Tell us how you really feel, Mr. Konrath!

Gillhoughly · May 8, 2012

If you adore Harlequin Publishing (that is, the fine print in their contracts) you may not like this blog, but it has some interesting (that is, W-T-F??) numbers in it on their payment structure.

I respect Harlequin writers and love the books. I love the HQN website and send links to new writers, since it has great info on the craft they may find useful. One of the things on my bucket list has been to sell an Intrigue to them. Note the past tense. This blog has changed my mind.

Selling books worldwide would be awesome, but the royalty pay is not thrilling to this writer.

The guest blogger, Rita Award nominee and Daphne du Maurier Award winner Ann Voss Peterson, shares her HQ experiences. She's got 25 novels under her belt and knows a thing or three. This is a blog to bookmark.

Then J.A. Konrath takes off the gloves and swings hard at the publisher's policies.

Whether you like what he says or not depends on whether you're a full time writer trying to make the mortgage with your earnings or a publisher trying to keep the business afloat in a slow economy in a swiftly changing industry.

I'm siding with the writer on this one. 2.4% royalties? Really??? REALLY??? Sure, you sell all over the world, but REALLY??????!!!!!!

Decide for yourself:

Harlequin Fail

Here's a nice bonus, Ann Voss Peterson's ebook thriller, PUSHED TOO FAR is *free* for the next couple of days.

Think I'll download a copy and check things out!

.

htrent · May 8, 2012

I just read it and all the comments and I'm honestly stunned. Has me reevaluating some goals, for sure.

Filigree · May 8, 2012

This was one reason why I didn't approach Luna, and why I finagled the help of a very savvy agent to help with a recent epub contract to a non-HQ publisher. Right now, I would not query Harlequin without a lot of back up - not even their Carina imprint.

Kudos to Joe and Ann for posting this.

Silver-Midnight · May 8, 2012

tpridgen said:
I just read it and all the comments and I'm honestly stunned. Has me reevaluating some goals, for sure.

Same. Even though I, personally, didn't look at Harlequin entirely, it still makes you want to reevaluate you publish with.

Gillhoughly · May 8, 2012

Hey, let's recall the bad old days where they offered a flat fee, no royalties, and not only owned the book for the life of its copyright, but the author's NAME as well.

Hence the number of pen names for most of their early writers.

They've cleaned up their act to some extent, pressured, I think by the industry, writer organizations and agents, but ultimately any publisher wants a book deal to favor IT financially and they will do all they can to make that happen at the expense of the writer.

You can and should have an agent in your corner if you plan to write lots of HQN titles, poor deal and all.

If you just want to use them as a stepping stone to better deals and can get your foot in the door with a debut sale, then you may want to consider it.

I've compared them to McDonalds. They kick out a specific product for a specific audience and they do it very well.

But the cook at the grill, whether a teen wanting a first job or an out-of-work 5-star chef in need of a check, still make the same minimum wage.

KristiJ · May 9, 2012

Thanks for posting....like tpridgen, has me reevaluating.

Creative_Solitude · May 9, 2012

Wow...every enlightening.

VanessaNorth · May 9, 2012

I found Courtney Milan's blog post today on similar subject matter (minus the konrath blather) interesting as well...

http://www.courtneymilan.com/ramblings/2012/05/09/a-tale-of-two-royalty-statements/

ladyleeona · May 9, 2012

2.4% is pretty damn appalling.

Unfortunately, with as much brand recognition as Harli has, I doubt anything will change. Not matter how much stink get raised.

mscelina · May 9, 2012

The ladies in the bookstore who can spot the HQ brand from a mile away really don't care that the authors aren't making any kind of money off their books. Harlequin knows that, so it's not that concerned. However, if enough authors are informed about HQ's policies BEFORE they sign their contracts, then maybe some of this will sink in. Until then--and I doubt it will happen--author complaints just don't bother them. For every Harlequin author who feels cheated and betrayed, there are thousands of aspiring authors who just do not care about that. As long as they can hold their book in their hands, they'll be willing to drink the koolaid. And to me, that's just sad.

Bubastes · May 9, 2012

mscelina said:
The ladies in the bookstore who can spot the HQ brand from a mile away really don't care that the authors aren't making any kind of money off their books. Harlequin knows that, so it's not that concerned.

....

For every Harlequin author who feels cheated and betrayed, there are thousands of aspiring authors who just do not care about that. As long as they can hold their book in their hands, they'll be willing to drink the koolaid. And to me, that's just sad.

Yup.

At RT, I attended Harlequin's publisher spotlight. One thing that really stuck out in my mind: they kept emphasizing the strength of the Harlequin brand and all the things they did to promote their brand. The author seemed to be an afterthought.

When I asked a St. Martin's Press editor about the SMP brand, she gave me a puzzled look and said, "The author's the brand. We're just the publisher." That's all I needed to know to understand the difference between Harlequin and other publishers.

FWIW.

Stlight · May 9, 2012

I stopped buying in the middle of a series when Luna suddenly went from mmp to trade paperback. How did that work out for HQN?

Bogna · May 9, 2012

They may pay shit, but they are valuable resource for beginning romance writers. Saying that you've been published by HQ before is a great way to draw people to your novels.

Deb Kinnard · May 10, 2012

How does a valuable resource countenance paying its authors so little that they can't afford to continue contracting with them? I'm sure it's of some value to get your title on bookstore shelves for 3.5 weeks, and then have your rights tied up for years -- but for the life of me I can't calculate the monetary value of that.

The percentage coming to the author is also apparently based on a HQ owned subsidiary gulping up a big percentage of the cover price. An obvious way to make sure the author is paid very little. This practice has been litigated in another industry in the past and IIRC, the corporation lost the case.

