If you receive my monthly/bi-monthly/whenever the mood strikes me newsletter (and if you don’t, you can sign up here), you’ll know that I recently sold the North American mass market paperback rights to Harlequin for their WWL Mystery line. The first book to be released was Skeletons in the Attic (July 27, 2021), with The Hanged Man’s Noose scheduled for October 26, 2021, Past & Present in January 2022, followed by A Hole in One (April 2022), and A Fool’s Journey and Where There’s a Will (to be scheduled). Here’s a Behind the Scenes look at how it happened:
During the early days of my publishing journey, I connected with fellow author Susan Van Kirk. We were both “aspiring” and met via a shared editor, Lourdes Venard. Throughout the years, Susan and I have supported each other on social media, and eventually met at Malice Domestic. And throughout the years, we’ve also shared some not-so-great moments in the wild world of publishing, including being “orphaned’ when our respective publishers shuttered their doors (or in Susan’s case, their mystery line). We’ve both moved on since, and we’ve continued to be there for each other. We’re also fans of each others work and have been vocal in our praise: I’ve “blurbed” (provided a review for) her book Death at Tippet Pond, and she’s blurbed Where There’s a Will for me.
At any rate, one day a couple of years ago Susan emailed to tell me that Harlequin was looking for cozy mysteries for their WWL Mystery line. Because they were only interested in the North American Mass Market rights (these are the small paperbacks 4.25″ x 6.87″) and because my books were only available in trade paperback (6″ x 9″), e-book and audio, my books qualified for submission. I wrote a solid query letter, citing sales numbers and reviews, and providing a brief bio and synopsis of Skeletons in the Attic and The Hanged Man’s Noose. I heard back within a couple of days. Harlequin was interested in reading both. I sent off a PDF copy of each book and waited.
And waited. Now, to be fair, Susan warned me the wait could be a while, but by the 15-month mark, I’d pretty much assumed I’d get a polite pass. And then, in June 2020, this email came in:
Dear Judy,We’ve had a chance to read Skeletons in the Attic and The Hanged Man’s Noose, and we think both books would be a great fit for Worldwide Mystery. Since our program publishes books with lower levels of cursing, we would need your permission to reduce the instances of “hell” in The Hanged Man’s Noose.
Of course I said yes (btw, there were 16 “hells” in Noose, which actually surprised me), signed the contract, and submitted the required files for publication. Cover art came next, first for SITA and then for Noose, though the artwork is completely up to Harlequin; the author has no input. I find it interesting how different their covers are from mine, but I trust that they know their target demographic. And now, 14 months after signing the contract, and 29 months since my original query, the first book has been released.
And the moral of the story? Patience may be a virtue, but it’s also requirement for authors. Stay tuned for future updates, and thanks for following my Behind the Scenes series.
Congrats, Judy! Wishing you all the best on your Harlequin journey. 🙂
Thanks Joanne. Your Gilda series would be a good fit — do you own the mass market paperback rights? If so, email me.
Judy, whatever successes you have achieved, you have certainly earned.
Congrats!
— Arthur Vidro
Thanks so much Arthur
How wonderful that all your hard work is paying off! You’ve worked hard for your success, and I wish you the best.
Thank you, Kathleen! There’s an old saying, “the harder you work, the luckier you get.” Lots more I want to accomplish though!
So glad to hear you are doing well with Harlequin, Judy. I think they are a premier company.
Susan, it’s nice to be with a publisher that respects the contract 🙂
Congratulations, Judy! Hope you find many new readers!
Thank you Rose
Wow! How wonderful, Judy! Congratulations!
Thanks Karen! Your books would likely be a good match. Email if you want more info.
Fascinating. Thanks for the insight which confirmed my own experiences. There’s Publisher decisions and there’s molasses running downhill in winter. Hard to say which is slower!
John, so true.
Awesome blossom, Judy! Fifteen months is a long wait but sooo worth it. Congratulations. vb
Thanks Vicki!
Congrats on this, Judy! I’m happy to see your books gaining a new audience.
Me too, Lourdes 🙂
Thanks so much for the shout-out, Judy. I continue to enjoy my relationship with Harlequin because they are solid. They do exactly what they say they will do, and they’re always right on time. It’s wonderful to have that kind of publisher. Glad to see you are prospering with this relationship too!
So far it’s been terrific, Susan.
Harlequin Worldwide Mystery published mmp editions of my five-book Show Me series. In Show Me the Ashes, the editor informed me “slut” was unacceptable. One character used it, and I’d chosen the word for real reasons, but I preferred the money to the word. The replacement word HWW chose was “tramp.” In the last book, Show Me the Sinister Snowman, my protagonist used f***k once for a specific reason. This time I handled it myself. To replace the word and accomplish the same purpose, I had to rewrite two sentences.
The minimum length is (or was) 75,000 words. Harlequin reorganized some over the last couple of years, which probably contributed to your delay, but the editors I worked with were quite cooperative.
Hi Carolyn, my editor has been fantastic, but I believe the review process is done by someone else and it just takes time. I’m sure they receive a ton of submissions. I know an author who was turned down because they felt her books were too risqué and another for word count. My w.c. is below their minimum, but I believe they do have some flexibility in that. And good for you for adapting. That’s what we need to do!
My publisher sends my books to Harlequin so I’ve a few in my Haunted Library series about to come out in paperback with Harlequin. After you posted on the Guppy listserv that you had three of your books coming out with Harlequin, I asked my agent to submit four books I’d written earlier. They will be coming out with Harlequin—when, I don’t know yet. So thank you, Judy!
Marilyn, that makes me so happy to hear that. It’s all about authors helping authors!
I’m interested in this. I’ve one book published The Blind Justice Society, it’s a collection of cozy mysteries. My next book due for completion in October is Dirty Dirt. Ive taken the characters from the first book and used them in the second. I’m planning a series with these remarkable women. I would be delighted to have you published them.
Thank you,
BB Giesler
Thanks so much, Judy, and congratulations! I might ask for submission details, too!
Hi Bonnie, I believe they prefer a series, so you might want to wait until you’ve got three and then try them. Note it’s not ME publishing, it’s Harlequin and I have no input on what they will or won’t publish. I queried like everyone else.
Edith, they would adore you. Shoot me an email.
Well done as always, Judy.
I admit I raised my eyebrows at the thought that “hell” was apparently in the upper levels of profanity. Goodness gracious me, I thought.
Till I realised they meant the count of hell. (Hmm, sounds like another name for the devil…)
Yeah, when you actually count some words, it’s shocking.
It’s one character in the book who often says, “Hell, I thought…” or what have you, but anyway, I honestly was surprised when I counted them. Thanks for chiming in, Susan.
Congrats on going out and getting this done! I have an orphaned series I would love to submit there. I may get with you for details on that. Good luck with Harlequin!
Sure, Kaye, send me an email with the details of what you’ve got.
Thanks!
Wow! That sure took a long time but it was worth it. Congratulations Judy!
Thanks Carolanne. It just serves as a reminder of the pace of traditional publishing!
Congratulations, Judy! Sometimes the best things are worth waiting for.
Thanks Tracy. So true, but I’ve also waited months and months, only to be rejected by AHMM 🙂