Last week, Harlequin announced the opening of a digital publishing division, Carina Press. This week, it’s vanity publishing via Harlequin Horizons. When I first heard the news about Horizons, I went all Bill the Cat. 
What is vanity publishing, you ask? Basically, it’s when a writer pays a third party entity to print their book. Packages vary. Those at Harlequin Horizons start at $599.99. And then they climb. Climb. Climb. Climb. A vanity publisher usually retains some of the royalties (profits – in the case of Harlequin Horizons, they retain 50%), and pretty much anyone who wants to get published through this route can. There’s no slush pile in which to languish. No editorial hoops to jump through, etc. You can put your novel out there in all its typo-laden glory.
Self-publishing is often equated with vanity publishing, but differs in that the writer pays all the expenses and receives all the profits. The writer even obtains their own ISBN. There’s still no slush pile in which to languish. Still no editorial hoops to jump through—just your own. You’re in total control. You’re still paying to publish your book.
In traditional publishing (ie. Harlequin Enterprises aside from Horizons), the author doesn’t pay a dime. The publisher takes the monetary risk, does the editing, does the cover art, does the distribution. The author writes the books and earns her paychecks from (a) advances and/or (b) royalties.
Those are my definitions, and I’ll be the first to admit that until I started reading about Horizons on-line I didn’t truly understand the differences between self-publishing and vanity publishing. However, there are arguments for self-publishing that I could see myself totally agreeing with (such as an established author self-publishing an out-of-print back list for which she/he has received back the rights), whereas vanity publishing of novels in particular has never sat right with me. Vanity publishing of your family history? Of your favorite recipes to give as Christmas gifts? That I can totally see. But it doesn’t seem a viable way for a novelist to make a profit off her writing. The vanity publisher—oh, yeah, they’ll make a profit. 😉 To them, it’s a business.
The news of Harlequin’s vanity publishing venture has sparked some spirited discussions on-line, among them this thread at Smart Bitches Love Trashy Books and this one at Absolute Write (scroll down after you click the link). And my writers’ loops are hopping!
What does this mean for the future of publishing? For the struggling unpublished writer? Would you pay to get your book published? Would you harbor hope that if you published your book through Horizons and miraculously earned great sales that HQ’s traditional publishing arm would pick up your work?
You might not, but there are plenty of writers who would. Writers who expect to pay to publish their novels. Writers who might not understand that, in traditional print and digital publishing, you don’t pay!
I must say, I am pleased that the new RWA board has acted so quickly in response to the opening of Horizons. At this point, it doesn’t look like Harlequin/Silhouette will have an official presence at next summer’s RWA National conference in Nashville. Of course, that doesn’t mean Harlequin/Silhouette can’t be there. There are other ways a publisher can make their presence known at a conference—booking their own meeting spaces to disseminate information and take queries, for example.
Thoughts?
I am still learning about this–and appreciate what you posted, and the link to Smart Butches Love Trashy Books. But I will go on record as agreeing that I’m really pleased that the RWA took a tough and swift stand. Now we wait and see if/what happens next.
It would give the appearance that Harlequin is cashing in on it’s market saturation for…well, cash. Let’s hope this all washes out to be something altogether different. The buzz is all over the map at this point.
No matter how it shakes out, I am thrilled to see that RWA appears to be geniune in their desire to look out for the professional interests of their membership. I haven’t always agreed with the organization’s efforts, but vanity publishing and digital/e-publishing are two very different animals. Vanity presses are, in my opinion, dream parasites. And that’s coming from someone who has been taken by one (many years ago).
Umm…most days I can actually spell “genuine”. Just in case the spell check police come calling. 😉
Not sure how I feel about this. The thing with Harlequin is, they hold out the carrot of ‘pay to have your book published with us – take all the risk – and we might (MIGHT) decide to publish you for real. Because Harlequin is so big I bet many people would be willing to take that bet.
Kristin Wallace
President, Chick Lit Writers RWA
Tina, it will be very interesting to see what happens next. Never a dull moment in publishing.
