By contrast, many romance publishers do accept direct submissions. In fact, some even go out of their way to foster new talent (Harlequin is a good example – they even have a writers’ forum on their website). This is because they need far more material compared to general publishers, due to the way they work. Romance publishers publish a large number of titles every year, and each is short-lived. Each title is only on the stands for a few months, unlike conventional publishers who may reprint a successful book many times. So romance publishers need a large number of titles each year to keep the presses rolling.

Of course, just because the door is open does not mean that you will get through! You still have to write a well-crafted, professionally presented submission that meets the publisher’s needs. And Romance does have very specific needs.

You’ll notice that I’m using a capital R for romance. I’m doing this deliberately, because there is a big difference between Romance as a genre, and romance in general. It’s possible to write a romantic novel that isn’t a Romance. Romance is a particular style of book, written in a specific way. Nowadays, the genre is becoming less restrictive, but Romance publishers still basically want the following key elements:

- Heroine (h) meets Hero (H).

- It must be immediately obvious to the reader who the h and H are – for instance, you can’t have the h trying to choose between two men.

- Neither the h or the H can be in an existing relationship at the start of the story, although it’s OK for them to have had relationships in the recent past.

- Both protagonists must be introduced within the first chapter.

- The h and H are attracted to each other, but there are always obstacles that prevent them getting together. At least some of these obstacles must arise from the characters’ background, experience or personality (an inner conflict of some kind).

- There is always a Black Moment when all seems lost and it seems the couple will never get together.

- All is resolved and there is always a HEA (Happy Ever After). In older romances, this was always the couple getting married, but now they can just head off into the sunset hand in hand.

Different Romance publishers look for different styles, and large publishers like Harlequin have a number of different lines, each of which has a different style. Some require their heroines to be virginal, and not sleep with the hero till they are married. Others allow sex but only behind closed doors, while others encourage lots of steamy explicit scenes. But almost all of them follow the rules above.

OK, so you have a plot that fits the bill. Sorry, but that’s only the beginning! The style of writing is quite different to other genres. The quickest way to get the idea is to read some Romance, from as many publishers and lines as you can manage. Also get on some writers’ forums specifically for Romance. And good luck!

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