NAUGHTY HEROES: IN AND OUT OF UNIFORM
Type: Boxed Set
Length of Book: 12-15 novellas
Word Count: Between 25k-35k
Planned Formats:
Ebook edition
Print edition
Audible edition
Distribution: Mostly wide on all the usual etailers, with strategic uses of KDP Kindle Countdowns and Kindle Unlimited on KDP after the USAT launch week concludes.
Dates: (*Approximate)
Commitment Date w/ Agreements & $25 deposit: October 10, 2018 (members) October 30, 2018 (guest authors)
Completed, Formatted/Edited manuscripts: January 5, 2010 (submit early if you can!)
Full Buy-In Balance Due (less $25 deposit): January 15, 2019
*Book Finished: March 2, 2019
*ARCs Available on Booksprout: March 5, 2019
Pre-Orders begin: Tuesday, April 9, 2019
Release date: Tuesday, May 21, the week before Memorial Day 2019
Pricing:
Pre-orders to end of the first USAT week: .99 cents
After release week: $2.99 – $9.99 depending on final length
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Naughty Heroes Specs:
- Heat Level: Steamy to very steamy, but not erotica.
- Stand alone, but may be part of a series.
- Absolutely HEA.
- No cliffhangers.
- Straight M/F
- Contemporary
- Hero must be a former or active member of any Armed Forces branch.
- Heroine may or may not be connected to military service.
- Include mention or tie-in to Memorial Day, however large or small.
- May not have been previously published elsewhere.
- No PNR, fantasy, or sci-fi: military psi-ops may be side element.
When submitting, please keep in mind:
- Submissions must be completed using the Organizer’s formatted Word template that can be downloaded here.
- None of the usual sexual taboos – bestiality, necrophilia, weapons inserted in female body parts, rape, or incest – are unacceptable.
- Please avoid the usual things publishers typically reject, like head hopping (back and forth POVs within a scene), too much info dumping in a scene, over-description, and multiple uses of the same word in a scene.
- While the Organizer will perform limited editing services prior to publication of The Set, please submit clean manuscripts that are tightly edited beforehand or your MS may be refused with a full refund.
TERMS
Ownership: Authors retain ownership of their stories but grant the Organizers the following rights:
Exclusivity (All Editions): 6 months
Non-Exclusive (Ebook): 1-year minimum, after which Author majority may ask to unpublish the Set at any time.
Non-Exclusive (Print & Audiobook): 7 years, per the Audible agreement.
AUTHOR BUY-INS & DEPOSITS
Buy-ins and Deposits are fully refundable should the Set be canceled by the Organizer for any reason prior to publication.
*Deposit: $25 per Author by commitment deadlines.
*Buy-in for The Set: $250 per Author, minus deposit, for promotion and low capped-cost audiobook production.
(Can be paid in installments with balance due by January 15, 2019)
We have additional gap funding in place up to 2k to assist with paid promotion for this set.
ART
All art and promotional graphics will be provided. A customized cover (using the original antho cover) with the author’s book title and pen name will also be created at no charge. This cover may be used for book promotion and/or for publishing individually after the exclusivity period has expired.
PROMOTION
Author Promotion:
All authors are generally expected to promote the Set’s eBook and audiobook editions throughout the life of the Set on their social media platforms including Goodreads, particularly during release week and the first 6 months, as well as participate in Facebook parties, blog blitzes, and take-over events as needed.
Organizer Promotion:
Using the Author buy-in funding where necessary, The Organizer will arrange as many of the following promotions (or similar) as funding and time will allow:
Booksprout for ARC reviews, Facebook + Instagram ads, BookBub ads, Goodreads, Facebook reader group takeovers, blog blitzes, author newsletters, newsletter swaps with other authors, reader incentive prizes, and single paid newsletter promo spots (Ex. Fussy Librarian, Smart Bitches, Selena Kitt Newsletter, Bargain Booksy, Book Butterfly, Kindle Nation Daily, Romance Ebook Deals, My Romance Reads, etc.)
Audiobook Promotion:
We have secured at low cost ($100 per-finished-hour+royalty share) an experienced m/f audiobook narration team who will record and produce the entire audiobook production for Audible.
The Organizer and Narrators each receive 25 US and 25 UK free codes to use in exchange for listeners’ honest reviews on Audible, Amazon, and Goodreads.
Low sum paid ads include Audiobookboom.com and Audavoxx.com
EBOOK ROYALTIES
Packager: Depending on the packager selected, packagers handle royalty disbursements for between 7%-10% or $10, whichever is higher, off the top of all royalties.
On-going Promo: 3% of all royalties is dedicated to promote the title throughout its life.
Organizer: does the in-house book production & significant promo duties for 10% of the royalties. Includes one round of developmental and copy edits, cover and graphics creation, book concatenation, paid promo ad booking,
Investor: 5%
Authors’ Split: 70% split between approximately 12-15 authors.
AUDIOBOOK ROYALTIES
Audible takes 60% for distribution, leaving 40% to split between author/narrator, with a 3% fee deducted from author split for bookkeeping and disbursement.
Authors split: 17% equally divided among the number of authors.
PRINT BOOK ROYALTIES
Print editions are done in-house to avoid outside packager fees. Because print sales are typically very low annually, after tax print royalties will be allocated to the Set’s on-going promotion during its life.
DISCLAIMERS
Publishing Goals: Although the Organizer cannot guarantee this or any Set will be successful, the Organizers planned goals for this set include:
-
- Profit/ROI for the authors
- Hitting bestseller lists such as NYT and USAT
Right To Refuse: The Organizer reserves the right to refuse to publish any submitted story for any reason or no reason at their discretion with refund of the Author’s connected fee, if any.