The frazzled mind of an erotica editor

I've been reading a ton of submissions for my Ravenous Romance e-books, and am finishing up some very overdue books for Cleis (anyone who is waiting on an answer, you should have one by October 30th, and my apologies for the delay).

So as I do, I want to stress the importance of formatting. Often that is what will keep someone out of one of my books, which is a shame if the writing is excellent.

But you have to read the call for submissions and follow it. There is a very good reason I ask for a bio, I want things double spaced and indented, etc. I cannot do that work for you (though I certainly have) and when authors waste my time, especially when I am working on a book last minute, it makes it very easy to skip that story in favor of one that's formatted correctly.

I may be nearing the end of my erotica editing days, perhaps my erotica writing days. We'll see what happens, see if anyone wants to keep working with me. I've certainly been in some other space this year, one where all my creativity has pretty much gone out the window. I haven't had time yet to properly research a therapist, or, like, a smartphone, both of which I desperately need.

I do have a virtual assistant, and as long as I can afford her, I will use her. I'm still figuring out the mechanics of that, and how to balance my time and make the most of whatever random creative spurts I do have.

I will say that I'm working on finally making a proper email list for calls for submissions. I usually just try to remember any writer I've published or liked their work, and I can't do that anymore. So write to rachelravenous at gmail.com and put "Writer List" in the subject line and I'll let you know if I wind up doing any more anthologies (there is one co-edited one in the works). I hope so, because there is something I love about the process, I just need to find it again because I believe really strongly in my ideas. More on that later.