How to Choose a Romance Publisher
Different Imprints for Different Types of Romance Novels
Romance novels are big business, fun to read and satisfying to write. But where does your book fit with all the different imprints out there?
Read Romance Novels
As in any genre, one of a writer’s jobs is to read, read, read. By reading different romance novels from different houses, you’ll get to know which ones offer which types, and where your idea would fit best. If you don’t like reading romances, you won’t succeed at writing a good one.
Write the Type of Romance You Want
Don’t worry about what’s hot in romance novels today – write what you want to write. If it’s a hot, steamy romance, fine. If it’s sweet and tender with no premarital sex, fine. If it’s an 1880’s cowboy romance, or paranormal with vampires, or high-powered executives falling in love, fine. There are imprints looking for all of these, so there’s no reason to write something you’re not comfortable with or that doesn’t interest you.
Read the Writer’s Guidelines
Go first to the publishers of books you like to read. Do an internet search for “writers guidelines (publisher name)” and it should come up on the first page. After you find a few of those, search for “romance writer’s guidelines” and spend a few hours browsing. You’ll find many houses, print and e-book, that you hadn’t thought of.
Determine What Category Your Romance Fits
Different hosues have slightly different names, but the basic categories are:
- Contemporary: stories set today with today’s men and women.
- Paranormal/Alternative: includes vampires, werewolves, ghosts, witches, fantasy worlds, futuristic worlds, etc.
- Historical: generally anything set from ancient times through World War II.
- Regency: historical romances set specifically between 1811-1820 in England.
- Suspense: heightened tension in life-threatening situations. Think Mary Higgins Clark with the romance at the forefront.
- Inspirational: Christian romances with love for God as well as romantic love. These often have much more specific guidelines than other imprints, even within the same publisher.
- Dark: romances that include horror, gothic, and the edgy types of paranormal. Harder to find, but there is some out there.
How Much Sensuality?
The level of sensuality ranges from keeping everything behind closed doors to numerous explicit sex scenes. It varies from house to house and from imprint to imprint within the same publishing house. Your reading research (good excuse to buy more novels!) and the submission guidelines will tell you what’s allowed.
Many houses also have imprints specifically for the super-sizzling romances. Harlequin Blaze, Silhouette Desire, Spice, and Avon Red are good examples.
Romance Novel Length
Romance novels vary between a simple 55,000-60,000 words up to an epic 150,000 words. Between 60,000 and 100,000 words seems most common.
In the best of worlds, your novel should be the length it needs to be to tell the story. But if there is a specific imprint you want to write for, you can always tighten the story or add another subplot to make it fit.
Sources: Guidelines from Harlequin, HarperCollins (Avon), Kensington Books, LionHearted, Avalon, Red Sage Publishing, and Imajinn Books.
