The Raven Books' FAQs

What is Raven Books?

 The Raven was founded in 2004 by authors Mandy M. Roth and Michelle M. Pillow. Named after the club in Mandy’s famous Daughter of Darkness series, The Raven began as a place for readers to hang out and follow the free story by Michelle and Mandy, Raven Happy Hour (www.RavenHappyHour.com). It quickly evolved into a yahoo group, radio show, fan site, paranormal blog and so much more. Each October, the site hosts a massive Online Scavenger Hunt, giving away hundreds of prizes by just as many authors.

 In Sept 2008, The Raven Books (www.TheRavenBooks.com) was founded as a place to provide a temporary outlet for readers to find favorite, hard-to-get Michelle & Mandy backlist titles. However, due to demand it has evolved into a  fully functioning independent small press, e-first publisher (and yes, we do offer print books as well...and yes the rumors are true Michelle and Mandy have instituted pretty princess dress Tuesdays at the Raven Publishing House). Not only does Raven showcase Michelle and Mandy it has expanded to include other titles/authors as well.

Join us, and Rediscover the Magic of reading!™

Why did The Raven Books stop selling ebooks directly through their site?

That's an easy one. You all have made us such a huge hit that in order to keep operating costs down and keep our books priced right, we decided to let third party vendors sell them. We'll let them focus on sales, delivery, and so on and we'll focus on providing you, the reader, with GREAT books at GREAT prices!

Are all your titles re-releases?

No. Raven Books offers new, never before released titles as well as previously released ones. The best way to know what has and has not been released before is to receive our newsletter. You can sign up for it here. Whenever releases are put up, the newsletter goes out and the titles are clearly marked as brand new or previously published.

Are any of the author names pen names?

Yes, some are. Some aren't. And no, we're not telling who. Because if we told you we'd have to...

My computer crashed and it was full of my Raven Book Titles will you send me replacements for them?

You are responsible for backing up your purchases. Look on the bright side, with electronic books you can back them up so its not a total loss when something like a computer crash occurs. You can try contacting the third party vendor your purchased them through as well.

You have a re-release title that I already purchased from another publisher when it was first released. I really want the newest edition, will you send me a free copy of it?

No. Raven Books cannot send out free copies of its titles. Money has been put into editing, cover art and promotions for the titles. Also, authors have invested additional time into them and money into them.

Are you hiring editors and final line editors?

We are in the process of hiring editors and final line editors on a per project basis. Interested parties must have experience (at least two years--paid positions only). Send resume along with per project salary requirements to jobs AT ravenhappyhour DOT com.

UPDATE: We are actively seeking final line editor (FLE) positions. We ask all applicants to do a "test" FLE on a document we send you. We require the use of track changes. Please keep in mind that The Raven is a new company so our rates are not going to be that of NY or other pub houses.

What we are doing is cultivating a friendly atmosphere of close knit professionals who are like minded--wanting to see the company grow as a whole, while gaining valuable experience. We do not expect you to work with Raven and Raven alone. We understand that times are tight and you need to work for more than one publishing house. We will ask you to sign a confidentiality agreement. Bonus: You can do this job in your pajamas. *grins*

Don't be discouraged if you don't hear back from us right away.

I'm an author and want to submit to Raven. Are you open to submissions?

At the moment, The Raven Books is  accepting submissions by invite only. In the meantime we suggest looking at other e-first publishers that are accepting submissions. They are plenty of great ones out there just be sure to do your research.

I'm am author and want to self publish my books. Will you help me?

As stated in our what is Raven Books, Raven is a fully functioning independent small press, e-first publisher. Your questions would be better suited for a self publishing house.

I'm a cover artist and I'd like to apply for a job. Are you hiring?

Yes, we're currently hiring. Please look around our site for examples of current covers. We're looking for variety and quality. The cover is one of the most important marketing features of the book. We are always open to viewing online portfolios and retaining artist information in the event we have need in the future. Email jobs AT ravenhappyhour DOT com with your url to your online portfolio and salary requirements (salary requirements MUST be included within the email).

Do you only publish fiction?
Yes, at this time we’re only publishing romance fiction (with the exception of the erotica Raven Romps), including historical, young adult fiction, futuristic, contemporary, dark fantasy, fantasy, paranormal, urban fantasy, m/m, gothic fantasy, sweet to erotic.

What are Raven Romps?
Short and incredibly sexy, Raven Romps are the perfect treat at the end of a long day--or, heck, even in the middle of it. *wink* They are erotic romance and erotica without romance short stories.

