A Chat with Love Inspired Senior Editor, Melissa Endlich

I’m thrilled to be here today to help celebrate Seekerville’s anniversary! Ten years is an amazing accomplishment! Speaking of anniversaries, did you know that Love Inspired is celebrating an anniversary this year too? Ten years before Seekerville was a twinkle in someone’s eye, Love Inspired Books was born.

Melissa Endlich with the first
Love Inspired
 she ever read!

What We Were

After the hugely popular apocalyptic thriller LEFT BEHIND was published in 1995, the popularity of Christian fiction grew enormously. It was then that Harlequin decided to offer readers a new line of short Christian romances, similar to the popular category romances we were already known for, like Special Edition or Intrigue. In 1997, Love Inspired was born! We published 3 books a month, with a combination of original stories and reprints from authors like Sherryl Woods and Arlene James.

Back in 1997, we didn’t know much about the Christian market, except that bookstores were not too keen on books from the dreaded Harlequin! But eventually we won over readers, especially in stores like Walmart and Target. Then authors like Lenora Worth, Lois Richer and Irene Hannon signed with us and began to build fan bases. Soon we became popular with readers and writers alike, garnering nominations (and wins!) for RITA Awards and Carol Awards.

Then in the 2000’s we noticed that romantic suspense was gaining in popularity in the ABA market. So in 2005, we launched Love Inspired Suspense, featuring romantic suspense stories with Christian characters. Our first titles were from bestselling CBA authors Hannah Alexander and Elizabeth White. Other authors who joined us in our first few years were Colleen Coble, Marta Perry, Shirlee McCoy, Terri Reed, Lois Richer and Valerie Hansen.

And finally, we realized there was a missing member of the Love Inspired family—historicals! What a no brainer! Historicals have always dominated the Christian fiction market, but we decided to do things a little differently, publishing short historicals in a mass market paperback format. We launched Love Inspired Historical in 2008 with books by top CBA author Catherine Palmer and longtime Love Inspired contemporary author Jillian Hart. Linda Ford, Janet Tronstad, and Janet Dean are some of the authors who wrote wonderful stories for us that first year.

Who We Are Now

Twenty years later, Love Inspired Books has grown into a bestselling franchise, with books regularly hitting the Publisher’s Weekly and BookScan bestseller lists. We publish 16 books a month, plus several streams of backlist reissues. We’re everywhere from bookstores to Walmart to Amazon! But how have we changed? Who are we now?


Titles:

Then: Titles were more emotional, more big book, for example, EVER FAITHFUL, THERE COMES A SEASON, BETRAYAL OF TRUST, STORM CLOUDS, LEGACY OF SECRETS, MASKED BY MOONLIGHT.


Now: We focus on the story and hooks in the titles of our books. For instance, SECRET CHRISTMAS TWINS, THE LAWMAN’S YULETIDE BABY, CHRISTMAS AMNESIA, UNDERCOVER AMISH, MONTANA BRIDE BY CHRISTMAS, MISTLETOE MOMMY.

Covers:

Then: Early Love Inspired covers were definitely a product of the 90’s! The artwork was quite old fashioned, and featured a lot more landscape and still life scenes (see below). Love Inspired Suspense covers were originally fairly dark and focused on strong colors and landscapes. Early Love Inspired Historical covers were gorgeous and painterly, very much in keeping with ABA and CBA historicals.

Now: All the covers are even more appealing now! Love Inspired focuses on outdoor scenes with couples, children, or hero and heroine alone. Landscapes or animals are the way to appeal to a LI Suspense reader. And stunning historical artwork featuring the characters is a hallmark of current LI Historical book covers.

  
What Do We Want

Love Inspired Books has been helping many Seekerville authors escape from Unpubbed Island for years. How did they make the jump? They did their homework: reading the books, entering writing contests for feedback, meeting editors at conferences, and reading the Seekerville blog on a regular basis! It’s all about information: learning what the publisher wants, absorbing that information and putting it into your writing.

