Heads Up: Harper Voyager calls for unagented submissions

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sarahdalton

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I'm not sure if the agent sent it or just negotiated the contract. She could have sent it in herself, but sought advice after receiving an offer. Unless you have more info.
 

Michael Drakich

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amergina

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I think that was only our argument here as to whether to get an agent if selected. When you read the agent's comments (Item 6) you have every sense she submitted it. - http://operationawesome6.blogspot.ca/2013/01/january-mystery-agent-revealed.html

I still read that as she negotiated the contract, not that she submitted it.

There are plenty of times when authors submit to publishers, get an offer, and then get an agent, and the agent sells the book (i.e., negotiates the contract) to the publisher.
 

Michael Drakich

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I still read that as she negotiated the contract, not that she submitted it.

There are plenty of times when authors submit to publishers, get an offer, and then get an agent, and the agent sells the book (i.e., negotiates the contract) to the publisher.

Because the terminology is not exact, one can not be positive, but using the words "I sold to Harper Voyager" has me thinking otherwise.
 

Lauren82

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So the person they picked already has an agent? That worries me :(
 

CatherineS

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I agree with amergina.....I suspect agents use the word "sold" as a blanket term meaning negotiated.....it bumps their stats, right? There is certainly nothing whatsoever to suggest that the agent submitted this manuscript, nor do I think she would/could have done so. Why would she suggest someone apply to a great worldwide slushpile when she could take on the author and approach HV one on one with far more cachet?

There is nothing to be found on google about this author, is there? Clearly a nom de plume.
 

amergina

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Because the terminology is not exact, one can not be positive, but using the words "I sold to Harper Voyager" has me thinking otherwise.

My point is that the phrase (Sold a book) is used by agents whenever they close a deal, regardless of whether the deal was originally offered because of a author submission or an agent submission.

Sell doesn't always mean they submitted it.

I mean technically, they don't sell a book to a publisher anyway. They negotiate publishing rights.
 

amergina

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Don't let it worry you. Many of us who have agents subbed to HV, after divulging it, of course. They're looking for great story--not great rep.

tri

That's a good point. There's nothing stopping authors with agent from submitting to a publisher on their own (as long as they work that out with their agent).

There's also nothing stopping authors who submitted from querying and potentially getting an agent while they wait to hear back from HV.
 

Michael Drakich

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This is a sample of the current status of the literary agency world. It's in chaos. Agents are submitting to everyone and everything nowadays, even when there is no advances to be paid. My former publisher did not pay advances and she was constantly bombarded by agents pushing clients for submissions. And she was a small publisher! Agencies have been laying off staff, merging firms and doing whatever they can to stay afloat. The big publishers are letting mid-grade authors go creating a glut of established authors without contracts let alone newbies. In my own mind, I have no doubt this agent made the submission.

Think about her post and her statement on having sold the book to HV. When it comes to bragging rights, you want to put your best work up front. Showing up after the fact to negotiate a sure deal is not something to crow about compared to making the sale, wouldn't you agree? It's a free world. Everyone is entitled to their own interpretation. If I'm wrong, then the competition is a level playing field. But if I'm right, and I suspect I am, they field just tilted a little.
 

thothguard51

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A few things to ponder...

If the writer had an agent before she submitted, why didn't the agent already submit to HV? Surely he had faith in the manuscript to take her on.

I still tend to believe the writer submitted on her own, then got the agent after HV contacted her.

There is also the fact the open submission process was for unagented submissions and HV has counted her in that group.

Just because an agent closed the deal, does not mean he/she initiated the contact...
 

amergina

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The field is always tilted. By more than just agents.

But hey, if I were an agent, and I negotiated a three-book hardback print deal out of an author submission to a digital-only line, I'd crow.
 

CatherineS

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Still with amergina on this! Crow baby crow! "I didn't have to do any hard work beforehand but I got approached to draw up the contract and so got my name attached to a promising project."

I suspect the author's situation was this, as is mine: she had queries outstanding with agents going into the submission. She got the call from HV and started contacting those agents until she found one that belatedly opened her query and realized she was sitting on a goldmine. Simple as pie.
 

amergina

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Regardless, kudos to the author. She must have written one hell of a story to get picked up so quickly and in hardback.

