Hey, guys. While Lyrical Press is almost always open for submissions, I wanted to put out a submissions call both to spread the word about the press and with the active intent of building my list. Since I’m one of the newer editors with the house, I’m looking to expand the group of authors I personally work with throughout their careers at Lyrical. What that means is right now you have a better chance of acceptance; there will be times when I have to say no to a project I’d otherwise love, just because I don’t have time for another author or another book. Right now is not one of those times. I have the time, and I want your books. Or short stories. Or novellas.

To submit, you need to read the Lyrical Press submission guidelines and send your query letter, synopsis, and manuscript to submissions@lyricalpress.com. I’d advise looking over the website and getting acquainted with Lyrical, our books, and our authors, so you can make an informed decision as to whether or not Lyrical’s the right publisher for you. Also, keep in mind that I’m not the only editor who reviews submissions, we all have different tastes, and all subs do go through a standard review process. I can specifically request a submission I like, but so can the other editors. Lastly, scroll down past my wishlist for a quick list of things not to do when responding to this call.

While the sub guidelines cover in detail the genres and formats we accept (and don’t accept), I’m personally hoping to see a few specific things. Lyrical does favor romance, so if your story hits these marks and features romance (even where it’s not specified), you may have a better chance. My wishlist:

• Dystopian and darker sci-fi. I love dystopian stories with an intensity that would probably be disturbing were they a person or an inanimate object. Dystopian stories are generally sci-fi, often post-apocalyptic, but I’d be just as happy to see well-done dystopian fantasy, alternate realities, or alternative histories. If you have a sci-fi story that’s fairly dark in nature with a strong noir theme but doesn’t really fall into the dystopian category, that’s up my alley, too.
• Dark, gritty urban fantasy. By “dark, gritty” I don’t mean “full of as many perverted, disgusting things as you can think of.” I mean I want to see darker worlds where the cities that make this urban fantasy have become as degraded and dark as the iconic Gotham, the heroes are flawed, and you have to struggle to find the light of redemption past the filth of corruption – but it is there, and eventually shines through in some kind of happy ending. Sometimes that kind of setting can mean using perversion, violence, etc. as part of the story, but such things should be well-crafted and entirely necessary to the plot, not used for shock value. Note: I am including paranormal and paranormal romance under this category, but be warned that I’ve reached my saturation point for vampires, werewolves, shifters, and witches. That doesn’t mean I’ll turn down a story with those elements; they’re one of Lyrical’s strongest areas. It does mean that the story must be exceptional for me to request it. Faeries are still fair game.
• Steampunk. I admit, I’m not as rabidly into steampunk as many others, and sometimes the movement is downright annoying. But when a steampunk story is good, it really floors me; the genre itself is wonderfully versatile, and the general setting required for steampunk is one of my favorites. Your steampunk can have magic or pure technology, I don’t care. Let’s just get some steam rolling.
• Stories with LGBT and cultural diversity. Within the limits of Lyrical’s accepted genres, of course – and this can be combined in with any of the other things on my wishlist. I don’t want to read stories about being gay, bi, trans, black, Chinese, Tanzanian, Aborigine, whatever. I want to read stories where the characters happen to fall somewhere within that spectrum, and it’s an integral part of their character without being a stereotype – but isn’t essential to the overall story. It’s just who they are, just as being white and straight is who classic mainstream protagonists are. They need a plot external to their sexuality, gender identity, or race, but neither should be diminished. (Of course sexuality or gender identity would be more prominent in a story where the romance is the central plot, but that should go without saying.) I want to see a Native American woman as the star of a steampunk story, treated the same way a white woman would be in the same role – but without her culture marginalized. It doesn’t matter if you passingly mention her skin color or tribal affiliation, but let her be recognized as something other than the default assumption of white. Or I’d like to see an urban fantasy where the main protagonist is a gay man. No cliched angst and agonies about coming out, but casual acceptance that he has a boyfriend or actual sexuality-related issues that affect the plot. These are just examples, not a specific request to write these things. I just want you to understand that I’d like to see stories where primary characters are ethnically diverse, LGBT, or both, not stories about the characters being those things.
• Western or frontier romance. Cowboys and Indians, Little House on the Prairie with a shot of sensuality, desperado meets schoolmarm…or anywhere in between. I’m a sucker for a well-done romance set on the wild and woolly frontier, as long as it’s authentic to the setting and time period.
• Historical romance. Give me London, give me France, give me Scottish underpants. Or go really multicultural on me and send something from the Edo period of Japan, I don’t care. I want history – anyone’s history, as long as it’s interesting, sexy, and gives me that marvelous feeling of seeing something old and forgotten in a new light with characters who really bring it to life. I’ll melt for ancient Assyria, Persia, Egypt…but also for Scotland in the 1500s, or ancient Mayan civilizations (just please, nothing about 2012 in modern day; it has to be set in the actual time of the Mayans). You never know what will catch me.
• Gangland stories. Guys and dolls and slinky gang molls, show me a fantasy story set in the Dillinger era and I’ll probably love you forever. I might also squee a little over jazz-era tales.

