Alert for those targeting Harlequin/Silhouette

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Susan Gable

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A HUGE change in the word counts for the Harlequin/Silhouette lines, folks. The longer lines are being shortened so that we can give the readers bigger fonts and larger margins. This is definately going to affect your stories and your submissions, so I'm pasting the new word counts here for your information. As always, keep eHarlequin.com in mind for the latest information, too.

Here is the lineup:

(Thousand words) Book pages pages at 250 wpp count

Desire 50-55 192 pp 200-220 manuscript pages

Intimate Moments 60-65 256 pp 240-260 manuscript pages

Special Edition -65 256pp 240-260 manuscript pages

Bombshell 70-75 304 pp 280-300 manuscript pages

Love Inspired 60-65 256 pp 240-260 manuscript pages

Everlasting 70-75 304 pp 280-300 manuscript pages

American Romance 60-65 256 pp 240-260 manuscript pages

Blaze 60-65 256 pp 240-260 manuscript pages

Intrigue 60-65 256 pp 240-260 manuscript pages

Superromance 70-75 304 pp 280-300 manuscript pages

LI Suspense 60-65 256 pp 240-260 manuscript pages




To give you some idea of how much change this is, Supers used to be 80-85K. I usually brought mine in at about 85K. This means I now have "less room" to tell my story - so that means fewer subplots, etc.

However, the books will be 304 pages IN PRINT. They have been about 297-299 in print. So, the reader gets about the same number of actual pages in their book, but it's got a bigger font and bigger margins. (But, less story.)

Anyway, I just wanted to give you all a heads up if you're working on books that might be for submission to H/S. :) This kind of stuff is important information. :) Carry on.

Susan G.
 
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Sonarbabe

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Thank you so very much, Susan. Currently, I'm writing 2 Blaze geared stories. :Hail: Thank you sooooo much for this update.
 

Cathy C

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I was going to post this as a separate thread, but since it's ALSO Harlequin, it seems reasonable to put it here.


Harlequin has announced to their existing authors that they will be beginning a paranormal category line -- 2 books a month, 75K words. Supposedly, it's similar to the old Shadows line that Maggie Shayne used to pub in. To me, that would mean gothic, dark and creepy, but no firm info on that yet. Supposedly (again) the line will have the first pub in 2007, so I would think that they will be signing manuscripts to contracts pretty quickly.
 

Susan Gable

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Cathy C said:
I was going to post this as a separate thread, but since it's ALSO Harlequin, it seems reasonable to put it here.


Harlequin has announced to their existing authors that they will be beginning a paranormal category line -- 2 books a month, 75K words. Supposedly, it's similar to the old Shadows line that Maggie Shayne used to pub in. To me, that would mean gothic, dark and creepy, but no firm info on that yet. Supposedly (again) the line will have the first pub in 2007, so I would think that they will be signing manuscripts to contracts pretty quickly.

Yes, Cathy, from what I hear, they're looking for paranormals that are dark and edgy. Not light, fluffy paranormals.

Susan G.
 

Sonarbabe

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Hey, Susan? I have a question for you. When do these changes go into effect? I popped onto eharlequin.com yesterday and their old word counts were still listed in the guidelines. I'm still about 4 months away from finishing my current WIP, but I'd like to submit it to Blaze when it's complete. Thanks!
 

Susan Gable

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Sonarbabe said:
Hey, Susan? I have a question for you. When do these changes go into effect? I popped onto eharlequin.com yesterday and their old word counts were still listed in the guidelines. I'm still about 4 months away from finishing my current WIP, but I'd like to submit it to Blaze when it's complete. Thanks!

They go into effect NOW. :) Even authors who are in the process of doing revisions on purchased mss are having to cut them back. So make your WIP fit the new word count that I listed. See, that means you suddenly have less to write. :)

I'm not sure that I think that's a good thing for all the lines, but hey, what do I know? <G> :Shrug:

Susan G.
 

Sonarbabe

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Aye Caramba! I'm long winded by nature. This is going to hurt, but I'm sure I'll come out okay...I think. <G> I told Mama Sonarbabe about the word cut (a Blaze book club subscriber) and she was a bit disheartened that they were cutting 10-15k words from her books. Note to self: Don't tell Mama Sonarbabe anymore tidbits like this!

Thanks, Susan for filling me in. I will most definitely keep this in mind.
 

Susan Gable

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Cathy C said:
Would it be okay if I passed along this information to a couple of my RWA chapters, Susan?

Absolutely. As far as I'm concerned, writers, all of them, including those who are aspiring to write for HQ, need this information.

Susan G.
 

Susan Gable

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reph said:
Apparently there are two reasons: as the population ages, readers need larger print, and the type was running into the gutter. One author comments here:

Reph, I believe that's what I said:
To provide bigger fonts and larger margins.

However, there are other ways of accomplishing this. For example, they HAVE been releasing books recently in Larger Print editions. I know, because my last book was offered in a Larger Print edition. It was WONDERFUL! The font size made it so much better on the eyes.

It was 80 printed pages longer than my normal Supers, and Harlequin was selling them for .25 more.

Sooooo, what happened with that? It was the same story (i.e. same length story 85K words), only in bigger print with bigger margins, making it easier to read. The consumer paid a bit more for them (reasonable enough since there were 80 pages more in there!), but I think they would.

