Most of the famous romance writers got their start at Harlequin. They were acquired by Harper Collins a number of years ago.

Their submission process is very user friendly. First you create one account, with that one account you can submit to any of their divisions. After creating an account you fill out a form, upload a synopsis, and a manuscript. If your manuscript is rejected from one division you can always submit it to another.

Each division has a different focus, different editors, and different guidelines.  So everything from the length of the manuscript to the content has to match the guidelines for that division. The divisions operate very separately from one another, many are not geographically close and some are located in Canada and some in the states.

Harlequin has so many divisions that focus on different subgenres in romance that it might take you a while just to figure out what might be the best fit for your manuscript. Different divisions are open to different heat levels. Heat levels in the context of romance novels is a scale that measures the amount of romantic/sexual details allowed in that particular division’s books.

Different divisions focus on publishing everything from medical romance novels to paranormal romance novels, to Christian romance suspense novels to Westerns. Be sure to read up on all the divisions to make sure you are submitting to the one that fits your work the best.

Harlequin has a reputation for having contracts that are unfavorable to authors, particularly in the past. They were successfully sued recently by a group of authors over contract issues. However the situation seems to have improved somewhat since their acquisition by Harper Collins.

In early 2026 Harlequin France started using AI translators for at least some of the work. You can learn a little more about this here. As far as it is known this has only impacted Harlequin France, but it is still a cause for concern and something to be aware of.

To learn more visit their main website here. You can also visit their index of divisions and submission guidelines here.

Her book, Still Alice, was self published in 2007. That might not seem like a long time ago, but in 2007 there were a lot fewer self published books, in part because e-readers were a lot less popular. Lisa Genova tried to find an agent for over a year. When the last agent sent her a rejection letter, she told him that she would self publish the book. He told her not to. That it would be a mistake that would destroy her writing career.

It is a good thing she ignored him. Still Alice went on to be a New York Times bestselling novel and it was adapted into an Oscar award winning movie.  But that success was not overnight. Lisa Genova put a lot of energy into promoting her book.

She scheduled 2 book events every month, she had a website, a profile on most reader oriented websites that she could find, and she was networking a lot, not just with avid readers in general, but with Alzheimer’s patients and their support systems. The book is about a successful neuroscientist and professor who develops early onset Alzheimer’s, so it was easy for her to connect with people who have been affected by the disease.

It took about seven months for her to start to build some good local press and good word of mouth. At that point she hired a publicist. In the first three months that she worked with the publicity company, Still Alice received a lot more attention. It was featured in newspapers and on the radio. It also started to receive more mainstream reviews, and was picked up by more book stores and book clubs. It even won the 2008 Bronte Prize for best love story in North America.

At the nine month mark she found an agent, who loved the novel. The agent then sold it at auction to Simon & Schuster for six figures. Publishers in other countries were immediately interested in it.  Lisa Genova has gone on to publish 3 other successful novels with Simon & Schuster.

Word of mouth played a role in the success of  Still Alice. However, Still Alice became successful with a very hands-on effort from the author, in terms of networking, hiring a publicist, and promoting the book. Readers were not the driving force behind the book’s success, instead newspapers, magazines, and the media at large played a role. All of this happened because Lisa Genova put in the necessary effort to make Still Alice a successful book.

It is important to notice the differences and similarities in success stories. There is no such thing as cookie cutter success, different authors and different books require different paths. The more you know about the possible paths, the more options you have open to you in terms of promoting your book and the more likely you are to find the correct path for your book.

We will publish more self-publishing success stories soon.

Source:

http://stillalice.blogspot.com/2008/08/self-publish-or-perish.html

Below is a brief review of each of the journals as well as information about the theme they are currently reading.

Story

Story is a biannual print magazine that publishes creative non-fiction, fiction, and poetry. Each issue focuses on a different theme. They accept about 1 in 15 of the pieces submitted to them. So publication with them is not easy, but it is possible. They are open to reprints as long as they fit particularly well with the theme. It takes them up to a year to respond to submissions, so keep that in mind.

The theme of the upcoming issue of Story is un/natural world. They elaborate on that theme by saying:

“Climate change is one of the most significant issues of our time. How do we tell stories of it? How do its stories inform us? For Issue #4, send your best work in any form that explores the natural and built worlds here on Earth. Glaciers and cityscapes. Flora and fauna and concrete. From the pastoral all the way to Mega City One. “

The deadline is July 15

They are also open to submissions to their online publication, which is unthemed. To learn more about both opportunities visit their website here.

The Raven Chronicles

The Raven Chronicles is a biannual print literary journal. They accept submissions from authors all over the world, but if you are submitting from the USA you must submit via the mail. If you are living outside of the USA you can submit via email.

They publish poetry, non-fiction, and fiction. The theme they are reading for is “Laugh, laugh, Laugh”. You can learn more about the details of the theme on their website as they go into some length explaining it. They close to submissions on the 1st of July. The issue will be published in the fall so expect a relatively efficient turnaround time.

Riding Light

Riding Light is a quarterly print and electronic journal that publishes fiction, non-fiction, and poetry.  They like to publish genre work, usually focusing on a different genre each issue. All submissions must be made electronically.

They are currently reading for several themed issues but the one with the first deadline is their Halloween special. This is the second year that they have published a Halloween themed issue. The deadline is July 1st.

They are also reading for their summer 2015 issue, which is themed Mysteries in the City. This is what they have to say about the theme “We want mystery and suspense. We want crime/detective fiction, hard boiled or cozy. If there is a weird element, even better. Think Alfred Hitchcock or Dashiell Hammett with a dash of Rod Serling.” The deadline for that issue is July 31st 

You can read all their calls for submissions here. Their submission guidelines are available here.