Don’t fit that list? It’s okay. Lyrical represents a broad range of genres, and as long as your submission meets the criteria posted on the submission guidelines page you’re welcome to submit. For one, I’m not locked into my preferences. Two, if I don’t want it, someone else might. I may be building my list, but other Lyrical editors are always looking for new authors to work with.

Now for the unpleasant part. A few warnings:

• Do not address your submissions to me. Send them to the head honcho, Renee Rocco – and be as professional as you would in any other query letter. This is not a direct submissions call; it’s a general submissions call with my notes on some things I’d personally like to see, and that I may request out of the submissions pool. All submissions still go through the full group of Lyrical editors. This is a good thing for you, trust me. It means there’s a better chance someone will fall in love with and request your story, whether I like it or not.
• Do not send anything to my personal e-mail address. Everything goes to submissions@lyricalpress.com. Everything. Anything that shows up in my personal inbox will be deleted without response. Keep that in mind: deleted, not forwarded, not politely redirected. I don’t give special consideration to people who can’t follow explicit instructions.
• Remember that I do not make the final decisions. I can request something from the submissions pool if I want it, and that has weight in the final decision…but in the end it’s over my head, and if you and I happen to be friends that has zero impact on the last word and no bearing on the merit of your submission, which will be judged on quality alone. So don’t ask me for special consideration; don’t gripe at me if you get rejected. It’s not personal, and it shouldn’t be taken that way. It’s all part of the business.
• Read the submissions guidelines thoroughly and make sure you follow them. I shouldn’t have to tell you that again, but inevitably someone will send something we don’t publish: YA, a 400K memoir, who knows what else. At the very least if you send it to the right e-mail, Renee will be very nice about informing you of your error. Specifically pay attention to genres. We get YA and “New Adult” submissions even though we specifically say that we don’t accept them. I love YA. I write YA. That doesn’t change that Lyrical doesn’t deal in YA, and any young adult, middle grade, or children’s submissions will be automatically rejected. (And “New Adult” is only at St. Martin’s, people. No other publisher is dabbling in that.)

If you have questions, feel free to post them here and I’ll answer them here (so others can benefit if they have the same questions).

1. Amber says:

   April 23, 2010 at 3:19 pm

   I have a question. You may have covered it before, but what is YA, exactly? It’s always puzzled me as to why some books get shelved where, especially fantasy. Is it the age of the characters? The themes under consideration? The language?
2. Adrien-Luc Sanders says:

   April 23, 2010 at 5:09 pm

   That’s actually a pretty tricky one. YA can be broadly defined by protagonists in the 13-18 age range, but there are always exceptions of YA stories that feature adult characters but youth-oriented storylines. A lot of it basically revolves around the subject matter; is the story one whose characters and motivations would appeal more to young adults or to adults? If both, it’s YA but with adult appeal. There’s also a matter of maturity level, which can span from mature content and language to just the reading level of the writing. Some YA features strong language and sexual content, but it’s not as explicit as it would be in an adult novel, and it’s approached from a perspective that makes sense from an age 13-18 mindset. Adult characters react in ways that make sense to 13-18 year olds, not in ways that make sense to adult readers. The emotions are handled differently, as are conflict resolutions, etc.

   There’s so much subjectivity in what defines YA vs. adult that it’s often just easiest to say “13-18 year old protagonists” and be done with it.
3. Jaym Gates says:

   April 26, 2010 at 4:15 pm

   So, here it says that you are looking for shorts/novellas (yay!), but on the Lyrical site, it says only stuff between 60-80 k right now.

   I’ve got 2 novellas, so obviously, I like my interpretation of your wishlist better than what I’m getting out of Lyrical’s guidelines!
4. Adrien-Luc Sanders says:

   April 26, 2010 at 4:26 pm

   From the website:

   Length Requirements:

   Submission length: 15,000 words and up. Currently, Lyrical Press is not considering works longer than 100,000 words.
   Length terminology: (for your reference when submitting)

   * Short: 15,000 – 20,000
   * Novella: 20,001 – 35, 000 words
   * Short Novel: 35,001 – 60,000 words
   * Novel: 60,001 – 100,000 words

   And:

   At this time Lyrical Press is only considering books between 60,000 – 85,000 words for print.

   Lyrical is both an e-book and print book publisher. The 60-85k limit is only for books considered for a print run.
5. Jaym Gates says:

   April 26, 2010 at 4:39 pm

   *headdesk* Right. Thank you. Very shiny!