So to help all the citizens of Unpubbed Island, here’s an update on what Love Inspired wants right now:

Love Inspired is still seeking out Amish stories, be they contemporary, suspense or historical. Our readers can’t get enough of these sweet tales of a kinder, simpler life. And westerns in any shape are appealing to our readers too. Give us a hunky single dad rancher or a protective Texas Ranger and we’ll give you a book contract! Include strong conflicts, intense emotions and high stakes. Just because our books are sweet doesn’t mean that they’re boring! Story hooks like twins/triplets, single moms/dads, reunion romances, secret babies/kids are themes that our readers like.

The key to Love Inspired Suspense is getting the tone and focus of the suspense right. 

We’re not looking for cozy mysteries or whodunits. We want equal parts suspense and romance. The characters’ lives should be in direct danger, with high intensity suspense from the beginning. If you’ve got law enforcement heroes, military heroes, amnesia, secret babies, or mistaken/hidden identity in your manuscripts, send ‘em our way!

For more detailed information, definitely check out our writing guidelines here: https://harlequin.submittable.com/submit

The Next 20 Years

Only God knows what the future holds for any of us. But I can only hope and pray that both Love Inspired and Seekerville will be around for the next 20 years helping authors to realize their dreams of writing amazing Christian fiction!

What are your favorite memories of Seekerville? Of Love Inspired?

A native New Yorker, Melissa Endlich has worked in the publishing industry for twenty five years. She is currently the Senior Editor for Love Inspired, acquiring contemporary inspirational romances. Melissa considers herself very blessed that she gets to work with some amazingly talented authors. And after so many years in publishing, she still gets swept away by tales of knights in shining armor, rugged cowboys and sweet single dads. While not working at her dream job, Melissa watches a scary amount of television, is a huge movie buff, and spends way too much time on social media. You can follow her on Twitter at @MelissaEndlich or on Instagram at nyc_editor_life

Leave a comment today and you could win one of these Seeker books. 

Twenty Winners!

 Winners announced in the Weekend Edition!

We've got enough copies of these titles for 20 winners!

The day would not be complete without birthday greetings

 from Love Inspired authors!

Debby Giusti

Laurel Blount

Sherri Shackelford

Dana R Lynn

Janet Dean

A Day in the Life of Love Inspired Senior Editor Melissa Endlich!

Greetings, Seekers!

I'm thrilled to be back visiting Seekerville to give you a glimpse into a day in the life of a senior editor at Love Inspired Books. You might think publishing is a glamorous profession. I’m here to give you the hard truth. Being an editor is hard work!

In New York City, most people use public transportation to get to work, and I'm no different.

It takes me about 50 minutes on the subway to travel from my apartment in Queens to Lower Manhattan, where the Love Inspired offices are located. What do I do with my commuting time? Generally I listen to music on my Ipod (my taste runs from country to pop to classic rock to showtunes), but I've been known to write back cover copy or brainstorm titles while on the train. I always carry a pen and a little notebook in my bag for that reason. You never know when you might have to write something down.

Once I enter the office (we are located in the gorgeous, historic Woolworth Building), I turn on my computer, put my bag away, water my plants. (my mini rosebush is doing very well; the African violet is on its last legs.), then fill up my water bottle (our office is really dry; must stay hydrated!). Now I'm ready to tackle the day.

My first hour at work is reserved for checking email, prioritizing projects, and chatting with my co-workers, especially on Monday morning. After 12 years working for Harlequin/Love Inspired, my fellow editors are not just colleagues, they’re friends, and there's always something juicy that happened over the weekend that I have to know about!

See the wall of books behind the reception area desk? We've had books there! ;)

Ok, after I've checked email and chatted, I doublecheck my calendar: do I have any meetings today?
Yup, looks like at 11am I have an art meeting with my creative team, which is just a fancy way to say editorial, marketing and art meet to decide what scenes would make the best covers for the books in a specific month. We talk via conference call, because the marketing and art departments are located in our headquarters in Toronto, Canada. We look over the documents known as art fact sheets, which the authors have created, and talk. Is this book a western? I might suggest a cute cowboy standing next to his horse on the cover.

