by Jenny Bullough, Manager, Digital Content
Ever read a book you loved so much you wanted to run out and buy 10 more just like it? Ever discover a new author and want to read everything she’s ever written? Ever pick up a book, get halfway through and find out it’s part of an ongoing miniseries and want to read all of them, in the right order, immediately?
These reading emergencies have happened to all of us on the digital team – which is why we launched our backlist ebook program! (For those who don’t know, “backlist” is a publishing term used to refer to anything published in the past; “frontlist” is the current year’s new books.)
Sure we’ve published a lot of ebooks since we started doing things digitally in 2005 (around 6,000 – not that we’re counting!) – but as we all know, Harlequin has been around for a lot longer than that (over 60 years – again, not that we’re counting!) and has published more books than anyone can count (and yes, we’ve tried counting)! We want to take that backlist and turn it into ebooks, so that readers can find whatever they need – whether it’s backlist from a beloved author, or a newly discovered series, or a complete miniseries.
That’s our backlist-into-ebook strategy in a nutshell. With potentially tens of thousands of books to turn into ebooks, it can be hard to know where to start! In 2010, we’re focusing on:
— Great series like Harlequin Presents with lots of older books not yet in digital formats
— Authors with lots of older titles
— Miniseries ahead of their time like Tales of the Sea from Silhouette Romance
Of course, our goal is to eventually have every Harlequin (or Silhouette, or MIRA, or HQN, or Steeple Hill…) book available in all ebook formats – but nothing is ever that easy! As with any big undertaking, there are major challenges – mostly to do with legal rights and digital files. For anything published pre-2000 it’s a challenge to find the digital files, if there are any, for the text and cover. Sometimes they’re in arcane formats and have to be converted to PDF before they can be converted into ebook formats. For anything published pre-1995, the electronic rights are not usually spelled out in the contract, and unless the right to publish electronically clearly belongs to Harlequin, we don’t publish it in ebooks.
We want you to know that if there’s a book you love or need that you haven’t found in ebooks, or an older book that you’ve suggested that hasn’t made it into the program, it’s probably because we’re still sorting out the rights situation, or trying to find the electronic files for the text or the cover in the archives of one of our 3 Editorial offices.
That said, there are a TON of books that we have the rights to and the files for and we just don’t know about them yet! We are always open to suggestions from readers, and we are always happy to hear from authors who want to see their books in digital! So if you have a recommendation for a book or series of books you’d like to see available in ebooks, let us know in the comments!
Check out the eHarlequin eBook store monthly for all new releases in both our frontlist and backlist. Now’s a great time to stop by—you can get 20% off all selected titles in our eBooks Backlist Bookshelf. And come back to the Harlequin Blog in June for an inside scoop on new backlist releases from Amy.
Tags: backlist ebook program, eBooks, tales of the sea miniseries
Tweets that mention Thousands of old series books to re-release. How do we choose them? Check out our Backlist eBook Program -- Topsy.com
May 10th, 2010 at 11:57 am
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Harlequin Books, Liz Fielding, Keishon, Olga Kwak, Preeti-RomanticSFBks and others. Preeti-RomanticSFBks said: Ha, link to the one book cover featured doesn't work. RT @avidbookreader: RT @HarlequinBooks: our Backlist eBk Program http://bit.ly/9TeNLF [...]
Madison Bondy
May 10th, 2010 at 12:51 pm
Would love to see all books by Paula Graves in ebook format. Starting with her first book FORBIDDEN TERRITORY. Super writer, engaging stories, suspenseful, humorous, adventurous.
A nonstop, can’t put it down until I’m done with it and then I’m ready for another.
Susan Mallery
May 10th, 2010 at 1:08 pm
This is a wonderful program! I love hearing from readers who have discovered one of my older books in ebook format. I get a lot of email from readers who are asking for all the books in my Hometown Heartbreakers series and in the Desert Rogue series. Are they all available in eformat? What’s the easiest way that readers can find them at ebooks.eharlequin.com?
Diane Ward
May 10th, 2010 at 1:14 pm
I am a rabid Robyn Donald fan and haven’t been able to find her early books (pre-2000’s) anywhere! I’d love to see her backlist available in e-format. Thanks for giving us this opportunity to provide feedback, I always appreciate the way you do this. Keep up the great work!
