• Guest please check The Index before starting a thread.

[Publisher] Month9Books

justbishop

Proud Literary Sadist
Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 15, 2012
Messages
1,529
Reaction score
104
Location
Northern NY
Website
www.ashleyheckman.com
General questions, only. Never use a Twitter or other social accounts to make a pitch. Month9Books does take unagented queries via Facebook message (check their guidelines) but that's a rare exception.

Of course not! I just meant if one had questions about subs not answered somewhere else ;)
 

whitegirlbkcvrs

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 12, 2013
Messages
130
Reaction score
8
I follow this publisher on Twitter. Within the last few weeks, I have seen twitter conversations between the publisher and agents. There seem to be questions related to the publisher's experience and the editors' backgrounds. I can't tell if this is a quarrel to ignore or if this is a start of a red-flag.


I think the starter of that discussion [the agent] was just sending out a general tip for unpubbed authors to be careful about credentials in general...
 

tbrosz

Got the hang of it, here
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 18, 2007
Messages
285
Reaction score
24
Queried my MG fantasy on Facebook back in July and got a request for the full. After four months, I got a form rejection today. I'm still impressed by them, and will be submitting something else soon.
 

AuburnAssassin

Darkly Romantic Curmudgeon
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 19, 2009
Messages
2,559
Reaction score
544
Location
Pacific NW USA
Website
clairegillian.wordpress.com
I queried 11/18 and got a full request on 11/19. They said 6-8 weeks for response to the materials request. I hope they stick closer to that timeframe than 4 months! I've got 2 others who have had the full since April/May timeframe. The waiting wears on me.
 

tbrosz

Got the hang of it, here
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 18, 2007
Messages
285
Reaction score
24
I queried 11/18 and got a full request on 11/19. They said 6-8 weeks for response to the materials request. I hope they stick closer to that timeframe than 4 months! I've got 2 others who have had the full since April/May timeframe. The waiting wears on me.

I've seen a couple of Month9books twitter messages that said 12 weeks, so patience is essential.

If someone's had your full since May, a polite e-mail nudge shouldn't be a problem. I nudged Month9books twice after the 12-week mark.
 

AuburnAssassin

Darkly Romantic Curmudgeon
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 19, 2009
Messages
2,559
Reaction score
544
Location
Pacific NW USA
Website
clairegillian.wordpress.com
Yeah, I've done one round of nudging (not talking about Month9 or Swoon), even got a "sorry it's taking so long, almost done" email. I'm approaching nudge #2 time frame now. Thankfully I have many, many projects in the works, unlike when i first started writing and had all my hopes and dreams focused with laser-like intensity on that one project. Best advice while waiting is to keep on writing, always just keep on writing the next and the next and the next book.
 

tbrosz

Got the hang of it, here
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 18, 2007
Messages
285
Reaction score
24
To the best of my knowledge, Month9Books is closed to MG until the end of January, and stopped accepting YA Nov. 1. Guess I'm holding off on the next submission for a while...
 

AuburnAssassin

Darkly Romantic Curmudgeon
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 19, 2009
Messages
2,559
Reaction score
544
Location
Pacific NW USA
Website
clairegillian.wordpress.com
I got an offer 11/25 from Swoon! Speed demons in my case!

I did nudge my oldest 2 full readers. One replied the next day with a rejection stating it had been stuck in her outbox since 9/26. Good reason to nudge. Wish I'd done it sooner. Now it's last call nudge for the rest.
 
Last edited:

tbrosz

Got the hang of it, here
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 18, 2007
Messages
285
Reaction score
24
I got an offer 11/25 from Swoon! Speed demons in my case!

Congratulations! One thing I've observed is that this publisher works its butt off for its authors. I think you'd be in good hands.
 

AuburnAssassin

Darkly Romantic Curmudgeon
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 19, 2009
Messages
2,559
Reaction score
544
Location
Pacific NW USA
Website
clairegillian.wordpress.com
Thank you! That's a big reason of why I subbed to them, plus Georgia's "what I'm looking for" on their site matched, I felt, my story really well, both in voice, plot and genre.

