Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Swoon Reads: Publication By Crowdsource

The Swoon Reads site could be the cheeriest site we know. "Swoon" means "to be overcome by joy", and Swoon Reads seems bursting with joy already,  from the opening tagline "Fall in love with falling in love" to "Thank you for visiting Swoon Reads.  We hope you found something that made you swoon!"

What is Swoon Reads, you ask?  It's a novel idea from Macmillan: a crowdsourced romance imprint for teens. It's a community of writers and readers; both can make a Swoon Reads account and sign in, either to upload their manuscript to the site or to read uploaded manuscripts. Submissions should be 50,000-70,000 word romances written for readers aged 14 and older, in any sub-genre (historical, dystopian, mash-up, etc.), and gay and lesbian romances are welcome. Readers can rate (0-5 hearts, from "Did Not Finish" to, you guessed it, "Swoon-Worthy") and comment on the manuscripts they read, and the submissions that have the highest ratings will be passed to an editorial board - if the board concurs that the manuscript is "SW♥♥N-worthy", it gets published!

Swoon Reads' first title, A Little Something Different: Fourteen Viewpoints, One Love Story is in the library catalog, so place your holds now! Written by Sandy Hall, a librarian from New Jersey, it's a romance with an interesting twist - the novel's 14 viewpoints don't include the love story's protagonists, Lea and Gabe! Instead, the reader learns about their "meet-cute" and all that follows from viewpoints that include a roommate, a professor, a brother, a classmate, a friend, a barista, a bus driver, a squirrel, and a bench. Reviewers have called it "a sweet, quick romance" [VOYA Reviews] and a "good choice for reluctant readers" [School Library Journal]. "Swoonworthy Extras" include "A Coffee Date" with the author and editor,  discussion questions, and a short preview of the next title to be published. Watch for more from this new imprint!


Links

Swoon Reads: The Next Romance Bestseller, Selected by You [NPR]

Swoon lets YA readers choose which books get published [CNN]

Quote Roundup: A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall [Mac Teen Books]

Swoonworthy Manuscripts Selected for Publication [Swoon Reads]

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