Writing for Mils & Boon

[UsethisUsername]

Has anyone written for Mills & Boon?

I am keen on writing romance anyway and wonder if M&B is a good place to get published. I have a few draft novellas of around 50k words which fits M&B's criteria but would be too short for other publishers.

I could self-publish on Amazon but I am not convinced that novellas by an unknown author are likely to sell particularly well nor will I receive any professional feedback.

I am approaching this from a 'seeking to improve my writing and learn more about the industry' position rather than wanting to make lots of money.

Has anyone got experience writing for M&B and would they recommend it?

Thanks @waterhorse123 I have checked Dragonblade out and it looks like a better fit than M&B

Just spotted this thread ---I'm interested in writing for M&B too. I entered their first chapter + synopsis, opportunity (blitz) for the Romance/True Love Line in 2018 and was asked to submit a partial or a full.
I'd only written the one chapter at the time and struggled to write the rest of the story (just couldn't get it to work) so put it aside. (Left to my own devices I find it hard to stay motivated which is why I love message forums like this where other aspiring writers come to chat.)
@UsethisUsername --I'd love to know if you decided on a M&B line for your story and are planning to send them a partial.

Hi@Lovetoknow that's great they wanted more! Will you revisit the original idea or try something new?

I haven't submitted anything to M&B yet, I do intend to but I got distracted by a new idea for a historical romance that didn't quite fit with M&B guidelines and I didn't want to lose the momentum/inspiration while I had it. I am about three-quarters of the way and I am really proud of it. I am going to submit it to Avon which seems a better fit for it when it's ready and hope for the best. If they aren't interested I will self-publish it.

Then I think I will work on the potential M&B drafts I have which are more modern stories. I have a quiet Jan - March next year so I am hoping to have completed my Avon submission and I'm aiming for at least two M&B submissions by then.

Hi @UsethisUsername I'm making a big effort to get my original story idea to work. They probably won't be impressed with a submission that took 5 years to write, so I thought I'd change the title and send in the partial as new submission 🙂
You're doing really well to be three quarters of the way through your historical romance. Self publishing sounds a good option if Avon don't take it. I wouldn't know where to start with self publishing and wouldn't have a clue about marketing so will have to make a big effort to impress M&B. (if I can stay motivated long enough to finish the story!)

Which M&B line are you planning to target?

I’ve read Mills&Boon for decades, and my self-published thrillers get good reviews, so I decided to write a romance for M&B despite knowing that the pay is appalling- I think £1-2k a book?

They loved the first three chapters but after they got the whole book they rejected it 😱😭 because it’s too similar to stuff they’ve published in the past.

I was so pissed off that I’d spent all that time on it! Wouldn’t bother again.

It's so difficult to know what they want. I sometimes think they don't know until they see it. I always thought they liked stories pretty similar to stuff they've published in the past (difference, but no too different.)
It's so disheartening to invest hours and hours in writing a story then have it rejected, especially after they loved the first 3 chapters.
Great that your thrillers get good reviews. There seems to be the potential to make a lot of money in self publishing, but there also seems a lot to learn.

@Lovetoknow yes it’s probably a good idea to send it as a new submission, please update the thread as to how you get on. I’m going to aim for the Modern and True Love categories. I have heard that the Medical line doesn’t get as many submissions so there’s less competition but I don’t have that sort of knowledge!

@Pthalo how disappointing, you must have spent so much time on that and surely from your pitch they would have known if it was too similar to their existing catalogue. Regarding your self published works are there any tips you are able to share or self publishing groups you would recommend joining?

I spent 18 months editing and re-editing a full they requested only for them to eventually reject it. During that 18 months (whilst they had the book but weren't getting back to me) I wrote a historical romance which was then picked up and published by one of the big 5.

Wow @LouisaMayAlcott that’s amazing, good for you. For me even a rejection with feedback would be fine, it’s getting that insight that has value for me right now.

@UsethisUsername Yes, I'll report back on how I get on with my new submission.
There's Facebook group I belong with lots of info on self publishing, especially if you go on to their main page and do a search for the posts covering the things you want to know. It's called 20BooksTo50K

@LouisaMayAlcott that's brilliant! Have you written more historicals for this publisher or do you write other genres as well?

@LouisaMayAlcott that’s so inspiring and great to hear, well done!

OP the 20booksto50k Fb group is great, also there is a wealth of useful information on David Gaughran’s website.

@UsethisUsername Have you noticed that the True Love line is actually a combination of Harlequin Romance stories and Special Edition? They have very different guidelines which can be quite confusing.(Special Edition is edited in America while Harlequin Romance/True love is edited at the London office I once asked an editor on eHarlequin why they say they don't want small town romances or westerns or children as significan characters for True Love (I think it was called Cherish then) yet I was seeing them in the line. They then explained that some of the books in the line started life as Special Edition.
This is most apparent in the 2 in one books. People tend to think of the True love as being the same as Harlequin Romance but if you're reading to get a feel for the line, you have to watch out for the Special Editions creeping in.

I just write historical, I've continued writing for that publisher.

Thanks @Lovetoknow I hadn’t clocked this so thanks for letting me know! Very helpful.

@LouisaMayAlcott That's so good! Does your publisher expect several books a year or does that only apply to catagory romance? (The thought of writing 3 books a year for M&B seems a bit daunting.)

Does anyone here belong the Romantic Novelists Association? Wondering if the conferences are good and if they have an active on-line message forum?

Ahhh! Just noticed that typo. Meant to write: category. I can spell, really 😋

I only write 1 or 2 books a year, M&B are a much shorter word count (50k as opposed to 90-100k).

Also, I do belong to the RNA, I started in their New Writers Scheme and I cannot recommend it highly enough. You get the opportunity to have 121's with agents and publishers including M&B at the conferences and you learn so much. Plus, having your manuscript critiqued by a published author. I'm sure I wouldn't be published without having joined. And I got my agent via a meet up at a conference.