Where can I find The Raven Books’ eTitles?
eBooks - The Raven Books can be found in eBook at The Raven Bookstore and the following online distributors: Amazon Kindle, Diesel, BooksOnBoard, All Romance eBooks, Smashwords, iApple, Sony, Kobo, B&N, and many more to come!!

I really want to purchase a Raven title from one of the places you have listed but its not available there yet, why?
 Raven sends its books out to all its distributors on the same day. Some are quick to put them up for sale. Others, not so quick. Unfortunately, we have no control over the third party vendors or when they list the title.

I want one of the Raven Books titles that is offered through Amazon Prime/KDP-Select only but I don't have Amazon/Kindle. Will you put these titles up at other vendors? Why did you list these select titles at Amazon only?

Amazon offers Kindle apps for mac, pc, androids, iphones and more. Be sure to email Amazon if you do not have Amazon in your region to let them know you want them there too.

We put select Raven titles up with KDP-Amazon only, because we needed to find a way, as a small company, to reach more readers for short promotional bursts. Amazon was the only vendor to offer us that at our current size level. In agreeing to do so, we had to sign a contract forbidding us from listing/hosting the title anywhere else, even on our site, during the contracts period of time. This was something we debated greatly over. In the end, we had to go with which vendor/promotional program could reach the most readers.  The titles will be available for purchase at all our vendors once the contracts expire at Amazon.

We are now offering two select free short promotional stories that are not part of our backlist titles. These were created to be free promotional stories. This way these stories can be offered for free, for good at most of our current vendors. These short stories help us reach more readers while thanking our existing ones.

Current FREE short promotional stories offered by Raven Books Publishing:

King, King, Goose? by Mandy M. Roth

Rings of Gold by Michelle M. Pillow

These are currently populating out to most of our vendors. It takes a little time (which is beyond our control).  These select short promotional stories are  FREE for good. No short promotional periods like with Amazon KDP-Select.

     
Will the books be in print?
Yes, a number of our titles are already in print with many more to come. Raven Author sections list PRINT under the cover if the book is available in print. Check back often as we are always updating and including more titles. We sell print through Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Createspace (this is where our print titles will appear the fastest). We're hoping to add even more distributors to this list very soon.
 

Are the foreign/film/merchandising/audio/other rights for sale?
Yes, with a few exceptions. We are selling secondary rights to the books. If interested, please contact Michelle Pillow at michelle@ravenhappyhour.com

I’m a bookseller and would like to distribute The Raven Book titles.
If you would like to include The Raven Books catalog of titles in your store, please contact Michelle Pillow at michelle@ravenhappyhour.com

I'm a book reviewer and would like to review Raven Book titles?
Raven currently sends their books out to a set number of review sites. At this time we are not adding more but we will gladly keep your information on hand should we send to more. Send your review site/blog url to raven@ravenhappyhour.com with a detailed message stating who you are and what you do. We get a lot of email so be sure your subject header also notes what you do.

I would like to include The Raven Books ads/banners/coverart on my website or print venue.
Raven has many ads that are free to use. You can download several of them here: http://www.michellepillow.com/customads.htm

If you need something specific, or would simply like the worship at the feet of our art dept, please contact art guru Mandy Roth at mandy@mandyroth.com
 

I want to do more to help promote The Raven Books and Michelle M Pillow and Mandy M Roth. What can I do as a reader?
Easy.

Talk about us and our books online.

Post about us and our books.

Blog about us and our books.

Put up online reader reviews (always honest, if you hate a title say so, we won't hold it against you... if you love it, say so)—It should be noted that The Raven Books already has a set number of “professional” review sites that it automatically sends to and we have a person in charge of this who tracks and logs all ARCs sent for review to professional sites.

Agree/disagree with reviews already posted on various vendors

Hit the LIKE button on our titles at vendors

Agree or disagree with TAG words on vendors.

If you see someone is reading an author who is similar to us, suggest they try us (politely, of course... but we know this goes without saying).

Anything online is the single MOST important thing you can do to help us. Why? Simple, because the majority of our sales have ALWAYS come from ebooks. And with the market shift moving towards ebooks more and more each day this is becoming so for many authors. Not just us.

Are you available for interviews or booksignings?
Yes, the owners and founders of The Raven Books and Raven Happy Hour can be contacted here:
Mandy M. Roth – mandy@mandyroth.com
Michelle M. Pillow – michelle@ravenhappyhour.com