2007 Romancing The Rockies Conference
Editor: Margaret Marbury
May 11-12 2007
Denver, Colorado
MIRA Books & Red Dress Ink
EXECUTIVE EDITOR Margaret Marbury oversees three imprints of Harlequin: MIRA Books, which publishes a wide range of commercial fiction in all formats; Red Dress Ink, the first dedicated chick lit imprint in North America, and Spice, which publishes erotic fiction. She has been with the company for 15 years and currently works with a broad spectrum of authors, including New York Times bestsellers Susan Wiggs, Carla Neggers and Anne Stuart, and rising stars such as Sherryl Woods, M.J. Rose, Kyra Davis, Laura Caldwell and Chris Jordan. She is incredibly excited about expanding the MIRA list to include more thrillers, paranormal and commercial literary fiction. She is also looking for exceptional chick lit and erotic fiction for RDI and Spice, respectively.
Recent Interview:
Colorado Romance Writers, Inc
2007 Romancing The Rockies
Editor Interview by Diana Rowe
Margaret O’Neill-Marbury
Executive Editor
Harlequin’s MIRA Books, Red Dress Ink & Spice
DLR (Diana): Hello Margaret! We look forward to welcoming you to Denver in May for CRW’s Romancing the Rockies Conference. Thanks for agreeing to be interviewed.
(DLR) Margaret, please tell us about Harlequin, and then the lines you acquire for: MIRA Books, Red Dress Ink (RDI) and Spice. How many titles for each line are released per month? Are these lines, or strictly single title releases? Anything new, exciting and upcoming at Harlequin or in one of your lines that you’d like to share with us?
MM (Margaret O’Neill-Marbury): Harlequin has always been synonymous with romance, but the publishing programs here are more diverse than one might think. We publish men’s action adventure (Gold Eagle, ie. ROGUE ANGEL), NASCAR romances, romantic fantasy, chick lit, inspirational romance, thrillers, historical fiction, erotic fiction – you name it! On the category romance side, we have two new programs, Silhouette Nocturne, our paranormal romance line that launched in October 2006, and Everlasting Love, romantic sagas that launched in February 2007. (Guidelines for our other category romance lines are available on www.eHarlequin.com). On the single title side, we have MIRA, HQN, Red Dress Ink, Luna and Spice. MIRA Books is considered our general fiction imprint (whereas HQN is big romance). At MIRA, our goal is to publish books women like to read. Most of the books on the MIRA list fall in one of these genres: contemporary women’s fiction, romantic suspense, thrillers, paranormal fiction, historical fiction, commercial literary fiction. The number of titles we release each month varies slightly, although it’s usually about 5-6 mass market paperbacks, 1-2 trade paperbacks and 1-2 hardcovers. At Red Dress Ink (RDI), we’re publishing 10-12 chick lit titles per year in trade paperback; at Spice, we’re doing approximately 6 erotic fiction books, also in the trade format.
DLR: Will you give us a few examples of “well-known” MIRA, RDI and Spice authors? How about upcoming, those-to-watch authors?
MM: Well-knowns for MIRA: Lots! But here are some names that should ring a bell…Debbie Macomber, Susan Wiggs, Heather Graham, Carla Neggers, Alex Kava. For RDI: Sarah Mlynowski, Carole Matthews, Wendy Markham, Kyra Davis. For Spice: M.J. Rose, Kayla Perrin, Suzanne Forster. New and upcoming for MIRA: Deanna Raybourn, Charles Davis, Pam Jenoff, Chris Jordan, Jason Pinter, Jennifer Armintrout. New for RDI: Mindy Klasky, Poonam Sharma. And for Spice: Nancy Madore, Megan Hart, Jina Bacarr.
DLR: What makes MIRA, RDI, and Spice Ink’s books different from other publishers?
MM: Overwhelming internal enthusiasm for the books, from the editors to the marketers to the cover designers to the sales force. And I think we have the best sales force in the industry. Because we publish a lot of romance, MIRA, RDI and Spice books tend to stand out.
DLR: Tell us a little bit about yourself and your professional journey to Harlequin.
MM: I never thought I'd make a living reading. I had eye surgery when I was four, and wore a patch over one eye when I was learning how to read. (As if the pirate jokes from my peers weren't bad enough). I was the queen of mutiple choice tests. But that all changed in high school and college. Hmm, Organic Chemistry or Hemingway and Fitzgerald? I graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in Literature, Science and the Arts, and was perfectly qualified for...nothing. My first job was as a sales assistant with Merrill Lynch in Chicago. (Yay, multiple choice tests)! I quickly discovered what I DIDN'T want to do. Since I don't want to bore you, let me fast forward to an M.A. in Journalism from Syracuse U., a handful of newspaper jobs, and then a move to New York, where Tracy Farrell hired me as an assistant editor for Harlequin Historicals in 1992. I've had the pleasure of working with so many talented authors: Carolyn Davidson, Merline Lovelace, Cheryl St. John, Lyn Stone, Mary McBride, Julia Justiss, Deborah Hale, Jillian Hart, Deborah Simmons, Judith Stacy, Erica Orloff, the list goes on. I was lucky to launch RDI in 2001, and to join MIRA in 2004.
