Length of time before a publisher to reponds to a proposal?

The publishing world grinds exceedingly slowly (unless they're requesting edits - then they want it yesterday). One week is a blink of an eye. And yes, especially with big pubs, decisions are often made by committee.

I'd give it another 10-14 days before following up with a short, polite email.

Congrats on the request. Hope it works out well for you.

Jeez -- I sent a book proposal at the request of a publisher, and ONE YEAR LATER they emailed to request a phone conference. That conference happened a couple weeks ago; they spent months discussing the idea in their editorial meetings and passing the proposal around.

They've proposed a couple changes to the format of the book, which I'm fine with. They also asked me to rewrite 2 sample chapters to be more "quirky and edgy" -- which actually turned out to be a blast to do!

So, who knows how long it'll take for your publisher to respond, but I'd definitely give it more than a week I'd give them space to decide for 6-8 weeks, and then email if you're really curious. (Me, I tend to send it out and forget about it. I'm not big on following up, which could be costing me. Maybe my potential publisher would've responded quicker if I'd been emailing ???).

Good luck - and enjoy the delicious anticipation and hope for the future......getting down to the actual work of writing isn't near as much fun as dreaming about writing a book..... ;-)

This is a crazy industry where everything most often takes an indeterminate amount of time. Add to that the fact that each agency, agent, publisher, and editor has their own set of highly subjective rules. The bottom line, as Laurie said, is you really don't know how long anything will take -- especially at your stage of the game.

The really good news is that they asked for a proposal. You must now give them breathing room. You don't want them to think you are a pain in the arse. If it were me, I would wait at least 4 weeks before making a brief, polite query status.

Best of luck.

As Laurie demonstrated, sometimes no news is good news. If they requested the proposal and if they like it, that means it will go to the editorial committee. That meeting may not take place for another month. And if the committee haven't all had time to review it, then it'll be postponed until the next meeting. Many publishers require a unanimous vote in committee to accept a proposal. But if it's a clear majority, then time is given for the proposing editor to lobby the dissenting voices, and possibly bring it up in the following meeting. The long and short of it is, you may not hear back for three months. Consider this to be encouraging news, in fact. Meanwhile, the best way to avoid getting all antsy about it is: start working on your next manuscript. And if you haven't heard back after 6 weeks, no editor will hold it against you if you send a follow-up enquiry.

I've received rejections via email and regular mail. Some I've never heard back from at all.

Move on to the next project, Devin....a watched pot never boils!

That is excellent, congratulations!

The first nonfiction book deal I got as a result of a somewhat half-assed email to a major publisher, and I got a phone call the next day. I almost fell out of my chair - I wasn't expecting that.

My current project, through an agent, moved along at a glacial pace. Let's see.....submit full proposal in early March. I had given up on it, they hate my work, oh well, then got an email from my agent in June - they like it, could I provide a TOC and sample chapter? Well most certainly I could. At no point did I get any confirmation that what I sent was received. Then nothing until mid-August - yes they like the idea and are sending a contract (for three books).

Which they did, with a timetable and flurry of requests for massive amounts of wordage in what seems to me a very short time. Whether this is typical or not, I don't know but I'm up to my ass in writing now to make the deadlines. Thank doG for Red Bull is all I can say.

It certainly wouldn't hurt to send a quick "hi it's me, Devin, did you get my proposal OK?" email in another week or two, IMHO.

I hope it works out for you, that's very exciting!

hi all. congrats devin. anticipation is soooo exciting. lotsa validation of your own thought processes in a publisher requesting proposal. you thought it was a good/great idea. it must have been to pique their interest. i'm kinda wondering the same as you. i'm on 1st non-fiction book proposal. strong agent submitted to 'about' ten houses. been right at 3 weeks. i'm in agreement, no news right away is good news. since marketing/publicity/editorial all have to be on board for itto be a 'go'. but first gotta have someone champion it. curious... just what exactly is the process? it's assigned to an editor... randomly? they like/dislike. dislike end of story or two opinions? might not want to duplicate the workload if not a hit' with first reader. any thought? thanks enjoy your days and my fingers are crossed for all writer. --blake

blake,

First of all, I assume we are talking about a book proposal, not a magazine article.

Following Devin's initial post and yours of today, you ask "just what is the process and will it be assigned to a editor?" Well, no, it won't and shouldn't be assigned to an editor since the writer initially sent his or her query to a specific editor, and same elicited a response for a proposal (as Devin with the senior editor who's involved). If an agent"s involved, s/he does the initial submission and all else which may be called for after that (although the writer has to create what's called for).

Devin's job at this point is to create a dynamite proposal, bearing in mind the wants, needs, and desire of the editor and the publishing house. The proposal is absolutely critical. It will decide whether or not the editor requests a reading of the manuscript. Assuming the editor likes the proposal and the manuscript, s/he may request some rewrites of each. If happy with the rewrites, and believing it's a book s/he would like the house to publish, the editor will prepare a presentation for the monthly editorial board meeting -- where a decision maker from each of the publishers departments will be present (i.e., editorial (including a major honcho), sales, marketing, publicity, subsidiary rights, production, art and creative). If after discussing and analyzing the work, it's a temporary "go," there may be additional revisions the writer has to make. When done, and if the editor is happy, and if the publisher decides to offer the writer a contract, negotiations begin. But the rewriting is usually far from over, as the manuscript works its way down the publishing line. That's really a short explanation of the process.

Scope--short and very concise explanation. many many thanks. what a wonderful site and invaluable resource populated by a freely giving community. thanks again. enjoy your day---blake

Requiring a signature on delivery can help with that problem. At least you know who got it, but they still need to deliver it to the editor.

Ack, I would be pretty pissed that they never sent it on to the editor! And it's hard to know that quickly since many editors take forever to response and you don't want to be too pushy.

I have one proposal that has been out for almost four months now. It wasn't specifically requested, but at least I do know they received it because they sent me a postcard after about 8 weeks saying they were considering it. I'm hoping that means it got beyond the slush pile and that no news is good news while they kick it around. We'll see.....