Thousands of Harlequin writers were outraged by the recent decision of the Mystery Writer's of America (MWA) to remove Harlequin and all of its imprints from their approved publishers list. This decision means that any writer who publishes with Harlequin will be unable to use said published works to meet the association's requirements for membership and books published by Harlequin will be ineligible for nomination for the Edgar Award.
The MWA's decision was based on Harlequin's direct violation of the association's pay-to-publish rules, which state that a traditional publisher is not permitted to charge the author to read, critique or submit their manuscript, or affiliate with companies that do offer pay-to-publish type services. Harlequin admits to steering rejected authors who might have a chance with a little help to their affiliate company, Dell Arte Press, (formerly known as Harlequin Horizons,) who offers aspiring authors self-publishing opportunities for a fee.
Harlequin did not take the MWA's decision lightly, pointing out that with the growing changes the literary world continues to endure on account of self-publishing successes, authors who self-publish should be accepted with equal merit to those who publish through traditional avenues.
While self-publishing is certainly a viable option in the ever-changing publishing industry, it has never been considered kosher for an author to have to pay someone else to publish their book. With Harlequin steering authors toward paid self-publishing, one has to wonder, "What's in it for Harlequin?"
On the heels of a similar issue posed by the Romance Writer's of America (RWA), Harlequin was recently taken off the list of publishers available to receive free space and resources at the RWA's annual conference, and the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA) have made a threat similar to that of the MWA.
As discouraged writers are prohibited from participating in these associations, which offer beneficial services to writers, it could turn sour for Harlequin. They may find the rejected authors they recommended to their affiliate publishing agency going on to publish without paying for their help.
Comments
Shame on them! They should be removed from the approved publishers list. There are plenty of companies out there that will evaluate, edit and print books for free. Some come with better marketing than others, but it is what it is. It's a real sad state of affairs if this is what it has come to for Harlequin.
One would think that after being de-listed by major organizations, they would re-think their stance. i don't get it, seems a no brainer. I do hope Harlequin comes to their senses and do the right thing for their authors and fans.
Mike A. said, "There are plenty of companies out there that will evaluate, edit and print books for free."
evaluate for free: sure (but approval from a vanity press may be meaningless)
edit for free: probably not
print for free: extremely unlikely
Michael N. Marcus
author of "Become a Real Self-Publisher," www.amazon.com/dp/0981661742
author of "Stories I'd Tell My Children (but maybe not until they're adults)," coming 4/1/10. www.silversandsbooks.com/storiesbookinfo.html
BookMakingBlog.blogspot.com
www.SilverSandsBooks.com
In Mike A's defense, To Michael N. Marcus, I thought he was referring to traditional publishing companies, as opposed to self-publishing assistance. In traditional publishing, if they like your pitch and synopsis and want to publish your novel/book, they will do all of that work for you as part of your contract with them, but in the self-publishing business, you are on your own.
One of the most stunning things about this thing with Harlequin is they are steering rejected authors with potential to a paid service they are affiliated with. So what is to stop them from steering the majority of their submissions into that category to make a few dollars?
That does sound like a scam!
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