Is the book a family story? Let's put the hero and heroine along with two adorable little girls sitting at a picnic table. It's an amazing collaboration between editorial, marketing and art. And it starts with a detailed art fact sheet from our authors. We always ask for at least 3 scene suggestions, if not more, and lots of great pictures to help us visualize what you're thinking. Our authors do a great job creating these documents. We couldn’t do it without them.

(Ruthy note: The fact that Mended Hearts is pictured on this shelf had NO BEARING on my decision to use it.

:)

After the meeting’s over, I walk down the hall to check in with Senior Editor Tina James. She runs the other two lines in the LI group, Love Inspired Suspense and Love Inspired Historical. I tell her how great the briefing went, talk about my weekend with her, ask her advice on some problem I'm having, etc. etc. Tina is yin to my yang, Bert to my Ernie. Sometimes I can be a bit emotional and quick to react to situations. Tina is cool as a cucumber. We make a great team.

Today, Tina mentions me that the Love Inspired Historical program could use some new authors. We have lots of room on the schedule, but not enough projects. I tell her Elizabeth Mazer and I got the word out at the recent American Christian Fiction Writers conference in St. Louis. Also, I remind her that Emily Rodmell is doing a blog tour in October and will be looking for historical writers. I tell her not to worry. I just know that the Lord will provide!

After chatting with Tina, I see it’s 12 noon. Time for lunch! I run downstairs to the Bits and Bites deli

to grab a turkey sandwich and a Diet Pepsi, then sit in the kitchen with some coworkers. This is my hour to get away from my desk and my emails and chat (In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a very chatty person. ;)

After lunch, I’ve hit the jackpot. No meetings.

So I decide to finish typing up some revision notes on a manuscript I read the other day, and approve some back cover copy. That’s just today. Every day is different, and I could have just as easily read a manuscript, called an agent to offer a new contract, called an author to talk about revisions, approved front matter or art fact sheets, read contracted proposals, and so on.

Come 5pm, I'm still here at my desk working hard on finishing up the revision letter. I don't usually leave the office until 6-ish. When I finally decide I’m done for the day, I pack up and take the train back home.

That’s it! The exciting life of a senior editor.

Got any questions for me about what I do? About Love Inspired or publishing in general? I’ll try to answer ‘em as best I can.

Ruthy here! Melissa, thank you so much for taking the time to celebrate our 4th Birthday of Seekerville!!! You rock! And lucky for us, Bits Bites and Baguettes has kindly offered to cater the day!

Okay, food's taken care of, let's get down to the brass tacks of important stuff:

1. Melissa will be popping in and out to answer questions!

2. We will be giving away over two dozen Love Inspired books today, so each time you comment, your name gets put in the hat. (there really isn't a "hat" per se, but I could wear one if you like. Let me know.)

3. At the end of the week we'll draw the name for the winner of the HP 4500 Printer which is the same model I have and love!

4. AND.... Per the contest rules you'll see above (thank you, Tina!!!), Seekerville and Love Inspired are offering a QUERY LETTER CONTEST!!!! Yes, Melissa has graciously offered to judge a query letter contest for us! Read the rules located on the contest tab, make sure you COMMENT today (no drive-by contesting!!!!) and then send us your query letter and the last page of your manuscript targeted at Love Inspired!


No fee... Because we've got nothin' but love for ya'!!! ;)

And some awesome birthday cake!

Melissa Endlich, Senior Editor, Steeple Hill Books, Welcome to Seekerville!

Born and bred in New York, Melissa Endlich has worked in the publishing industry for over fifteen years, the past nine at Harlequin/Silhouette. In February 2008, she helped to launch Love Inspired Historical, the brand new line of inspirational historical romances. Currently she is the Senior Editor for Love Inspired. After so many years in the publishing world, Melissa still considers herself very blessed that she is paid to read books that she would gladly read for free, and considers it a mission to help spread love and faith through inspirational romance fiction.

