Hallmark Publishing

Hey friends! We are closed to historical romance for now, but still looking for fun contemporary romance and cozy mystery (esp. of the series-with-an-amateur-female-sleuth variety.) Submission guidelines here! bit.ly/2n1gHwy #MSWL #writingtips

Q: What are you esp. looking for right now?
A: Contemporary romance about summer weddings, a romance with a royal prince, beach towns, autumn, or Christmas; cozy mystery/female amateur sleuth. Strong friend/family subplots a plus. #mswl

Q: Are you interested in series?
A: We'd love to see contemporary romance and cozy mystery/amateur female sleuth mysteries. In your synopsis, just give us a paragraph or two about books 2 and 3. #mswl

Q: I'm self-published, and my book has some steamy scenes in it. Can I submit a more wholesome version to you?
A: Sorry, no. For all previously published work, it needs to have met our taste guidelines in the original published form. #mswl

Q: What are some of the most common reasons you reject manuscripts? A: Word count is way too short; story is too serious (we're looking for fun, lighthearted stories); story is too sexy; MCs not likeable/nice enough. #mswl

Thread: answering a few FAQs about submissions! #mswl
Q: I published this novel with another publisher. Will you read it and see if you want to make it into a movie?
A: No, sorry. That's not our department. We're looking for books we can publish (which might become movies later.)

For #hallmarkpitch on Wed. Dec. 13, we're looking for complete manuscripts, either sweet romance (esp. contemporary) or cozy mystery, 65K - 85K or so. Can be Christmas or not-Christmas! Self-published is fine if it meets our taste guidelines in the present form. #MSWL #amwriting

We don't do paranormal romance per se, but a little magic is okay: a magical object (see #ChristmasInEvergreen this Sat.), time travel (person from past in the present day -- e.g. Journey Back to Christmas), a life-altering wish come true (e.g. A Wish For Christmas.) #MSWL

We're looking for SUPER sweet romance, just like in our movies.
sex scenes - no
almost-sex scenes - no
"closed door" sex - no
people thinking about how much they want to have sex - no
kisses, dancing, snowball fights, cookie baking, walks on the beach - yes :)
#MSWL

We accept unagented submissions of full manuscripts through Submittable: submit.hallmarkpublishing.com/submit/88979/s… We take pitches through agents -- DM Stacey Donovan (@Donovanesque) for more info on that. #MSWL

Hallmark Publishing & Tropes pt. 2
accidental pregnancy - obviously no
love triangle - okay
second chance romance - yes!
royalty - sure!
marriage of convenience - ehh, often implausible
return to hometown - yeah!
forbidden love - no; behave (office romance etc. ok)
#MSWL

Hallmark Publishing & Tropes pt. 1
friends to lovers - sure!
enemies to lovers - great!
secret baby - nope
tortured hero - nah; a little bummed is ok
"alpha hero" - if you mean jerk, then no
fish out of water - yeah!
opposites attract - yes!
fake relationship - okay
#MSWL

Things we avoid, even as backstory: rape, suicide, promiscuity, out-of-wedlock pregnancy, infidelity, drug addiction, abuse. #MSWL

A few things we'd love to see in contemporary romance:
a fun sense of humor;
Christmas, obviously;
summer weddings;
heroes who are genuinely good men;
series ideas about friends or siblings;
subplots about family members reconciling;
rescue dogs and/or cats.
#MSWL

Our #1 need is for light, sweet contemporary romance, 65K - 85K. Nothing too sad or dire. Fun and funny, yes. Snarky, not so much. #mswl

Protip for Hallmark romance: don't make the attraction about the characters' looks. Make it more about who they are as people. #mswl

We'd love to see diverse stories, written by diverse authors. #mswl #amwriting #romance #mystery

We love seasonal stories. Not just Christmas (though we can never have enough), but also spring, summer, & fall. #mswl #romance #mystery

When we say "sweet romance," we mean really sweet. :) #mswl #amwriting

We really like the female main character to be the center of the story. Begin and end with her. 😊#MSWL #writingtips #romance