Guest Blogger: Keyren Gerlach, Assistant Editor at Harlequin Books
January 27th, 2008 by Theresa
Let’s give a warm welcome to Keyren Gerlach. An Assistant Editor at Harlequin Books, Keyren will be finishing off our month of guest editors. But don’t forget that Magical Musings will be offering a selection of Guest Agent bloggers through the month of February. Check our coming up section for the details.
And now, here’s Keyren’s Guest Blog:
When Theresa Monsey offered me a chance to be a guest blogger on MagicalMusings, I jumped at the chance. I take every opportunity I can to connect with the author community, published or otherwise. At regional conferences I’m the one chatting it up with everyone I can, because I realize that behind every great story is a great story.
My own publishing story began four years ago. It all started with an internship at Penguin in their Advertising and Promotions department. I knew I was made for editorial, so when an editorial assistant position opened up at Harlequin, I pounced and never looked back. The chance to work in romance, the genre that will never go out of style, thrilled me to no end. I truly can say I have one of the best gigs around. Oh the pace at the office is breakneck and my desk will never see the light of day, but at the end of the day, I get to work with incredibly talented authors who make it all worthwhile. I wouldn’t give it up for anything.
Since I first signed on with Harlequin in 2004, I’ve had the unique chance to work on many different imprints, from MIRA and Red Dress Ink, to Kimani Press. However, I’ve been with HQN Books from the get-go, working under the wonderfully inspiring Tracy Farrell. I must say it’s an imprint after my own heart. What exactly do we publish and what sets us apart from other lines? Well, aside from straight out erotica, we publish anything with a big, fat romance at the heart of it. From rising stars to romance veterans, we’re committed to publishing the best that the genre has to offer. For those authors interested in submitting to us, I’ve included a little FAQ below:
Just what is HQN looking for?
As I mentioned before, we’re dedicated to publishing the very best in single title romance fiction. Sexy historicals, romantic comedies, dark paranormals, fantasy, emotional tearjerkers. You name it, we do it, as long as the romance plot is the main star of the narrative. (But we are anticipating that historicals are poised to make a comeback.)
Does HQN only publish established authors?
Not by a long shot. True, our list boasts the likes of Diana Palmer, Linda Lael Miller, Bertrice Small and Carly Phillips, but we live to discover fresh new voices and love to develop those talents to the next level and beyond.
Does HQN accept unagented submissions?
Though we do prefer to receive submissions from agents, we are, at the moment, accepting unsolicited submissions. My recommendation? Send a partial manuscript with a cover letter (I can’t emphasize the importance of professionalism enough) and a 2-3 page synopsis. Query letters are always welcome, but be sure, again, to include the synopsis.
To whom should I send my submission?
Besides myself, the following editors are acquiring for HQN: Tracy Farrell, Executive Editor, Tara Parsons, Editor, and Margo Lipschultz, Associate Editor.
What’s the word count range for HQN?
Nothing is set in stone, but typically our books range in length from 90,000 to 120,000 words, give or take.
What’s that special something, the “X” factor, that HQN is looking for?
Of course I can only speak for myself, but I really want to care about the characters that I’m reading about. Killer, in depth characterizations are, I believe, what sets apart a great book from merely good ones. A strong plot is fine, but honestly rendered, painstakingly created characters will absolutely get you real estate in a reader’s (and prospective editor’s) heart.
In addition to working with HQN, I’m also acquiring for LUNA. So for all you fantasy writers, I’m particularly interested in urban fantasy and otherworld fantasy at the moment. A strong, singular narrative voice is essential.
Although I come across hundreds of submissions a year, I’ll never stop being amazed by the amount of commitment and accomplishment represented by each and every manuscript. As you send your “babies” out to publishing houses and agents, and wait to connect with that perfect editorial champion for your work, just remember that you have the ultimate bragging rights. You wrote a book, for crying out loud.
14 Responses to “Guest Blogger: Keyren Gerlach, Assistant Editor at Harlequin Books”
Keyren, thank you so much for your blog! I had no idea HQN was accepting unsolicited submissions. I hope I see you at a conference some day. I’d love to say hi. Characterization is the key for me too when I’m reading a book.
Keyren, thanks for being a guest here at MM. It has been great reading about what you do and are looking for. I love the way the internet has brought about a great new way to gain information, so writers can send their manuscripts to the people who seem most interested in their genre or story. Have you seen a decrease in the number of manuscripts that are just totally not what you publish? Or are there still writers out there who don’t do any research?
