BBC4 last night showed a prog about literary author Stella Duffy taking on the challenge of writing a Mills and Boon book. (They call them books, not novels.) People who have access to the BBC i-player will be able to watch it online.
Stella found it difficult because Mills and Boon stories are upbeat and there are certain formulaic aspects authors are expected to adhere to: the protagonists are both to be exceptional physical specimens, the male is to be an alpha male with a certain arrogance (but not violent), and they're supposed to meet in Chapter 1.
Stella hawked her attempts to various cognoscenti and received lots of useful advice that, as an already successful novelist, she probably should have known.
Her eventual submission was semi-successful. Although not M&B's usual fare, they didn't turn her down based on her three chapter plus synopsis submission. I understand that she didn't go on to complete the story.
M&B said they get 2000-3000 unsolicited submissions per year, of which they accept about 20. Compared with unsolicited submissions to agents, of which about 1 in 1000 get anywhere, M&B seem to be relatively generous.
Stella said she preferred to write about realistic sex, rather than M&B's fantasy sex, including details like flab and bellies.
AJ