Update on DORCHESTER - from RWA National 2007

*** This information is taken from Cindi Myers eNewsletter. *** 

The Spotlight on Dorchester was presented by Editor Leah Hultenschmidt and Senior Editor Chris Keeslar .

“Dorchester is one of the oldest independent publishers, in business since 1971,” Chris said in his introduction to the company. Dorchester publishes all varieties of mass market paperback fiction (and a little bit of trade and hardcover fiction.)  They are not a small press and have wide distribution in all major outlets.

They publish all genres — westerns, thrillers, horror, science fiction and fantasy, romance, and detective fiction. Romance is the major part of their list. They have a number of bestselling authors on their romance list. They also buy a number of new authors each year. They have three romance editors on staff. Each authors gets individualized attention. They can react quickly to changes in the market and are willing to try new things. The acquisition process is streamlined. There’s no huge editorial board that has to approve acquisitions. “We don’t pay as large an advance as some larger companies,” Chris said. “But that allows us to take chances.” They buy books they love.

Each year they do a contest for new writers in conjunction with Romantic Times — the American Title contest.“We like to publish things that are different, that don’t fit into any particular categories,” Chris said. “Books that really touch nerves.”

“Things that don’t pigeonhole well are perfect books for Dorchester,” added Leah.

Historical romance continues to be strong for them. They do all kinds of different settings and time periods from ancient times through the 1930s and 1940s: Americana, Victorian, Scottish, British Colonial, World War II, Native American historicals. They were one of the first houses to publish paranormal romance. They do dark and light paranormal, historical and contemporary.  Dorchester publishes contemporary romance “with a twist.” They do very little straight contemporary romance. There should be a touch of paranormal or mystery or something that makes it different and unique.

Chris prefers contemporary romance with strong humorous elements. They’ve also published a lot of humorous romantic mysteries. They publish romantic suspense — darker, fast-paced and “thrilleresque.” There must be a suspenseful, valid mystery and a believable romance. Editorial Director Alicia Condon is especially interested in romantic suspense. Dorchester has always published futuristic romance and continues to do so. This is a special interest of Chris’s. He doesn’t see enough of this.

All the editors work on all the different sub-genres and authors may submit to any of them. If something comes in that doesn’t work for them that they know will work for another editor, they will pass it on. If your work doesn’t get passed on to someone else you’re probably wasting your time to re-submit to a different editor at Dorchester.

Dorchester publishes African-American romance, edited by Monica Harris.

Shomi is a new line of speculative romance set in other realities. Their goal with this line is to pull in new, younger readers. The books have Manga-style covers. The characters are edgy and cutting-edge. They are still romances at the core, with happy endings. The relationship between the hero and heroine is still the driving force, set in unique, interesting world with new, different premises.

If you’re interested in writing for Dorchester, submit a cover letter, the first three chapters and a synopsis. Submit by snail mail only. Http://www.dorchesterpub.com for full guidelines. You can query first also or submit the entire manuscript. The editors work with both agented and unagented writers. Turnaround times can be “slow.” (Six months or more.) Don’t hesitate to contact the editor if something has been at Dorchester for several months. All manuscripts should be between 80,000-95,000 words.

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