So more power to her! :)
 

Specialfae

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I still tend to believe the writer submitted on her own, then got the agent after HV contacted her.

There is also the fact the open submission process was for unagented submissions and HV has counted her in that group.

I have to agree on this side of the table, especially since they did state it was for unagented submissions.

I have been trying to find good sources (here on AW) for finding an agent (ignoring my list of those that have sent me Rs in the past, lol) just in case. The just in case goes for both sides of the coin. If I am picked - hurray, but help. If not, on to the next.
 

mygoditsraining

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When it comes to bragging rights, you want to put your best work up front. Showing up after the fact to negotiate a sure deal is not something to crow about compared to making the sale, wouldn't you agree?

I wouldn't agree. Turning what was pitched as a one book no-advance electronic-only release into a three-book contract with print release and hardback edition (and most likely an advance on the remaining titles if not all three) sounds pretty damn brag-worthy to me.
 

loki76

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On the exclusivity thing. I know people who submitted elsewhere when they heard nothing by the 15th, not ever thinking to check the site. So no one can be blamed for going elsewhere if they really did not know what was going on.

On the 1800 left, do you think they at least read the synopsis and ruled yay or nay, or put them into some category that only makes sense to them since genre and submission date are not key.
 

CatherineS

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I'm sort of thinking they simply haven't gotten to the last 1800 yet. The 500+ are the ones they have ruled "maybe" on, based on who knows what criteria. Can't explain the order in which they've approached the others so far, since as you say date and genre have clearly played no role.

I'm sure they started simple, eliminating wrong genres, word counts, and other stuff that disqualified off the bat. Then maybe moved on to the pitches. The synopsis and then the writing sample would require lots and lots more reading. I can't believe they would have the time or the need to go to that much extent for 4500 submissions.
 

loki76

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I'm sort of thinking they simply haven't gotten to the last 1800 yet. The 500+ are the ones they have ruled "maybe" on, based on who knows what criteria. Can't explain the order in which they've approached the others so far, since as you say date and genre have clearly played no role.

I'm sure they started simple, eliminating wrong genres, word counts, and other stuff that disqualified off the bat. Then maybe moved on to the pitches. The synopsis and then the writing sample would require lots and lots more reading. I can't believe they would have the time or the need to go to that much extent for 4500 submissions.

I tend to agree with you. That means we can be in this for another few months, fun times!
 

Omnigon

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I'm going to guess they haven't even touched the 1800 yet, including looking at genres, word counts, etc. With 4500 submissions, I doubt they have time to run through everything more than once. They are probably disqualifying and eliminating as they are moving through them; some get eliminated instantly on more obvious criteria, some get a synopsis read--maybe a cursory run through of the writing sample if the synopsis warrants it, and most get rejected either way. Rinse, repeat.
 

eileenmcilwain

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For the record mine was 83K words. I knew it was a long shot submitting an urban fantasy considering they were mainly after sci-fi/fantasy. The manuscript I'm working on at the moment would have been a better fit, but it's nowhere near finished. This competition has made me all the more motivated to get it done though!
 

Lauren82

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I've queried to about 10 agents and have gotten about 7 or 8 rejections so far. So I'm not too confident!! But I guess we never really know unless we try.. Looking forward to the next update! I hope they don't make us wait too long!
 

thothguard51

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HV has updated the submission standings as of 2/01/2013.

2,200, rejected
543, still being considered.
1,800, that still need to be read.

HV promises another update in a few weeks. Mean while, here is where AW members stand as of 2/01/2013.

The AW Water Cooler is now up to 80 members submitting 97 manuscripts as of 9pm 10/15/2012.

We are now up to 31 rejections, 4 still in review, and 45 not reporting any response from HV yet...

01..JJdebenedictis, submitted 1 manuscript on 10/01/12, rejected 1/8/2013.

02...Saanen, submitted 2 fantasy manuscripts on 10/01/12, both rejected 1/8/2013.

03...thothguard51, submitted 1 Epic Fantasy manuscript on 10/01/12, no response yet.

04...marmowen, submitted 1 Epic Fantasy manuscript on 10/01/12, no response yet.

