Is it possible to write w/o a specific imprint in mind?

In my opinion - yes

Oh, absolutely! Remember that all of the editors over at H/S are integrated--meaning that if you submit to one but the editor feels it would be a better fit elsewhere, they'll send it along. Now that only counts for the regular category lines, of course. The single-title imprints like Red Dress Ink, Luna and HQN each have their own editorial staff. It's always good if you CAN make it fit a particular line, but if you can't and stay within the general guidelines of several lines, you should be fine. But hey, if annie, Susan or Crinklish have a different feeling about it, I'd like to know. They're the H/S experts here.

Okay, personally I feel it's much better to write the ms with a specific target in mind. Really, there's such a difference between each line that, IMHO, it's best to have a good idea of what you want the book to be before you write it.

Let's face it, the same plot stuff can be found in most of the lines. Let's take a secret baby story. You can find a secret baby story in any of the lines -- it's the execution of the story that makes it fit one line or another. (In a Love Inspired, you'd include the faith element but no sex, in Desire, plenty of steam, in a SSE, you'd focus closely on the H&H and the impact on them, in a Super, you'd pull out a little more and include more secondary characters, more community stuff, in an Intrigue there'd be a big suspense thread that relates to the secret baby and H/H, etc.) And that's why I think it's generally best to have an idea of where you want it to go as you write.

Word counts also vary, so again, knowing what word count you want to hit makes it easier in deciding how you execute the story.

There is some overlap where lines are sort of close, where you might be able to have a story you wrote for one line be tweaked and fit at another line. (My first book for example, at first I thought was a SSE, but then discovered Super was a better fit for my voice and the types of things I liked to do with my stories. Those lines are close. Tweaking to change my ms to more of a Super was fairly "easy." )

As always, this is just my OPINION, and your milege may vary.

Susan G.

This is an interesting subject and I think ties in with the novel you want to write. Right now I'm deliberating instead of writing my first draft. Procrastination?

I tried to write "straight" Harlequin Intrigue, but I just know there are a couple of presences (ghosts maybe) waiting to pop out in this story, and it's going to be light paranormal mystery.

That's where I figure I should make the wip approx. 75,000 to 80,000 words. And then I can submit it to several publishers. At this point I don't know where it could be submitted at H/S.

My view is what if you aim your novel for a publisher who rejects it. Sometimes it's not so easy to tailor it to other publishers. IMHO.
Is this where the saying "practice makes perfect" applies?

I'd love your opinions, as I'm still an aspiring to be published novelist.

Josie said:

.
My view is what if you aim your novel for a publisher who rejects it. Sometimes it's not so easy to tailor it to other publishers. IMHO.
Is this where the saying "practice makes perfect" applies?

Click to expand...

You/re very right -- if you aim your ms for a particular HQ line, often times there's not much else you can do with it if HQ rejects it. That's sort of the way the cookie crumbles.

Practice makes perfect? Well, with craft stuff, yes. But when it comes to trying to aim for a particular HQ line, I wish I could tell you that practice makes perfect, but that's not necessarily the case, because as you can see, line parameters often change midstream. (Sometimes things change when a new senior ed comes on board who may have a different vision for the line than her predecessor, other times line changes come from even higher up) And even people who were published within a line sometimes find themselves scrambling to figure out exactly what the line is looking for "now."

Susan G.

Thanks, Susan. You give me more to think about as does Cathy

But right now I'd better write instead of "just" think.

Cheers.

I can't bring myself to write for a particular genre, in hopes that a particular publisher will accept it. I plan to write the story that wants to get out, and hopefully I'll find a suitable home for it.

If the MS seems to fit a particular genre or line after I'm finished with it, just a few tweaks and voila! At least I hope so.

You have to write the story--whatever that story is--and be true to it. A house will follow, methinks.

Thanks. I like that...reminds me of
and I'm misquoting, I'm sure

"If you build it they will come."

I think having a target in mind is good when writing.