The Day After: Harlequin Blinks
Originally published at Insert Witty Title Here. You can comment here or there.
For those of you first tuning in, here’s what has happened previously in the Harlequin Horizons show:
HARLEQUIN:
We’re launching Harlequin Horizons. We’re calling it a self-publishing venture.
AUTHORS:
So Harlequin is encouraging authors to self-publish!
HARLEQUIN:
That’s right!
AUTHORS:
Our books will finally make it to the bookstores!
HARLEQUIN:
Er, no. There would be no bookstore distribution. Actually, there would be no distribution at all. People would have to buy your books through a catalog. Somewhere. We won’t tell you where.
AUTHORS:
Our books will have the Harlequin name on the spine!
HARLEQUIN:
Um. No. Not that, either. Just a little double-H logo, one that may be easily confused with the double-H logo of Harlequin Historical, but any similarity there is purely coincidental.
AUTHORS:
Our books will get Harlequin editors working on them to help us become stronger writers!
HARLEQUIN:
Ah. Um. No. But if you pay for it, you can get an editorial review through Author Solutions, the company we’ve partnered with to form Harlequin Horizons.
AUTHORS:
Pay for it? How much?
HARLEQUIN:
An editorial review is only $342.00.
AUTHORS:
A review?
HARLEQUIN:
You know. A sample edit. Of the first chapter. To let you know where Harlequin Horizons believes you need editorial help. But don’t worry! After the two-plus weeks it takes to get that editorial review, we’ll tell you all about the oodles of editing services you can pay for through Harlequin Horizons!
AUTHORS:
Pay more? This is after the $342?
HARLEQUIN:
Well, sure. That was just a review.
AUTHORS:
How much are we talking about to get Harlequin Horizons to edit my manuscript?
HARLEQUIN:
For line editing, that’s $0.035 per word. For content editing, that’s $0.042 per word. And if you want full-blown developmental editing for plot, pace and content, like the kind authors get for free when they’re published through the real Harlequin, that’s $0.077 cents per word.
AUTHORS:
Uh…doesn’t that mean for an 80,000-word manuscript, it would cost me more than $6,100 to have my manuscript professionally edited?
HARLEQUIN:
Look! Shiny book with your name on it!
AUTHORS:
Ooh! And then Harlequin will do all of the marketing, right?
HARLEQUIN:
Ah, no. But you can pay for marketing services too! All through Harlequin Horizons! Like for $360, they’ll write a single-page press release. And if you’re serious about marketing, we’ve got services like email blasts for just under $12,000.
AUTHORS:
Wow. That’s a lot of money. And you said my book won’t even be in the bookstores. Or distributed at all.
HARLEQUIN:
Right! And it won’t have the Harlequin name, or have Harlequin editors work with you, or have Harlequin marketing and publicity to help promote your book!
AUTHORS:
At least I keep all the profits, after I pay for everything up front, right?
HARLEQUIN:
Heck, no! You keep only 50% of the net. We need something for our trouble of lending our brand name to Horizons and steering you toward it, through our website and our rejection letter.
AUTHORS:
So why did you encourage me in your rejection letter to get my book published by Harlequin Horizons?
HARLEQUIN:
Just because your book wasn’t good enough for Harlequin to pay you for it, that doesn’t mean it’s not good enough for you to pay us for it!
***
Yesterday was a big day for Harlequin. After getting firmly reprimanded by the Romance Writers of America the day before - in which RWA declared Harlequin an ineligible RWA publisher - yesterday the Mystery Writers of America and the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America also chimed in. Making Light reports all three organizations’ responses in full. Some highlights:
RWA:
With the launch of Harlequin Horizons, Harlequin Enterprises no longer meets the requirements to be eligible for RWA-provided conference resources. This does not mean that Harlequin Enterprises cannot attend the conference. Like all non-eligible publishers, they are welcome to attend. However, as a non-eligible publisher, they would fund their own conference fees and they would not be provided with conference resources by RWA to publicize or promote the company or its imprints….RWA takes its role as advocate for its members seriously. The Board is working diligently to address the impact of recent developments on all of RWA’s members.
