Greetings! I'm not sure where else to turn for advice, and I thought I might beg for some words of wisdom.
Last December I had a manuscript accepted at a prominent, well respected GLBT publishing house. (They've won many awards, and carry some renowned authors). Naturally I was ecstatic.
I mailed the signed contract to them in December, and the founder mailed back the copy with his signature in February. In the months following, I did two on-line interviews--two months apart--and e-mailed the publisher to see if he had an idea about when the novel would be released so I could mention it in the interview. No response to either e-mail.
In the meantime, authors who signed contracts as late as March of this year are having their books released this month. I still haven't gone through the editing phase.
I sent a third e-mail just this week about the possibility of having the galley proofs available for the Lambda Literary Awards, and again zero response.
By chance, I chatted with a fellow author (who has books out with the same publisher where I have previously published), and she related a similar incident with the aforementioned publisher: she went as far as editing and choosing the artwork for the cover, then the publisher stopped communicating with her. She eventually pulled out.
This would be a different scenario if this were a vanity-type press or questionable fly-by-night deal, but the publisher has been around for a decade, and again publishes some top-notch stuff.
Should I assume they're no longer interested, and that they're ignoring me, waiting for the contract to expire? I've hardly been a pest: 3 e-mails over a period of 9 months.
I'm just not sure what to do at this point. They're toying with my livelihood.
Last December I had a manuscript accepted at a prominent, well respected GLBT publishing house. (They've won many awards, and carry some renowned authors). Naturally I was ecstatic.
I mailed the signed contract to them in December, and the founder mailed back the copy with his signature in February. In the months following, I did two on-line interviews--two months apart--and e-mailed the publisher to see if he had an idea about when the novel would be released so I could mention it in the interview. No response to either e-mail.
In the meantime, authors who signed contracts as late as March of this year are having their books released this month. I still haven't gone through the editing phase.
I sent a third e-mail just this week about the possibility of having the galley proofs available for the Lambda Literary Awards, and again zero response.
By chance, I chatted with a fellow author (who has books out with the same publisher where I have previously published), and she related a similar incident with the aforementioned publisher: she went as far as editing and choosing the artwork for the cover, then the publisher stopped communicating with her. She eventually pulled out.
This would be a different scenario if this were a vanity-type press or questionable fly-by-night deal, but the publisher has been around for a decade, and again publishes some top-notch stuff.
Should I assume they're no longer interested, and that they're ignoring me, waiting for the contract to expire? I've hardly been a pest: 3 e-mails over a period of 9 months.
I'm just not sure what to do at this point. They're toying with my livelihood.
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