With more demands on reader’s time and attention, publishers are striving to reach readers through services such as DailyLit, which allows readers to read books through e-mail and RSS installments—even on a device like the Blackberry. Publishers have also joined with LibreDigtial (an Internet digital warehouse) to digitize printed books into electronic book format. These e-books can then be read on any number of devices, like a PalmPilot or dedicated reading device such as the Sony eReader or Amazon.com’s Kindle. However, the top publishers currently draw 1 percent or less of their net revenue from e-book sales, so they continue to experiment with other ways to reach readers.

One such experiment is Dorchester’s SHOMI line, which launched in 2007 and combines different elements—romance, suspense, and science fiction and fantasy–into one story. Harlequin ventured into the e-book market and created new, online only lines like Nocturne Bites and Spice Briefs.

These methods must have paid off for some publishers as over 18 romance imprints hit the best-seller lists in 2007. In order of rank, these imprints include: Penguin, Random House, Grand Central, Pocket, Simon & Schuster, Putnam, St. Martin’s, Berkley, Warner, Ballantine, Signet, Mira, Jove, Morrow, Dell, Avon, Silhouette, and Tyndale.

The top five romance book publishers (as per Simba Information estimates) in 2007 were the same as 2006:

1.    Harlequin
2.    Random House
3.    Penguin Group
4.    HarperCollins
5.    Kensington

While publishers seek new markets for romance books, authors are doing the same.