Liane, thanks for mentioning your vanity pub experience. I can imagine it taught you a lot – but at a price. And that’s the crux of the matter. Vanity publishing comes with a price. Often a very high price. Higher than a writer would pay if she/he self-published, because the vanity publisher might build a cushion into various choices. Like it might cost a writer more to obtain copyright through a vanity publisher than if she did it herself. It might cost her more for the advertising package than if she did it herself. It might cost her royalties going with a vanity publisher rather than self-publishing. Etc., etc., etc.
Gee, I’d really like to be published again by a traditional publisher, who carries all the cost, takes care of distribution, like my first book.
But if you really, really need to see your book in print, there are plenty of small presses that will give editorial content, do the cover, and publish your book and pay you for your sales – you are still stuck with the distribution, but they won’t charge you $599 for the privilege.
This is a ploy to get the suckers to fork over $599 to be able to claim they are a published author (even if they never sell a book).
Don’t know about you, but I have better things to do with my $599.
Kristin, yes, I can imagine that is a very big carrot for some writers. Especially when you’re just starting out and might not realize that there are hundreds of successful Harlequin/Silhouette authors who suffered through many, many rejections before they were finally bought. And paid. Either with an advance/royalty combo or royalty only like in the digital model (usually much higher royalties).
I really don’t like the idea of Horizons being mentioned in H/S rejection letters. I’ve never been a fan of vanity publishing for novels, hearkening back to the early Eighties when I first heard of the model in a university journalism class.
Terry, I definitely have better things to do with my $599. 🙂 And that’s the lowest package cost, too!
I totally agree, why not submit to a small press or micro-press? That’s the step I took, both as Cindy and in my alter ego’s life as a Red Sage Publishing author. I’ve never been asked to contribute a dime (or even a penny) toward the publication of Cindy’s books and Penny’s novellas. It boggles my mind why someone WOULDN’T choose the small press/micro-press route – unless it’s just considered all-round “easier” to pay a company hundreds, and in some cases thousands, of dollars to publish your novel. Easier maybe to get the book published, but to sell enough copies to recoup your investment? That’s what I can’t figure out.
As a writer, I feel we pay enough in blood, sweat and tears, as well as hand-wringing and bitter disappointment. And like Liane I’ve been a host for the dream parasites as well.
If a writer is bold enough to put herself out there, on the net and off, to withstand rejection and work to improve her story, she deserves to be compensated. The new model compensates Harlequin at the author’s great expense.
$50.00 to enter a contest is reasonable, and that’s just what this venture appears to be, a big contest. The cost is too much. Huzzah for RWA, looking out for our creative backsides.
I’m with RWA. They did the right thing.
My first reaction when I heard all this was that RWA overreacted, but the more I see how they are pushing Horizons on their main website, the more I think RWA did the right thing.
They aren’t tying the Harlequin name to Carina so much, where their customers will be READERS, and yet they are tying the vanity press to the Harlequin name where their customers will be WRITERS not readers. (Because, I mean, really, other than the writers family and friends, no one is ever going to find, never mind buy the vast majority of these Horizons books.)
So they’re monetizing their massive, mostly unpublishable, slush pile. I guess it’s their right as a business… but it’s also RWA’s right as a writers organization to cry foul.
Jennifer, I really appreciate hearing from authors who have fallen victim to “pay publishing” themselves. Your lessons are valuable for others to hear.
My first publisher for HEAD OVER HEELS, which is now defunct (in other words NOT Amber Quill Press), came across as a legitimate epublisher that simultaneously put out trade paperback editions published with POD technology. In fact, they came highly recommended from writers I respected and trusted. The contract didn’t state anywhere that authors were expected to pay for any aspect of the publishing experience. Lo and behold my surprise several weeks after joining the publisher’s email loop when the publisher announced that each author was expected to find a “sponsor” to sponsor their book for $50 – which would go toward the print set-up.
There was a massive hue and cry from the authors, and the idea was dropped. Thankfully. Otherwise, I would have felt compelled to leave. As it was, near the end of my 2-year contract other nefarious publishing practices came to light, such as the publisher not paying some of us all our due royalties. And so I left. A few months later, the publisher went bankrupt. I felt for the authors who were caught up in that and counted myself fortunate to leave when I did.
