Any light on email subs - how long to wait?

[bylinebree]

I have a partial with a NY editor as a result of a writer's conference. going on six months now. I've emailed once to request any sort of reply as to the status (about a month ago). Nada. Zip.

Another writer told me "in her experience" that they only respond if they want a full ms. Otherwise, you'll probably never hear back.

This is a major PH (pub house) and it's hard to believe they'd take business so lightly, even rejections. Any light to shed in my wasteland of darkness here? This is my "first time." Don't have an agent yet, I haven't sought one.

Should I just assume it's been rejected and move on? Should I keep revising this ms (I know, the revisions should have been done first, but live & learn!) :Shrug:

[Nakhlasmoke]

If they've not responded to your follow-up email, then my gut-reaction would be to assume rejection and move on. Whatever you do, don't pull it with a snotty email (I'm not saying that you would, but just in case), agents will remember things like that.

Did they say anything about response times in their submission guidelines?

[ChaosTitan]

I've only sent agent queries through email, and it's been my experience that they won't reply if they aren't interested. I have no advice on editors with partial manuscripts.

Double check the editor's email. Make sure it hasn't changed recently, or that the editor hasn't changed houses.

Should I keep revising this ms (I know, the revisions should have been done first, but live & learn!) :Shrug:

:Huh:

You submitted before you revised? Oh dear. Put away those virtual envelopes and get out that red pen! Stat!

[Carmy]

Start querying agents and other publishers.

[bylinebree]

Double check the editor's email. Make sure it hasn't changed recently, or that the editor hasn't changed houses.

:Huh:

You submitted before you revised? Oh dear. Put away those virtual envelopes and get out that red pen! Stat!

Yow, good advice on checking to see if she's still with that house.

Yes...I KNOW. But I had it partly (the first half) revised and wanted to pitch it, and she wanted to see a partial. So I sent it as she requested, I was extremely thrilled to be asked. I figured I could work like a demon on the final chapters, if it was all asked for.

But thanks for the advice.

[bylinebree]

Did they say anything about response times in their submission guidelines?

I was so excited and forgot to ask her - it was an in-person pitch appointment and I was doing to well to pick my mouth up off the floor and copy down what material she wanted.

Next time, good idea to ask that little detail.

[Cathy C]

Six months is VERY common. In fact, so is a year--even on requested submissions. But unless the editor requested an exclusive read, there's no reason not to continue to approach both agents and other publishers. No harm, no foul (unless, as I say, you granted an exclusive.) Again, it's common to keep submitting.

But I don't know ANY publishing houses that reject without a response, unless you didn't send an SASE. I don't think it would be unreasonable to drop the editor an email and simply ask if s/he received it. You might only reach an editorial assistant, but then at least you know whether you're in the queue to be looked at.

Good luck!

[bylinebree]

What a coincidence Cathy, I was just reading your thread on Romantic Genres/Subgenres!

Thanks. It was an email sub, thus no SASE. They don't ask for "exclusive partials" though, do they?

[Cathy C]

Hope you enjoy the read! :)

No exclusives on partials that I'm aware of. But ESPECIALLY in the case of an email sub, you should check in. An awful lot of things accidentally wind up in either the spam filter or are dumped directly in the slush folder by accident.

Even our OWN stuff has wound up in our editor's spam filter and she's expecting our submissions.

[Julie Worth]

I've noticed that over the past year, many agents have stopped sending out passes on emailed queries, though I haven't seen this for partials (very few want them that way). It's also true that agents will request your material from a pitch just to be nice.

[bylinebree]

I've noticed that over the past year, many agents have stopped sending out passes on emailed queries, though I haven't seen this for partials (very few want them that way). It's also true that agents will request your material from a pitch just to be nice.

What about editors? Do you think (or know) if some of them are required to go looking for new authors and get x-number of submissions, or something, from a conference? Do they take turns doing conferences and have quotas to fill?

At first I thought the same thing: "She was just being nice to me." Then I talked to others who had pitched to her, and they had gotten polite 'no thank you's' from her.

I know I sound like a newbie (and I am). Doesn't take much for me to get all 'cited.

[Cathy C]

Editors DO go to conferences to troll for new authors that they might be able to make money from. They DON'T intentionally give themselves more work "to be nice." :)

[Julie Worth]

I think it varies widely. Some agents say they can't tell much from a pitch, so they request the partial*, while one agent--who couldn't say no in person--supposedly told his assistant to hold the conference partials for a few weeks in a separate pile, then to send them out with a rejection.

As for editors, I don't know what their objectives are, but if you have a choice at a conference, Miss Snark (http://misssnark.blogspot.com/2006/02/pitching-editor-or-agent-at-conference.html) advises pitching the agents instead.

*Here's what Jenny Bent said on this forum: I always ask for material that is pitched to me at a conference. My feeling is that it's almost impossible to tell if material is good or not from a pitch. Sometimes someone has a great pitch and a not so good manuscript, and sometimes vice versa. So it's just worth it to ask to see everything. With a query letter, it's a lot easier to judge quality of writing, pitch, plotting, etc., so you actually have less of a chance that I'll ask to see your material based on a query letter.

I've noticed the same thing in workshops--that the best speakers are often the worst writers.

[johnzakour]

I've waited over a year once on a similar situation and it turned out to be worth it. Editors at big houses are pretty overworked.

Of course while you wait, feel free to shop it around. You should also be working on other projects.

[Nickie]

I'm only heading a small publishing house, but I take personal care of keeping in touch with those authors who send in queries and submissions. Depending on the time of year (busy or less busy) I tend to answer to a partial within the month or at the latest within two months. For reading a full we need somewhat longer, but we then tell the author when to expect an answer. I think this is only a matter of politeness.


Nickie

[bylinebree]

I've noticed the same thing in workshops--that the best speakers are often the worst writers.



So have I. Rare to see both hand-in-hand.

[bylinebree]

Well, that was vague of me!
What I meant was, it's rare to see great writing AND a great speaker in the same package.
Guess I've heard more authors who are poor speakers/presenters than vice-versa. Personally, I'd rather sing or Sign something than do public speaking!

[bylinebree]

I'm only heading a small publishing house, but I take personal care of keeping in touch with those authors who send in queries and submissions. Depending on the time of year (busy or less busy) I tend to answer to a partial within the month or at the latest within two months. For reading a full we need somewhat longer, but we then tell the author when to expect an answer. I think this is only a matter of politeness.


Nickie

Wow, you answer quickly! That quality and your politeness are what the world -publishing and otherwise - needs more of. Kudos to you for your ethics!