I am interested in querying a major publishing house but on their website it states they don't accept "straight romance." I know they're not referring to sexual orientation so I'm wondering what they mean exactly. My manuscript is romantic comedy so I'm wondering if I should bother submitting it.
Are you sure they aren't refering to sexual orientation? That's what it sounds like to me. But otherwise, I guess it could mean conventional romance. They prefer it mixed with other genres, perhaps? If you're unsure, the best thing to do really is to ask them.
Below are some publishers that would be interested in your romance novel: Avalon Books http://www.avalonbooks.com/ Barbour Publishing http://www.barbourbooks.com/ Cerriowen Press http://www.cerridwenpress.com/index.asp Champagne Books http://www.champagnebooks.com/ Changeling Press http://www.changlingpress.com/ Dorchester Publications http://www.dorchesterpub.com/ eHarlequin http://www.eharlequin.com/cms/index.jhtml Hearts on Fire Books http://www.heartsonfirebooks.com/ ImaJinn Books http://www.imajinnbooks.com/ Medalion Press http://www.medallionpress.com/ Moonlit Romance http://www.moonlitromance.com/ Mundania Press http://www.mundania.com/ New Concepts Publications http://newconceptspublishing.com/ Rocky River Romance http://www.rockyriverromance.com/ Rogue Publications http://www.rogueromance.net/ Sihoutte Books http://www.barbaramcmahon.com/silbooks.htm Silver Lake Publications http://www.silverlakepublishing.com/ Tigress Press http://www.tigresspress.com/ Triskelion Publishing http://www.triskelionpublishing.com/ Venus Press http://www.venuspress.com/ Vintage Romance Publishing http://vrpublishing.com/index.php Vintage Romance Publishing http://www.vrpublishing.com/ Whisper Publishing http://scarletpublishing.com/whispers/ Wild Horses Press http://www.wildhorsepress.webs.com/ Wild Rose Press http://www.thewildrosepress.com/
In the list above, Harlequin does not publish 'romantic comedy'--they publish formula romantic novels, albeit under different categories like medical, western etc. I'm not sure about the others, or exactly what you mean by romantic comedy. Is the comedy foremost, or is it a light romance? Is it within the conventional 65,000 word limit? Best thing to do is read the type of books different publishing houses market, and study the guidelines on their websites. I would interpret 'straight romance' as meaning conventional romantic novels myself.
Thanks for the replies, especially the list of publishers. I've been trying to find an agent rather than approach publishers, but not having much luck there so I guess it's time to move on to publishers (12 rejections with only one requestto see more). I know people will think that if agents aren't interested then I should rework my query etc (or maybe accept that my manuscript is unpublishable) but from my experience so far publishers seem to be much more open-minded about what they'll look at than agents. At least that's what I keep telling myself!
you're right, since most agents won't bother with a one-shot romance... and there are many publishers who will look at unagented mss for that genre...
Yes, most romance that's currently popular is mixed in with other genres, i.e. books that are primarily thrillers/horror/chick lit/mystery/etc with romance subplots or romance elements. That's probably what the publisher is referring to, unless it's sexual orientation (which is probably less likely, otherwise they would have clarified it better, but you still should ask to clarify).
