An interview with Adores'
Associate Editor Stephanie Doig
Notes by Jean Joachim, June 17, 2020
Carina Press launched its new line Adores this month for contemporary LGBTQ+ romances. It’s publishing one new book per
month, although they launched with two. They will be promoting the Adores line
differently than they do the other Carina Press lines.
They are creating brand awareness and are
looking for diverse voices and own voices for the line. Do you have to be gay
to write for Adores? No. They will not be outing people who are gay and
writing for them. They are accepting people who are not living the LGBTQ+
lifestyle.
When asked what trope does Adores expect to
be popular 18 month from now, Stephanie said she can’t predict and it can be
tricky trying to figure that out. She said that tropes are evergreen.
They are looking for less fantasy and more
realism. They are looking for a main conflict, more of a joy-oriented outlook
and less angsty – no pandemic stories. They are not looking for gay identity
conflict as the main conflict, although that can be referenced in the
backstory.
Adores is publishing both first and third person
stories. They are open to a single POV, however most they’ve accepted so far
are dual POV’s. But one of their latest acquisitions is a single POV.
They will accept snarky dialogue. Adores is not
looking for heteral stories that are male/female with the characters/genitals
changed. They want authenticity.
Adores is producing their books in digital,
paperback, and audio. As for production schedules, if you submit and get
accepted in the next two months, the book will appear in spring, 2021.
While they don’t pay an advance, they do pay a
higher royalty. (Although she didn’t say higher than what. Maybe their sister Harlequin category lines?)
While it takes a year to get a book out, one of
the things Adores does is submit books to reviews way in advance. The bigger media
want books at least 3 months before publication date to have reviews ready when
the book is released. Carina Press has a sales team that interfaces with
bookstores.
Adores also wants female/female stories, not just male/male. When asked, Stephanie said they would accept sports romance books, a subgenre, and that swearing would be okay. But they don’t want things like racial slurs or other derogatory dialogue in a book.
Adores also wants female/female stories, not just male/male. When asked, Stephanie said they would accept sports romance books, a subgenre, and that swearing would be okay. But they don’t want things like racial slurs or other derogatory dialogue in a book.
Submit through their website – For Adores you
only need to submit a proposal, which consists of the first 7500 words and a
3-5 page synopsis. They accept full manuscript submissions, too.
For more information, visit
Adores here.
To submit your story to
Adores, visit here.
