NOTE TO SELF: Remember that Mom is technologically challenged. When she complains that the phone cord is so twisted she can't move around her kitchen, DO NOT suggest that she unplug the cord to untwist it. She will do so while you are speaking to her, effectively ending the long distance call.
It will take twenty minutes for her to figure out how to plug it back in before you can reach her again. Twenty minutes during which you will be imagining what all three of your brothers will have to say if they keep getting a busy signal because Mom leaves the receiver off the hook when she can't get the cord back in. Images of two brothers driving fifty miles to check on her because the operator says the phone is off the hook. Eeekkkk!
New subject. Harlequin had a press release last Tuesday. My friend, Nancy C., brought it to my attention.
Harlequin announced the launch of "four digital entertainment ventures": Harlequin Mini eBooks, Harlequin Mini Round Robin eBooks, the eBook Boutique on eHarlequin.com, and www.writeharlequin.com, "a platform for gathering reader-generated content."
Harlequin is going digital in a big way.
The Mini eBook is a short series-type book for readers "who want a 'quick fix' but don't have time for a longer novel." I purchased one to see what it was like. Ninety-nine cents and sixty-nine pages; you can read one in about a half hour. Of course, the story line had yet another conflicted virgin trying to decide whether to offer up her treasure to a dark, brooding but masterful man. Yuck.
According to the press release, "Ten Harlequin Mini eBooks will be available during the August launch of the imprint. Four new Harlequin Mini eBooks will appear every month thereafter."
The Mini Round Robin eBook is the result of an experiment that has been ongoing at eHarlequin since 2000. An already published author starts the story and then subsequent chapters are written by aspiring writers in a sort of free-for-all competition. Harlequin selects the best ending to publish. The press release says, "Many of Harlequin's talented new voices have been discovered through this interactive round robin challenge."
This is the first time the Round Robin books will be available as eBooks. To encourage readers to purchase these, the initial Round Robin eBook will be available as a free download.
The third innovation is the new eBook Boutique in which all this new eBook content will be sold. Forty new titles will be released every month in eBook format. "[A]ll of these titles will be available in the new eBook Boutique at http://ebooks.eharlequin.com. The Boutique will be the exclusive eRetailer for the Harlequin Mini and Harlequin Mini Round Robin eBooks" according to the press release.
The fourth new feature will be www.writeharlequin.com. The Harlequin publicity department described it in this purple prose: "Harlequin is going beyond reader participation . . . to tap the creativity and wisdom of our global community via www.writeharlequin.com. We ask such burning questions as 'What is Love' [Note the capital "L" there] . . . and anyone and everyone can send in reponses. A collection of the most appealing answers will be published in a digital format early in 2007 and then later as a print version."
Gag me. The romance industry's version of Poetry.com.
Don't get me wrong. I'm impressed by Harlequin's first three innovations. Forget www.writeharlequin.com (unless they gear it to a teen audience).
First of all, these new features show Harlequin has been paying attention. Their book club revenues are down. Why should readers pay for unknown category romances selected by Harlequin (plus shipping) that arrive once a month when they can as easily go to the computer and select the specific book they're interested in reading WHEN they want to read it and download it in about two minutes.
I'm not saying that the famous book clubs will die tomorrow, but they're on their way out. And those clubs have been the backbone of Harlequin's revenue stream. The company needs to be ready to replace them with something else.
E-publishers have been releasing shorter stories for years. The Mini eBooks are a great idea. Especially at ninety-nine cents.
The Round Robin books are another great idea. Writers are among the biggest readers. Harlequin has an idea here that appeals to the reader and writer both.
The eBook Boutique is not an innovation per se, but it is the venue through which the digital content will be sold to online readers. A necessary evil.
I've already given my opinion on www.writeharlequin.com, and I'm not going to belabor the point. Coincidentally, another friend (thanks, Cat) sent me a survey by Harlequin today. It was beyond lame. "What does romance mean to you?" "What is the most romantic thing you or someone you know has ever done?" As I say, if the plan is to target teens, maybe the possibility of seeing your answer in print will carry some cachet. Anything is possible.
Despite these hopeful signs, I still think the biggest obstacle Harlequin has to overcome is its corporate insistence on formulaic guidelines. Cookie cutter romance is getting old. Readers want fresh material, not the same old stuff recycled every month in a different location with different eye colors and shades of hair. Break out, Harlequin! Be bold! Be different! Think about joining a twelve-step program for your addiction to formulas. Please.
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