Once upon a time, long ago and far away, I wrote several Harlequin romance novels. How did I get into it? Like a lot of people, I had graduated from university and couldn’t find work in my field, librarianship. During school I’d heard about librarians being needed so I studied that, but had the misfortune to graduate the year after they (mostly, government and public libraries) had hired all the librarians they could afford. I worked in a bookstore for a couple of years, but it didn’t pay well and I had ambitions beyond that. So I thought I’d try writing Harlequins. They had an established structure, and you had to keep within certain parameters as regards the plot, which struck me as good training for a new and indecisive writer. We got to the point where my husband was making enough money that I could quit work and we wouldn’t have to eat cat food. I gave myself 5 years to produce a publishable novel. It took 3.
Mine were the classic Harlequin series romances. There are currently 23 different series within the Harlequin and Silhouette imprints. Each series released a set number of titles each month. For example Harlequin Presents usually puts out 6 titles a month. Harlequin American releases 4 titles a month. Harlequin Special Edition (formerly Silhouette Special Edition) does 6 a month. So, that’s what, more than 100 books every month. They are on the bookstore shelves for 1 month, then are replaced by next month’s titles. Not unlike magazine merchandising.
This is one of this June’s titles, chosen at random, I don’t know Ms. Monroe (probably a pen name) or her work:
http://www.eharlequin.com/media/images/books/0611-9780373129935-bigw.jpg
What I did not write were bodice-rippers, the Fabio-covered tales of pirates, Vikings, and mighty-thighed Highlanders. The Harlequin series books tend to be shorter and less erotic, although they certainly have their share of steam, which varies, one series to another. Look here for a breakdown: http://www.eharlequin.com/articlepage.html?articleId=538&chapter=0
You’d be surprised how many authors currently on the NYTimes best-seller lists got their start in romance-writing. For instance, Nora Roberts:
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Harlequins are often on the receiving end of a lot of snark, to which I might respond: ‘and who, pray tell, published your novels and get them into English-language stores across the world, and got you translations in Italian, Japanese and Turkish?’ No one expects these books to be Haute Lit, they’re meant to be pleasant distractions from an often tedious and disappointing world.
I often think of what Charles Schultz, the Peanuts cartoonist, said once: “I’m a ‘fairly’ sort of person. A fairly good artist. If I were better, I’d be a painter. A fairly good writer. If I were a better writer, I’d write books. But I only write like me.”
If I wrote like Steig Larsson, I’d write devious mysteries and sell a zillion copies. If I wrote like George Bernhard Shaw I’d have a Nobel prize and be famous long after my death. But, I only write like me.
It was a good time in my life. I have a mounted poster on my wall that the publisher made from the cover of one of my books, and I have unbound covers, framed and on the wall. I had a great time being interviewed, going to conferences, teaching classes, getting royalty cheques, and generally being The Star.
I accumulated a lot of know-how about how traditional publishing works, within the genres and outside them, too. So. Any questions?
