Tor / Forge / Orb / Tom Doherty Associates

Interesting development.

Not unexpected.

Tor is looking to hire an Editorial Assistant.

Details here: https://re21.ultipro.com/HOL1002/JobBoard/JobDetails.aspx?__ID=*ECF61C9F91263384

Anyone know (or able to share) Tor's general contract duration? Especially for unagented works? I know the bigger publishers tend to have very long-running contracts with tricky rights reversion processes, but I know little about Tor specifically.

I know that Tor's general philosophy about reversion is that if a book isn't worth keeping in print it isn't worth keeping the rights.

While I wouldn't know about unagented works, the contracts I've seen are for the term of copyright, with reversion triggered when sales per year fall below a specified floor.

Okay, that's saner than some I've seen. Thanks.

HapiSofi said:

I dropped by the Tor offices just this afternoon to pick up a book. They were having a slush kill. You know those big plastic garbage cans on wheels? They'd filled one all the to the brim and then some with discarded submission materials.

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Given that they're a major publisher that takes unagented submissions, I'm surprised that the pile was that small.

I'll accept the veracity of that, but I can't help but wonder why big publishers just don't do the slushpile on the screen. Seems like it would cut down on the waste. I don't think all paper is recyclable.

Partly it's to cut down on the actual number of submissions. If it was all electronic they would be inundated with a heap of crap people submitted on some million-to-one chance it *might* be liked, because it takes no real effort to submit via email. People that think their manuscript is correctly formatted and might have a real chance are more likely to go to the extra effort of printing it out, packaging it up and paying for postage.

Well, it's definitely not uncommon to create waste in the name of convenience.

Denevius said:

Well, it's definitely not uncommon to create waste in the name of convenience.

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What's really amazing is that they take unsolicited submissions at all.

Between solicited submissions, agented submissions, and contracted works (all of which are, believe me, in electronic form) they don't need to look at a single extra page to have a full publishing calendar.

Tom Doherty Assoc. has a new imprint as of today: Nightfire. For horror.

Does that go in this thread, or get its own?

Also, the Macmillan press release refers back to the Tor.com post. That's all I could find.

Anyone have recent experiences with TOR? My agent pitched them this month and got a request for the full manuscript. It was a pretty fast response--two weeks from pitch to request. Now I'm wondering how long I'll have to wait for a verdict. There's one other full request at another publisher and a few more pitches awaiting response, so I'm not obsessing over this one--yet.

Also, is this a publisher whose editors like to have a hand in revising manuscripts? I don't mean style issues, but plot changes, character additions/eliminations--fine-tuning something they like. As a debut writer, I'm always looking for help in getting better.

Tor books would absolutely be full-on editing of all aspects of a book, if they think it needs it. I wouldn't expect the fastest of responses right now as they are shuffling and letting go some staff right now.

Tor lost an agented submission of mine for nine months a few years ago. By the time they realized they misplaced the mms, the agent and I had amicably parted for other reasons. I did get some great rejection notes. I never followed up & ended up sending the rewritten book to a small press.

I wouldn't deal with any big pub without an agent these days.

Filigree said:

I wouldn't deal with any big pub without an agent these days.

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Absolutely seconding this. I sold my first three books direct to a publisher before I was agented, and boy did I sign some shit I shouldn't have done.

They just got back to me on the full manuscript and declined to pursue further. No notes other than the standard verbiage for rejection--a fine writer just didn't connect.

Postage Refused

I recently sent a submission packet to TOR (addressed to Tom Doherty Associates) via snail mail and the envelope came back marked “REFUSED.” i.e. The envelope was never opened.
Their web site states that they are open to subs and currently reading, so I’m puzzled. Any insights or similar experiences?

The submission guidelines are below:
https://www.torforgeblog.com/faq/#11

I was pretty careful about that. It weighed 11 oz. They ask for 50 pp. with the initial query.

I'll double-check to make sure it is properly addressed.

ObeysGravity said:

I was pretty careful about that. It weighed 11 oz. They ask for 50 pp. with the initial query.

I'll double-check to make sure it is properly addressed.

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COVID-19. No one is working at Tor; they're all working from home.

Wait a bit.

This makes sense.

Thanks so much.