Submissions

Loose Id is actively acquiring stories from both aspiring and established authors. Before submitting a query or proposal, please read the guidelines below. Please don't hesitate to contact us at submissions at loose-id dot com for any information you don't see here.

What is Loose Id?

Loose \'lüs\, adjective - 1. not rigidly fastened or securely attached; having relative freedom of movement. 2. free from a state of confinement, restraint, or obligation. 3. lacking in restraint or power of restraint; lacking in moral restraint. Synonyms: unleashed, unfettered, unbound, unfree.

Id \'id\, noun - the one of the three divisions of the psyche in psychoanalytic theory that is completely unconscious and is the source of psychic energy derived from instinctual needs and drives — compare ego, superego. Synonyms: subconscious mind, lizard brain.

Loose Id \'lüs id\, noun - 1. an unfettered unconscious mind; 2. a publisher of electronic and print romances that unleash your fantasies by striding to the edge of the abyss and taking the plunge. Synonyms: There are no known equivalents, only imitations.

About Our Books

Loose Id takes romance to the edge: the edge of the genre, the edge of convention, the edge of the abyss. And then we throw it right on in. A Loose Id romance is deliberately, specifically, and insistently erotic. It ought to make you blush and squirm in your seat, while keeping you turning pages because you have to find out what happens next.

We're looking for stories that unleash the power of fantasy and the id. New twists on old favorites, both erotic and romantic. Whether it's that hotass cop and the speeder he pulled over, a threesome with your two best gay friends, anonymous sex with the guy you saw pumping gas, capture fantasy, sex slavery, cowboy and city slicker, secret babies, secretary and sheikh, we want stories that tap specific reader fantasies and make them as erotic as the plotline will support.

Your story should have a clear romance hook, even though we encourage plots that have a broader external conflict. Readers love sprawling stories, but they want to know from the outset who is going to fall in love, what's going to get in their way, and why it's important that they resolve it. Remember, the idea is to indulge the id by fulfilling familiar reader fantasies in a new and unique way, so those fantasies need to be recognizable and powerful.

Accepted Genres

About the contemporaries and historicals
Because we're sharpening our focus on reader fantasy, we're reopening submissions to contemporaries and historicals that are sufficiently erotic to meet our desire to have readers squirming in their seats. No inspirationals, no sweet romances, no category romance. But, feel free to take those standard romance tropes and plotlines and make them as erotic as the story will support. We'd prefer historicals and contemporaries to include multicultural elements, interracial elements, full-figured heroines, menage, bdsm, alternate lifestyle, lgbt themes or polyamory, but we will happily look at your hot heterosexual Alpha heroes in single-partner relationships, so long as they're hunky and HOT.

About paranormal, sff, mystery & suspense
While we encourage broad, inventive plots, please remember that we publish erotic ROMANCE. No cozy mysteries, no urban fantasy with sex for titillation, no sprawling space epics with the occasional love story. We expect every story to have a fully realized romance with conflict and resolution, even if you're not taking them all the way to happily ever after. Stories with a large external conflict must have a romance hook - one that is specifically erotic. As with contemporaries and historicals, we'd prefer these to include multicultural elements, interracial elements, full-figured heroines, menage, bdsm, alternate lifestyle, lgbt themes or polyamory,but we're perfectly happy to look at your sky pirates and outlaw heroes who find the girl of their dreams, so long as the story makes us squirm.

About LGBT, menage & poly, bdsm & fetish
Everything we've said about romances, hooks, and fantasies still applies when dealing with LGBT, menage & poly, bdsm & fetish themes. While some of our books in these categories cater specifically to the relevant community, we still expect them to be accessible to and enjoyable for the bulk of our female readers. Romance is the key. At Loose Id, we believe love is love is love is love. The heart wants who it wants and the id wants what it wants. Tell us a story about someone or someones getting their heart and id's desire. It's not enough that it's two guys, two girls, a drag queen and a pre-op transexual, three or more lovers, or there are whips, chains, clamps, pony play. Turn it inside out and show us the hearts that make it work. Show us the rainbow and make us believe - and squirm, don't forget the squirming.

Specific Guidelines

Length
20,000-120,000 words. Flings of less than 20,000 words and shorter stories are by invitation only to authors currently publishing with us. Stories of 55,000 - 70,000 words will receive an advance and be automatically considered for print.

Re-releases
In very rare circumstances we will accept previously published manuscripts that meet our guidelines, however they will only be considered in conjunction with a complete, unpublished manuscript meeting our guidelines by the same author.

Series and Serials
We're not generally interested in serials or series beyond three books at this time. While we'll still look at manuscripts intended to be part of a much longer series, each story must stand alone and subsequent books will be judged on their own merit as well as the sales for previous books in the series.

Anthologies/group projects
Loose Id no longer accepts anthology or group project proposals from authors. Loose Id authors may inquire of their editor but should be advised that even if the proposal is approved, individual books in series will be judged on their own merit and author invitations will be made by Loose Id.

Absolutely no:

• Short stories, see above.
• Pedophilia. That is, sex between adults and underage characters.
• Necrophilia. Undead doesn't count.
• Bestiality. Sentient shifters, aliens and paranormal creatures are OK.
• Scat or golden showers. Territorial marking may be acceptable in extraordinary cases. Inquire before submitting.
• Rape or incest (as defined by the culture in which the story occurs) calculated to arouse the reader. Villains may commit rape or incest to demonstrate malicious intent, but it should occur in a manner that is not arousing, or offstage. Rape or incest can have occurred in a character's past, but the hero or heroine should never perpetrate rape or incest during the scope of the story. Forced seduction, capture, or dubious consent are acceptable.
• Snuff.

