Romance By Catherine: Interview with editor Frances Sevilla from The Wild Rose Press

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Interview with editor Frances Sevilla from The Wild Rose Press

Please welcome Frances Sevilla, my wonderful editor at The Wild Rose Press. Fran, as I affectionately call her, is one of the many talented editors working within the Faery Rose line.

Hi, Catherine, I’m excited to be here visiting your blog. Everything looks so . . . sensual here. (WINK)

Fran, tell us a little about yourself and the arm of TWRP that you work for.

I’m delighted to say I’m a Faery Rose Editor for The Wild Rose Press. (I thought I’d get wings with the job, but they haven’t spouted yet.) This month marks my second anniversary with the company. In our department, we work on romance books about witches, ghosts, ESP, time-travel, Sci-fi, seraphs, nymphs, and oh, yes, fairies. If it’s not of our realm, and it’s not a demon, vampire or shape-shifter, it’s probably something we would handle. The variety of the material is what holds my interest.

What do you enjoy most about your job? What do you like the least?

Of course the best part of my job is discovering a talented new author and contracting her or him for the first time. You can’t beat the high of sharing that moment with someone.
Conversely, I HATE rejections in general, but specifically I don’t like rejecting a well-written, interesting story because it doesn’t meet TWRP guidelines. We publish romance, so the manuscript should be a romance with a happily ever after for the hero and heroine. New authors should check our guidelines and each department’s to see if their book is a good fit for us.
I recommend new authors read books published by the press they are submitting to. Publishers have a BRAND, something their readers come to know and trust. That’s why as an editor for our company it’s so important for me to know when I select a book to contract, the readers will get what they expect.

Another plus is I get to work with so many talented authors and editors.

What are you looking for in a new author?

I’m looking for what every reader wants, a story that hooks me from the first sentence, drags me into the plot, and makes me care about what happens to the characters right up to the happily ever after. That being said, typos, grammar, spelling and punctuation mistakes will inevitably distract from the story.

Where do you see e-publishing going in the next 3 to 5 years?

Oh, this is the big question isn’t it? E-publishing is the future. Apparently I’m not the only one who believes this, since most of the big traditional houses have jumped into the e-market recently. The technology fields are clamoring to catch up with the development of e-readers. Don’t get me wrong, I also believe there will always be the die-hard paper book reader. I can almost see a distant future where we handle the few remaining bound books with reverence.
If you could change one thing about the publishing world, what would it be? The amount of time it takes for a book to get to market. I’m an instant gratification kind of girl. As a reader and an editor, I can’t wait until the next book comes out by my favorite author. (I.E. More authors would get published)

What is your biggest pet-peeve about a manuscript?

Great story, lousy formatting. I want to give every manuscript a fair chance, but if I’ve got to wade through mistakes, page breaks, line breaks, no breaks and bad punctuation, I’m going to wonder why the author didn’t care enough about her own manuscript to take the time to do it right.

Thanks for inviting me today. I hope your readers enjoy Binding Vows as much as I did. I’m sure they’ll be looking forward to seeing the next book in the Highland Time Travel series Silent Vows on the bookshelves too.

I can't wait for that either, Fran. Thanks for taking the time to be here today. For those new writers out there who are interested in submitting their work to The Wild Rose Press click HERE for their guidelines. If you think your manuscript fits the Faery Rose line but aren't sure... by all means, pick up a copy of Binding Vows in Print or E-book today, give 'er a read, then sub your work to Fran. Hint... hint... LOL

16 comments:

Stacey Joy Netzel said...

Great interview, Catherine, and so nice to meet you Fran. Wish I had another paranormal in me other than the novella TWRP has already published. Maybe some day. :)

LynneRoberts said...

Great interview. Catherine and Frances.

I'm looking forward to reading Binding Vows!

Mary Ricksen said...

I enjoyed publishing my first time travel as a Faery Rose. Will be submitting my second time travel as American Rose, but publishing anywhere in TWRP is a wonder to me.
In any line as fara s I am concerned, the editors are the backbone of the company. Nice to learn about you Fran and very nice to meet you.
Great blog Catherine!

Linda Swift said...

Hi Fran. When I saw your name on Catherine's post, I came right over. Was it only last Christmas that you and I were workig together on LNYD? And I'm still promoting it on the loops now. I'm proud of that book, and enjoyed working with you as my editor. You have a great relationship with your authors that lasts long after the book goes to print. Happy holidays. Linda

Catherine Bybee said...

Thanks for stopping by, ladies. Fran is the bomb... and I agree, Mary, the editors are the backbone of TWRP.

Margaret Tanner said...

Great interview Fran and Catherine.Very informative too. Faery Rose, is a great name for a romance line. I certainly agree about how great TWRP editors are. I have worked with three different editors from three different lines, and they were all excellent.

Cheers
Margaret

Lorelei Confer said...

Great interview. Gives every author pubbed and unpubped advice about how to get to know their publishing house before submitting etc. Great also to hear the relationship remains after the one 'book wonder' is over. You never know when somone finds another book within just waiting to be written.

Can't wait to read your work, Catherine. Thanks again!

Maureen said...

Wonderful interview! Nice to see Fran here- she was wonderful to work with :)
Catherine your blog looks great.
Maureen

Emma Lai said...

Great interview, ladies!

Catherine Bybee said...

I agree, Margaret. I've had three editors with TWRP and all have been a dream.

Lorelei ~ The editors have become great friends as well. Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoy BV.

Maureen ~ She's the bomb!

Emma - Thanks for stopping by, Em.

Kaye Manro said...

This was a fab interview! Thanks Catherine and Fran!

Unknown said...

Wonderful interview, ladies. It was great to have an insiders view of this seemingly mysterious world.

Pixie

Frances Sevilla said...

I think I'm blushing. Thanks for all the compliments ladies, but I have to admit, I've been fortunate to have a wonderfully talented group of authors to work with.

Every book I edit is important to me. I wish Catherine every success with Binding Vows.

It's nice to see Maureen and Linda here, too. I notice some of our other Roses are visiting. The Wild Rose Press is an awesome place for authors and editors.

Thanks everyone, for stopping by.

Fran

Houston A.W. Knight said...

Oh, I enjoyed this article...I saw it announced yesterday but life happened and I didn't get over here until today...I glad I made it over...late...but I made it!

Hawk

Sharron Riddle said...

Great post, Frances! It was very intersting to hear about the process.

Catherine Bybee said...

Houston: I know all about life getting in the way. Glad you could pop over and wave.

Julianna: The process is mind-boggeling. If you ask me.