The Harlequin Dust-Up And What It Means For Writers

Harlequin created some waves this week when they announced that they are starting a self-publishing division, Harlequin Horizons. The books aren't going to be considered officially Harlequin novels, but the company said they are considering it a training ground for new authors.

However, this announcement was followed by controversy, and plenty of it.

The first stirrings came on romance blogs, with some people expressing concern over the fact that Harlequin is charging for their services (unlike Lulu.com, which is free) and others worried that entering this program means you can't publish your first mass-market book anywhere than with Harlequin.

Indeed, the Romance Writers of America organization was miffed enough to boot Harlequin from its annual awards program, and even mystery and sci-fi writers' groups weighed in, expressing concern that participants in Horizons would be under the impression their books would be distributed as true Harlequin novels.

Harlequin finally said they would change the name of the program to something that doesn't reflect Harlequin in any way. It remains to be seen if this is going to mend the fences with the writers' groups that got upset with them.

The bottom line of all this? It's a reminder of those who are thinking of self-publishing - and it's definitely a valid option for all writers, especially as we move increasingly toward an E-book climate - to carefully examine all deals before signing on the dotted line, no matter what corporate name is attached to the publisher. Scrutinize every bit of the fine print - in a lot of cases, they keep it fine for a good reason. Weigh several different options against each other, then decide which one is right for you.

And remember, even though Harlequin stumbled out of the gate with its experiment, that doesn't mean that other big publishing companies aren't going to try to get into the self-publishing field. Keep an eye out - but, again, proceed with caution. 

- Bonnie