Friday, February 8, 2008

Update on Heartsong States

I've decided on several sets of stories to contract recently, so it's time to post the updated list of available states. There are many factors that go into my decisions, but here are some of the main ones, in no particular order:

  • Interest/Uniqueness of the Proposal. What makes the story different from just another predictable romance novel?

  • Quality of the Writing. How much revision was required on the author's previous works? Or if a new author, how much editing is needed on the full manuscript?

  • Popularity of the Author. Yes, those Heartsong Awards winners do get noticed! :)

  • Attitude/Professionalism of the Author. How has the author handled schedules, revisions, communication, etc. in the past?

Here are the state settings I'm still open to submissions for:

Historical
Alabama
Connecticut
Georgia
Idaho
Mississippi
New Jersey
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Tennessee
Vermont

Contemporary
Alaska
Delaware
Idaho
Illinois
Missouri
North Dakota
Oregon
Utah
Washington
West Virginia

16 comments:

Mary Connealy said...

Thanks for posting this, JoAnne. I check in on the BarbourFictionNotes group page every once in a while to see if the list has been updated.

Pam Hillman said...

Thanks, JoAnne. Just looking at the list makes me want to start plotting and researching! lol

Myra Johnson said...

Yea! My state of choice is still available! Thanks for the update, JoAnne!

Vickie McDonough said...

Thanks for keeping us updated on the available states. Do you know what will happen once all the states are spoken for? Will you start all over, or do something different?

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the update. Mary said I should come over here and say hello and be very well behaved.

Cheryl Wyatt said...

Thanks for the update, JoAnne.

Now, Tina and Mary....you know most well-bahaved women never make history.

Smack (thrown kiss) Seeker Sisters! I wuv you!

Thanks, Mary for letting us know about this blog too...even if we do have to behave ourselves...sigh...

Pam...did you see Mississippi's on the list? :-) Woot!

Cheryl Wyatt

Cara Lynn James said...

I love the state books and hope they continue for a long time to come. JoAnn, thanks for keeping us updated on which states are still available.

lollipops said...

Would you please update us on what you will be looking for once the states are complete? Will you be starting over?

Mary Connealy said...

Just FYI, if you think this counts as behaving yourselve, Tina and Cheryl, please go to www.dictionary.com and REVIEW.

JoAnne said...

I'll post a blog entry soon about possibilities for a new theme for Heartsong once we've filled up all the state slots.

Camy Tang said...

HI guys, I'm just wandering over because the Seekers said we were "taking over a blog" somewhere and making editors run for their lives, and I thought, "Cool! I want some action!" LOL
Camy

Ausjenny said...

I have bought state books before, they are cool to read.
I can see the seekers are starting to take over.

Pam Hillman said...

Who are the Seekers? I've never heard of them. Ignore the lot of them, JoAnne. They're sorta...odd.

Myra Johnson said...

Hmmm, takes one to know one, Pam!

Cara Putman said...

Wow! You've been contracting like crazy. That must be such a fun process -- weeding through all the applications to find just the series that you believe will resonate with readers. And that list of open states gets smaller and smaller all the time!

Tiffany Amber Stockton said...

Only 20 states left to go. Of course, that's also 60 books, which means that'll take Heartsong through 2010. :)

I'm loving these series too, and I know how well they sell in the bookstores, as I work at one! So, keep 'em coming! I know I'm doing my part to fill up those slots.

Looking forward to the new ideas for post-state series, though. Gonna have to be a BIG one to follow this fantastic marketing strategy. No pressure, though. LOL!

As for the Seekers, y'all better be careful. You might start to see your steps dogged at every turn. *evil grin*