Getting the inside scoop on Romance HQ!

By now we know you’re familiar with the lovely editorial bods at Romance HQ, but I’m sure you’re wondering what our other departments get up to and how they could play a role in making your dreams of becoming a bestselling author come true.

We sat down for a quick cuppa and a chat with some of the lovely folk from our Sales Team, Marketing Team and Production Team, to give you a bit more of a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes here at Romance HQ:

Alison Lindsay is the Trade Marketing Manger and National Account Manager for WH Smith, working as part of our Sales Team. Here’s our quick Q&A with her:

What is your department’s role in getting a Mills & Boon book into a romance fan’s hands?

Persuading retailers to stock and promote Mills & Boon each month to ensure romance fans have no problem getting their hands on their favourite authors and discovering great new talent.

What inspired you to get into your job?

Publishing in general: a lifelong love affair with books and the desire to be involved in a business capable of providing pleasure and escapism to readers. Mills & Boon: happy memories of being a teenager and cycling to the local library once a week to stock up with 6 or 7 Mills & Boon titles to keep me going throughout the school holidays.

What do you like most about working at Romance HQ?

The genuine passion displayed by everyone involved in the business and the completely random discussions about virgins, vampires and Mediterranean billionaires that are always incredibly relevant, no matter what the meeting.

And, one cheeky final question. If you could be wooed by any romantic hero from literature, film or TV, who would you choose?

Daniel Day Lewis as Hawkeye in Last of the Mohicans. I don’t think I want to know what this says about me!

Emma Major is a Production Editor and here’s what she said in response to our questions:

What is your department’s role in getting a Mills & Boon book into a romance fan’s hands?

Production is the final stage of the publishing process, when everyone’s ideas and hopes become tangible, so as a department we carry a lot of responsibility.

We have to sift through lots of information and manage the bringing together of the various components of a book - doing quality-control work as we go.
This involves cross referencing everything we collate against our technical knowledge and flagging up any areas of concern in terms of design, schedule, and cost. We are also responsible for briefing out our practical requirements in the right language to our printers and artworkers, to make each title a reality.

What inspired you to get into your job?

I’d worked in Advertising for 4 years after University and wanted to put myself in an environment that was still creative, but more nurturing.

What do you like most about working at Romance HQ?

The relaxed culture and people.

And, one cheeky final question. If you could be wooed by any romantic hero from literature, film or TV, who would you choose?

Hank Moody from ‘Californication’

We also had a quick chat with Alice Herzog, Marketing Executive, member of our lovely New Voices team and social media guru at Romance HQ…

What is your department’s role in getting a Mills & Boon book into a romance fan’s hands?

Romance HQ’s marketing department is in charge of getting the covers designed and making sure the finished books look their best. We have an amazing design team that trawls the imagebanks for pictures of hot men to adorn our covers – it’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it! And then when the finished books are out, it’s our job to let the rest of the world know about our fab new books, authors and the Mills & Boon brand in general. It’s challenging but we love it!

What inspired you to get into your job?

I finished university not really knowing what I wanted to do in life. What I did know was that I was very passionate about two things: food and books. I didn’t fancy becoming a chef and working anti-social hours, so I decided books was the way to go. From there, I fell into marketing – I love how it lets me use my creative side!

What do you like most about working at Romance HQ?

Without a doubt, the people. Everyone is incredibly lovely – we’re like a big family! Oh, and I like that pretty much everyone here loves Glee too.

And, one cheeky final question. If you could be wooed by any romantic hero from literature, film or TV, who would you choose?

Hmm, it would be a toss-up between Hugh Jackman as Wolverine (well, Hugh Jackman as anything, he’s just divine). Or Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man. I like superheroes.

Well that was a good excuse for a cuppa tea! Best get back to work now…