Sourcebooks Casablanca Romance Authors

By Danielle Dresser  It’s that time of year when romance authors take flight and gather together over the next few months to meet with readers, industry professionals, and other authors… yes, it’s conference season! There are so many different ways for authors to interact and meet readers and others, and Sourcebooks will be at a bunch this season: Public Library Association Conference; Indianapolis, IN Wednesday, March 12-Friday, March 14 (yes, I’m here RIGHT NOW) I’m attending my first PLA conference this year, and couldn’t be more excited. Public Librarians do a great job of getting the word out about all books, but they are also among the most romance-friendly librarians in the business. Along with some fabulous marketing and sales colleagues, we’re going to have a busy booth with signings each day, book giveaways, and a lot of fun. Chicago-North Spring Fling Conference; Hoffman Estates, IL Friday, April 25-Saturday, April 26 This is one of my f...

by Danielle Jackson 2012 Conference Logo, from RWA.org At the end of last month, I, along with 2000+ other romance authors, publishing professionals, agents, etc. descended upon the Anaheim Marriott for the annual RWA National Conference. It was an incredible experience! I am always amazed every year how supportive of a group this is—it’s not every day that you can rub elbows with nationally bestselling authors and people attending their first conference ever. The atmosphere is dynamic and inspiring… I always leave with ideas and thoughts about the things to come for our publishing line and our authors. However, I have to say—when compared to other writers conferences and/publishing trade shows, RWA is a different breed. Of course there’s networking and pitching and workshops sharing valuable information… but there are also parties and reunions and, this year, trip to Disneyland! I always have a hard time explaining exactly what I do at RWA, but I thought I’d try, along w...

by Danielle Jackson Or at least what I hope for! 10. That you will remember to name your guest blog/interview attachments at the blog’s name, and not “Blog 4”. This is one of those teeny tiny nitpicky things that helps with my OCD about organizing my computer folders in chronological order. 9. That the all major bookstores (chain retailers, mass market stores and even the indies!) buy all of our books. There are times when for whatever reason, a book store buyer won’t buy a book. And it’s understandable—they are presented with so many titles day in and day out, and they have to make tough decisions all the time. But a girl can hope, right? 8. That NONE of my authors receive negative reviews . You all know my policy—I only send you the good reviews directly (or the ones that might be mixed, but are overall good). But I do know you find the bad ones. And I know how much it hurts because it hurts me, too! I didn’t write the books or spend so much time working on edits and p...

by Danielle Jackson A lot of firsts happen in romance novels—first kisses, first times (yes, I mean that time), first… well, ok, you get the idea. But as so many of you know, being a first-time published author during this time is incredibly intimidating. What is the best way to promote and market YOUR book, which deserves all the love and attention and accolades along with the rest of them? Typing “social media” into Google isn’t going to help you. In fact, it will probably send you screaming in the wrong direction. But, there are some simple things to remember as you start your journey into publication, or even if you have more than one book in publication, to navigate through what does and doesn’t work for you and your book. 1. You Don’t Have to Blog Every Single Day. At every single RWA National conference I’ve been to, I’ve attended a workshop on promotion and at all of them a speaker has said one thing I just don’t agree with: YOU MUST BLOG. Now, I think blogging during your rel...

I spend a lot of time thinking about what will “break” a book—what does it take to bring a book to not only its fullest potential, but also the next level? I wish there was a direct answer, but something I’ve learned over my almost 3 years with Sourcebooks is that each book and author is different, but by starting out small and (sometimes slowly) building upwards and outwards, world domination is just around the corner. For example, when I started in late 2007, we had 2 romance novels ( Hundreds of Years to Reform a Rake by Laurie Brown and No Regrets by Michele Ann Young) and 1 Georgette Heyer novel ( Cotillion ) in stores. Now, Sourcebooks Casablanca publishes 5-8 mass market romance novels each month, by February 2012 we’ll be the North American publisher of all of Heyer’s novels (including a rare reprint of her book of short stories!), and we’re home to authors who are trying new things in the romance genre, not to mention a fun and busy group blog where you can find so many of ...