And there you have it, Seekerville.
Good morning, all! Ruthy here.

Yes, it’s here at last, the day you’ve been waiting for. Melissa Endlich, Senior Editor of Steeple Hill Books, is here with us in Seekerville. Huzzah! Huzzah!

You guys sent me a bunch of great questions for Melissa. Totally awesome. I cut and pasted my way into a semblance of a good interview, sometimes combining similar thoughts. Great minds think alike and all that stuff.

Thanks to all of you who visit, chat and eat calorie-laden pretend food. I know you’ll give a resounding and warm welcome to Melissa, the senior editor whose publishing house contracts four distinctly voiced Seeker authors: Cheryl Wyatt, Deb Giusti, Janet Dean and Missy Tippens. In our midst we have a strong example of the scope Steeple Hill encompasses and the varied story lines they welcome aboard.

Having said that, Melissa, you know that Seekerville is built around the contest concept. The Seekers met by continually bumping heads in contests, vying for that spot on an editor’s desk, sharing wins and finals. We coalesced and formed our own unit, vowing to pray one another into publication. Just over a year ago we formulated our blog, using the combined talents and competitive natures of fifteen delightful women to reach helping hands to other newbies and wannabes.

Steeple Hill goes above and beyond in contest judging. How often do you find bright, new voices through the contest circuit, even if you don’t necessarily buy that initial manuscript?

I think some of the best (and bravest) authors are out there on the contest circuit, getting feedback from writers and editors. We love judging contests at Steeple Hill Books because we’ve had a really good track record finding authors from various contests, including the RWA Golden Hearts, the ACFW Genesis, and many regional ones, both big and small. Over the past few years we’ve found amazing writers, including Janet Dean, Missy Tippins, Shirlee McCoy, Leigh Bale, Ruth Axtell Morren, Debra Clopton, Carla Capshaw. The list could go on and on!


I think entering contests is a great way to get your name and projects out there, to get feedback from editors, to know if you’re on the right track. Sometimes we’ve seen entries from authors and they weren’t quite right, but we loved the writing so much that we asked to see another project. You just never know what could happen if you enter a contest!


Melissa, Steeple Hill is noted for the strong faith ribbon entwined throughout their stories. Does Steeple Hill have any plans to look at or consider books with a softer faith thread, written through more of a Christian world-view, i.e. Lisa Wingate (NAL, Bethany House) style?


Seems to me that the Love Inspired lines of books have varying levels of faith, depending on the author. Some of our stories have softer faith threads, some feature stronger faith journeys. Readers come to Steeple Hill for a safe, reliable Christian read, but each author offers something slightly different.

Both new and established authors have asked about your timeline at Steeple Hill, from signing to publication. Does it vary from line to line? What time-frame would you consider ‘usual’?

Wow, great question! Actually, the timeline from signing to publication does vary quite a bit from line to line. It all depends on how booked up the schedule for the line is, meaning does the line have room in their schedule? Since Love Inspired Historical publishes 2 books a month, and we are lucky enough to have many wonderful and prolific authors, the time frame from signing a contract to publication might be 12-24 months. For LI and LI Suspense, the timeline could be considerably shorter. For instance, I just contracted a suspense title this week, and we scheduled it for August 2009. That’s only 10 months to publication.

It’s rumored that sports heroes are taboo in contemporary romances in general. What’s your take on that? As a mother of four boys, who doesn’t love Brett Favre? Those Wrangler commercials??? Donovan McNabb? The Manning boys? Derek Jeter????? (Be still my heart on that last name, God love him.)

I hear you, Ruth. I’m a hockey fan myself, and those guys are super yummy! Not sure how these rumors get started. I don’t think sports heroes are necessarily taboo. They’ve certainly popped up in secular contemporary romances (see Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Rachel Gibson, Deirdre Martin). For the Love Inspired lines, I think our readers aren’t interested in the glitzy and glamorous aspects of these people’s lives, but how they’re really just like you and me: dealing with life and faith and love. Just recently I bought a project where a former pro football player discovers he’s the owner of a run-down camp for kids, and when he comes to town to fix up the place, he finds his faith in God again, while falling in love with the woman who lives across the way. Of course doesn’t hurt that this guy is tall, dark and handsome. 

