The Authors’ Hearts Beat Faster. Publishing Was So Close Now. . .
By Motoko Rich
The New York Times
Nov. 17, 2009
Got a romance novel in your desk drawer? Polish it up and get ready to become a Harlequin author.
Harlequin Enterprises, the queen of the romance world, has signed a partnership agreement with Author Solutions, a company that helps aspiring scribes self-publish their books. Harlequin has created a new imprint, Harlequin Horizons, that will appear on all books published under this partnership.
According to Brent Lewis, vice president of digital and Internet for Harlequin, editors at Harlequin will not vet the books. Author Solutions will charge $599 or more to publish and distribute books, mostly in digital form, and will split those revenues with Harlequin.
Authors will receive royalties equivalent to 50 percent of net proceeds on each e-book sale. Harlequin and Author Solutions will split the other 50 percent.
Mr. Lewis said Harlequin editors would occasionally read some of the books published under the Horizons imprint as well as monitor sales to see if they want to offer authors more traditional contracts under their other imprints. “We’re hoping to find new authors through this new venture, which is the lifeblood of any publisher,” Mr. Lewis said.
But he acknowledged that the initiative was also a way to participate in the fast-growing self-publishing market, even if Harlequin never discovers new writers to publish traditionally. He added that he did not think that publishing any author who wanted to write a book under a Harlequin imprint would dilute the brand. “Our brand is very important to us,” he said.
Kevin Weiss, chief executive of Author Solutions, said the company has also joined with Thomas Nelson, the religious publisher, to create the new self-publishing imprint WestBow Press.
The joint ventures, he said, are an opportunity “to almost create a farm team to watch and foster.”