I’m sharing that story to show that you can sign a contract that looks fantastic and for which you aren’t required to contribute one penny, but then discover after you’ve signed that the publisher is a wolf in sheep’s clothing and will try to get you to pay in other ways. Or they don’t pay YOU what you’re due.
Get out, is all I can say. Don’t look back.
Edie and Maureen, I agree completely.
Maureen, to me this is totally different than Carina Press. I’m not against H/S. I’m not against Carina Press. I’m against the Harlequin name being tied to Horizons in a way that it ISN’T tied to a legitimate (to me) business model like Carina Press, and I’m against the idea of H/S mentioning “self-publishing” through Horizons as an option for writers they reject.
So agree with all that’s been said here.
In reading the comment threads at other sites, I can’t believe how many people naively think most aspiring authors are savvy enough not to fall for this. Not everyone belongs to RWA, not everyone belongs to networking groups, not everyone is educated as to how it all works. To me, this venture smacks of a predatory move toward cashing in on yes, a viable market, but at a huge cost to HQN’s reputation.
A friend of mine–a well-educated woman who normally does her research before plunking down money–wrote a memoir about taking care of her husband with a closed brain injury. I tried and tried to impart all my publishing wisdom to her–how to query, how to write a proposal, how to find the right agent, etc. etc.
She gave the process about three weeks, then decided to go with Author House. I strongly recommended against it–I kept emphasizing that she needed to think about the distribution aspect, but my words fell on deaf ears. She wanted the darn thing published NOW. (In her defense, she really wanted to get her story out there to help returning Iraqi war vets with similar injuries.) In the end, I think she spent at least $1500 and yes, she wound up with quite a nice looking book. Can’t vouch for the editorial help because I haven’t read it. About a year later, she told me that going that route was one of the most stupid things she’s ever done. I was too polite to ask how sales were going….
What really BURNS me is the new website…with it’s “Become An Author” button. I mean, that’s it in a nutshell, isn’t it? All you have to do to become an author is click a link.
And here I’ve been busting my ass….silly me!
Thanks for clarifying the differences between vanity and self-publishing. I hate to admit this, but I’ve had the ‘ostrich in the sand’ syndrome over all of this for quite a while, being that I’m strongly in favor of the traditional publishing route (not that it’s perfect by any means but as an author that’s the route I choose to go). I couldn’t quite get the differences between the two; now I do.
Watching the changes in publishing these days is like walking through a sand storm in the Sahara. Just when you think you have a handle on what’s happening and the direction things are heading, the wind comes up, the sands shift, and everything changes again! It’s interesting times, that’s for sure!
Hi Randy,
I’ve been thinking about this. Could it be there’s too much information available via the Internet about publishing now? Could it be that rather than educating writers, the too much information and seeming opportunity helps to fleece them? I took 2nd journalism at university in 1979. I was 19. I still typed on a manual typewriter. I learned about vanity publishing in that class, and while I consider it a viable model for some works – example, over a decade ago, my father used a vanity press to publish his autobiography, which he never intended to sell, to give as gifts to family members. The vanity pub didn’t keep a portion of his royalties – there were no royalties.
Okay, I digressed. While I consider using a vanity pub or printing service in the way that my dad did viable, even as a 19-year-old in 1979 I thought paying to have my novels published was an idea that well and truly sucked. Factor in that vanity publishers retain some of the royalties? With so many other options out there, I just don’t get it.
This is what I also don’t get… You can win or final in prestigious unpubbed contests like the Golden Heart or Maggies and still not be able to sell your book to H/S. You can sell your work to OTHER publishers and still not be able to sell your work to H/S’s non-vanity publishing divisions. Why? Because, despite the contest winnings/finals and the other publishing credits, your work, for whatever reason, doesn’t fit what H/S is looking for at the time the editor in question considers your work. So…how does paying to have Horizons or another vanity pub to publish your work then provide you a better chance of eventually breaking into the trad publishing arms of H/S? I don’t think it does. But there are writers out there who might think that if they pay now, they can gain in future. And I find that sad. Because they honestly don’t have any better of a chance of breaking into H/S as those of us who haven’t managed to find the right H/S niche yet do.
