AS OF JANUARY 1, 2010 - SUBMISSIONS ARE CLOSED UNTIL JULY 2010.

Any submissions received during this time will be held until July, and will be reviewed at that time.  Due to the high volume of exceptional manuscripts we have received and contracted, we have filled our release schedule for all of 2010.

At Desert Breeze Publishing, Inc., our goal is to publish exceptionally crafted and captivating romance novels in multiple sub-genres.  We hope to attract the most talented authors in the industry by not only offering a resource to bring your novel to the world, but also making Desert Breeze Publishing, Inc., a publisher you want to be affiliated with.  You can read more about this on our FAQ page.

We are seeking manuscripts from short novel length (50,000 words approximately) to super novel length (exceeding 100,000 words), with a preference for novels between 75,000 and 100,000 words.  We are more than willing to accept queries on series as well.  At this time, we are not seeking novellas or shorts.

And while we're actively seeking all genres, there are a few types of submissions that would really excite us!

Do you have a historical romance set within the first half of the 20th Century?  Perhaps during The Great Depression or World War I/World War II?  The setting does not have to be limited to the United States, but anywhere in the globe affected by these world-altering timeframes.  Do you have a romance set around the Korean or Vietnam Wars?

Have you written an epic science fiction or futuristic book series?  A Space Opera?  Or even a single title novel of the genre?

We would like to see both single title - as well as series - romantic suspense novels.  Especially with characters who serve in law enforcement, civil service, or the military.  And that's not just limited to the heroes.  We'd love to see books where the heroine is the one doing the saving and protecting, or works beside the hero in an equal position.

Have you written an intricate fantasy series with a cast of characters fighting for the greater good, and falling in love along the way?

And cowboys... we love modern-day cowboys.  Sometimes they're on the ranch and sometimes they're outside their element... but they always say 'ma'am' and they know how to look darn sexy in cowboy boots.

We publish romances from sweet to intense, as long as it fits the story.  (See our rating index for further details)

Please no erotica or erotic romance.

Sex shouldn't be what brings them together, or pulls them apart, and it shouldn't be the 'solution' to whatever problem they encounter.  Here's an easy guideline... If you can't give us a short synopsis for your novel without explaining how sex moves the plot, or is vital to the plot, or if the plot would come to a halt if the two people didn't have sex, then the manuscript may not be a good fit at Desert Breeze.

We like to say that we offer classic romance, not always in classic settings.  To us, classic romance means the love is a growing process.  There's the fluttering heart at a brush of a hand, the blush at a soft glance -- the 'romance' of romance, if you will.  Now, just because the hero is a 500 year old Vampire and the heroine has been raised as a Vampire Slayer.. not very 'classic' -- that doesn't mean their love story can't be classic.

What we want and what we do not want at Desert Breeze Publishing, Inc.

We want original.  However, 'original' walks a fine line sometimes with 'way way way outside the box'.  Don't take a bunch of concepts and toss them in a blender, and hope that the ending result is an interesting novel.  There are only so many story concepts in the world... make yours more unique and interesting than anyone else's.  Adding too many elements to add interest often only results in confusion.

We want romance that touches our hearts and makes us want to turn the virtual page.

We want characters we can fall in love with ourselves.  That doesn't always mean they're perfect... perfect is usually boring.  Imperfection just means they're endearing in some other way.

We want to live the experience of falling in love right along with your characters.  Make it real.  Show us.

We want your book to be polished and edited within an inch of its life when you submit it to us.  While we will not reject a manuscript because we see some structural flaws - excessive grammatical and craft issues will be taken into consideration when deciding whether a manuscript will be offered a contract.  If we determine too much editorial work is required, we may either request the work be done and you resubmit, or we may reject outright.  Let your story not be overshadowed by poor editing.

We want active voice storytelling, no passive voice.  Show us what's happening -- let us experience it, interpret it, and live it -- don't just tell us.

We prefer all books to be told in third person point of view, and require that each scene remain in a single point of view for the duration of the scene.  No headhopping.  We are not excluding first person point of view, but your story must truly grab us.

As mentioned, we are not publishing erotica or erotica romance. 

We do not want books laden with Purple Prose to avoid being too explicit or sexual.  Sometimes, a level of euphemism is applicable based on the genre, such as historicals, but please... no throbbing man swords or tight love channels (Shudder!).

We are not publishing gay, homosexual, lesbian, bi-sexual, multiple partners, BDSM or other alternative lifestyles romances.  This is a preference, and not a statement of morality.

We are also not looking for young adult or children's books, or autobiographies, or poetry.

This should go without saying in most cases, but certain story elements will immediately exclude a manuscript from consideration:  pedophelia, bestiality, incest, necrophilia, non-consensual sex in any context (rape, forced seduction, etc) and intolerance for any group classification.

Should you have any questions about our guidelines, or whether an element of your novel is either acceptable or unacceptable prior to submitting to us, please feel free to email us at SubmissionQuestions@DesertBreezePublishing.com.

Submission Process

We ask that all submissions follow the guidelines as presented in the next section.  Please note that our submission guidelines have changed. 

We previously allowed multiple submissions, but we've been burned in the process.  So, we have adopted a No Multiple Submissions policy.

Once the manuscript has been read, you will either receive an offer to publish or a declination with as much explanation as to why we are rejecting as we can offer.  We thoroughly believe in offering whatever guidance we can.  On some occasions, an initial rejection may be given with the caveat that if certain changes or edits are done we will entertain reviewing the manuscript again.  In this situation, you will be advised as to how to resubmit your manuscript.  We ask that you resubmit only if invited to do so.

When a contract is offered, you will receive information on cover art creation, the editing schedule and procedure, and a release date. 

Send all submissions to Submissions@DesertBreezePublishing.com.

Submission Guidelines

In the subject line, please include the name of the manuscript and your intended genre.

Please include a query letter in the body of your email.  In the query letter, please provide the following information:

     ~ The manuscript Title.  If this is in a series, please provide the name of the series.
     
     ~ The manuscript genre 
     
     ~ The manuscript word count - use the Word Count Tool in your word processing program.
     
     ~ A 100-word blurb about the manuscript.  

     
     ~ Any publishing credits you may already have.  Being previously published is not a requirement.  

     
     ~ Any acknowledgements, nominations or rewards you may have received.
     
     ~ Please provide your website address and the best email to contact you through.  

     
     ~ Finally, tell us why you feel DBP is a good fit for your manuscript. 

Please attach two (or three if applicable) separate files in  .doc format.

     ~ The complete manuscript

     ~ A fully-detailed synopsis of the manuscript, with a maximum double-spaced length of 10 pages.  Do not leave unanswered questions. Provide the main characters, the setting, the pertinent and important events, the conflict and the resolution.

     ~  If your manuscript is part of a series, please include a short synopsis of the series including any pertinent story arcs that tie the books together.  This synopsis should not be longer than 2-3 double-spaced pages.

     ~  All files should be named to indicate the content with book title and your name.  

Thank you for reviewing our guidelines, and good luck with your submission!

Gail R. Delaney
Editor-In-Chief
Desert Breeze Publishing, Inc.