Bleak Horizons

My schedule soul suck last week kept me from posting on the Harlequin Horizons debacle as it was happening. A brief recap: Harlequin opened up a vanity press called Harlequin Horizons. Through the HH site, they made it seem as though aspiring writers that (over)paid for a package would get the strength of the Harlequin brand behind them. At the same time, Harlequin was telling its contracted writers not to worry because those other books wouldn’t be on the shelves next to theirs.

I’m going to refrain from doing a long post on the subject because others have already done so and done so well*. Some links to get you started:

Falconesse is a great first stop because she explains why Harlequin Horizons is a vanity press- not a self publisher- and brings the math to show why it is an even worse deal for aspiring writers than it seems on the surface.

Jackie Kessler gets snarky in a faux author-HH conversation, answers questions in two parts, and shows a bookseller’s perspective.

And you can read the statements made by the Romance Writers of America, Mystery Writers of America, and Science Fiction Writers of America. (h/t: Ecstatic Days)

*And now I have mid-90s LL Cool J stuck in my head.