I can’t believe it. I just found out today that Harlequin – the largest romance publisher out there, has now started their own self publishing division called Harlequin Horizons. Yikes! Sad, sad, sad. I know they want to make money, but then, I think about all the hard work I’ve done to get published. Now somebody can just pay to be a Harlequin author…I did look through the website. Not sure how to comment on the prices and such since I’m not very familiar with self-publishing models.

Also, if you submit the traditional way to Harlequin, if you get rejected, they’ll just tell you in their rejection letter…why don’t you give Harlequin Horizons a try?…Now, they might be able to make money from the slush pile…but not with traditional contracts. If the Harlequin Horizons title is what Harlequin considers successful, then they might offer you a traditional contract. My mind is beginning to wander now…will Harlequin Horizons eventually take place of the slush pile? Think about it, you get tons of people to pay money to get their romance novel published, then, when Harlequin has some open slots to fill, they just pull out the list of stats for their Harlequin Horizons titles. When they figure which ones are successful, they offer the Harlequin Horizons authors a traditional contract, and then have no need to dig through the slush anymore? Frightening thought!

I’m not knocking self-pubbing, but, I’m just shocked that Harlequin’s doing this. First Thomas Nelson, now Harlequin…who’s next???

~Cecelia Dowdy~