow for better publicizing, review submissions, etc. since many of the titles can't be promoted through the usual romance venues. The DSP Publications title in my signature was accepted in March of this year, but won't be released until March of next year; by comparison, the first Harmony Ink title in my sig was accepted in January and will be released, I believe, in July, and the second was accepted last week and is slated for release in October/November of this year.
 

Captcha

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Does anyone have sales numbers on DSP Publications books yet?
 

Fallen

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I've got to admit, I only heard about DSPP a month or so ago. Along with accepting story-based work over romance, themes are sometimes darker than DSP's more traditional romance line. It feels a good shift.
 

Captcha

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Captcha, what sort of numbers are you looking for? I'd be happy to share mine if you want to see them.

I'd love to. I guess I'm just trying to figure out if sales compare with what I'm getting in the m/m romance side of Dreamspinner. So, I don't know - how long your books have been out for and how many sales you've gotten in that time would be really interesting.

You want to PM me?