Moreover, having an agent is not going to help the author get a decent return on the work. Agents cannot negotiate any part of HQ's boilerplate contract. So both my agents have told me. Oh, maybe if you're La Nora you might get a better deal, but I'm told for the vast rest of us, don't even bother asking.

I suppose I'm now going to get a rep as an HQ hater, but this isn't about me. It's about the authors who aren't making enough for what in many cases are books that deserve better.

Hildegarde · Jun 2, 2012

Okay - been trying to get back to this thread forever (can you say busy?)!

Now, I am NOT defending Harlequin here, but reading these stories did raise a couple of questions for me.

I'd love to see this story backwards. I self-pubbed and made $xxxx, then signed with Harlequin (or insert other Big Publisher Here) and . . . . In other words, I'd like to know what (if any) advantages a previously self-pubbed author thought Harlequin offered them and how that experience compared to self-pubbing.

To give Harlequin some tid-bit of credit - they do provide a lot of exposure for their authors. It seems to me that indie-pubbing might be very attractive to authors who have already developed a readership whereas it would be an uphill battle for exposure for the rest of us.

So, despite my disclaimer, I am now prepared to be flamed!

Seriously, though, if anyone knows some good blog posts somewhere about indies that have moved to big houses and whether it was worth it, please point me at 'em!

Evangeline · Jun 2, 2012

Hildegarde said:
Seriously, though, if anyone knows some good blog posts somewhere about indies that have moved to big houses and whether it was worth it, please point me at 'em!

There are a number of indie authors who've been picked up by major NY houses.

Amanda Hocking blogged about her experience.

Since traditional publishing is not as immediate as self-publishing, nor is the author as hands-on (and for that matter, there's still a lot of frowning on authors sharing numbers and contracts, or sharing covers, exerpts, blurbs, etc before they allow), you won't see a large contingent of indie-to-traditional authors blogging about their experience.

Deb Kinnard · Jun 4, 2012

HQ is acquiring now for late '13 or early '14 (those with better information can firm this up), so it seems to me a bit too early to see if any formerly self-pubbed author is willing to share his/her experience. After all, the explosion in self-publishing is relatively new, and the same author could easily have a piece out direct-to-reader while contracting with HQ for a different work.

Let's see how this falls out in, say, a year or so. I'd love to see the authors say, "Yes, making the jump from indie to trade was worth every cent."

frimble3 · Jun 4, 2012

Bubastes said:
Yup.

At RT, I attended Harlequin's publisher spotlight. One thing that really stuck out in my mind: they kept emphasizing the strength of the Harlequin brand and all the things they did to promote their brand. The author seemed to be an afterthought.

When I asked a St. Martin's Press editor about the SMP brand, she gave me a puzzled look and said, "The author's the brand. We're just the publisher." That's all I needed to know to understand the difference between Harlequin and other publishers.

FWIW.

That's because the average reader knows the names of a few authors "I want a Danielle Steele, I want a Norah Roberts." "Or, I want someone like DS or NR." Most readers don't know any publishers, or their relationship to a particular kind of book.
But, Harlequin? I'd bet that most Harlequin readers don't even think about authors' names. If it's got the the little logo, they're willing to give it a shot. 'Harlequin' is most of the way to becoming the generic term for 'Romance' in most people's minds.

jennontheisland · Jun 4, 2012

Harlequin has never been on my list of potential publishers, for many of the reasons listed. I won't even buy their books any more.

Plus, I snagged a screen shot a while ago....

BenPanced · Jun 4, 2012

Deb Kinnard said:
How does a valuable resource countenance paying its authors so little that they can't afford to continue contracting with them? I'm sure it's of some value to get your title on bookstore shelves for 3.5 weeks, and then have your rights tied up for years -- but for the life of me I can't calculate the monetary value of that.

The percentage coming to the author is also apparently based on a HQ owned subsidiary gulping up a big percentage of the cover price. An obvious way to make sure the author is paid very little. This practice has been litigated in another industry in the past and IIRC, the corporation lost the case.

Moreover, having an agent is not going to help the author get a decent return on the work. Agents cannot negotiate any part of HQ's boilerplate contract. So both my agents have told me. Oh, maybe if you're La Nora you might get a better deal, but I'm told for the vast rest of us, don't even bother asking.

I suppose I'm now going to get a rep as an HQ hater, but this isn't about me. It's about the authors who aren't making enough for what in many cases are books that deserve better.

They know their place in the market and how many people are willing to write for them. It's a well-oiled machine that's worked well for HQ for years, so why change it?

Hildegarde · Jun 5, 2012

Nice replies from everybody - thanks.

I had heard the Amanda H. story. I guess was looking for someone who maybe hadn't managed to sell a million books before being picked up. Maybe it is too soon to see a lot of those stories yet. (Maybe we don't know who those authors are, even).

Tell us how you really feel, Mr. Konrath!

Gillhoughly

Grumpy writer and editor

htrent

practical experience, FTW

Filigree

Mildly Disturbing

Silver-Midnight

Gillhoughly

Grumpy writer and editor

KristiJ

Creative_Solitude

All the world's a stage...

VanessaNorth

Purple hair, not prose.

ladyleeona

fluently sarcastic grandma offender

mscelina

Teh doommobile, drivin' rite by you

Bubastes

bananaed

Stlight

ideas are floating where they will

Bogna

Deb Kinnard

Hildegarde

A newb in the fog

Evangeline

Twirling in a glass of champagne

Deb Kinnard

frimble3

Heckuva good sport

jennontheisland

the world is at my command

BenPanced

THE BLUEBERRY QUEEN OF HADES (he/him)

Hildegarde

A newb in the fog