Melissa and Tina Colombo, new Senior Editor for Steeple Hill Historicals




Melissa, the editorial staff at Steeple Hill has just undergone some major changes. Krista Stroever has moved to Silhouette Desire and Tina Colombo has come on board to work with you, Joan Marlow Golan and Emily Rodmell. What kind of effect might this have on the three lines you offer, Love Inspired, Love Inspired Suspense and Love Inspired Historical?

Any time there are changes in staff, there are bound to be some changes on the lines. My reading tastes are certainly different from Krista’s, and Tina’s are bound to be different from mine. But that being said, both Tina and I know what we are looking for—wonderful stories, amazing characters, and a sense of the faith of those characters. Basically, a good story well told.


For the contemporary author aiming at Love Inspired, what kinds of manuscripts and/or settings are you seeing too much of? And what would the editorial staff like to see more of?

What works best for Love Inspired are stories that are focused on home, family, children and small town life. Our readers just can’t get enough! Think warm stories of people falling in love and finding home (whether it be a true place, a family of their own, and/or a place in God’s heart.). What hasn’t done so well for us in the past are show business professions, married but separated hero and heroines reuniting and urban settings.

Lately, I’ve been totally obsessed with that tv show “Jon and Kate Plus 8” on TLC, about a couple and their twins and sextuplets. I’m fascinated by how they make their lives seem so normal, even with all those kids running around. Is there a way to somehow weave multiple births in an inspirational romance? You tell me!

Also, with all the focus on Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin in the last few months, people’s attention have been drawn to the great state of Alaska. Talk about the last frontier! I think contemporary romances (or historicals, for that matter!) set in Alaska could be really interesting, as how many of us have ever been there?

The LIST.

Melissa, I’m sure you’ve heard this one before, but since the word is out there, tell us about the rumored “list” of what you don’t want in a Steeple Hill book. Does it exist? Is it fairly normal, listing things a Christian author wouldn’t use in general? Is it an author’s guideline, to reduce edits? Is ‘the list’ one of those cyber-rumors, like the ‘rumor weed’ in Veggie-tales, growing exponentially each time someone spreads the word farther?


I’m sure unpublished authors out there have built up “the list” in their minds as this big scary thing, but fear not! It is a fairly normal list of things no Christian publisher would use in their books, like curses, bodily functions, and so on. It also details situations that we do not accept in our books, like drinking alcohol, gambling, sexual relations, etc.

This helps authors, as well as editors and copyeditors to know what is acceptable and what is not, so that when we work on manuscripts, if a line pops up like, “John took a swig of Jack Daniels as he laid his cards on the poker table.”, we know this is unacceptable behavior and it must be changed. 


Melissa, a very naughty LI author asked about pics of your office, but then I looked around my office, shuddered and refused to put you on the spot like that because no one who is as busy as you should have an immaculate office.

So there, Cheryl! 

But we’d love to hear about the average day in the life of an editor. What’s it like? Can you take us behind the scenes, give us a glimpse? If you have pics you’d like to post, I’ll post them for you. I think everyone who hasn’t been to the offices wonders what the inner workings of Harlequin look like.

The secret is revealed, here on Seekerville!  I get to work around 9am, turn on my computer, and fill up my water bottle (I try to drink a lot of water. Our building is really dry.). I answer emails for a half hour first thing in the morning. Anything that needs an immediate response, I try to answer right away. I always have a to-do list on my desk that alerts me to things that are due into Production, like line edits, copyedits, back cover copy, art fact sheets, etc. Also, what projects on my desk need my attention (e.g. what needs to be read, etc.)