Laura, I love your Sahara sand storm analogy! Yes, that certainly describes the publishing industry lately.
On one hand, I’m glad RWA had the guts to do what their own rules say they should have.
On the other, I am STUNNED that they didn’t take the out HQ tossed them…the whole line that Horizons and Carina were their own publishing ventures and while owned by HQ were NOT part of HQ, the publishing house. I thought for sure they would use that to allow HQ main to stay in while the other two were not accepted…or at least not accepted until Carina jumped through the hoops, at which point it would be listed as a non-subsidy/non-vanity. Of course, I DO appreciate RWA’s thought process, that they can’t be sure HQ would be hawking only the “approved” lines at the conference and not the Horizons line, as well.
Personally, the whole thing doesn’t make a bit of difference to me. RWA hasn’t been supportive of my publishers so far (though I do now qualify for PAN, I’ll note), save the one that caused so much havoc, so they can keep on doing what they do. Even if I sign with Carina, whether or not RWA accepts them is a moot point for me.
FWIW, there’s nothing wrong with self/subsidy/vanity. Some projects lend to it, like the family history, the reissue of an OOP, and the niche markets. I have several self-published books, but I go to self-publishing ventures that cost me little or nothing, and the printer or distribution channel and I both benefit from the deal, on the sale end. I do all the formatting, cover, etc. for myself. Others might pay someone to do it. But if you know what you’re getting into, there’s nothing WRONG with s/s/v, as a market.
I dislike Horizons because of the wording and impression they give that it will be a step in the door to the main HQ, to other NY ventures, and even to Hollywood. Oy! Makes the head ache.
Brenna
Wow, what a juicy can of worms this is. I’m gonna sit back and watch the verbs fly for awhile then see what remains when the proverbial dust settles. Surely Harlequin knows what this will do in the publishing arena?
Interesting.
~R
Brenna, I dislike Horizons for the very reasons you mention. I also agree with your comments about using vanity publishers for family histories, reissues and the like.
Carina Press…I don’t see how they would become RWA-eligible, even if Carina and Horizons down the line are come to be seen as separate entities by RWA (perhaps as a result of future changes in the Horizon model). Carina doesn’t pay a min. $1000 advance for each of its stand-alone titles. Therefore, separate from HQ or not, it’s not RWA-eligible. However, Carina AUTHORS, once they can prove that they have earned $1000 in royalties on one title, CAN join PAN. Carina authors won’t be able to enter the RITA despite that Carina itself isn’t a subsidy/vanity publisher because the current RITA entry rules require that the entries are paperback versions published by the publisher, not printed up and bound by the writer. IOW, paperback versions of Samhain books and Amber Quill books, etc., can enter the RITA, just like I can enter my pen name’s Secrets print anthology novellas in the RITA despite that Red Sage Publishing, which publishes Secrets, isn’t RWA-eligible themselves (because they don’t pay the min. $1000 per stand-alone title in their ebook line).
By the way, while I am trying to keep up with my manuscript revisions and haven’t had a chance to read Jackie Kessler’s blog yet today, I’ve heard she does a good job of breaking down the Harlequin Horizons versus RWA debacle. Here’s a link to her blog post, if you want to check it out:
http://www.jackiekessler.com/blog/2009/11/19/harlequin-horizons-versus-rwa/
Cindy, thanks for the clarification between self and vanity publishing. I didn’t think I knew that the vanity house kept 50% of the profits (if any). That’s pretty crappy.
One of the biggest problems I see with this venture is the brand-dilution. If I pick up a Harlequin Horizons book by an author who just paid the minium (which doesn’t include editing services) and found it to be riddled with grammatical mistakes, spelling errors and changing character names, I would quickly assign it to the trash can and be very wary of ANY Harlequin product going forward. Which is ridiculously unfair to the HQ authors who have struggled so hard. I’m not saying those who go the vanity route are automatically thought to be inferior writers, but there are some out there who might take this route and they just plain can’t write. It’s still a Harlequin book. It’s still going to taint the rest of the lines.
