If I know someone, who knows someone...

bikerchick · May 29, 2007

I just happen to know a writer, who is an acquaintance of an influential person in a big publishing house. If my writer friend endorses my ms, do you think the publishing house might look at it, even though they do not accept unsolicited mss?

The reason I ask is this, which I found here on AW:

-Recommendation or personal meeting. An author may recommend you to his/her editor, or you might meet the editor at a conference or workshop. This puts you into the "solicited" category.

MelodyO · May 29, 2007

bikerchick said:
I just happen to know a writer, who is an acquaintance of an influential person in a big publishing house. If my writer friend endorses my ms, do you think the publishing house might look at it, even though they do not accept unsolicited mss?

The reason I ask is this, which I found here on AW:

-Recommendation or personal meeting. An author may recommend you to his/her editor, or you might meet the editor at a conference or workshop. This puts you into the "solicited" category.

I'm not sure, but maybe you could mention it in your query letter rather than sending an unsolicited mss? You'd think the endorsement would have enough ooomph that they'd ask for pages quite readily.

But definitely mention it - that's gold in these here parts!

bikerchick · May 29, 2007

Bear with me, as I try to figure out how to word my next question.

If I ask him for the contact info of the person in the pub house...could I possibly get a meeting with him/her?
Would this work or would he/she find it offensive?
It would really suck if I messed this up!

Storyteller5 · May 29, 2007

I would talk to your writer friend first and give them a chance to speak with the editor before you send anything.

Robin Bayne · May 29, 2007

Storyteller5 said:
I would talk to your writer friend first and give them a chance to speak with the editor before you send anything.

Agreed.

First, how good of a friend is this writer? I've learned that whenever you ask for a favor from a pubbed writer, you risk bothering them.

They would first need to read your work and only endorse it if they truly do like it.

I would *not* ask for a live meeting, but send a query using your friend's name IF she agrees and has read and liked your proposal. You have to remember that if your friend endorses you and her editor (who is only an acquaintance) does not like it, there's risk to the relationship between those two.

Also, have you done your homework on this? Is friend's acquaintance in the business of actually acquiring the type of book you write?

Let me think more on this.

bikerchick · May 29, 2007

My book is a Christian themed, children's pic book.
The publishing house in question has published a few of the same type. Imprints of this pub house also publish some of the same.

Do publishing houses share mss with their imprints?
i.e. The imprint holding pub cannot use a ms, but they know one of their imprints do.

I hope I am making sense. I really have no idea how this all works, so forgive me of my ignorance.

Once again I would like to say thanks. You guys are great! :Hug2:

bikerchick · May 29, 2007

Oh, by the way, I e-mailed my friend about helping me out. I am waiting for a reply.

dantem42 · May 29, 2007

bikerchick said:
I just happen to know a writer, who is an acquaintance of an influential person in a big publishing house. If my writer friend endorses my ms, do you think the publishing house might look at it, even though they do not accept unsolicited mss?

If it's a really good friend, perhaps an approach to consider is actually to have the writer him/herself forward your ms with a cover letter, rather than you do it yourself. It also depends upon what you mean by "acquaintance." If the connection is very strong, then it could work wonders for you. But if "acquaintance" means just a ten-minute chat one time at a lit party, it could be meaningless.

SpookyWriter · May 29, 2007

bikerchick said:
Oh, by the way, I e-mailed my friend about helping me out. I am waiting for a reply.

Let us know the outcome. If you never hear back from your friend then I guess the answer is "NO!". Of course, he/she could be receptive to your request.

Good luck!

Lauri B · May 30, 2007

Hi bikerchick--sorry I didn't respond sooner, but I was out of town. It really puts your friend on the spot to ask a favor like that, and honestly I wouldn't recommend doing it. That said, it looks like you already have. Best of luck to you with it!

bikerchick · May 30, 2007

Nomad said:
...puts your friend on the spot to ask a favor like that, and honestly I wouldn't recommend doing it. That said, it looks like you already have.

No worries Nomad. All I asked for so far, was the persons name and contact info. Thanks for the heads up.

Robin Bayne · May 30, 2007

bikerchick said:
My book is a Christian themed, children's pic book.
The publishing house in question has published a few of the same type. Imprints of this pub house also publish some of the same.

Do publishing houses share mss with their imprints?
!

I can only talk about romance houses, but I do know if a ms. isn't right for one of their lines, and the editor thinks it will suit another line, she might forward it to that editor.

If it's an affiliated publisher--they probably would not do that for you.

bikerchick · May 30, 2007

Thanks Inspiewriter, for another valuable response!

Jamesaritchie · May 31, 2007

Writer

bikerchick said:
I just happen to know a writer, who is an acquaintance of an influential person in a big publishing house. If my writer friend endorses my ms, do you think the publishing house might look at it, even though they do not accept unsolicited mss?

The reason I ask is this, which I found here on AW:

-Recommendation or personal meeting. An author may recommend you to his/her editor, or you might meet the editor at a conference or workshop. This puts you into the "solicited" category.

Such a recommendation can certainly get you read by a very high placed editor. But protocol usually means you let the writer suggest it to you, rather than you suggesting it to the writer.

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