I was informed by a publisher in September that they accepted my memoir manuscript and wish to publish it. I haven't heard back from them since. I realize that the Autumn is a busy time for publishers, rushing to get current books out into the world for the Christmas market so I didn't bother them, but intend to write an email early in January asking when they wish to proceed with the book. I don't want to be pushy, but I want to know if at least they will assign me an editor so hopefully we can get started and it will get published in 2023. What kind of approach should I take in my letter? Questioning? Demanding? Firm? Begging? Whining? Matter of fact?
I'd go for all of the above. Make sure you got all the bases covered Honestly 3+ months seems like a long time. What was the nature of the correspondence? They said "@Hublocker, we love it, we'll give you a six-figure advance" and you were like "omg, great, send over the contract."?? I'm being tongue in cheek, but in your post it sounds like the last correspondence was from them to you with no other details on what you should expect for follow up.
This is what I got : "I haven't read every line but I have always thought there is a book there and I feel that even stronger now. We will publish it in due course, and when we start work there may be some trimming and clarification to do on it but I'm confident to say there's a book there we can do. Excellent, rare material on mid-century coast life." I responded with a grateul thank you saying I was looking forward to further correspondence.
This seems odd. They say they plan to publish it, but did not offer a contract? And they confirmed they haven't read the whole thing yet? There's nothing wrong with asking questions at this point. I'd ask about their processes. An outline of what is expected at each stage. I really don't understand the no contract part. If they're really interested, they should want to lock you in. What's to stop you from shopping it around elsewhere?
When you say 'a publisher', could you give us some sense of what kind of publisher? Smells a little like a possible scam to me.
No, not a scam at all. This is a very highly regarded regional publisher specializing in local history. They started out as indepenent and are now a subsidiary of a major national publisher though with considerable remaining autonomy. I have three close friends who have been published by the house who have not had a single negative thing to say about them other than that they are rather slow moving.
I wouldn't feel confident in working with a publisher that hasn't "read every line." That's a very strange thing to put in an acceptance letter. With no contract in place, I would continue to explore other options.
I got a notice today that they are going ahead with it this year. I'm to hear from the managing editor about details.
