Nov 18 2008
An easy way into mainstream?
At the risk of sending you all somewhere else so you never come back, there is one mainstream publisher that will look at your novel without the need for an agent. That is the Romance publisher Harlequin. No, wait! I’m not a fan of Romance writing either - but I learned a huge amount from the Harlequin forum about writing just the same.
If you can master the style, you have more chance of getting a book published in the Romance genre than anywhere else in mainstream publishing! The reason that Harlequin runs its forum is to attract and develop new writers - in an industry where most other mainstream publishers spend most of their time turning new writers away.
You either love or hate the Romance style of writing. To those who hate it, it looks like “purple prose”, and is hopelessly melodramatic - but in fact, it takes a lot of skill to do it well. Romance writers (at least the ones on Harlequin) have a better understanding of the craft and technique of writing than most other writers I know. And the great thing is that many of those published writers actively participate in the forums – and are extremely generous and patient with their advice.
Don’t think that the field is just for female writers, either. In fact, there are a number of successful male writers in the Harlequin stable. Most of them have used their initials rather than their first name, to disguise their gender!