If they remove the Harlequin brand from the line, it would be better. Still not right – referencing the outrageous amounts of money they want to charge for various services – but better.
Everything I think about this has already been said by everyone else (glad I got on the PAN loop in time for this! LOL)…
Let’s just say, if my requested-by-phone-by-HQ-senior-editor manuscript ends up coming back with a tip to head over to Harlequin Horizons, I will have serious doubts about ever submitting there again. I truly don’t know what they were thinking. This is so very sad.
Jennifer, I don’t know if all vanity houses keep a percentage of royalties. The thread on Smart Bitches reveals the info about Harlequin Horizon keeping 50%, however.
I also agree that it would be better if they removed the Harlequin brand from the publishing arm. Why not call it Romance Horizons, a division of TorStar (which owns HQ)?
Hmmm, maybe this is all part of a crafty PR move. Call it Harlequin Horizons, say that in H/S rejection letters the rejected author will be advised of the option to pursue publication through Horizons…then watch the explosion occur on the Internet. Instant advertising. Then pull back at least on those two aspects and see what happens again. More free advertising. And a happier RWA, I would suspect. 😉
Avery, I have it on good authority that the tip to head over to Horizons isn’t coming through on rejection letters YET. At least it isn’t coming through on personalized, emailed rejection letters requesting to see more material that *I* know of. 😉
Carina would be eligible to be listed as a non-subsidy/non-vanity publisher, even if they didn’t give the advance, as I understand it. They wouldn’t be a full recognized publisher, but they would be able to be listed there.
Brenna
Brenna, yes, they could be listed as a non-subsidy/non-vanity publisher, but because they don’t pay the minimum advance per book, that is what precludes them from being “RWA-eligible” and making use of RWA conference perks such as hosting Spotlights and taking official editor appointments.
However, regardless of what happens with H/S in general as a result of the opening of Horizon, Carina authors still can’t enter the RITA because to do so under current rules Carina would have to publish print versions of the books for the purposes of the contest. For now, anyway, Carina is ebook only. Not that I have any problem with that. I don’t. 🙂
Now, who knows, maybe Carina intends to print 10 copies of the books so their authors can enter the RITA (5 for the preliminary round and 5 if the author finals). I don’t have a clue! If they did, then the RITA wouldn’t be an issue.
I have nothing new to add. Cindy, thanks so much for breaking this complex issue down for us. I really appreciate it.
You’re welcome, Becca. Glad what I said made some sense. I’m just kind of winging it, as usual. 🙂
To be honest, I don’t CARE about the conference perks for the publisher side. It’s their choice to strip themselves of that, and if they choose to, they do. That’s on HQ themselves. I only care about whether the authors can enter RITA and get PAN, and being listed non-subsidy/non-vanity would do that for them.
FWIW, authors with e-only lines NOW can enter RITA. All the rules say is that the print version has to be printed by the publisher. Maybe you aren’t aware of this, but that’s done by using CafePress or CreateSpace to make print copies for contests. If the other indie/es can do it, Carina can choose to. No snub intended, but it’s not a new problem, because RWA chapter contests originally required this for e-books, and I had the answer for it for indies and gave it to them back in 2005 or so. No big.
Brenna
Hi, Brenna, yes, I knew about the publisher needing to print the copies for the RITA. I think I mentioned that in one of my comments. As long as the author isn’t involved in the printing, that’s the main thing for the contest. So you’re right, Carina might choose to do this, as might other epublishers. Or, they might not. I would imagine it’s up to the publisher.
I agree that, for authors, being able to enter the RITA and get into PAN are important. However, a writer, IMO, shouldn’t sub to an e-only pub and then be surprised if they can’t enter the RITA because that particular epub *doesn’t* print up copies for the contest. Too many times I see writers not doing enough due diligence up front.