The Internet Writer's Address Book for Romance Publishers

Romance novels occupy the largest space on book store walls. These books - which can range from "harlequin" types to medieval folklore - entertain about 30 million readers every year.

With this in mind, a writer must also realize that every "Joe Blow" in America thinks he can write a romance novel. In all honesty, such work can take years for the research and backgrounding necessary to make a book which can hold its own. Think about it: you will be writing either in ancient history, into the farthest future, or trying to mold two modern-day characters into believable sources. Any of these options are formidable tasks.

To top this off, romance publishers are very discriminating. Unlike academic or non-fiction writers, romance scribes need not be experts in their field. They need only a pen and paper (keyboard and screen) and their imaginations. This alone lends this genre to be full of - I hate to say it - wannabes.

If you want to submit a manuscript to one of the publishers listed below, have a professional editor look it over. At the very least, pass it to some of your closest friends for a critique.

Romance Publishers On-Line

Avon Books

http://www.avonbooks.com/avon/romance.html --- lists the new and upcoming and gives a short summary of each. Might want to send e-mail to find out if they are taking manuscripts.

Random House, Inc.

http://www.randomhouse.com/ --- Lots of good information here. Again, check with them to see if they are accepting manuscripts. Mostly, they will only accept published writers, or at least manuscripts which come through an agent.

Bantam, Doubleday, Dell

http://www.bdd.com/romance --- Unfortunately, this is mostly a page for readers.

Harper Paperbacks

http://www.harpercollins.com/paperbacks/ --- Harper Collins publishes a wide assortment of paperbacks yearly. Many are romance and mystery.

Harlequin Enterprises

http://www.romance.net/ --- I don't know if you will find what you are looking for, but you are bound to find something which will catch your eye.

Kensington Publishing Corp.

http://www.kensingtonbooks.com/index.html --- This publisher doesn't publish a great of titles per year, but they are normally willing to accept manuscripts.