Not sure what to do.

icenine said:

I've had a story on hold with a publisher now for two years. Signed the contract and everything yet the publisher still hasn't put the story out. Every time I ask about it, he says he'll let me know. The acceptance is over two years old. What should I do? What would you do? Ask for the story to be released, get the contract cancelled somehow, what? Sorry if this thread is in the wrong forum. Anyway thanks.

Click to expand...

Check your contract. There should be something that states when the project is supposed to be published. They could be in breach of the contract.

If there is nothing in the contract, send them a registered letter stating that you need to negotiate when the manuscript will be published and that "letting you know" is no longer acceptable.

Ditto what priceless said. I work in contracts (albeit in a very different forum), and I would absolutely recommend scanning through the contract. There's typically a section titled "termination" that lists the different conditions that allow for termination. Even if there's no mention of failure to publish within a certain time period there, there's likely a "publisher's responsibilities" sections that addresses their specific responsibilities. It sounds like it is certainly time to start wading through and learning what your specific rights are.

Good luck! I'd be going nuts if I were you...

At the very least, you should get a "kill fee" - that's money they pay you when a story or article is accepted, but never published.

Two years - I would have been nuts at the six-month milestone!

Good luck getting it resolved.

you dont specify if this is a novel or a short story. is there an agent involved. all these factors will change what you might want to do, but at the very least read your contract. go ahead. yes right now. we'll wait.

Just out of curiosity, what's the etiquette for putting a kill clause in a short story contract that lacks one? I'd like to avoid situations like the OPs, but don't want to offend editors either.

Nicole

As advised, check your contract. Unfortunately this is not as uncommon as one may think. I have a friend who had his novel sold via an agent. The publisher is Random House. My friend got a nice advance for the story. That was more than four years ago. Some new hot thing, along with budget concerns keeps pushing his book back. Since he "sold" the book and spent the $$$ he's told that he has no recourse. One day his book will appear or it may never see print. As they used to say back in the hip 60s Sic Friatur Crustum Dulce--That's How The Cookie Crumbles.
C

Yeah, if it's a novel it's almost guaranteed to have something about the time to be published in the contract. If you have an agent you should give him/her a call and have them tear the publishers a new one. I'm surprised they haven't already, provided you have one.