At this time we are specifically looking for:

• m/m, specifically contemporary, cowboy, and paranormal, but we'll look at any genre, including mystery and suspense.
• multicultural, where one or multiple partners are non-Caucasian and the story has strong elements of cultural immersion. Whether the book is set in Korea Town for example or the heroine is a brilliant young Arab emigree, we want the culture of the characters to be more than window dressing. This should not be taken as an invitation to exotify other cultures and make them sexy and alluring through cliche, generalization, and stereotype. Rather it should reflect a deeper understanding of the culture. Obviously, fantasies about the foreign prince or princess, the sheikh or the visiting dignitary does trade to some extent on the mystique and allure of the exotic. That's fine, provided that by the end, the "local" partner gets to know their "alien" partner and their culture better.
• menage, specifically m/m/f. If you are creating a menage out of an established pairing, be very careful that it doesn't feel like cheating to either partner or that it's not a "concession menage" ie something one partner does to save a failing romance. Fidelity is important to our readers. If you have two men in a committed relationship looking for Ms. Right or the feisty third to bottom for them both, that's fine. But bringing in an old ex-lover can cause hurt and jealousy that make it emotionally yucky to read about. Be sensitive to how you would feel and try to make sure that you're establishing a menage that (assuming you were comfortable with them in the first place) you would want to be a part of.
• screamingly hot contemporaries and historicals, where the premise plays to specific tropes and well-known fantasies. In particular, hot Alpha heroes, capture fantasy, rescue fantasy, submission, but also old favorites like secret babies, boss and secretary, marriage of convenience, and so on.

Sending a Proposal

Please submit exactly and only the following:

A Query Letter with:

• Your name and contact e-mail.
• The name of the manuscript you are submitting and the name of the series it is a part of, if any.
• The completion status and expected length of your manuscript.
• The genre, the premise, and the degree of sensuality present in your manuscript.

A short but complete Synopsis focusing on the characters' goals and motivations, the major story events, climax and ending.

A Partial which includes the first Three Chapters of your manuscript. A short prologue should not be counted. If all of the major characters are not represented in the first three chapters or the love story has not yet begun, please send through those points to the nearest chapter break.

Authors with multiple previous publications may submit a proposal which includes a Query Letter and an expanded Synopsis. Please note that acceptance on proposal, while it does occur, is not the norm.

Formatting Your Submission

Please follow these simple formatting guidelines precisely.

• RTF files only. Submissions in DOC or in the body of the e-mail will not be accepted.
• Double-spaced. Standard 12 pt serif font. Times New Roman or Courier preferred.
• Emphasis and foreign words may be underlined or italicized.
• Place the Query Letter only in the body of the e-mail; you may address it to the Editor-in-Chief, Treva Harte, or to a specific editor of your acquaintance. Attach the Synopsis and Partial to the e-mail (RTF files only).
• Include your name, pen-name and contact e-mail in the Query Letter, Synopsis and Partial.

• You will receive confirmation of receipt within one week. If you have not received confirmation at the end of one week, please e-mail Editor-in-Chief Treva Harte at alterego@loose-id.com.
• Our current submissions' read time is three to four weeks. If you have not heard from an editor at the end of one month, inquire by e-mail to submissions@loose-id.com as to the status of your submission.

Frequently Asked Questions

The following questions are the ones we hear most often from prospective authors. Don't see the answer to your question below? Feel free to contact our Editorial department at submissions@loose-id.com.

What's your turnaround time on proposals?

Our current response time to a query or proposal is less than one month.

If my book is contracted, when will it be published?

Barring delays in editing on your end, your book will be published within a year of first submitting a completed manuscript to your editor.

WILL MY BOOK GO TO PRINT?

From time to time, we do publish selected titles in print. But print is expensive and doesn't provide a good return on investment. We've elected not to jeopardize our financial status by putting every book into print.

Every book is evaluated for print based on criteria including e-book sales, buzz, reviews, author sales history, author history with the company, and print market viability. Those that provide a best fit with our criteria and present the highest likelihood of return on investment are put into print.

Above all, however, we're committed to expanding the electronic publishing market, bringing in new customers, and finding new market segments. Electronic publishing is, still, the wave of the future. So far, e-books have barely begun to catch on, but with the technologies now coming to market and just beginning to mature, we expect to see even more growth.

How often are royalties paid?

Royalties on e-books are paid monthly. Royalties on print books are paid quarterly.

Do I need an agent to submit to Loose Id?

Not at all. We welcome submissions from aspiring and previously published authors, agented or not.

Can I use my own art for the cover?

No. We have a professional marketing team that understands the vision of the company and the types of art that appeals to our customers. A cover from Loose Id's staff of professional artists will sell more copies of your book.

Are there any subjects or plots that you won't accept?

Good authors can make a difficult subject work, so we hesitate to discourage you from writing any story that's yearning to be written. However, we will not accept a story that includes pedophilia, necrophilia, or the use of certain bodily functions for sexual arousal. If you have a question about a particular element of your story, feel free to ask our Editor-in-Chief, Treva Harte, via e-mail: alterego@loose-id.com.

Contract Terms

Loose Id is a royalty-paying epublisher. We hold to the highest standards of contract fairness, as defined by EPIC.

We ask for electronic rights for a term of two years, have a full audit clause, and pay 35% of gross sales on standalone stories. We do have a series first look clause, but it applies only while the contract is in force, and only if we are not in breach of our obligations under the contract; all ownership in characters, worlds, and 'themes' remains with the author. We currently pay royalties on a monthly basis.