The stinking rich

I've never submitted anything, but check out Harlequin and see their submission guidlines

As far as submitting it elsewhere, that's entirely up to you

I've known a few of the "stinking rich" in real life who don't have the trappings--it's HOW they stay rich. One lovely older man I worked with was part of the Rockefeller clan, but drove an old, beat-up 70s sedan and it was tough to drag him out of khakis and flannel shirts.

That said, how will the READERS know they're rich? Or is their being rich not really part of the story (and if not, why is it in there?)

dolores haze said:

Hi folks, nice to meet you. Newbie here, but have a question for you. I recently finished a short romance novel that I think would be perfect for the Harlequin Presents line. My hero and heroine are both stinking rich, but not particularly show-offy about it. The trappings of wealth I see in most Harlequin Presents titles are in sparse supply in my novel - no secret islands, castles, sports cars, etc. Apart from the trappings my book fits the line very well. My question is: Would I be better off submitting it elsewhere?

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Welcome, Dolores!

Harlequin's website (http://www.eharlequin.com/articlepage.html?articleId=538&chapter=0) has really good information about what each line would like to see in submissions.

As far as sending it other places, that will take you some leg work to find out which publisher is looking for what kind of stories. If you wrote this for Harlequin, it might be too short for other houses.
Good luck!

dolores haze said:

Hi folks, nice to meet you. Newbie here, but have a question for you. I recently finished a short romance novel that I think would be perfect for the Harlequin Presents line. My hero and heroine are both stinking rich, but not particularly show-offy about it. The trappings of wealth I see in most Harlequin Presents titles are in sparse supply in my novel - no secret islands, castles, sports cars, etc. Apart from the trappings my book fits the line very well. My question is: Would I be better off submitting it elsewhere?

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Hi, Dolores! Welcome. I think you have asked a very wise question here. That shows you're thinking about your market instead of just throwing your ms out there to see where it sticks, and I think that's excellent!

Let's look at it this way -- it's all about giving the readers what they expect. What do readers expect when they pick up a Harlequin Presents? They expect alpha males, generally wealthy, right? They expect most of the glitz and glamor that goes with wealth. Exotic settings, etc.

Would a reader feel disappointed if they picked up your book and read it when they were expecting the "norm" for a Harlequin Presents?

If you think the answer is yes, then I'd say you'd be better served to find a different place to submit to.

Have a cookie. <G> Hope you decide to stick around! Keep asking those smart questions, too! I always found that's the best way to learn.

Susan G.

dolores haze said:

Apart from the trappings my book fits the line very well. My question is: Would I be better off submitting it elsewhere?

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I think I'd go ahead and submit. The editors will spot the same thing you have -- a work that's good for the line except for the trappings and glitz.

Trapping and glitz are probably fairly easy to add, if everything else fits.

When I was little my dad said he'd take me to meet a millionaire.

Having seen them in movies I expected him to be David Niven elegant and wearing a tuxedo. He would live in a mansion.

His house was a ranch style 50s model, and he was in the driveway under a car when we drove up. He scooted out from the car, wearing grease-painted overalls and his hands were similarly blackened.

My dad's living came from fixing cars.

The millionare did the same thing, but as a hobby.

Big dif.

Well, maybe their conspicuous consumption is in the quality of things rather than quantity. Maybe they live in a small house designed by a famous architect and built with the finest materials, but doesn't look like a mansion. Maybe they wear simple looking clothes of the finest quality but *only once* then they give them to charity. Maybe they give *a lot* of money to charity, but secretly. Maybe they take extraordinarily extravagant vacations, but live simply at home.

dolores haze said:

Thanks for the advice, guys.
I've still got a decision to make. Amp up the conspicuous consumption, then submit to Harlequin Presents line? Take out the sex scenes, and submit to Modern Romance line? Easy decision when I put it like that - I SLAVED over those sex scenes. Those things are sooooo hard to write. I will NOT take them out. Unless, of course, they pay me to.
Thanks again.

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Is the conspicuous consumption that far off the Harlequin line? It might not need as much revision as you think.

Just be careful that you don't tweak the story so much to fit a particular line that it loses the original flavor and intention. I haven't read any Harlequin Presents so I don't know how much the $$ is a central focus in those books. Is it, or is it just a secondary characteristic? Does the $$ drive the conflict and the entire plot?

I say submit. From what I've heard, editors at Harlequin sometimes buy for other lines within the house, so if it's not right for one, you might get feedback about where else it might fit. I wouldn't automatically take the sex scenes out yet.

Good luck!

Erica Orloff used to be my agent--along with her partner Jay Poynor--and she is a very successful writer at Harlequin. She no longer does agenting. Also, she's very accessible. Go to her blog and write her. She will respond. She knows a lot about the romance publishing world.

dolores haze said:

I SLAVED over those sex scenes. Those things are sooooo hard to write.

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Ahh, but what fun to reseach!

You can cut and save them for another book, just change the names.

I did that, wrote a smokin' hot nookie scene that absolutely did not fit in the book.

I saved it in a special "leftovers" file and pasted it (with rewriting) into a different one later on and there it totally worked! It also turned out to be THE main plot point in the story--why a character was acting so murderously anti-social.

It seemed that my sub-conscious knew the scene would be important even if I didn't at the time of writing.

Gillhoughly said:

You can cut and save them for another book, just change the names. It seemed that my sub-conscious knew the scene would be important even if I didn't at the time of writing.

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I do that too! (Not save hot sex scenes... Well, maybe one or two. ) But I do have things I write that just don't fit in my WIP. I put them aside in a nice little file and, every now and then, they fit with something new.

NEVER just delete something. Writers should be packrats for words.

Originally Posted by Gillhoughly
You can cut and save them for another book, just change the names. It seemed that my sub-conscious knew the scene would be important even if I didn't at the time of writing



Wow! Thought I was the only one who did that. I recently had to "tone down" a sex scene because the editor took offense to it. Yes, I said "took offense". I didn't know why at first since there was nothing particularly bizarre about it (i.e. no "golden showers", "bestiality", etc.). Hell, it was even heterosexual sex!! But that said, it was simply "too hot" for the line I submitted to. I figured I'd save it for when I'm ready to submit to an Erotica line. And guess what? I'm using that scene in my current Erotica, and it works!! So it's sound advice, never delete anything. Keep it around because you never know when you're going to need it later.

dolores haze said:

You guys are wonderful. Thanks so much for all the excellent advice. Hope I can be as helpful to you as you have been to me. So happy to have found this site - writing can be such a lonely business.

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Thanks! And back 'atcha!!
You're right. It's frustrating. It's lonely. It's aggravating. At least we know we're not alone in the world!!