With the onslaught of printers that will print one book at a time, there are hordes of opportunities for authors frustrated with the conventional publishing model to write checks in the misguided belief that they are actually being published in the same sense that, say, Stephen King, John Grisham, or David McCullough are.
Harlequin, the leading publisher of romance novels, joined with Author Solutions, the leading online “self-publishing” press—we used to call them “vanity presses”—to harvest a cash crop from would-be romance writers with thin promises that maybe a book printed under a new “self-publishing” imprint program called Harlequin Horizons would enjoy enough sales to move over to Harlequin proper.
Here’s what Publishers Weekly had to say about the new deal:
The imprint will recruit writers in two ways: authors whose manuscripts have been rejected by Harlequin will be made aware of the Harlequin Horizons option and authors who sign with Author Solutions will be given the opportunity to be published under the Harlequin Horizons imprint. According to an Author Solutions spokesperson, the imprint will offer special services aimed at the romance market, including unique marketing and distribution services. All services are on a pay-for-service basis.
The outrage in the writer’s community was immediate and heartening. Romance Writers of America, understanding all the ramifications of this, quickly withdrew Harlequin’s right to enter any of its books in RWA’s influential contests. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers called for Harlequin to sever all ties with this self-publishing program.
Harlequin, blinked but didn’t buckle. They renamed the ill-directed venture DellArte Press. Harlequin along with Author Solutions will still pursue the same plunder, continuing, I imagine, to inform authors Harlequin rejects of this other “opportunity.”
I guess we can chalk up half a point for writers, but there will still be plenty of chances for misguided authors to write checks for what I call “vapor publishing,” a term I coined from the tech industry term “vaporware,” meaning software in development that its promoters promise will have remarkable features but the software never actually materializes.
Just a Write Thought.