If there’s one thing that gets romance writers talking, it’s anything connected with Harlequin. So it wasn’t too surprising that the Internet was buzzing when news of Carina Press hit the web. JIf there’s one thing that gets romance writers talking, it’s anything connected with Harlequin. So it wasn’t too surprising that the Internet was buzzing when news of Carina Press hit the web. Just in case you haven’t heard, Carina Press is a new digital only publisher. Their philosophy is simple ‘no great story should go untold’. They’re not only looking for romance novels, but other genres too and best of all they intend to publish previously released material too. Here, Angela James, executive editor, talks about Harlequin’s new venture. Check out www.carinapress.com for submission guidelines.
Susan Palmquist (SP)-Your first titles premiere in spring 2010. Can you give us preview of what to expect, what type of books we’ll see? Any well known authors or bestselling books being re-released?
Angela James (AJ)-We’re just beginning to make our first acquisitions, so I don’t have too many specific titles and authors to share. We haven’t acquired any reissue titles yet, as we were concentrating on original material first. Now that acquisitions of original material are underway, we’re going to begin looking at all of the emails we’ve gotten in regards to backlist titles/reissues. I can say that we’ll be focusing on romance, but will have a nice mix of non-romance as well, including historical fiction, mysteries, thrillers and women’s fiction.
SP-When word got out about the creation of Carina Press the Internet was buzzing with excitement and little else was discussed on just about every writer’s group I belong to. Why did Harlequin (HQN) decide to create a separate entity from its parent company?
AJ-Harlequin has done an excellent job of staying ahead in the digital market and I think moving into the digital-only space was a natural extension of that. They’ve seen digital grow and realize there’s a market of readers who are eager for more content, and different genres, and books that the traditional market may not be able to support.
SP-I know lots of writers are wondering if they get published with Carina Press will it increase their odds of becoming a Harlequin author. Any truth to that?
AJ-I suppose anything can happen!
SP-You’re looking for all types of stories, anything from romance to sci fi. I’m guessing you’ll be seeing more romance submissions than anything else and not just because of your connection to HQN. Will there be a set number of books released in a specific genre each month? And if so, does that mean a writer stands a better chance by submitting say a mystery or sci fi manuscript?
AJ-No, there is no specific formula for the release schedule that we’re going to follow. It will all depend on the submissions and what we get that’s excellent.
SP-Speaking of romances, the guidelines mention you love to see cowboys, vampires, babies…Harlequin staples, anything new you’d like to see?
AJ-Harlequin staples or romance staples? Remember, we are going to focus on romance, so of course we want things that romance readers love, and those do include cowboys, vampires and babies. As for new things, how about aliens, ancient beings and mythological creatures? Really, as long as the story is good and the characters interesting, we want to see it!
SP-Carina Press Web site also says that digital publishing allows books to be brought to market faster, so if you see a new genre developing, readers can read them a lot quicker. You’re a veteran of the publishing business, any genres about to hit the big time, any hybrids you see on the horizon?
AJ-This question often makes me feel a bit like a magic eight ball, remember those? Also, I have great fear that someone is going to write down my prediction and come to me in a year or two and say “Nyah, nyah! You were wrong! You were so so wrong!” Ahh, the fears of an editor. But, to answer your question, I’ve recently seen a resurgence of interest in romantic suspense, which was interesting to me. I don’t know that it’s going to “hit the big time” but it does seem to be circling back around. If you asked what I’d like to see, I’d love to see more action-adventure romances. Somewhat in the vein of the old Harlequin Bombshell line, but even more action- packed and sexy–like National Treasure meets Tomb Raider with some of the spicy bits shared. I’ve always loved those adventure-quest movies, there’s something so transporting about them. I’m still always hoping for a fantastic space cowboy story (Firefly anyone?) but I’ve been asking for them for almost as long as I’ve been in publishing and I’ve yet to see one! And last, I love a great fantasy or futuristic romance and I think there is potential for those genres–and all the ones I’ve mentioned–in the digital space. SP-Okay, you’re a writer who’s been rejected by Harlequin and your Web site says you have greater flexibility with the books you’ll accept. Lots of writers might take that as the rules are a lot less rigid. With there be more flexibility in what type of stories get published? And what will continue to earn instant rejections? AJ-I’m not sure which rules we’re talking about! The beauty of digital-only is that it allows for greater flexibility in things like what books you choose to publish and how many you publish, though there are still things to consider. For instance, we’re not going to publish as “romance” a book where the heroine is killed at the end. That doesn’t mean that we won’t publish it, only that it won’t be as romance. We’ll still be respectful of readers in that regard. But perhaps Harlequin rejects a book, not because it isn’t good but because it doesn’t fit within the category parameters of a particular line. Then, sure, Carina would love to see it.
SP-Seems like there’s going to be a lot of collaboration between Carina Press and its authors. Plus, you’re going to help them with promote their work. What’s the advantage of being published with Carina?
AJ-I asked one of our first authors acquired, Shannon Stacey, for an assist with this question and here’s what she said: “From an author’s point of view, the advantage of being published with Carina Press is the opportunity to work with a team coming from a long and successful print program teamed up with Angela James, whose work in digital romance publishing is incomparable. It’s a unique opportunity to be a part of a new and exciting venture, without the risk that comes from working with unknowns.” To that I’d add that the team behind Carina Press, not just myself, but the others working on all aspects of Carina, from editorial to acquisitions to marketing to formatting all have a wealth of experience in print and digital publishing, and we are dedicated to and have a plan for making Carina Press successful.
SP-For readers, what will set a Carina Press book apart from other digital titles? How will they differ from a HQN title?
AJ-I think the biggest difference between Carina and other digital publishers is going to be the variety of genres available. And I believe readers still think of Harlequin and category books synonymously, despite the fact that they do publish single titles in a variety of genres. Carina will showcase single title books, in both romance and non-romance genres, without the category line restrictions but that are also able to be somewhat out of the box in regards to settings, time periods, and character details.
SP-Do you expect to see a loyal following of HQN readers buy Carina Press books?
AJ-One thing I have learned in publishing is that you can never expect anything! We hope that Harlequin readers will want to buy Carina Press books, certainly, and we will do our marketing best to convince them to do so.
SP-Will the decision to accept a manuscript be a team decision or down to just one editor?
AJ-Currently, the acquisitions process is a team process. An editor recommends a book for acquisition, another team member reads it and gives their recommendations to the team and then the team discusses it. Recently, we had a book that an editor recommended, and the second team member to read it didn’t like it, so we had to have a third team member read it and be the “tie-breaker”.
SP-I heard just today that you’ve already had so many submissions your server crashed. Do you anticipate closing the doors to submissions at any time or will you always be open to receiving manuscripts?
AJ-I don’t know that our server crashed. Did it? I don’t think so. But to answer your question, I can’t predict what will occur in the future. Right now, we have 8 editors and 8 acquisition team members reading submissions and trying to keep up. I don’t anticipate that we’ll always have the same amount coming in as we did initially, so I foresee that slowing down. But it’s impossible to say what might happen a year from now and if we need to take a break.
SP-Books will range from 50,000-100,000 words, any plans to go with shorter books or will they only offered at HQN with the Briefs, Undones and Bites lines?
AJ-Our word count is actually 15,000 words on up and it doesn’t cut off at 100,000 words. We’ve had an interesting number of 100k+ submissions, actually!
