Harlequin (Mills & Boon) Any Experience?

[thepinkshoessandra]

Eventually I would like to write and be published in my own right.

In the short term I am wondering whether anyone has experience of writing for Harlequin? Formerly Mills & Boon.

I'm going to read or listen to a selection before I attempt to write it.

I've had a look and I can see they take submissions under mini genres.
Aside from the mini genres, how prescriptive are they?
Anything else I should know before I start typing?

TIA

I'm not a writer, but I'd recommend that you go onto the Reddit Romance forums (separate ones for contemporary and historical) and do some lurking, plus read Goodreads and Kindle reviews.

It's actually a fairly formal genre and readers know what they want (even down to the point where they expect the first kiss / sex scene - around 20% through as it happens 😂). There are a tonne of tropes and sub-tropes that would be useful to know about. Books need to zip along following a fairly predictable structure and there's so much out there that you've got no chance if your readers get bored.

If you've never read any then this will give you some tips for where to start. Most people self publish and then have to self promote madly and I doubt many make money, but if you want a paid gig it might be a good way to get feedback before you approach traditional publishers.

I'm a trad published author and when I first started writing I thought I'd try Mills and Boon and I can tell you that they are very difficult to write! They seem deceptively simple but they aren't and you only have approx 50k words to tell the story so they do zip along. If you read interviews with Katie Fforde she says she couldn't get a deal with them (so I'm in good company lol). I don't know have quick they work these days as my experience was 8 years ago but it took 18 months of my book going back and forth with them for them to finally reject it. During those 18 months I had time to write a commercial fiction book which went on to be trad published so I gave up with M&B! I'm not saying there's anything wrong with them but they're certainly not an easy quick write.

If you are serious about it then consider joining the Romantic Novelist Association New Writers Scheme. Lots of M&B authors there (and other romantic novelists) and the opportunity to have your MS critiqued by a published M&B author who will know what they are after. Plus loads of other benefits like 1-2-1 meetings with editors/agents at their conference.

Should have mentioned this; I am or was a published author, this was some years ago pre DCs. When I got a proper, reliable job. Sadly my original agent has passed away, as has the landscape.

Eventually my intention is not to write romance necessarily, though I can.
My natural writing style is far too edgy for M&B. However, the rigour of M&B would be good for me.

Thank you for the advice, it's years since I read any M&B, that will be the first thing I do, before I write anything. I'll check out the novelist and Reddit suggestions.

I'm not writing the novels I would write as I lack confidence in my ability after all this time.

Thank you everyone, please provide more information and recommendations if you have some.
Thank you

I submitted to them last year. They turned me down, but the feedback was useful and detailed and I very much got the impression that someone had actually read the submission (not always the case)...

Definitely read the most recent ones you can find in whatever sub-genre you decide to go for. The impression I have is that the fashions have changed over the last decade or two (as with everything).

I think the advice to read lots of the newer ones is good - I love the 80s and 90s ones and have several tucked into the top shelf of my bedroom bookshelf but the societal changes in them as they get newer is fascinating. And if you don’t enjoy reading them then it’s probably not easy to get published by them- lots of people think they can write one but they’re absolutely not easy.

So much dialogue and introspection and there has to be a fresh way of looking at the favourite tropes. I love them! I don’t love the text speak in some of the newer ones and I WISH that there was an editor who knew just a bit about aristocratic titles and forms of address because if you read Georgette Heyer, then the Earl’s Snowbound Mistress (or whatever) will piss you off so much you can’t read past chapter 2.

Their website is very informative for aspiring authors and has detailed breakdowns of each imprint.

Thank you everyone.
The truth is that I am not sure which genre to choose, I know that I really do need to read or listen to plenty and find what clicks.

Interesting you say about people not understanding peerages @Novelless, I looked at the subsection on medical professional romance and thought: I couldn't write about that, I'm not medically qualified. Maybe that doesn't matter 😆.

To clarify; I do not think that writing for Harlequin would be easy.
That is partly the point, to challenge myself to write in a way that is not my usual style and within constraints.

In my PP, I said that I was published previously, I wrote a play. Occasionally I still get royalty cheques now.
I know the sheer slog of writing, editing, trying to find an agent, then putting your work out there in the hope that someone will pick it up.

When we had DCs I took a reliable job.
Now I can choose, I want to write again.
DH is more keen than I am for me to write.

As I say, I have lost confidence, I was thinking that Harlequin would give me clear boundaries and a good grounding.
Is that fair?

Mills And Boon Modern is the best selling line (I think), lots of drama, a bit of rapturous lovemaking and international glamour.

The last one I read in that line was Pippa Roscoe and then the True Love line, I liked Sophie Pembroke and Kate Hardy (who also writes Medical and cosy crime for another publisher).

Pippa Roscoe is a good one to read as she used to be an editor for them and also she turns them out very regularly.

the Categorically Romance podcast is excellent as well. Very entertaining. Worth a listen on a commute / long car journey.

Hi I'm a member of the Romantic Novelists Association and their New Writers Scheme. We just had our conference and I had a 1:1 with the Senior Exec Ed Bryony Green. She was lovely but said how difficult it was to write Modern!
OP if you are really keen to write romance then I recommend the New Writers Scheme. As part of it you can send in your MS of up to 100k words to get detailed feedback which is very reasonable for the £250 ish annual sub. Once you are published you then join the RNA proper.
Hope that helps.

Can't work out how to edit my post but Bryony is the Ed at M&B.

I started in the NWS and am now published. I was also at the conference wasn't it great?!

Yes really good! Congratulations on qualifying!

That's great advice.
I'm going to start reading, then writing.