But even the retailers didn't know this form of my book was available. I went in to my local Waldens, asked them if they had customers who prefered Large Print books (they DID/DO, of course.) and then told them that my book was available for those customers. They'd had no idea that HQ was now offering this option. So, you can't sell what your retailers don't know is available for their shelves. And you can't tell if more readers would buy the larger print if it wasn't on the shelf as an option for them. (Sort of like PA books, right? Can't sell what's not on the shelf, right?)

So, there are/were other options to provide the aging readership with books that are easier on their eyes. Chopping word count was/is only one option. Of course, that's the option they're going with.

And yes, you're going to see some authors rahrahing this choice, just like they would any choice - some people will agree, some people will disagree, some people will spout the party line no matter what they really think - it's a protective mechanism.

As for me, my personal opinion is this wasn't a good option to accomplish what they wanted to accomplish. :Shrug: That's just my opinion. However, I can see from the company's POV why it's a good decision based on the bottom line. I totally understand it. Makes logical business sense. That doesn't mean I have to agree with it, or like it.

But I do understand it. This is a business, first and foremost.

Susan G.
 

Cathy C

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The totally cynical side of me says that this is all about the money that they pay to authors. You don't have to increase advances to match single title if you lower the word count... :)o Oops, did I say that out loud?)
 

reph

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Susan Gable said:
Reph, I believe that's what I said:
Yes, it is. The author's blog I linked to gives additional information. It says why they want bigger type and wider margins.

Possibly (warning: pure speculation ahead) they're thinking that readers will finish a book faster and want another one sooner. Or possibly they haven't thought of it, but it'll happen anyway. If so, they'll be buying as many words from writers as they have been.
 

Sakamonda

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Desire length?

Silhouette Desire is still listing its length requirement as 57,000 words. Is this still correct, or should we do 50-55,000 as Susan states above? Anybody know?
 

Sonarbabe

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I would follow the new guidelines. I asked a similar question a few posts back wondering when the new word counts went into effect. As of now was Susan's response. Kinda poopy that we need to cut so many words out. Ah well. Enough procrastinating... back to writing!
 

clara bow

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wee! I'm kind of excited about this news, because it was going to be a stretch making my paranormal WIP longer than 75K. It's kind of gothic and dark, too. Not that I'm assuming it'll automatically be snapped up by Harlequin, but it's nice to dream! Thanks for the info, girlfriends!
 

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Not a bad trend

The writer in me can live with the changes because I always come in under word count anyway (I tend to use lots of white space and dialogue). My editor was a bit anxious when I turned in my latest Mira at 440 pages then I explained it was actually way under the contracted computer word count and all was well.

And as a bookseller (worked at BAM this past year to fill in for contracts that had to be moved out) this is a trend in bestselling big names - shorter books, more white space, a cleaner look to the scanned page. It seems to me Harl is just trying to keep up with the marketplace in more ways than one.

Annie/
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Susan Gable

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Okay, well, I don'tknow how or even if this applies accross the lines, but my senior editor told us that what they're doing is changing HOW they count words.

They're moving to using computer word count.

I don't know. All I can go by is that my last Super was 340 pages, which is 85K by the OLD method of counting. When I looked at the computer word count, it was 71K. My senior editor told that was just perfect, and I should continue on as I have been.

:Shrug:

So, I don't know what to tell you anymore when it comes to word count. I'm sorry. I probably should have just been quiet. <G> That's what i get for trying to be helpful.

Susan G.
 

clara bow

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more info on the paranormal line

This information came from Cindi Myers' newsletter.


"In the wake of the announcement about the cancellation of Signature came news that Harlequin has plans to launch a new paranormal romance series, to be overseen (at least initially) by Executive Editor Leslie Wainger out of the New York office. Ms. Wainger is looking for all kinds of 'dark' paranormal -- but more than just vampires and werewolves. The paranormal elements should be integral to the story, and not just a frame work or window-dressing for a traditional romance. The sensuality may vary, but no erotica, please. Manuscripts should be 75,000 words. No word yet on a targeted debut date, number of titles to be released, or name for the line. Anyone know anything more about this? "

heh heh. I think i'm going to take a shot at this.
 

clara bow

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well, I've gone and done it..

The query letter is in the mail. I'm sure I'll be posting about the rejection in a few months.

but it was fun to try!
 

Jamesaritchie

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Length

It may be that the editor side of the business is also behind this move, at least to a degree. The shorter books are, the fewer editors you need to edit them, and this alone can save a remarkable amount of money.
 

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Editors

The shorter books are, the fewer editors you need to edit them, and this alone can save a remarkable amount of money

I can't even imagine them having LESS editors at Harlequin. Honestly. They cut to the bone a long time ago and work very lean. All editors take work home and work off the clock, I believe. They use freelancers to do a lot of the CE stuff, so no benefits, office space, etc. They are an amazing team.

And in the end it really seems to be more housekeeping than real changes. Trying to get some kind of continuity in manuscripts, perhaps. As Susan has said, authors are being told not to sweat this, just to keep doing what they are doing so for people who already write short, no biggie, those who push the limits might have to cut some.

Annie
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Susan Gable

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L.Jones said:
I can't even imagine them having LESS editors at Harlequin. Honestly. They cut to the bone a long time ago and work very lean. All editors take work home and work off the clock, I believe. They use freelancers to do a lot of the CE stuff, so no benefits, office space, etc. They are an amazing team.

Amen, Annie. I was going to say the same thing. Our editors have been stretched to breaking-point thin already. I certainly hope they wouldn't consider making the editorial staff any "leaner" than it already is. They work their fingers off now as it is.

Susan G.
 
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