05...Amergina, submitted 1 urban fantasy manuscript on 10/01/12, no response yet.

06...Dryad, submitted 1 manuscript on 10/01/12, no response yet.

07...tirceretops, submitted 3 manuscripts on 10/01/12, genre ?, all three rejected 1/8/2013

08...Shadow Ferret, submitted 1 Urban Paranormal manuscript on 10/01/12, no response yet.

09...A.P.M, submitted 2 YA manuscripts on 10/01/12, both rejected 1/14/2013.

10...Michael Drakich, submitted 3 manuscripts on 10/01/12, no response yet.

11...GeorgeK, submitted 1 Fantasy and 1 SF on 10/05/2012, no response yet.

12...G. Applejack, submitted 1 manuscript on 10/06/2012, no response yet.

13...Anarchic Q, submitted 1 fantasy on 10/07/2012 and 1 dystopian SF 10/13/2012, 1 still in review as of 1/8/2013, 1 rejected on 1/23/2013, but unsure which one.

14...MaraValderran, submitted 1 Epic Fantasy manuscript on 10/09/2012, no response yet.

15...eileenmcilwain, submitted 1 YA Urban Fantasy, 10/11/2012, rejected 1/30/2013.

16...ElizaC, submitted 1 Epic Fantasy on10/04/2012, and 1 Urban Fantasy on 10/07/2012, no responses yet.

17...Evelyn, submitted 1 SF manuscript on 10/05/2012, rejected on 1/16/2013.

18...Andrea GS, submitted 2 manuscripts on 10/13/2012, 1 rejected on 1/23/2013, but unsure which one.


19...Miguelito, submitted 2 Fantasy manuscripts,10/04/2012, and 10/12/2012, 1 rejected on 1/?/2013 but unsure which one.

20...Retlaw, submitted 1 mystery, 10/14/2012, no response yet.

21...Amadan, submitted 1 manuscript on 10/13/2012?, no response yet.

22...Mistri, submitted 1 manuscript on 10/14/2012, no response yet.

23...Lineykin, submitted 1 manuscript on 10/14/2012, no response yet.

24...M.R. Mortimer, submitted 1 manuscript on 10/07/2012, no response yet.

25...N.P. Browning, submitted 1 manuscript on 10/07/2012, rejected 1/22/2013.

26...Cally W, submitted 1 manuscript on 10/13/12, rejected 1/23/2013.

27...Espresso5, submitted 1 manuscript on 10/14/12, rejected 1/23/2012.

28...J.R.Vogt, submitted 1 urban fantasy, 10/02/2012, no response yet.

29...Veggie Neko, submitted 1 YA Fantasy, 10/14/2012, no response yet.

30...Jan Darby, submitted 1 urban fantasy on 10/01/2012 and 1 dystopian on 10/02/2012, no responses yet.

31...Omnigon, submitted 1 Epic Fantasy, 10/13/2012, no response yet.

32...WarpedReality, submitted 1 YA Fantasy, 10/14/2012, no response yet.

33...Leanan-Sidhe, submitted 1 manuscript, 10/15/2012, no response yet.

34...RemusShepherd, submitted 1 YA SF, 10/01/2012, no response yet.

35...Xenith, submitted 1 fantasy, 10/02/2012, no response yet.

36...Link 389, submitted 1 Epic Fantasy, 10/01/2012, no response yet.

37...BlinkerBot, submitted 1 Epic Fantasy, 10/06/2012, no response yet.

38...Bookislovakia, submitted 1 contemporary fantasy, 10/08/2012?, no response yet.

39...Skunkmellon, submitted 1 Fantasy manuscript on 10/12/2012, no response yet.

40...Velcro, submitted 1 manuscript on 10/14/2012, rejected 1/24/2013.

41...Cameomac, submitted 1 Urban Fantasy on 10/9/2012, no response yet.

42...Sarahdalton, submitted 1 SF YA dystopian, 1/10/2012, no response yet.

43...Clovia, submitted 1 Contemp. Fantasy, 10/13/2012, no response yet.

44...Pterofan, submitted 1 Urban Fantasy 10/01/2012, no response yet.

