Hatrack River Writers Workshop: Aren't they meant to decide this for me????

This is topic Aren't they meant to decide this for me???? in forum Open Discussions About Writing at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.

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Posted by RFLong (Member # 1923) on :

Guys,

in the last couple of hours as I have been in contact with a publisher here in Ireland. Before anyone gets excited (myself especially), this is on a very early basis, but they have given me the option to send in either the entire ms or sample chapters.

What would you all recommend? At the moment I am leaning towards the first 3 or 4 chapters. Whatever I send I will include synopsis and cover letter. But...

This question is also on the Fragments and Feedback board as well (hope that's ok with everyone) as I had posted the start of the novel there for crits.

This is a fantasy novel of 80k words. Market is adult, but could be tweaked for YA if that was the way a publisher wanted to take it - I'd have a little editing to do if that was the case.

I'll hasten to add that this may well come to nothing as publishers over here don't seem to be terribly interested in Fantasy (preferring instead my person pet-hate "chick-lit") but they said they are looking for anything saleable. Usually you go to the UK. This is a reasonably new Irish division of a UK house so fingers crossed.

I'll stop whittering on now - its the blind panic!

Any thoughts?

Posted by Kolona (Member # 1438) on :

I'd go with the whole manuscript. And good luck!

Posted by J. Alfred Prufrock (Member # 2114) on :

Aye, I'd go with the whole thing as well. If you're planning on sending them the first few chapters, you might as well just include the rest. That way, if they want to read more, it's right there in front of 'em.

Posted by shadowynd (Member # 2077) on :

Make that three votes for the full manuscript.

And congratulations ARE in order. Anytime one makes it a rung further up on the ladder towards being published, that one should be commended!

Congrats and good luck!

Susan

Posted by Christine (Member # 1646) on :

As long as you think the entire manuscript is ready, I'd send it along. If you send them 3-4 chapters, it takes actual effort for them to like them well enough to ask for the entire thing. It's easier just to reject the thing and not ask for it. But if chapter 4...5....6....7....are waiting for them, it may be just as easy for them to finish the novel.

Posted by MaryRobinette (Member # 1680) on :

I agree with everyone else. Whole manuscript. Christine especially, in that if there's some reason you think it's not ready, then only send the first three. But you must think it's ready or you wouldn't have been sending queries out.

Best of luck! That's very exciting.

Posted by RFLong (Member # 1923) on :

Hi

I thought the manuscript was ready to send out (and still do in principle) but you can guess what I'm going to be doing all weekend. Now where did I put that fine toothcomb?

It wasnt so much a specific query. I mailed them to ask for submission guidelines becuase I couldnt find any on the website - the guidelines I got back were, in effect, "yeah, send it in". I'm thoroughly bemused.

I sent two queries out to UK agents for this novel and got a standard Thanks-but-no-thanks response and the perplexing "This didn't click for me".

Exciting, terrifying, panic-making...

Can you imagine how difficult it is to concentrate on documenting code at the moment? I can't even type properly. Talk about fat-fingers!