Harlequin Kiss line - protagonists question

Status
Not open for further replies.

Caitlin Black

Wild one
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 17, 2009
Messages
44,834
Reaction score
2,928
Age
39
Location
The exact centre of all of existence
Hi. So, for NaNo this year, I'm going to try writing a popular-romance novel. I've looked around, and the Harlequin Kiss line seems the best fit for me. An emphasis on flirting, a bit of heat, but not as sexual as the Blaze line. Anyway, I just wondered... Do the Harlequin Kiss books require both a male and female protagonist, in alternating scenes/chapters? I've heard that having both POVs is pretty standard these days, but I just wanted to make sure.

It's not a problem, either way. I just wanted to know what the Kiss people expect, as I would love to sell this novel eventually. (Assuming it gets finished and is good enough, obviously...)

Thanks in advance. :)
 

StoryofWoe

Sick and pale with grief.
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 4, 2014
Messages
1,045
Reaction score
89
Location
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene.
I prefer single-title romance to category, and I can't speak to the Kiss line itself. But if I were thinking about submitting to a particular line or publisher, the first thing I'd do is read a few of their books. Are you a fan of Harlequin Kiss books? There's no hard and fast rule that you MUST be a fan of the line before submitting to it, but Harlequin romances tend to have specific benchmarks and beats that must be hit in order to satisfy that line's readership (not to mention the subjective variation of heat levels from line to line and publisher to publisher). Sure, you can ask readers about objective stuff, like POV, but the best way to know if your story's a good fit is to familiarize yourself with the line.

Sorry I can't be of more help, but best of luck with the novel! :)
 

chompers

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 19, 2013
Messages
2,506
Reaction score
384
Agree with StoryofWoe. Also, I thought the KISS line was discontinued?
 

Caitlin Black

Wild one
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 17, 2009
Messages
44,834
Reaction score
2,928
Age
39
Location
The exact centre of all of existence
I saw it listed on the Harlequin website today... I would assume it's still going? Unless it's a matter of the books still being available, but nothing new being accepted?

I suppose it doesn't matter too much, in the end. I'm sure there will always be a market for slightly-steamy flirting-heavy romances, somewhere.

However... Is what I heard true? That most romances these days have a dual POV, to see the situation from both sides of the pairing?
 

StoryofWoe

Sick and pale with grief.
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 4, 2014
Messages
1,045
Reaction score
89
Location
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene.
However... Is what I heard true? That most romances these days have a dual POV, to see the situation from both sides of the pairing?
From the agent chatter I've seen on Twitter, and specifically, the Q&A I participated in with BookEnds LLC agents, I would say yes. (Tweet source 1, 2, 3.) A lot of the major bestsellers and self-published-to-trade-published books that were big two to five years ago (think Fifty Shades, Sylvia Day's Crossfire series, Colleen Hoover's Slammed) featured only the heroine's POV--at least for the first book--but from what I'm seeing on agents' and publishers' submission guidelines now, that trend is waning. Including both POVs has been popular for decades, and continued to be even when single-POV was on the rise (with maybe the exception of NA romance, where the readership seems to prefer first person, which is harder to pull off in dual).

I think you could write a salable romance with only one POV, but as one of the agents in the Q&A I mentioned pointed out (see link #2 above), it might be a harder sell. Personally, I plan on writing my next few romances in third person dual. A couple of my dream agents have flat-out said that they prefer dual POV and hate first person. I've never encountered an agent asking for no third person or single POV exclusively.
 
Last edited:

chompers

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 19, 2013
Messages
2,506
Reaction score
384
I saw it listed on the Harlequin website today... I would assume it's still going? Unless it's a matter of the books still being available, but nothing new being accepted?
Are you looking under the books for sale or under the submissions? If you didn't look under the submissions section, I would suggest you do that to get an idea of what they want for each of the lines. They're pretty specific.

I went and looked after reading this thread and I didn't see a mention of the KISS line in their submissions section, so it's possible it's discontinued.
 
Last edited:

LJD

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 12, 2010
Messages
4,226
Reaction score
525
Harlequin Kiss was definitely discontinued, although you can still buy the books.
Actually, they announced a little while back that they're closing Blaze too, though books will continue to come out for several more months.
 
Last edited:

LJD

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 12, 2010
Messages
4,226
Reaction score
525
However... Is what I heard true? That most romances these days have a dual POV, to see the situation from both sides of the pairing?

Yes, this is the norm for m/f romance. (Not sure about m/m?) Single POV romances still exists, however, and this varies by sub-genre. I see it somewhat often in erotic romance, but I am not sure I have ever read a single POV historical.

Also, look here for harlequin submission info.
 

Caitlin Black

Wild one
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 17, 2009
Messages
44,834
Reaction score
2,928
Age
39
Location
The exact centre of all of existence
Mmm. I think I'll definitely be doing dual-third POV for this story, then. :)

Also, thanks for the link. I've bookmarked it. I was having a devil of a time trying to find the right submissions info page.
 

MartinaMay

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 1, 2013
Messages
967
Reaction score
156
Location
Living in Unity
A friend's agent recently subbed her single pov/first person (past) contemporary romance and the MS went to acquisitions 3x with big houses (incl Harlequin), plus had an R&R with another. No offers, but the editors didn't pass because the MS was single, first person pov (the MC wasn't sympathetic enough).

Readers seem to be split about first vs third person in contemporary romance, but I think editors are open to whatever pov delivers a good story.
 

Evangeline

Twirling in a glass of champagne
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 7, 2009
Messages
369
Reaction score
39
Location
California
Website
www.edwardianpromenade.com
I saw it listed on the Harlequin website today... I would assume it's still going? Unless it's a matter of the books still being available, but nothing new being accepted?

I suppose it doesn't matter too much, in the end. I'm sure there will always be a market for slightly-steamy flirting-heavy romances, somewhere.

However... Is what I heard true? That most romances these days have a dual POV, to see the situation from both sides of the pairing?

Entangled Lovestruck is a romantic comedy category line: http://entangledpublishing.com/category/lovestruck/
 

LJD

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 12, 2010
Messages
4,226
Reaction score
525
If you are interested in Entangled, they do have pretty detailed submission info here for each category line, including POV preferences. (They generally seem to prefer 3rd person, with 50/50 split between hero and heroine's POV.)
 

LJD

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 12, 2010
Messages
4,226
Reaction score
525
FYI -- Entangled is all about tropes and if you're serious about submitting to them, you better have three in your book.

For their category lines, yes. For their single title imprints, not that I'm aware of. I sold a book to them for Scorched, and there has been no discussion of tropes in the editing (which has now been completed) or in any of the planning for the subsequent books in the series.
 

CEtchison

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 10, 2009
Messages
447
Reaction score
69
Location
Austin, TX... for now.
Website
www.cheryletchison.com
You are correct, it is the category lines where tropes are required. And since Cliff Face was considering Lovestruck, that's why I pointed it out.

I participated in their first NaNoWriMo Smackdown in 2012 where small groups of writers worked exclusively with the editors for each line. At that time we had to create a proposal and the very first thing we had to list was the three tropes we included in our book. And if we didn't have three, the editors often came up with a third and we writers had to figure out a way to work it in to the story. They take it very seriously. If anyone is considering the Entangled category lines, I still stand by my suggestion of having three included in your story before you ever submit to them.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.