Some time ago, France Book Tours presented

and

So today I have the pleasure to present to you the fruit of the cooperation of these two wonderful authors, Vicki Lesage and Adria J. Cimino:

Velvet Morning Press

Good news for authors:
if you get your book published with Velvet Morning Press and you sign up for an Eiffel Package, you will get the Book of the Month feature for free! Right now, that’s a $15 value.

So for you to know more about Velvet Morning Press, here is an interview of Adria J. Cimino and Vicki Lesage, co-founders of Velvet Morning Press LLC:

1. What makes Velvet Morning Press (VMP) different from traditional publishing houses and different from vanity presses?

A.C.: We are completely different from vanity presses.
We don’t assist authors in self-publishing, are very selective about the manuscripts we accept and don’t charge fees.
So we sound pretty much like a traditional publishing house, right? Almost. The big difference between VMP and larger publishing houses is that we keep our costs low so that we can afford the “risk” of investing in new authors. And our turnaround time is much quicker than larger publishing houses.
From the time we have the final manuscript in our hands, we need just a few months to bring it to publication.

2. By new authors, do you mean authors who need help rewriting their manuscript or need a lot of editing?

A.C.: No, we are looking for writers who have spent the necessary time (that depends on each individual) developing their craft. We are looking for polished work that has been edited many times by the author, or his or her writing teachers or editors. We, of course, will do light editing, but we are not interested in rewriting a manuscript. Our real role is to discover authors who have worked hard on their writing and are “ready.” And we aren’t publishing first-time authors exclusively. If you have a good story, we want to hear it!

3. Is the Velvet Morning Press author someone who, if your company wasn’t around, would self-publish?

A.C.: Perhaps, but not necessarily. I think the writer who really wants to self-publish because he or she wants to earn the maximum percentage of royalties will go that route, and that is fine. I think that our authors, for the most part, will be those who are seeking to be traditionally published, yet are discouraged by the high rejection rate at larger publishing houses, the long turnaround time and some of the exclusivity clauses in most publishing contracts.

4. Both of you live in Paris. Does that influence what types of books you accept? For instance, do you prefer novels with some link to France?

V.L.: We met because we’re both Americans living in Paris and love books about France,
but we are not specifically looking for work with that connection.
We are mainly interested in contemporary fiction, chick lit, YA, and romance works,
and primarily focused for American audiences.

5. Vicki, you’re the author of “Confessions of a Paris Party Girl” and “Confessions of a Paris Potty Trainer,” and Adria, you’re the author of “Paris, Rue des Martyrs.” All three books are set in Paris and both of you have toured with FBT. At Velvet Morning Press, what is next on your agenda?

V.L.: Velvet Morning Press is releasing a Paris-themed anthology in early 2015, and Adria and I are both contributors. Adria is also releasing a new novel, “Close to Destiny,” in early 2015, and it has no connection to Paris. I have a few more memoirs lined up, which will naturally tie in to the Paris theme, but I’m also planning to write fiction that has nothing to do with Paris. Neither of us wants to get locked into the Paris theme, but it seems to keep finding us!

6. What are your future goals—as publishers and as writers?

V.L.: As the publishing landscape keeps changing, we look forward to helping authors make it big in this increasingly competitive market. As a smaller pub house, we are nimble and can adapt quickly to changes in the industry. We are web-savvy and aren’t afraid to take risks—both on new authors and new marketing ideas!

Adria’s Bio:

Adria J. Cimino is the author of novels “Paris, Rue des Martyrs,” and “Close to Destiny” (set for release in January), and is co-founder of indie publishing house Velvet Morning Press (http://www.velvetmorningpress.com). Prior to jumping into the publishing world full time, she spent more than a decade as a journalist at news organizations including The AP and Bloomberg News. In addition to writing fiction and discovering new authors, Adria writes about her real-life adventures in her blog “Adria in Paris.” (http://adriainparis.blogspot.com/)

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Vicki’s Bio:

Amazon best-selling author Vicki Lesage penned two books, “Confessions of a Paris Party Girl” and “Confessions of a Paris Potty Trainer,” in between diaper changes and wine refills. She co-founded Velvet Morning Press as a way to help new authors get to market. She and Adria strive to make Velvet Morning Press be everything they wish they had when they first launched their writing careers. In the tiny amount of spare time she has, Vicki blogs about life, love and sarcasm in Paris at http://www.vickilesage.com/

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