At Black Velvet Seductions we are always searching for talented new authors. We are eager to look at the work of both new and established authors.The majority of the work currently under contract with us is authored by authors who were previously unpublished in book length fiction.

We are currently acquiring in all of our lines and in all romance sub-genres, although we are quite heavy in romantic suspense, and so manuscripts that fall into that genre generally take longer to review. We publish some very traditional romance novels but we also publish books that push boundaries and explore love and sex in unique ways. Please see our guidelines for more information about what we are looking for.

We look at material in three forms, queries, partials and completed manuscripts. We would by far prefer to see complete manuscripts with a cover letter and synopsis. We only offer contracts on complete manuscripts. However if an author wonders whether we would be interested in a project of a given type we can usually respond to a query within a couple weeks. Manuscripts take several months to in excess of a year depending on the other tasks our staff is required to do at any given time.

Repsponse time is also strongly governed by how likely we think it is that a project will work for us. Those projects that are read first are those that arrive needing the smallest investment of editorial resources. Though we work with authors to help them polish their work for publication we have limited resources and there is always a long line of manuscripts that need large investments of editorial time. Those manuscripts which need large amounts of editorial resources typically wait longer for review than those that arrive polished and ready for publication.

We care less about the format of queries and partials than about their general content. We will not reject a manuscript based on a query that is too long or too short or because it uses some format other than the norm. What we want to know when we receive a query is whether the proposed piece fits any of our lines and whether the particular author has the talent necessary to carry the story. When we receive a query we want to know about the characters, the conflict, and the level of sexuality in the piece. We also want to know whether the piece the author is querying us about is a finished work or a work in progress. If it is a work in progress we would like to know an expected completion date.

We really strongly prefer to receive complete manuscripts and generally review complete manuscripts before partials. When we do look at partials we are looking for a story that hooks us on page one and keeps us reading until the very end of the package. We are looking for engaging characters, a strong conflict, emotional impact, and strong sexual tension even if the characters have not actually made love by the end of the partial package. We prefer partials that include a synopsis and at least three chapters.

We only offer contracts on complete manuscripts and our preference is for complete manuscripts submitted electronically. When looking at a manuscript we are looking for an engaging romance with well-developed characters, a strong conflict, and a lot of emotional impact. We also want stories with a good solid ending.

Most stories rejected by us are rejected either because they are not romance or because they do not have a deep enough point of view. Read our blog and writer's newsletter, both available free to hone your understanding of what we are looking for. We are looking for better than average romances, or at the very least romances which have the potential to be better than average with some revision.

We accept both electronic and paper-based submissions. We do however prefer electronic submissions and if the work arrives needing revision we will request an electronic version.

For electronic submissions we prefer to receive submissions as Word documents attached to an e-mail. If you do not have Word available you may send your document as a text file or a rich text file (.txt or .rtf). Please be sure to include your e-mail address on your manuscript. All electronic submissions should include a cover letter which includes the author's name, pseudonym if they have one, e-mail address, and website if they have one. Electronic submissions should be sent to: LaurieSanders@fusemail.com

Paper based submissions should also include a cover letter which includes the author's name, pseudonym if they have one, e-mail address, and website if they have one. All paper based submissions should also include an SASE for return of the manuscript. Paper-based submissions should be sent to:

Attention: Laurie Sanders, Acquisitions Editor
Black Velvet Seductions Publishing Company
1350-C West Southport Road, Box 249
Indianapolis, IN 46217

The quickest way to reach us is through e-mail. Send your e-mail to LaurieSanders@fusemail.com