This is part 2 of information gleaned from Harlequin Senior Editor Brenda Chin's visit to the October workshop hosted by Heart of Denver Romance Writers.
Duets is Harlequin's romantic comedy line aimed at twenty-something readers. Brenda Chin reports that Duets is always looking for new authors. This line has the distinction of bringing the most new authors into the Harlequin fold. Duets books are short (50,000 - 55,000 words) and snappy. Voice is the key here. Brenda urged authors to really let themselves go when writing for this line. "The more outrageous the humor, the better," she said. Harlequin publishes four Duets stories each month, packaged in two books, each containing two stories. The stories may be by different authors or the same author, and share a common theme. New authors may be packaged with an established author to give the newbie an extra boost, and Brenda reports readers seem to like getting two stories for the price of one.
As with all category lines, hooks are important. But each line handles tried and true hooks differently. As Brenda said. "If there's a baby in a Temptation, it just means the hero and heroine did it once, and they're going to do it again. If there's a baby in a Duets, it may not belong to the hero or heroine, and neither one of them knows what to do with it."
While a query letter is the best way to contact an editor for most of the Harlequin lines, Brenda likes to see the first chapter along with the query letter for Duets. "Comic voice is so important in this line, and you can't really get that across in a query. We have to read your writing." If you have a story that's connected in some way to the story you're querying about, be sure to mention that in your letter to Harlequin. Duets publishes one "Double Duets" each month -- one volume with two stories by the same author. If you have two related stories, they might want to publish them this way.
Brenda also spoke about Harlequin's newest women's fiction imprint, Red Dress Ink. These trade-paper sized novels are not romance, but rather 'chick lit' about twenty-something single women grappling with jobs, friendships, family and romantic relationships. The books range from 95,000 to 110,000 words and are aimed at readers who don't necessarily read romance. As with Duets, voice is key to selling to Red Dress. Books may be in first or third person. Though many of the early releases are comedy, Red Dress books may also have a more serious tone. Submissions for Red Dress should be directed to Senior Editor Margaret Marbury in Harlequin's New York office, or to Assistant Editor Kathryn Lye at the Toronto office. For more information, check the guidelines at eHarlequin.com
Cynthia Sterling is the author of seven historical romances for Berkley and Zebra. She also writes a weekly market newsletter which you may sign up for at her website: www.cynthiasterling.com.
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