DLR: How many authors do you handle personally? Can you give us a few examples (names) of your author clients? How many new authors have you bought in the past year?
MM: I personally work with 14 authors, (I think). Susan Wiggs, Carla Neggers, Anne Stuart, Sherryl Woods, M.J. Rose, Wendy Markham to give you a few examples. Because I have a full list, I haven't been buying any new authors lately. Nonetheless, MIRA bought a whopping 14 new, or new-to-the-company authors last year. My newest authors are Chris Jordan, whose first book TAKEN, was released in hardcover in July, and the 32 authors who contributed to MIRA's anthology THRILLER, which came out in June 2006. It was a career highlight to work with authors such as Steve Berry, David Morrell, Lee Child, John Lescroart, Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child, Katherine Neville, James Rollins and MIRAs own Heather Graham, Alex Kava and M.J.Rose.
DLR: What is the primary challenge of your job? What aspect(s) of being an editor do you enjoy the most? The least?
MM: Finding enough hours in the day to get everything done, and getting back to people in a timely fashion. I enjoy working with my authors the most (developing a relationship, working on their books, figuring out ways to build them), but I also love negotiating - and there's nothing like the thrill of a new acquisition. My least favorite part...too many emails!
DLR: Overseeing so many authors seems like a huge responsibility. How do you stay organized and productive, yet avoid burnout? (Yeah right!)
MM: Prioritizing is key. I try to tackle my most time-sensitive, important tasks first and work down the list. This is the only way I can sleep at night (waking up because you've forgotten to pay someone or missed a cover copy change deadline is not fun). I go to the gym at lunch as often as I can - cycling, kickboxing, yoga, running. My three pre-teen kids are a great diversion from work, and I try to limit the number of weekends I take work home. In the end, it sure helps to love what you do.
DLR: What is your particular area of interest (i.e. genre, story line, hero, heroine)? What aspect of an author’s work really catches your eye? What do you look for in a story?
MM: Voice, character development, an original, entertaining story. Something that can take me away.
DLR: What do you like to see FIRST from an author? A query? A partial? A complete manuscript? Are you (MIRA/Red Dress Ink) open to unsolicited queries? Are you open to email queries, or do you prefer good old fashioned U.S. Post Office? Can you give us some guidelines or refer us to where we can obtain them? Are your requirements different for unpublished vs published authors?
MM: These days I'm more into partials with a cover letter. I can read a partial much more quickly than a complete and get enough of a feel for the book to know if it has potential or not. MIRA does not accept unsolicited submissions. RDI and Spice do. Unfortunately, I do not accept email submissions or queries. Please visit www.eHarlequin.com for all kinds of information on Harlequin's various imprints and lines. Published authors can sell with a partial; unpublished would eventually have to submit a complete prior to selling.
DLR: How many manuscripts do you purchase from the slush pile? Any suggestions for authors submitting or pitching to you?
MM: Truthfully, I don't acquire very many manuscripts from the slush pile, but that doesn't mean that good slush manuscripts don't exist. The hungry editors - the ones interested in building their author lists - are the ones devoting the most time to reading slush. I do happen to know that many, many category acquisitons were slush projects and there was even a significant number of authors/projects found via the web. When pitching, I'd advise an author to focus on the "sell" -- selling not only the book but themselves. I would strongly avoid trying to give a lengthy synopsis and instead just stick with the premise/idea. Other "sell" components: comparative books, writing history, inspiration for idea, goals, level of commitment.
DLR: What are some of the biggest mistakes new authors make?
MM: Not doing enough investigation when it comes to the where, when, how and to whom to submit their books. Failing to work on the next project when the last one is finished and making the rounds (or not).
DLR: How often do you deal with agents? In your opinion, what does an agent bring to the table that an unsolicited unagented manuscript does not?
MM: I am constantly on the phone with agents. Every day, lots of minutes. Agents bring many things to the table. For editors: Their reputation within the industry. A screening process. Competitive insight since they work with multiple publishers (they may know what's working at one house that they could suggest to an editor of one of their client's at another house). A buffer between editor and author. For authors: All of the above, plus: Career guidance. Ability to help authors get projects in shape prior to going out. License to hound the editors. :)
DLR: And finally, what advice would you offer to writers, published, multi-published, and aspiring?
MM: Published: Make sure you have a web site; cultivate mailing lists; try to think of innovative self promotional ideas. Multi-published: After a time, try to figure out if multi-publishing is helping your overall career growth or holding you back. Would focusing on your strongest selling genre and increasing the momentum take you to higher numbers? Aspiring: If writing is what you love, keep on truckin'. For everyone: Write the best book possible.
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