Right of first refusal

I'm not sure which contest this was, but I'd check to see if they state how long the exclusive is for on their rules page. In my contract, the right of refusal is 60 days, FYI. So, you're probably good to nudge at least. I wouldn't call, though.

Are you allowed to look for an agent in the meantime? Or are you waiting to see if they make an offer and then take the offer to an agent?

Since they basically have your work tied up, I'd definitely email and ask.

Sending lots of good luck your way!

(Fwiw, in my contract, the right of refusal is 30 days).

In my contrac the right of first refusal is only on works that would be sequels or pre-quels of the novel under contract, also it is clearly stated that they get 60 days if not then I can do with it as I please.

A contest? I have no idea, if they don't specify, and it's been 90 days, I'd just say go ahead and e-mail them. Just be super polite. I don't think you can do much more then that.

Oops! I lied. The right of refusal IS only 30 days. So, yeah, I still think you're well within your right to nudge. Also, good luck! I hope it all works out!

Almost everyone I've ever submitted to has exercised the right of first refusal immediately. The few who didn't soon exercised the right of second refusal.

caw

You could contact the organisers of the competition, perhaps, and ask them to nudge the editor concerned.

Have you researched the publisher? Are you sure that it's one you'd love love love to be published by? If not, then it would be worth your time doing that now, I think.

Filigree said:

I would love to have my work offered by this publisher, but not without a strong agent beside me.

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If publication is part of the prize for this contest you might not have the right to negotiate the contract.

While venerable and famous, this publisher has a history of spitting out and sidelining authors who drift away from their editorially-approved climate.

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Do you mean that this publisher has a history of refusing to work with writers who refuse to have their work edited? Because I see nothing wrong with publishers editing, so long as it's done thoughtfully; and I see a lot wrong with writers refusing to allow their work to be spruced up.

Filigree said:

The issue with this publisher is not writers refusing to be edited -- that's part of publishing in general, and the reason why one wants a great editor.

No, what happens is that writers want to try something new and different, and the editors want to see more of the same tropes, and so the writer sinks into the midlist or simply doesn't get another contract. It's happened over the last two decades to at least five writers, one of them a World Fantasy Award winner.

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Ah, I get it now. Thank you for the clarification.

(And yes, having worked as an editor I do kind of understand why a writer would want a good one. Ha!)

I'm still not sure that what you describe is a reason to be wary of this publisher. Publishers, imprints and editors work in very specific genres: they have expertise in those genres, but not so much in others. And that's at the centre of this issue.

I don't read much SF/F but every time I read a SF book it seems ground-breaking and wonderful to me. A more hard-line SF reader might read that same book and think that it's derivative and predictable: but I wouldn't know, because I don't have expertise in that area. Do you see where I'm going with this?

If a writer decides to move to a different genre then their publisher often has no choice but to stop publishing them, because the books wouldn't fit with their existing, established imprint and so the editors wouldn't have the appropriate expertise to work with them. Yes, editors often do want to see "more of the same tropes": but that's usually to do with the realities of genre publishing, and not because editors want predictable, safe books.