45...Sheadakota, submitted 1 Paranormal, 10/07/2012, no response yet.

46...Literati, submitted 1 manuscript on 10/14/2012, still in review 1/08/2013.

47...loki76. submitted 1 SF Paranormal on 10/02/2012 and 1 SF Horror 10/06/2012, no response yet.

48...Black Marlin, submitted 1 Military SF manuscript on 10/13/2012, no response yet.

49...Teleidoplay, submitted 1 Urban Fantasy on 10/04/2012, no response yet.

50...Specialfae, submitted 1 YA manuscript on 10/09/2012, no response yet.

51...td333777, submitted 1 Urban Fantasy on 10/12/2012, outcome...?

52...Beverly, submitted 1 SF on 10/12/2012, rejected 1/22/2013.

53...J.L. Rowan, submitted 1 Epic Fantasy on 10/07/2012, rejected 1/22/2013.

54...BillBlume, submitted 2 traditional Fantasy manuscripts, 10/06/2012 and 10/15/2012, 1 still in review as of 1/08/2013, no response on 2nd.

55...AnnaC, submitted 1 SF on 10/11/2012, no response yet.

56...Cmartin, submitted 1 YA paranormal on 10/14/2012, rejected 1/23/2013.

57...Michael P, submitted 1 Sword & Sorcery on 10/08/2012, no response yet.

58...CatherineS, submitted 1 Fantasy on 10/09/2012, no response yet.

59...Slclick37, sumitted 1 YA Supernatural on 10/13/2012, no response yet.

60...Gin Jones, submitted 2 manuscripts,10/01/2012 and 10/02/2012, both rejected 1/14/2013 & 1/16/2013.

61...Ravenlea, submitted 1 Urban Fantasy on 10/14/2012, no response yet.

62...Chebbs, submitted 1 Epic Fantasy on 10/14/2012, rejected 1/23/2013.

63...eltondiva, submitted 1 Dark Fantasy on 10/01/2012?, rejected 1/10/2013.

64...AziaRayne, submitted 1 Urban Fantasy on 10/14/2012, no response yet.

65...entropicsinkhole, submitted 1 Urban fanstasy on 10/01/2012, and 1 SF on 10/14/2012 1 rejected 1/23/2013.

66...sennydreadful, submitted 1 Urban Fantasy on 10/15/2012, rejected 1/23/2013.

67...A Long December submitted 1 on ?, genre ?, rejected 1/23/2013.

68...QueenFrostine, submitted 1 YA Fantasy on 10/9/2012, no response yet.

69...Janntampa, submitted 1 on ?, genre ?, rejected 1/23/2013.

70...Absolute Koala, submitted 2 Horror submissions on 10/15. 1 is still in review as of 1/8/2013, no response yet on 2nd.

71...MichelleAdir, submitted 1 YA Fantasy on 10/14/2012, rejected 1/23/2013.

72...BoBalder, submitted 1 Fantasy on 10/12/2012, no reposnse yet.

73...Skatehall, submitted 1 YA Supernatural on 10/06/2012, no response yet.

74...SK Daley, submitted 1 Fantasy on 10/03/2012, rejected 1/30/2013.

75...Adam Rakunas, submitted 1 SF, 10/13/2012, no response yet.

76...Treehouseman, submitted 1 YA Cyberpunk, 10/14/2012?, no response yet.

77...Sochitelya, submitted 2 Urban Fantasies on 10/1/2012 and 10/2/2012, no response yet.

78...ChesS, submitted 1 SF religious satire on 10/13/2012, no response yet.

79...GingerSue, submitted 1 Urban Fantasy on 10/04/2012, rejected 1/30/2013.

80...Lauren 82, submitted 1 Paranormal Romance on 10/6/2012, no response yet.

If I missed anyone, or got any of the information wrong, please notify me. To those who have reported their submissions, please report back on any contact you recieve from Harper Voyager. If not, then on March 1st, I will mark outcome as no response/closed.

For new members who have found the AW Watercooler because of this open submission by HV, welcome and enjoy your stay. Please check and join in the other forums, including the newbee starter threads. I think you all will find a wealth of information on writing and publishing, and just maybe make a few friends...
 
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