MWA:
It is common for disreputable publishers to try to profit from aspiring writers by steering them to their own for-pay editorial, marketing, and publishing services. The implication is that by paying for those services, the writer is more likely to sell his manuscript to the publisher. Harlequin recommends the “eHarlequin Manuscript Critique Service” in the text of its manuscript submission guidelines for all of its imprints and include a link to “Harlequin Horizons,” its new self-publishing arm, without any indication that these are advertisements….If MWA and Harlequin are unable to reach an agreement, MWA will take appropriate action which may include removing Harlequin from the list of MWA approved publishers, declining future membership applications from authors published by Harlequin and declaring that books published by Harlequin will not be eligible for the Edgar Awards.
SFWA:
Until such time as Harlequin changes course, and returns to a model of legitimately working with authors instead of charging authors for publishing services, SFWA has no choice but to be absolutely clear that NO titles from ANY Harlequin imprint will be counted as qualifying for membership in SFWA. Further, Harlequin should be on notice that while the rules of our annual Nebula Award do not expressly prohibit self-published titles from winning, it is highly unlikely that our membership would ever nominate or vote for a work that was published in this manner.
Already the world’s largest romance publisher, Harlequin should know better than anyone else in the industry the importance of treating authors professionally and with the respect due the craft; Harlequin should have the internal fortitude to resist the lure of easy money taken from aspiring authors who want only to see their work professionally published and may be tempted to believe that this is a legitimate avenue towards those goals.
Kapow! Boom! Slam!
Is everyone clear why these three professional author organizations are upset with Harlequin?
1. Harlequin Horizons is not a self-publishing venture, despite what Harlequin claims. In self-publishing, the author keeps 100% of the profits. Period. Using Harlequin Horizons to print your book, you get only 50% of net. And that’s after you spend, at minimum, $600 to get your book printed. (And that’s without getting any editorial service whatsoever.) If you need clear-cut definitions to see the difference between vanity publishing and self-publishing, SWFA has a terrific list.
2. Harlequin itself is encouraging authors to use Harlequin Horizons services by linking to the vanity press on its website and by suggesting in its rejection letters that authors consider Harlequin Horizons. In other words: your manuscript was not good enough for Harlequin to pay you for your work - but it is good enough for you to pay Harlequin for it. Do you see how this is a conflict of interest?
Now, Harlequin was “surprised and dismayed” by people’s reaction. Pub Rants posted Harlequin’s full response. After much lamenting, Donna Hayes, CEO of Harlequin, says:
Most importantly, however, we have heard the concerns that you, our authors, have expressed regarding the potential confusion between this venture and our traditional business. As such, we are changing the name of the self-publishing company from Harlequin Horizons to a designation that will not refer to Harlequin in any way. We will initiate this process immediately. We hope this allays the fears many of you have communicated to us.
Got that, everyone? Harlequin is going to remove its name from Horizons! There’s nothing about the spiffy double-H logo that’s so close to the double-H logo of Harlequin Historical (which even the New Yorker confused). But even if Harlequin takes away the double-H logo on Horizons, it will still promote the vanity press on its website. And it will still mention the vanity press “opportunity” in its rejection letters.
Too little. Too late.
Something to consider: Harlequin Enterprise’s parent company, Torstar, needs money in a big way. What’s a company to do? Lo and behold, Harlequin Enterprises launches Harlequin Horizons, its very own vanity press, complete with mis-marketing its value to authors and encouraging authors to use this new service! Wonder if there’s any connection here?
Let me ask a question: if you want to self-publish your novel, why would you choose a vanity press such as Harlequin Horizons over a true self-publishing concern, such as Lulu or CafePress?
[Edited to add: As a number of people have pointed out, Lulu uses LightningSource as its printer, and you can go to LightningSource directly if you want a POD printer.]