I have picture book manuscript which is finished. Well, except for any tweaking I feel is necessary! but... yay I finished something! lol I know publishers frown on sending out the same manuscript to multiple publishers but I have four in mind for this manuscript which means if the last one accepts (crosses fingers) and I wait 4-6 months between submissions it could be almost two years before I hear anything. And then I have to start the editing process etc. I'm just not feeling that patient. How taboo is it to submit to more than one at a time? I've only been published in magazines and newspapers and never a book. I think chances are slim that I will be published and I guess I'd just prefer to up to odds up front!
Submit to them all. It isn't like a magazine where you can't really entertain multiple offers since rates are fixed. With book publishing if you get an offer at one house and have other editors interested in your work, you can sometimes get the other editors to make a counter-offer (which is how auction and bid situations happen). No reason not to submit to multiple publishers at once. Just make sure you keep track of who has the book so that in the event of an offer you can politely notify the others (and possibly see if they are interested in a counter, but at the least it is professional of you to let them know the book is off the market and keeps your relationship with the editor open and friendly).
it's only taboo if the publisher's submission guidelines specifically state that they do not accept simultaneous submissions... if you lie about it even by omission, it can come back to bite you in the nether parts...