Keyren, Welcome to Magical Musings and thank you so much for spending your Sunday with us.
You mentioned that currently HQN is open to unsolicited partials. Is there a particular page count you’re looking for in regard to the partials, or are you looking for the standard three chapters?
Also, does your preference run toward email submissions or snail mail submissions?
Thanks again for joining us. I’m looking forward to sending my work on to you!
Keyren, so glad you could visit us at Magical Musings today! So true about characterization. I believe it’s the heartbeat of a story along with dialogue. I wish you much success, and may 2008 bring you great talent in your incoming box!
A great editor is worth gold to a writer.
Thank you for that wonderful, upbeat post, Keyren! Great to hear from someone so passionate about their job. Also great to hear HQN is accepting unsolicited partials.
Edie blogged about serendipity a post or two ago and I didn’t have an example. Now I do.
I cast my vote with all of you. Terrific characters do it for me every time.
Hi Keyren,
Great blog! Thanks so much for sharing a little bit about yourself with us. It’s great to hear that you’re so passionate about your job as well.
Look foward to meeting you at conference some day!
Regards,
Mai Christy Thao
Hi Keyren,
I had the pleasure of meeting you at my chapter’s luncheon a few years back. It’s great to “see” you again
You mentioned you’re looking for dark paranormals. Would HQN have any interest in a not-so-dark, quirky paranormal about ghosts?
Also, how does HQN and Harlequin/Silhouette decipher word count? Do you go by the old 250 x # of pages or have you moved on to the computer generated word counts?
Thanks for taking the time being here with us,
~Maggie Van Well
Do you also take books that have been self published? I have written one book GOD and The Hillbilly that was published by publishamerica.com Would I send in the whole book or just the first few pages and the reviews from the publishamerica.com site?
Thanks for any help and info you can give on this subject.
GOD BLESS
Susan M. Roberts
Thank you Keyren and MM for giving us this opportunity…especially on a Sunday! Our budget is limited so I can stay-at-home with kids and pursue my writing career, I can’t afford to attend many of the conferences where I can pitch to editors or agents.
Does an author’s willingness to self-promote and be aggressive in marketing play a factor in your decision to take on a new author? It’s difficult in an eight minute face-to-face pitch to discuss anything other than the stories GMC. Are you more willing to buy if you know the author is focused on making their writing a full-time career, disciplined with deadlines, writing time, marketing and flexibility in revisions?
Again, it was such a blast to blog on Magical Musings–thanks for the warm welcome, ladies! Now to answer your questions…
Michelle, unfortunately many authors still miss the mark in terms of what they send our way. I’d say about 5% of submissions have very little to do with romance or are completely out there. We’ve had our fair share of submissions from the male prison population. And once we received a manuscript written entirely in French! Oh yes, we’ve seen it all.
Theresa, the standard three chapters is still the preference, no particular page count required. And we currently only accept snail mail submissions (though a few still manage to sneak into my inbox
)). Looking forward to seeing your work!
Maggie, great to “see” you again, too! The word count range is just a guideline, so how you get there doesn’t matter; we just want to make sure that we receive submissions of single title length.
Susan, unfortunately we generally don’t accept self-published books or e-books. But this may change in the future, so stay tuned!
Chelle, we love a great well-connected self-promoter. And if you are able to write full time, fantastic. But we realize this isn’t possible for most. So for us, it’s still really about that one-of-a-kind, knock-your-socks-off story.
Keyren–Thanks for your very informative post!
Keyren,
Ditto what the others said and more. How often can you take time to tell an author what is missing? So often the “sorry for the form letter” leaves an author wondering. We can’t always tell what we didn’t get right to fix it.
Thank you for your time! The business end will be easy for me, I agree with you when you say it’s about the story. So far I’ve done really well in a contest and I won an online pitch contest. I received a rejection on the partial but with some incredible suggestions. But she didn’t request revisions.
As a new writer my first instinct was to revise with her comments and resubmit. I was thrilled it wasn’t a form letter. But without a specific request, I’m being told maybe I shouldn’t. I know there are unspoken do’s and don’ts within the industry, but how would you react if an author you’d previously rejected in that manner, resubmitted after they revised?
Great blog, Keyren … and very informative. Reading over the comments posted here, most of my questions have been asked, so I’ll just wait for responses.
Good to know that HQN is accepting unagented submissions and that the word count is flexible.