Leslie Walker
May 10th, 2010 at 2:03 pm
A few months ago, I read an except of a book on this site (I think). It was about a woman who had become pregnant and married a man she believed loved her sister. He had only married her because she was pregnant. They got divorced but she was still in love with him. I don’t know the title or author and I would love to read the book. Any ideas?
Carrie at In the Hammock Blog
May 10th, 2010 at 2:51 pm
The Tales of the Sea series looks great!
Jenny Bullough
May 10th, 2010 at 4:43 pm
Madison, I think the only Paula Graves title NOT available in ebooks right now is Forbidden Territory. We’ll add that to the program ASAP – thanks for the suggestion!
Susan, I’m pretty sure that all the books in those series are available in eformats; the easiest way for readers to find them is to do a search for your name at ebooks.eharlequin.com.
Diane, thanks for your suggestion! Keep in mind that anything pre-2000 can be a real challenge for us to locate electronic files and secure rights; but we’ll put them on our list!
Keep those comments and suggestions coming!!
Gayle Offerjost
May 10th, 2010 at 7:18 pm
Susan, all your Desert Rogues series titles are available in e-book format – that is how I got them again to re-read – yipee! A reader just needs to go to the e-book site (ebooks.eharlequin.com) and then type in your name in the search box – they will find all of your available e-books – there are LOTS of them! FYI, the second part of the address is eharlequin, not just harlequin…that makes a big difference!
Gayle Offerjost
May 10th, 2010 at 7:20 pm
Sorry, Jenny – I just saw that you already replied to Susan, but at least now she knows that another reader (me) purchased and loves her books…Gayle
Bronwyn Jameson
May 11th, 2010 at 7:55 am
I LOVE that backlist titles are being released…although I’m not having much luck finding them all on the website. Is there a page or link to all the backlist eBooks each month or do I need to search by author/title/series?
As for what I’d love in eBook: Barbara McCauley’s SECRETS! series in Desire.
Cheers
Bron
Bronwyn Jameson
May 11th, 2010 at 8:14 am
I think I just answered my own question. From the eHarlequin store site: “Search by author, title, series, or theme to discover the hundreds of titles in our eBooks backlist!” D’oh.
Susan Mallery
May 11th, 2010 at 8:40 am
Thank you, Jenny and Gayle! Gayle, I’m so glad you loved the books!
Eve
May 12th, 2010 at 1:57 am
Wooo!!I love this feature. I look forward to the newly released digital backlist titles every months.
Now for the requests.[Sorry it's long]
I love Anne McAllister and I see very few ebooks by her available online. I’d like to request her amazing Code of the West series[There are 16 books starting from 1995 published through SD, SSE and SIM],The McGillivrays of Pelican Cay[3 books Lessons from a Latin Lover was released last month, it's of 2003-04], New York series[Nathan's Child, Rhys's Redemption, The Inconvenient Bride all 2000, the other 3 books in the series are from 1997-99 Finn's Twins!, Fletcher's Baby and Gibson's Girl]and any other previously un-available title by her will also be welcome.
Montana Matchmakers series by Kristine Rolofson[A Wife for Owen Chase, A Bride for Calder Brown and A Man for Maggie Moore, all 2001] and Boots and Beauties series[Blame It on Cowboys, Blame it on Babies, Blame it on Texas, all 2000-01] also any other title by her would also be appreciated.
The Protectors by Beverly Barton[one of the best series ever, though this one might be difficult as some of the books are very old] or any of her old backlist titles.
