Hello All, I'd like to know about the average period of time usually taken by a busy respectable publisher to evaluate an author's work. In other words, how long should I wait before I give up hope? If my work is accepted, I know they will respond, but what if it is not? Will they take the time to tell me that or they will just keep me waiting for ever? I appreciate any response. Thanks in advance. Have a great day, all.
I am going to assume that the publisher you sent to accepts unsolicited manuscripts. If that is the case, I would think you would at least get a form rejection if they are not interested. From what I have read on agent/publisher blogs, it could take up to six months, but 2-3 is more likely. If you did send to a publisher that only accepts manuscripts from agents, then it is doubtful you will hear back, as it probably will not get read.
It could take several months. However, since it's a "respectable" publisher, chances are that your manuscript will go unread unless you are being represented by an agent. As for responding to you, they may or may not do it. They get so many submissions that it's hard to respond to each person individually, especially if that person's manuscript comes in as an unsolicited submission. While you wait to hear back, start writing something else.
good rule of thumb is to wait at least one month past their stated response time, before following up with a 'did you get it?' note/call... and you should know that some publishers can take up to a year to get to your query or submission... i hope you realize you must query first and send in your ms or sample chapters only if/when requested...
SandraLSC, Thirdwind, Some Call Me Tim & Mammamaia, thank you very much for your informative posts; really appreciated. Mammamaia, you said,[/FONT][/COLOR]“i hope you realize you must query first and send in your ms or sample chapters only if/when requested...” Actually, this is definitely what I did and they asked me to wait for a “little while” so they can evaluate the material. I expected this “little while” to be just a few weeks. After about 3 weeks, I sent them a reminder note, they responded after a while telling me that they were not done yet and that they might get back to me within about 10 days. It has been more than a month since then with no feedback from them. I am not sure about what I should do next. Should I just leave it at that or what? Why would the evaluation process take all that long? I am worried sick about this matter. Waiting is killing me. Mammamaia, I owe you special thanks. You’ve helped me before and you’re trying to help me now. I have to admit that I haven’t expected this, so I am so happy and grateful to see your name in my thread again. Thank you so much. Thirdwind, you said,[/COLOR]“While you wait to hear back, start writing something else.” I can’t do this because actually I am not a writer; I am just a teacher who is suggesting an educational material to help a certain type of students; that is all. In other words, you can say that I am just an accidental writer.
Sounds like you are in the non-fiction side of things, which I don't know much about, sorry. For fiction publishers, I'd give them anywhere from 2-6 months on a query, 3-12 months on a requested full. Publishing isn't a quick business
Izanobu, thank you very much for your post. Yes, I am interested in scientific educational writing. I now know that I need to try to forget about this for a few months. I am not sure, though, if I should be the one to take the initiative to approach them or just wait. I hate waiting!!!!
sorry to say, it's really a waiting game... but don't rely solely on one publisher... you're free to query others and if the first one didn't specify they want exclusive submissions, you can submit to others who don't insist on exclusives, to maximize your chances of finding a taker... and i'm happy to be able to help you again, too, molly!... if you want, i'll be glad to look over your query and material... drop me a line if you're so inclined... love and hugs, m
Excellent idea! Except for one thing: My material is based on their texts so it will not be accepted or even considered by any other publisher. Mammamaia, thank you so much for your kind and generous offer(as ever); but I think the best I can do now is to try –at least temporarily- to forget about this matter and keep quiet, waiting in silence for their positive or negative response. Your care is so much appreciated. Thank you