There is marketing language in the contract, which is wonderful and much appreciated, but especially so if their reputation indicates they stand behind it. :)
 

Undercover

I got it covered
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 1, 2010
Messages
10,432
Reaction score
2,054
Location
Not here, but there
Congrats Auburn!!! I have a friend with Month9 and she seems pretty happy with them (as far as I know.)
 

K.L Hallam

New kid, be gentle!
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 14, 2011
Messages
122
Reaction score
7
Location
New York City
Website
karenleehallamwrites.blogspot.com
Received a full request via Facebook and sent it Feb 4th 2014. . . now we wait.

They do seem pretty amazing and Georgia is so personable. I've had a chat or two with her via twitter. I'm intrigued by their specialty in Spec fiction-- 'cause I've got more. :)
Good luck everyone waiting on their full requests.
 

dawinsor

Dorothy A. Winsor
VPXI
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 21, 2005
Messages
2,108
Reaction score
635
Location
Amid the alien corn
I didn't either, Karen. I sent my ms on Feb 12. I only noticed it at your prompting. I suspect they just dropped the ball a bit.

ETA: I don't actually see a place where they say they'll send you a receipt notice.
 
Last edited:

missmaryb

ReadItWrite
Registered
Joined
Jan 10, 2014
Messages
23
Reaction score
0
Location
Florida
Subbed to the Swoon imprint on FB and received a full request about 5 minutes later. That kind of speed always makes it exciting :)
 

tbrosz

Got the hang of it, here
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 18, 2007
Messages
285
Reaction score
24
Got a form rejection today on a full submission. Almost a 4 week turn around.

Four weeks on a full submission to a publisher is actually amazingly good. Publishers who take unagented submissions (rare!) often have very long response times. Tor Books, for example, says "4 to 6 months." In the past I have seen some that said "up to a year."

Publishers who take unagented submissions have slush piles large enough to generate their own weather.
 

jkellerford

YA author with a flair for fantasy!
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 20, 2011
Messages
56
Reaction score
1
Location
Largo, FL
Website
jennykellerford.wordpress.com
Submitted query to M9B May 30,2014 via FB with less than 24 hours to go for unagented authors to submit. June 5 I got a request for a full. July 5 I received an offer. Whew! :) Now contract negotiations begin. I wish I knew more about this phase of the business and how to be pursuasive to get what I want. :) I feel like a lost lamb who needs to find a wolf companion.
 

authorMAF

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 16, 2014
Messages
495
Reaction score
53
Location
Canada
Website
authormaf.com
I had sent a query to them on July 22nd, and they've just emailed me back asking for the full manuscript!!! I'm not going to keep my hopes up though, but this is the first request for a full that I've gotten so I'm pretty happy about that!

Now I'm just going to go over it real quick again before sending it out!
 

J.B.Kantt

Debut Author
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 25, 2012
Messages
250
Reaction score
10
Website
jbkantt.blogspot.com
I had sent a query to them on July 22nd, and they've just emailed me back asking for the full manuscript!!! I'm not going to keep my hopes up though, but this is the first request for a full that I've gotten so I'm pretty happy about that!

Now I'm just going to go over it real quick again before sending it out!


That's awesome, stormowl7! Good luck!:)

I'm a bit confused though--I queried them on June 23rd (via Facebook), and they posted that they are closed to unagented submissions until October 1, 2014. Did you query with an agent (because then that would make sense)?
 

RoseColoredSkies

It's a long and winding road
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 22, 2009
Messages
766
Reaction score
53
Location
Brighton
Website
www.sarah-biglow.com
I sent a query via private message on Facebook on October 1. Haven't heard anything. If people have gotten rejections off initial queries, do they just not respond or do they actually send a "thanks but not for us" follow-up?

I've also not seen anything on the Facebook page about actually being open to unagented subs so maybe they decided to remain closed and are just ignoring my query?
 

JaneD

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 31, 2012
Messages
108
Reaction score
12
Website
janedougherty.wordpress.com
I didn't see anything about them being open to submissions—or closed for that matter—but I popped off a query anyway on the 7th. Didn't hear anything back either.