Depending on what’s due to production, my day might be filled with trying to finalize titles for the month for Love Inspired, and making sure that the art fact sheets have enough information for the marketing and art people to get a good sense of what the selling points are for the books. Or I might be approving back cover copy, or reading contracted proposals from authors, and giving them the go ahead to write the complete manuscript.

I don’t do a lot of reading manuscripts or editing in the office, because there are just too many distractions, with email and phone calls and visits from co-workers.

And when I’m taking a quick break, I’ll walk down the hall and chat with some of my fellow editors/co-workers. I see it as a chance to catch up on what’s happening in the office. (Full disclosure: we talk about tv or movies too! ).

And for those of you who are dying to see inside a NY editor’s office here you go!






Melissa, I love these pictures of Sarah, Elizabeth and the all-encompassing SLUSH pile. And here's a pic of a certain knight in shining armor, all decked out for a great occasion in NYC. Recognize him, Cheryl?????



All right, dear girl, we’ve put you on the spot enough for one day. We are grateful that you nabbed time out of your crazy schedule to stop by and chat it up with us. Thank you so much for being here, talking with us, sharing your wisdom.

Melissa, the buffet is loaded with cyber food. In honor of your New York heritage, we’ve ordered up a breakfast buffet from Murray’s Bagels. Everyone who IS anyone knows New York bagels are the best, no questions asked. Murray’s crew has brought over a delightful spread of bagels and toppings from assorted cream cheeses to lox, onions, olives, etc. You name it, we’ve got it. We also had them bring us a ginormous fruit platter. Nothing like fresh fruit to balance the layered flavors of a well-topped bagel. Coffee bar is to your left, girls, and the cappuccino line starts just beyond. Cozy in, grab a cuppa, have a seat and let’s chat.

Ruthy

Steeple Hill Books

women’s fiction that inspires…
Morning, all! Ruthy here with a splendorific, stupendous, over-the-top, worthy of birthday month announcement!!!

Yes, for once I’m not scolding, nagging, chastising or being bossy. (I call those posts inspirational… it just SOUNDS like scolding. You understand.)

No, today I’m here to announce that Melissa Endlich, Senior Editor of Steeple Hill Books will be joining us on November 13th, 2008.

Most of you are aware that Steeple Hill, under the overall direction of Joan Marlow Golan, has opened their doors, hearts and desk space to new authors countless times, including our own Deb Giusti, Missy Tippens, Janet Dean and Cheryl Wyatt. The Seekers are proud of their strong relationship with the editors at Steeple Hill. Furthermore, Melissa and her editorial staff have been gracious about committing precious time to contest judging, which means they’re always on the lookout for that new voice, fresh appeal and great story. And in these times of economic slowdowns, when other houses have either folded their fiction lines or downsized the number of books/year, Steeple Hill is actually increasing their popular Love Inspired line to six books per month.

Yup, you heard right. Month, not year.

They've also initiated Love Inspired Historicals, a savvy chick-lit line in Steeple Hill Cafe', and suspense-filled novels in Love Inspired Suspense.

Now I need your help. What do you want to know? What would you like me to ask Melissa? (She’s a sweetheart, by the way…)

Weight and age are totally off the table, just so you know.

;)

Post your questions here today, or e-mail me if you want anonymity. (I’m not calling you a chicken but I might be thinking it.)

Mosey on in, help yourself to the cappuccino bar and grab a slice of breakfast pizza. I made it with crumbled sausage this morning. Fluffy, golden scrambled egg, country sausage, cheese… a breakfast lover’s delight. Definitely not Atkins-friendly.

Big grin here.

Give me advice. (You might want to mark the day and time on your calendars… Ruthy asking for advice… Who knew????) Do you want to know if changes are in store for Steeple Hill with their recent editorial movement? The do’s and don’ts of Steeple Hill? The oft-mentioned ‘list’ of taboos?

Melissa’s coming to chat with everyone throughout the day on 11/13, so give me some great baseline questions to ask her. Let’s lay the groundwork for a great day in Seekerville.
And someone remember to bring chocolate!

Blessings,

Ruthy