That’s so true! I know someone who submitted a manuscript to Desire, but when the story didn’t work, the editor sent it on to Intimate Moments, and the story sold after a few revisions.

And Karen is right — selling anywhere is a crapshoot. And it’s not any easier to sell to H/S than it is to sell anywhere else. You still need skill, willpower, and sometimes, a touch of luck can’t hurt!

When I was targeting Sil Romance, I sold to Yours Truly. After YT folded I thought I had a book that would work for SSE, but they bought it for SIM. Now that SIM’s gone, I’m finally writing for SSE — but I never tried to analyze where my work would go, never read a gazillion books in the line(s). I read enough category to get the gist, certainly, but basically I had no idea what I was doing — never entered a contest, didn’t belong to RWA, didn’t (and still don’t) work with crit partners.

But I wrote a book that resonated with ME, within the general parameters of a “sweet” short contemp romance, and I was beyond fortunate that it also resonated with the editor I randomly picked to send it to. Another editor, another book, could have resulted in a completely different outcome.

That said, I know writers who did indeed read a thousand books from the line they loved, parse out the distinctive characteristics of that line, tailored their stories to fit, and they sold, as well. And continued to sell.

However, repeat after me: No matter what you do, it’s still a crap shoot. Selling any particular book depends on hitting the right editor at the right time with the right project (and it’s true, what’s on the shelves now was bought more than a year ago, so what would or wouldn’t fly then doesn’t necessarily apply today). Lines come and go, or change parameters. Editors come and go. An otherwise workable story might be rejected because the writing is weak; a brilliantly executed story might not sell because an editor feels it doesn’t have a broad enough appeal, or, conversely, it’s overdone.

IOW, you can work your butt off doing research and attending every craft workshop in the universe, and still not sell…or you can do just enough to not look like a total idiot, write whatever floats your boat whether it follows “da rules” or not, and find a publisher.

And any time you decide to switch subgenres, you get to start all over again.

No, that’s getting printed. Not published.

If you write a book targeted at Desire, chances are, you aren’t going to sell it anywhere else without major changes.

A long time ago, I tailored my writing for both Intimate Moments and Temptation, and discovered that my voice just didn’t work for those lines, no matter how badly I wanted to write for them. I realized that in tailoring my writing for those lines, it ultimately stifled me. When I began to “let loose,” I found who I am as a writer and sold to other publishers.

But that doesn’t mean that others, who have the natural voice that works for specific lines, shouldn’t give it a shot. I think you just have to realize that what you write will probably not be something that, if rejected, can immediately be sent out to just any other publisher. Harlequin/Silhouette has very specific needs. If that works for you, go for it! If you are more interested in writing works that can be submitted to several publishers, targeting and tailoring your voice/story might not work as well.

I think you just need to know what your goals are. I would still love to write for Harlequin or Silhouette, and I might still give it a shot, but I have to keep in mind that whatever I write for them might be a one-time shot, because if they don’t buy it, I probably can’t sell it elsewhere.

My goal wasn’t
money (holding my belly while laughing)
fame (Book 2 is about identity theft)
or
getting published (a couple dollars thrown at Lulu would have accomplished that).

My goal was
to share business lessons
while telling a great story.

Sure, figuring out what publishers were open to this funky mix of business and romance saved time and rejections but it didn’t change the writing.

And if you write what you feel you ought to write, chances are your writing will read forced.