When Simone* met with her Australian publisher last month, she wasn’t expecting a rejection of her latest manuscript. Several years into a multi-book contract, Simone had always been happy with her publisher and their appetite for her unique fiction books. But recently, she’s noticed changes.
The number of full-time staff had shrunk, and their rejection of her latest manuscript came after more rejections of other short pitches. ‘They were pushing me towards more commercial books without using the word commercial,’ she tells ArtsHub. ‘They said they wanted broad appeal. They wanted me to write romance or romantasy.’ (Romantasy is a combination of romance and fantasy.)
