Anyone who’s read or written romance knows
that Harlequin has been the most recognized brand name for decades. For years,
they ruled the roost when it came to publishing and selling romances. But the
tide has turned. In fact, over the past five years, Harlequin reports a loss of
nearly $100 million in sales. This is important for all traditional publishers and
authors to know, because the reasons speak to the e-book and self-publishing
revolution in every genre.
Digitalbookworld’s article quotes the
reasons for the downfall directly from Harlequin’s findings and they probably
won’t surprise you. Harlequin cites increased competition from e-books,
self-publishers, and Amazon. Harlequin also used to dominate direct-to-consumer
marketing through catalogues and mail-order options. Well, online sites like
BookBub have adopted the direct-to-consumer angle big time by offering
thousands of free and $.99 romances, making Harlequin’s $4.99 prices seem expensive.
Adding to Harlequin’s woes is the reduction of physical shelf space and the
increased availability of movies.
Digitalbookworld offers a link to
Harlequin’s report on their financial troubles, but there might be more to the
story. There have been a number of blogs and articles written by former
Harlequin authors complaining about the publisher’s unfair contracts and small
royalty payments. It does appear that a number of Harlequin authors have jumped
ship to self-publish their work. I don’t know what
Harlequin contracts say, but I do know that rights and royalties are an
increasingly contentious issue between publishers and authors elsewhere. It
looks like Harlequin will have to make big changes to survive either in their
contracts, their pricing, their marketing, or all three. Will they survive?
We’ll have to wait and see.
