Hatrack River Writers Workshop: Not subitting letter

This is topic Not subitting letter in forum Open Discussions About Writing at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
http://www.hatrack.com/ubb/writers/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=004212

Posted by JeanneT (Member # 5709) on :

Ok, this may be a weird question. It's a problem I never expected to have occur. I have an author friend I occasionally co-author with and we recently completed a novel together which we started shopping. (This is a different one that the one I mentioned on this forum recently that I finished "solo" and have at a publisher). Ok, so we sent out some query packets and prepare to wait a few months.

Then we get TWO publishers wanting to see the full ms.

So we are deciding which to send it to. Great problem to have. But WHAT the HECK do we say to the other one? I sure don't want to offend them or end up on a blacklist. I think it should be a carefuly worded "we won't be submitting" letter. I am -- baffled.

Anyone have a suggestion? Thanks.

Edit: And a related question--obviously, the publisher we send the ms. to will only be CONSIDERING it, so I certainly wouldn't mind keeping the second as a backup. But how long will a publisher wait before getting mad or writing you off, or whatever. I'm sure a publisher isn't standing by the door panting for a ms. to get there. But is there some rule or custom dictating how long you can keep a publisher waiting for one?

[This message has been edited by JeanneT (edited September 05, 2007).]

Posted by lehollis (Member # 2883) on :

JeanneT, did either of them request exclusivity? If not, I think you can send it to both. I'm not an expert on the publishing side, so others might have more information.

Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :

Editorial time is kind of like football time (you know how they signal something they call a "two-minute warning" which is supposed to tell you that there are two minutes left in the football game, but it really means that there is about half an hour left?).

Anyway, you don't have to send the manuscript to the second editor immediately after it is requested, but you want to send something before the editor forgets about having asked to see the complete manuscript.

I would say that deciding which editor to send it to right away might depend on which one you think will get back to you the soonest if he or she is going to reject it. Of course, there is also the "which one do I really want to sell it to more?" question.

You do have a little time (as much as two months perhaps) before you really should respond to the second editor, and you can just hope that you hear something from the editor you decide to send the manuscript to by then.

If you don't hear, though, you really need to let the second editor know that the book is already under consideration at another publisher and thank that editor for being interested.

Then if your first choice editor rejects the book, you can always write to see if the second choice editor is still interested (realizing that you may receive a "well if someone else doesn't want it, maybe I don't either" response).

There ought to be a publishing term for this kind of problem. "Embarrassment of riches" doesn't quite do it. "Embarrassment of solicitations," perhaps?

Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :

You can do as lehollis suggests, only if both publishers say in their guidelines that they will consider simultaneous submissions. If they both do, then you need to be certain that you tell each of the editors it is a simultaneous submission.

Posted by meg.stout (Member # 6193) on :

I say pick the one you want to respond to. Tell them they have (pick a time limit - say three months).

If you don't hear from them, send it to the second.

Or sit tight for a few more weeks and wait to see if you hear from the publisher you *really* wanted to publish with.

I doubt most publishers are sitting there waiting anxiously for the manuscript. No need (IMHO) to risk alienating them by telling them they aren't you first pick.

Posted by lehollis (Member # 2883) on :

Thank you for the clarification, Kathleen. I wasn't entirely sure about that, but you cleared it up.

Posted by JeanneT (Member # 5709) on :

Great! Thanks for the advice! "Football time"-- I like that Kathleen. Thanks again!

[This message has been edited by JeanneT (edited September 05, 2007).]

Posted by JamieFord (Member # 3112) on :

I agree with the above, but instead of 3 months, tell them 3 weeks. Seriously. They'll know in the first few chapters if they are interested. If they are, they'll read it fast. If not, they'll pass, but at least you don't have to wait 3 months, which could drift to 4-5 months--and the other publisher could have forgotten all about you.