Friday, April 27, 2007

Update on Heartsong States

Paige asked yesterday how I pick which state is next in line for choosing stories. Unfortunately, I don’t have a good, clear answer. Sometimes it really is like throwing darts at the state map on my office wall. :) There are many factors it depends on. Most often, I’m just looking to contract the best new set of stories, no matter what state they’re in. (Though I do try to alternate between different areas of the country so that readers aren’t getting four books at once that are all set in the West, for example.) Lately I have had to focus more on filling historical slots than contemporary ones, but my schedule is pretty well evened out now, and I’ll be back to choosing both new historical and contemporary in equal amounts in the coming months. To help you get an idea of what my schedule looks like, Heartsong cycle 6 of 2007 is about to release to club members, but I already have both historical and contemporary books chosen through cycle 10 of 2008. There are 4 books in each cycle with 13 cycles total each year. I hope that helps answer the question, and I’m sorry there’s no real science to it!

Here’s an updated list of available states:

Contemporary:
Alaska
Connecticut
Delaware
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Kentucky
Minnesota
Missouri
New Jersey
North Dakota
Oregon
South Dakota
Utah
Washington
West Virginia
Wyoming

Historical:
Alabama
Arkansas
Connecticut
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
New Jersey
North Dakota
Ohio
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Tennessee
Vermont

5 comments:

Mary Connealy said...

I always appreciate when you post these, JoAnne. Keeps me in the loop.

The Write Life said...

Thanks, JoAnne. I love hearing how this all works.

Paige

Kristy Dykes said...

Thanks, JoAnne.

Anonymous said...

Hi JoAnne: It was really interesting to learn how you work the acquisition process but I'll tell you, I am now more confused than ever. You see, I sent in a 3- story proposal for one of the states back in January and have been trying to figure out when I should follow-up on it. However, in your Edit Cafe blog, you said you send out a confirmation when you receive a proposal by e-mail. Well, I did e-mail it as was suggested on the Barbour House website but I have never received a confirmation that it was received. I just assumed it was. What do I do now? Re-submit as new or wait until the 4 months is up then enquire? Anita Draper.

JoAnne said...

Hi Anita,
That was Susan's post that you read that said she sends out a confirmation when she receives a submission for Heartsong Mysteries. And, as she said, all three of us editors do things differently. I don't normally send back a confirmation email when I receive unsolicited submissions. If you got the email address right and it does not come back to you as undeliverable, it's safe to assume I have it and will get back to you about it as soon as I can. Unfortunately that can take up to 6-12 months.
JoAnne