Manuscript Accepted – How Long Do Contracts Take?

ogden9

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Not sure if this is the right place for this question, but here it goes:

My first novel was recently accepted (unagented) by a well-known and reputable publisher. One of the editors e-mailed me saying she loved the novel and that she would like to begin contract negotiations. She said she would e-mail me back with the contract as soon as she could.

…Flash-forward five months.

I e-mailed her a few weeks ago with a polite follow-up, but still haven’t heard back from her since the initial e-mail.

What is the normal timeline between “yes” and a contract? Is it different for fiction and nonfiction?


I haven’t actually signed anything yet, but I sent it to them with an exclusive.

Any advice would be most appreciated. Thanks in advance.
 

Undercover

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That's unusually long to wait to get a contract. Something doesn't sound right. Have you tried to get an agent after this acceptance of yours? Maybe they could look through your correspondence with this publisher and try to contact them directly? They might have better leeway.

Good luck with it, hope it works out.
 

WriterTrek

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What Undercover says sounds like a good idea.

I'm not published in the fiction world myself, but one thing I've heard is that a lot of people can get an Agent a lot easier once they have a book deal in hand. Perhaps you could try that.

Mind if we ask which publisher? Well known and reputable (to me) implies Big Six/Five, and I think only one of them accepts unagented submissions? But if you can give us the name maybe someone here knows something about them specifically and give offer feedback that way.
 

Old Hack

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It shouldn't take more than a few weeks to get a contract out to you.

I'd definitely contact the publisher again and ask for an update. If you're not getting replies by email try a different address, or write a real letter.
 

ogden9

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Thanks for the advice, everyone. I'm glad to hear that this is not normal.

WriterTrek, I'll stay secret on the name of the publisher until I hear back, but I sent an e-mail and hopefully everything will work out! :)

Thanks again!
 

Jim Riley

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I've only had one experience, but the contract was sent within two days and the "issues" were worked out within a week. I was accepted by a "small press" publisher and I don't know if it's different with the others.
 

CAWriter

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Big publishers can take longer than smaller. Editorial decides they're interested, contracts has to draw things up and get the contract out. I got a "yes" near the first of the year, there were verbal negotiations in the next month or so, it took until March to get a snail mail version of the actual contract to negotiate fine points, and then until last week to get a final, revised copy for signing.

But since you haven't heard anything beyond that first interest, you definitely need to see what's up. Personnel changes, changes in editorial direction (like B&H's recent decision to not publish any new fiction after Spring 2014) can impact communication and moving forward with a project.
 

Jamiekswriter

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Wow, I thought I had a long wait at three months. My friend with a big six waited five weeks. Something you might want to check is if the editor is still with the publisher, if the editor has left there might be a backlog or your contract got lost in the shuffle.
 

HLWampler

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I also went with a "small, independent publisher" and within a week my contract was sent to me, signed, and sent back.
 

Old Hack

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Big publishers can take longer than smaller.

Big publishers can also take far less time than smaller ones. I've seen books go from concept to publication in less than a month with big publishers: so much depends on the book concerned.
 

gingerwoman

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I've only had one experience, but the contract was sent within two days and the "issues" were worked out within a week. I was accepted by a "small press" publisher and I don't know if it's different with the others.
Perhaps you could try forwarding the original contract offer email to another member of staff if you are getting no answer from this acquiring letter. It sounds like she may have left the company without sorting things out with you which is terrible, but something I've heard of happening to various people at various publishers. Perhaps if you could show the contract offer to someone else on staff they will get things sorted out for you.
 
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lauralam

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Took mine about a month for SC.

I'd definitely follow up.
 

ogden9

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Thanks everyone.

I followed your advice. Hopefully I will hear back soon!
 

D.L. Shepherd

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I had a question, and this old thread is still relevant, so I thought I'd resurrect it instead of starting a new one. For those of you who are with a small press, how long did it take between acceptance and actually signing the contract?
 

zmethos

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I had a question, and this old thread is still relevant, so I thought I'd resurrect it instead of starting a new one. For those of you who are with a small press, how long did it take between acceptance and actually signing the contract?

I've had books with two small presses, and in both cases the contract came within a week of them informing me they'd accepted my manuscript for publication. But I'm sure every publisher is different, and with the holidays coming the times may also be longer.
 

D.L. Shepherd

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I've had books with two small presses, and in both cases the contract came within a week of them informing me they'd accepted my manuscript for publication. But I'm sure every publisher is different, and with the holidays coming the times may also be longer.

Thanks! I received the contract within a week, but I had questions and changes and sent it back to them, as per their instructions. I bumped at the two week mark just to make sure they had received my notes, which they responded that they had, and that they were working on it. I thanked them and I did tell them no rush, but now another month has gone by, and silence. I don't want to bump them again and be that annoying writer, but now I have this dread that maybe they changed their mind. I know that is ridiculous, and that if they had, they'd at least tell me, but still, I'm biting my nails here, worrying.
 

zmethos

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Yeah, that's rough. I do think the holiday (assuming it's an American publisher) might also slow things down. In fact, the whole industry slows to a crawl November through January. (I used to work for Houghton Mifflin and then Pearson.) A month does feel like a long time for a small publisher, though. Unless they're making lots of offers and dealing with many contracts?
 

D.L. Shepherd

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Thanks again, zmethos. They are not an American publisher, but I think I will wait until after Thanksgiving anyway, and then maybe give a polite nudge at the 6 week mark from when I last heard from them. Hopefully that won't be considered as too pushy or needy. I was so very excited to work with them, but now I'm just a bundle of anxiety. Ugh. At least I do have a new WIP that is keeping me busy.
 

D.L. Shepherd

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Would you believe their reply showed up in my inbox this morning? Guess I should have been slightly more patient before starting to panic, huh? Thanks again for the help!!