I know a lot of great Sandra Marton series have been released but I wanna badly read her Landon Legacy series[4 books An Indecent Proposal,Guardian Groom, Hollywood Wedding, Spring Bride, all 1996]
The Bravo Family series by Christine Rimmer[an excellent series but sadly the books from 1998-2006 are not available digitally, 18 books
]
Fortune’s Children a long series[the first books starting from 1996 are not available digitally]
http://fictiondb.com/series/fortunes-children~13214.htm
A Year of Living Dangerously series all from 2000[have read many book from it but the Barton rocks]
http://fictiondb.com/series/a-year-of-loving-dangerously~12997.htm
Summer of Secrets series by Maureen Child[Expecting Lonergan's Baby, Strictly Lonergan's Business and Satisfying Lonergan's Honor, all 2006] and her awesome Bachelor Battallion series http://fictiondb.com/author/maureen-child~series~the-bachelor-battalion~8787.htm
Eve
Jeannie Watt
May 12th, 2010 at 3:20 pm
I would love to see all the Beverly Bird books in e-book form. I love her work and she was my inspiration while writing my first manuscripts.
I also wouldn’t mind seeing my first book, A Difficult Woman, out in e-book form.
Thanks so much!
Jeannie Watt
Links Galore!
May 13th, 2010 at 10:48 am
[...] Harlequin are looking for readers to suggest titles to include in their ebook backlist program. In other words, if you have fond memories of a Harlequin/Silhouette book you read years ago, email [...]
Amy Wilkins
May 13th, 2010 at 1:48 pm
Thanks for all the suggestions everyone, we’re adding them to our request list to investigate!
Eve, some of the ones you mentioned will be popping up soon!
The Summer of Secrets trilogy by Maureen Child will be out by July, as will “The Protectors” by Beverly Barton. A few of Christine Rimmer’s “Bravo” books (the post-2000 titles) will be out next month. A couple of the “Year of Loving Dangerously” books will be out this summer as well (the ones by Merline Lovelace and Kylie Brant), rest will follow at an undecided time as we chip away at the Intimate Moments line.
~Amy, Harlequin Digital
Eve
May 14th, 2010 at 2:21 am
Thank you, Amy. I will keep them in my budget and To be bought pile.
Carole
May 14th, 2010 at 3:39 pm
I’m thrilled to see this backlist announcement and hope that you go way, way back! I started reading Harlequin romances back in the early 70s, and had so many favorite authors . . . Jean S. MacLeod, Essie Summers, Catherine Airlie, Mary Burchell, Margaret Malcolm, Sara Seale, Jane Donnelly, Anne Weale, to name a few. These sweet, tender romances are classics in my opinion, and I would love to be able to read them on my Kindle. The only author I’ve seen so far is Betty Neels, and it has been wonderful to read some of hers again. I suspect that I’m not the only reader wishing for this, and hope you will make them available soon.
brooksse
May 15th, 2010 at 12:26 pm
The ebook I’m currently reading, “Goes Down Easy” by Alison Kent, is the last of four related books. I could only find one earlier title in ebook format. It would be great to have the other two available in ebook format:
Four Men & a Lady
Kiss & Makeup
Also, Marilyn Pappano has had a couple great series:
Heartbreak Canyon
Southern Knights
Thanks! It’s wonderful having earlier titles available as ebooks so readers can rediscover old favorites and gobble up backlist titles for new-to-us authors.
Jenny Bullough
May 18th, 2010 at 2:30 pm
Carole, thanks for your comment! It is our goal to (eventually) go way, way back — we’re challenged by the lack of digital files for these older titles, and the fact that the contracts back in the 70s did not include electronic rights (who could’ve predicted back then that this would end up being so important!). Someday, we’ll find a way!
Jenny Bullough
May 20th, 2010 at 12:08 pm
brooksse, thanks for these great suggestions! Kiss & Makeup should be available next month; we’ll add the other Alison Kent (and more) plus the Marilyn Pappano series to our lineup ASAP!
SarahT
May 26th, 2010 at 9:28 am
I’ve just discovered the joys of Helen Brenna’s Super Romances. I’ve bought all of her books which are available digitally and I’d love to get the opportunity to read her first two books, ‘Treasure’ and ‘Dad for Life’. I’d be thrilled if you’d consider adding them to your backlist ebook program.
Thanks!
Jenny Bullough
May 31st, 2010 at 4:00 pm
SarahT, thanks for the suggestion! We’ll add her to our list!
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June 8th, 2010 at 9:10 pm
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Kimberley
June 28th, 2010 at 3:21 am
I second Carole’s recommendation for Mary Burchell, particularly the Warrendar saga books!